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Feedback on Playfield Refurbishment / Replacement options

Andypc

Andypc

Registered
Joined
Oct 24, 2015
Messages
798
Location
London, UK
The intention of this thread is to collate a compressive list of all the options for Playfield Refurbishments / Replacements and their respective Pro’s and Con’s based on honest feedback. This thread is not intended to descend into lots of criticism of a single supplier as much of that has been covered elsewhere.

The intention is to act as a helpful and balanced resource for people looking at potential options for machine restorations.

To address the elephant in the room I have personally had both excellent playfields from Mirco that still looks perfect over 5 years after installation, but I have also had playfields with issues (Warping / Chipping). Playfield Production / Refurbishment is not easy and both have numerous challenges, but overall, as a community we are much better off by having all these options available.

I think it would be really helpful if people are able to provide feedback against the following five areas: -
  1. Print Quality
  2. Colour Match
  3. Clear Coat Quality
  4. Overall finish
  5. Durability after installation
Below are the options I am aware of, but this can be added to if I have missed any: -

Playfield Refurbishment Options: -

Ronald Kruzman (USA) (Clear Coat Specialist) https://pinballplayfieldskruzman.com/

Restored By Scott (Australia) (Decal Print and Clear Coat) https://www.facebook.com/RestoredByScott/

Fulvio Fabiana (Italy) (Decal or Direct to Wood and Clear Coat) https://www.facebook.com/fulvio.fabiani

New Playfield Options: -

Classic Playfield Reproductions https://classicplayfields.com/

Mirco Playfields https://mircoplayfields.com/en/c/playfields

Buthamburg Playfields https://www.buthamburg.de/de/spielflaechen

Stern Playfield

NOS Playfields if available
 
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Let me kick this off with my experiences and some information.

Classic Playfield Reproductions

I have had four playfields from Classic Playfield Reproductions two of which I have installed in my machines (Diner and World Cup Soccer) and are overall excellent. Customer Service was also amazing.

Print Quality on all the playfields was really good and couldn’t be faulted.

Colour Match this is the one area of concern for me with CPR. I had two Tales of the Arabian Nights playfield from CPR and colour match was quite some way off from the original. World Cup Soccer had some minor colour differences mainly on the skin tone of the referee. Diner I could not fault at all.

Clear Coat Quality was excellent on both Diner and World Cup Soccer. Both Tales of the Arabian Nights playfields had ghosting and crazing on the inserts and were ultimately not used.

Overall finish of all the playfields was very good.

Durability after installation, both Diner and World Cup Soccer Playfield still look like new since installation and playtime.

Buthamburg Playfields

I have had one Playfield from Buthamburg which is an amazing Roadshow Playfield.

Print Quality on the Roadshow playfield is very good

Colour Match the colour match appears to be spot on.

Clear Coat Quality is excellent and makes the overall playfield look amazing

Overall finish is really good and is finished to a very high standard

I can’t comment on durability at this stage as it hasn’t had any playtime at this point.

Mirco Playfields

I have had four playfields from Mirco, one Whitewater and three Tales of the Arabian Nights, Customer Service is a little challenging, but on both occasions I have had issues, I did get a resolution.

Print Quality is very good, but there are some concerns with regards to adhesion to the wood as a tiny amount of the print came away when I got some small chips on the Tales of the Arabian Nights Playfield.

Colour Match has been excellent on both Whitewater and three Tales of the Arabian Nights

Clear Coat Quality on Whitewater was very good although it took well over 6 months from receiving it for the clear to fully set. All three Tales of the Arabian Nights playfields looked amazing, but I have had some small chips to the clear coat on the Tales of the Arabian Nights playfield that has actually been installed I n the machine

Overall finish I have been really pleased with the Whitewater playfield that has now been in the machine over five years and still looks like new, without any issues. The first Tales of the Arabian Nights playfield I received was badly warped and was returned for a replacement. The second Tales of the Arabian Nights playfield looked amazing but has some small chips to the clear coat since installation. To rectify this Mirco sold me another Tales of the Arabian Nights playfield at a significantly reduced cost, which is a resolution I was happy with. This third playfield honestly looks amazing, but I will probably send it to Ronald Kruzman to do his magic with the clear coat.

At this point the Tales of the Arabian Nights playfield actually installed in the machine has had the tiny chips touched up with Stern’s Playfield Hardcoat Touch Up and covered with a small amount of Mylar.

https://www.stern-spareparts.de/en/playfield-hardcoat-touch-up-502-6947-00_30615_2170

Overall, it still looks absolutely amazing and is staying in the machine, but only time will tell how it holds up. That being said, it is still infinitely better that the original worn playfield taken out of the machine and most people would struggle to spot the issues even if they were looking for them.

So as stated, durability after installation is a mixed bag, with Whitewater still looking perfect 5 years on, but Tales of the Arabian Nights having some issues.

Helpful Information

I recently contacted Ronald Kruzman regarding a Creature from the Black Lagoon Playfield and I will share his response below as it provides some really helpful information.

“I highly suggest a reproduction pf for a lot of reasons. It cost so much to match the colours (every pf was different shades when it was made, depending on the day. each day they varied, plus each game fades at it's own rate) and by the time the playfield is stripped there is a lot of work that you don’t know about. Plus, when you fix one area, it sometimes makes the adjoining areas stand out as looking aged.

Plus, stripping all of the parts and sending it out, and then months later reassembling is so much more difficult that swapping parts from one to the other.

If you do get a repro, and you buy it from Mirco, it was probably made these last couple weeks. Lately he makes them to order. His wood is often damp enough that when you put the pf in your closet for 5 or 6 months, it will look so bad you won’t want to install it as is. What’s the use putting all of the time and money in to it and not having something not only perfect, but will stay that way for life.

So in for a penny in for a pound.

After it cures for 4 or 5 months, and the inserts are raised and the wood grain is like the groove on a record, I can do a clear for you. My process takes 3-4 months to allow each coat to fully cure before adding the next 6. That how all other playfields are done. All of the clear is doe in one day, or 2 days. So, it has the thickness but not the strength at all. To make it even better I sand for over an hour between each coat. The surface as well as over all of the edges, and low spots. I grind the clear out of the t nut holes, and ramp depressions, etc. I also finish the back with polyurethane to make it so humidity wont effect it in the future nearly as much. It’s about 35-man hours if I like the way it came out. about 20%, I don’t and I sand and re-do the last coat. after the last coat, I block sand from 500 to 3000, the next day I polish for 6-10 hours (back to glass). Then the last day I thread a cloth thru all of the holes to clean out my compounds.

So, there is some options. Let me know if you have any questions. weather you install a repro pf or a repro with my clear, you should look in to my install kit. It’s called the Kurzman playfield install kit, and the whole concept is to use diamond dremmil bits to remove a spot of clear before you predrill, and thread. same for wire guides. that way you have no chipped, lifted, cracked clear. Clear is super hard when done right, and will not drill or thread clean. If you have questions feel free to ask and I will explain it all.”
 
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Only had one so far Whirlwind by CPR, I believe it was one of the early ones after they moved to digital printing, as such it wasn't graded Bronze/Silver/Gold etc.....

  1. Print Quality

    The sharpness of the printing lines we're all spot on, but the registration could be better, the black borders around the inserts are not quite central and in a couple of locations is right on the edge of the insert.

  2. Colour Match

    Hard to tell how accurate it is against a 30+ year old playfield, but I'm more than happy with it, really bold and vibrant.

  3. Clear Coat Quality

    Clearcoat was flawless, no ghosting on inserts and no clear coat lifting when installing posts etc (although I did pre drill through the clear coat before installing)

  4. Overall finish

    I was one of the small number who received a PF without the shooter lane switch cut out, CPR were very helpful offering a replacement (which I turned down) advice and a partial refund for mistake. Cutting into a brand new playfield with a router was VERY nerve racking, but worked out just fine.
    Also, dimples (especially the ones on the back) weren't accurate, only really useful for large lamp boards, everything else needed to be copied from the old one, or measured out manually.

  5. Durability after installation

    Looks great 3 years later, no chipping, pooling or anything, really pleased with how its held up.
 
Useful, thanks. Haven't needed to replace a playfield (yet)
 
Mirco sent HEP a partially used TZ PF recently, He was not happy and made a video calling them out (see below). They did send him another but It shouldn't of happened to begin with.


He still wasn't that impressed with the replacement, He goes over why below

 
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