I've decided to restore the playfield on my 1976 Space Mission game. It has a total of 37,836 plays and 40 years of service. I guess it's about time. Overall it's in good shape, but does have a few problems. The inserts are cupped to the point where the ball will get stuck in them. The black key lines have white circles in them and the paint around the insert labeled "A" has some wear. My plan is to strip everything off the playfield, fix the cupped inserts, paint the key lines and clear the playfield with Spraymax 2K auto clear. My experience level is zero with this sort of thing, but I do have some mechanical experience and I like a good project. I built a Factory Five Cobra a few years ago, but I didn't do the paint. I believe I can handle the Spraymax since it is in a can, but I don't have the equipment for the regular 2pac everyone talks about. I have read most of Vids thread and have found it very informative. I'll share pictures as I go and I'm sure I will have a lot of questions so please chime in. I need the help. Let the fun begin.

This is what it looks like today.

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The original plan was to wax and play. Unfortunately the wear around the inserts appeared in the short time we started playing and I've watched the areas grow. I want to keep this as pristine as possible. Like you I hope I don't mess it up.

Here are a few close up shots of the areas in question. Does it look like these have been touched up? How will that affect my plans?

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I made some progress last night although it might be better called a commitment. I removed the easy pieces on the top side. The metal rails on the top right side of the playfield are very hard to get out. I removed the nuts from the back side, but they are still stuck. I'll try again tonight.

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It's finally stripped with only a few minor items left.

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What's the best way to remove the Mylar platters by my pop bumpers? I've read to use a hair dryer and I also read to use freeze spray. Which method should I use for this 1976 game?

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Vid I'm confused I thought I had to remove the Mylar when clear coating the playfield. Is there a way around it? If I can leave it alone and still do my clear coat I'm all for it since I don't want to mess it up. Thanks for any help you provide.

I'm back to being scared, but thanks for your answer and help.

Do you have any words of wisdom or cautions for me? I bought a plastic putty knife today and thought I would heat the mylar with a hair dryer and then scrape it off. Should I be worried about getting the area too hot?

Vid thanks for the suggestion. I've never seen the plastic razor blades before. Are they a common hardware store item or something that is special?

What type of glue/epoxy do I use to secure my inserts? How do I get the epoxy in there without getting it all over the inserts?

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Finally some progress today. I smoothed out all the puckers from the screws, did the ME and alcohol thing followed by Naphtha, 800 grit and Naphtha again. I also cleaned out the slots and holes and sanded the shooter lane.

Last night I cleaned the back side of all the inserts and then put some epoxy on them. It was difficult to not get the epoxy on the face of the inserts. For the most part I was sloppier than I expected. The while, green and red inserts are opaque and I think it won't matter with any of them. The problem is the translucent orange ones. When I shine a light from the back side I can see the epoxy. I think it's too late to remove them without causing damage so I would like to fix them if possible. I was thinking of using the airbrush to paint them from the back with some orange Creatix paint. Has anyone run into this problem before and can offer a solution?

I took the plunge tonight and removed the two Mylar platers from the pop bumper area. This really had me worried that I would remove a lot of the paint. As it turns out I did remove some, but not too much. The strange this is that I thought I had got it off without any damage since the Mylar itself didn't have any paint stuck to it. The damage wasn't visible until after I removed the glue. All in all I'm OK with the results. I used a hair dryer and a plastic razor blade as Vid suggested.

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Last weekend I painted my key lines and then zput a light coat of Spraymax on the playfield to lock everything down. I let it dry until evening and then filled my cupped inserts with the clear. That's when I encountered a problem. Several of the inserts developed bubbles and even tall ridges. This only happened to the inserts I filled the most. The ones that still need clear are fine. I started a separate thread to ask for help and basically I was told to sand and pop all the bubbles and then add more clear. This is easier said than done. This SprayMax stuff is very hard. I tried on three of the worst ones and was unsuccessful. The thought is it may be too hot and humid in my garage at the end of the day. For the last few days I've been sanding for another attempt. I may try to fill the inserts in my spare bedroom. I can control the temperature and block off the door to keep the smell out of the house. I also sprayed the white areas and put down a second light coat of SprayMax to lock it down. Here are a few pictures.

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I fixed the inserts as best that I can (far from perfect). The worst ones are still pretty bad, but will at least be level. I did this over the course of the last few weeks. Today I sprayed three light, but wet coats and will let it set for a few days before I do the final leveling and polishing. I learned a lot so far mostly from making mistakes. This is what it looks like tonight.

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One more

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I finished this weekend.It's far from perfect, but I'm happy with the results. The machine doesn't work now, but that's a different thread.

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