Quoted from thedarkknight77:
Charlie - Could you comment on what exactly was the issue you found and corrected? I notice that there is no longer art where the posts are. Is this a result of what you found? Was the ink in the art causing adhesion issues? We are all trying to understand what’s going on as this is causing many of us to halt our NIB purchases.
Here's the issue with all of this... making a playfield is the hardest physical part of mfg a pinball machine. You are asking wood and clear coat to do something impossible... stand up to a steel ball. (Yeah I know, been said 1,000 times before). The wood is going to lose that battle eventually no matter what. People can say Wms never had issues but there's a reason those reproduction boards are being made still today.
So we all do what we can to slow the decay as much as possible. This takes more time, $$$, and experimentation than anyone who hasn't done this for a living will ever know. It's incredibly proprietary so communication is minimal. KFC isn't posting which 11 herbs and spices they use either.
I happen to feel our playfields are the absolute best in the industry, and yes... we too like everyone else, had an issue. It only takes 1 minor change in any of the chemicals or process involved to cause a problem... sometimes the parts / chemicals we've used for years change and we don't even know until it's too late. Pulling the art back a bit was only part of making sure it never happened again. Far more to it, and unless you've made a thousand of these things you'll never know how hard it all actually is. The learning process NEVER stops when you are dealing with a natural product like wood being exposed to unnatural chemicals and situations.
We did all we could to correct the situation, make everyone happy, and made sure we took every precaution necessary regardless of cost to keep it on the good side going forward. I believe that shows on ACNC and the last multiple batches of TnA (which is perhaps the fastest most violent pinball game ever made). No pressure when we KNOW everyone is watching all of this like a hawk now and will keep doing so huh???!
There is a reason our playfield process is uniquely our own, local, and will stay that way.
Thanks everyone. Go back to enjoying your Sunday.