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Waxing Makrolon playfield protectors - a dumb idea?

Durzel

Durzel

Registered
5Years
Joined
Oct 1, 2017
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Location
Bath, UK
Ello :)

The TAF I recently bought was fully shopped and came with a brand new playfield with a Makrolon playfield protector added. I've never seen or experienced this before (I bought it sight unseen) and whilst I'm glad it means my mansion etc is protected, I'm unsure of what if any maintenance is required.

On my TZ and Tron I have rather obsessively cleaned & waxed the playfields to the point where they are both very quick. I'm contemplating waxing the protector on the TAF but I'm wondering whether this is a stupid or even perilous idea (I'm not sure how I would fix wax getting underneath it at the various cutouts and edges). Should I just leave well alone?

Thoughts? Criticisms? Feelings?
 
Wipe it down I would say - I can just think of star posts and how they gum up so would avoid that...
 
I've dealt with star posts getting wax on them before, and yeah that's not fun but fixable. It's more wax getting underneath the protector while its a liquid and then being inaccessible to clean up. I feel like I'm kinda already answering my own question.. was just curious as to whether or not anyone else waxes their protector.
 
Not a stupid question. I just give mine a wipe with a dry microfiber cloth and occasionally give the table a blow with some compressed air to clear out any debris.

I'm sure playfield protectors do affect the way the ball moves to some extent, but in my opinion it's worth it for making your playfield pretty much maintenance free.
 
It's definitely perceptibly slower than my TZ and Tron, but both of those have had 2 coats of wax. I don't think I mind though because that crazy speed means I can barely crack 400M+ on a good day on TZ, and the less said about my high scores on Tron the better.
 
Use wax on a playfield protector and you will regret it.

Ask me how I know... or work it out by looking at my signature
 
Durzel said:
:( Why unplayable? Just really inconsistent in ball speed etc?
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Yep. No predictable behaviour, ball doesn't know whether it wants to roll or glide along. The wax doesn't stay in place on plastic so it never really settles in, whereas on wood there's at least a natural texture that creates an even spread of wax that it holds onto for a duration. On the playfield protector you're just adding lubrication to get pushed around, off and under the protector.

Figured I may as well clarify that 'unplayable' is 'unpredictable' to me, ultra-fast is not unplayable, just funny. I'm the kind of nutter that sometimes plays with all powerballs/globalls.
 
Thanks. I'm glad (if that's the right word) that you took that bullet for me. I very nearly considered doing it straight after receiving it, but had pause for thought when I saw where the holes in the protector were, and what a pain in the ass cleaning Carnauba wax is at the best of times.
 
The protector almost does the same job as wax does to begin with, it's a far more level surface than the wood it sits on. But when new it has an almost static-like quality to it that slows things down a bit.

Once the protector wears in a bit and you give it a second clean (isopropyl alcohol only) then it speeds right up to monster levels.
 
Cool. I'll try that. It doesn't feel wrong, just different. To be honest it's somewhat refreshing because before waxing TZ my scores were a lot better, now it's just a savagely fast game. Tron is the same. By contrast I've actually been able to get close to Tour the Mansion on TAF and I'm not entirely convinced it's because of some new found skill.

In terms of any dust that gets worked underneath, is it just a case of blowing compressed air underneath or something?
 
it depends on the material used on the protector. Some of them will take wax, some won't. I have PET based protect on my car and wax makes it look fantastic.

if the material takes wax (ask the manufacturer) then wax it. It will make it play faster.

Neil.
 
Neil McRae said:
it depends on the material used on the protector. Some of them will take wax, some won't. I have PET based protect on my car and wax makes it look fantastic.

if the material takes wax (ask the manufacturer) then wax it. It will make it play faster.

Neil.
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That's a good shout, I didn't consider that.

Durzel said:
In terms of any dust that gets worked underneath, is it just a case of blowing compressed air underneath or something?
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It's the worst part of the protector IMO - cleaning it is a massive faff. In practice I don't find it collects anything that would ordinarily be there, but it does very quickly show you that your prior attempts to get the playfield spotless were hopeless.
 
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