Quoted from shacklersrevenge:It really depends on the game- what games/titles did you find this to remain unchanged?
I had a Firepower. Previous owner pulled the mylar that had protected the playfield, he used a heat gun. It crackled/planked everywhere, pulling inserts along the way. 100-150 games later, there was playfield wear, where there was once mylar and none. Had a Raven, same thing. Mylar protecting the playfield that looked good. Once the mylar was removed, it pulled inserts and crackled in different areas. Because of it crackling, it can slightly lift the paint and wear will happen.
An old SS Bally- they wear if you look at them funny. I've had 250 pins through my hands in 8 years, I've seen some interesting things.
All I'm saying is, it's a proceed with caution type of thing, because often times it's risk vs. reward.
Okay. All I can do is comment on my personal experiences. Realize I am not a big collector/refurbisher. All were done with a heat gun.
Mata Hari. Game was bought where a LOT of the paint was already coming up and was slapped over with mylar. I lost some additional paint around these areas, but I expected that.
Strikes and Spares. Removed only spot areas (pops and slings). Virtually no paint loss. There was a dent in the mylar by the sling and I lost additional paint at the dent, but had to remove the mylar to fix it anyway.
Pinbot. Lost almost nothing except for insert ink on some inserts, but the inserts without mylar were also wearing off, so again, something I would have expected for the age and condition of the game.
Taxi, pulled off the 1/2 playfield sheet or whatever size it is - covers nearly half of the playfield from the Marilyn target bank to the player. Pulled it off in ten minutes and lost no paint, no art, no insert ink...with the heat gun.
High Speed, did almost the same as Taxi, but in this case lost some insert ink on a couple of the speedometer inserts.