So I recently purchased my first pin and learned a valuable lesson: Never buy your first pin sight unseen unless it's NIB.

First pic shows the Bazaar scoop which had three layers of mylar with a slightly offcenter overlay that was severely interferring with ball play. I removed the mylar using a hairdryer and goo gone. Some of the inserts and PF art pulled up, but what was hidden underneath almost made me puke (see second pic).

So I decided to touch this playfield up myself. I have ZERO experience in doing this but thought I could give it a good go.

I used acrylics to touch up the areas around the Bazaar inserts and left edge of the scoop after sanding down gobs of epoxy. Now I need to lightly sand down the acrylic layer (after a few more touchups - lower PF overlay to cover the "R" and below is on its way) and apply some type of clear over the art (and eventual insert decals when they arrive).

My question is what type of spot clear should I use? I plan on painting the clear with a brush, but I am a bit afraid of getting a cloudy finish using brush strokes. Has anyone applied clear over touchups using a brush before?

Thanks for any input.

Insert_Damage.jpg Bazar_Damage.JPG

Couldn't get this image to upload in original post...

Bazaar_Touch_Up.JPG

This is the one from Texas! The 3rd pic (my 2nd post) are my touchups to the areas around the Bazaar inserts. I am waiting to receive the reverse laminated insert decals.

Frax - many thanks -- I did that pink area (sharpie bleeding?) as well as all the other areas worn down to the wood from the "B" insert on down by hand - it was a painstakingly slow process. I wasn't too concerned about the circles because the decals do have a black ring around them that I hope cleans up the lines a bit.

Drano - you make a good point I will go back and try to clean up the inserts a bit more. I know this thing won't be NEAR perfect, but as long as it is "mostly" eye clear I'll be happy.

I was guessing that the pink area I painted over was pink because of someone possibly using a sharpie in the past. I read up on these forums before I started this about using sharpies - I didn't use any.

I did some other minor touchups in less conspicuous areas -- I'll test those with the clear first.

Completed the orb saucer and tiger loop magnet touchups this weekend. Thanks to everyone for their advice. I used acrylics, several coats of polycrylic and 1500 grit sandpaper to even out the worn areas. Now to test whether these areas hold up.

Tiger_Loop_Wear.JPG Tiger_Loop_Touched_Up.JPG Orb_Wear.JPG Orb_Touched_Up.JPG

Thanks for the positive feedback! Now if only I could get that entire column of switches under U20-15 to work