Really looks great! I would love to do this to mine, I just don't have the patience or skill!
Did you clean the playfield with magic eraser or something before you started?
(Topic ID: 158186)
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Firepower
Williams, 1980
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Yes, cleaned with magic eraser and 91% rubbing alcohol. Because of the wear in the planet area, I didn't get as agressive as I could have/should have. I believe cracks in the original clear were what caused the brown "speckling" in the black. There are also some spots/swirl marks in the white that probably could have been removed with more rubbing, but I wanted to err on the side of not pulling up more paint.
I have a suggestion for the decals next time you do a project like this: Micro-Set indeed does set down the decals quickly and causes them to conform to the board. However, it's counterpart, Micro-Sol, does not, and actually treating the spot you are putting the decal down on with it, and coating the decal with it after you have wet them, helps increase the softness and workability....not to mention the ease of sliding it on it's new surface. Only after it is in it's absolutely perfect position, you should then brush Micro-Set on top of the decal and let it work. The decal will likely look wrinkled at first...don't touch it! Once you let all of the solution dry, it will become flat again and adhere and blend in with the surface. You can use successive coats once the previous ones have dried.
I hope this helps!
Thanks LaPorta for the advice. What I had done was use the MicroSet (blue) down on the spot, placed the decal, let it dry then used the MicroSol (red) over the top of the placed decal. I thought this is what I had seen on the 'net. However, I suppose it's never good to blindly trust the internet 
. Just to confirm, you have success going Red, then Blue? And based on my speed, I would say the next project is still a bit down the road...
Quoted from setzkor:Thanks LaPorta for the advice. What I had done was use the MicroSet (blue) down on the spot, placed the decal, let it dry then used the MicroSol (red) over the top of the placed decal. I thought this is what I had seen on the 'net. However, I suppose it's never good to blindly trust the internet
My apologies, I mistakenly spoke of them backwards. MicroSet does indeed come first. Wipe the Set on the spot where the decal will go (leaving some liquid), and then saturate the decal in water for about 10 seconds (warm water is much better than cold). After that, lightly dry the top of the decal with a paper towel. Next, paint the MicroSet on top of it. Then, proceed to slide the decal upon the still-coated-with-microsol area on the play field. Once it is positioned, then dry it with a paper towel, lightly. If the decal is in the wrong area, you can add more MicroSet with a brush on it, and you should be able to move the decal once again. Only once it is where you want it, and fully dry, then you use the MicroSol...being sure not to touch it while it works (usually overnight). Got it right this time!
Did some repair work...The orange spot sanded out without any issue. For the ghosted insert, I decided just to redo it. Here it is sanded and re-cleared.
And here it is with the new decal applied.
I cleared that spot today, and will wait until after the holidays to see if I need yet another full coat, or if I can polish it out to look right from where it is.
1 week later
Decided on another coat of clear...and since it was the holidays, didn't want to bother my friend to spray it. Against better judgement, decided to brush this last coat. As expected, it has some brush marks...
DSCN4390 (resized).JPG
I figure I can sand/buff it flat...we'll see... Here it is after hand sanding with 1200 grit.
DSCN4392 (resized).JPG
It's pretty flat now, a few low spots.
...well, ask and you shall receive. The package was apparently in the mailbox, as I checked the tracking after my last post. Quick swap of the pad and hit it with 3000 grit. Note, a little of the shine is coming back now...
Next up a swap back to 6" (Note to self, get all the same size in the future...) then the 5000 and the polish.
Thanks Schwaggs. Of course, since I have problems, I re-sanded it to get it smoother, and did a few last minute paint touchups. I'll try to get it re-sprayed for the final time this week...
Montreal, QC
Nope, haven't noticed anything odd yet. Now with that said, most of my touchups were done after the first clear. Also, the only touchups where I didn't respray the whole area were either in the planet (where the pattern makes it difficult to see errors) or in the black. And for the black, I actually ended up redoing the whole area (around the white spots) to cover up the speckling due to cracking in the previous clear. So when I touch up the second time, I'm either using the Createx or Molotow marker both of which match each other well. The only issue I can tell in the black on the last coat was a region that I think had thicker clear than the rest from refilling a cracking insert. I'm hoping to make it unnoticeable on this last one...and if not, it is only visible at a certain angle...that's not where I'll be standing when I play.
I airbrushed most of the large areas that needed it (red, yellow). The planet details had to be done by hand with a fine brush. I also used brush for the black, and sanded the texture down before the subsequent clear coat. Any later touchups in the black have been done with the paint marker.
Quoted from Plumonium:I did not know you could sand down paint that was hand brushed? It turned out OK?
Not sure if you "should", but I did knock the black down a bit with 1200 grit sandpaper everywhere prior to clearing. Otherwise, I've seen that the brush strokes will not be covered completely after sanding down the clear coat...you will sand through the clear in the high spots down to the paint. But again, this was an odd situation, I was covering the original black which had brown ball swirl marks with a new layer of pure black. So even if I was thin with the new black in places after sanding, it would probably still cover the old ball marks. With an actual color, you have to be real delicate with the sanding. For instance, on the red after airbrushing, I would knock down the edge bead left near the frisket prior to clearing as well, but very, very lightly. This was only done after the createx had cured for several days....
1 week later
Ok, got the final clear coat done last week, and did they final polish today. Unfortunately, my friend was doing some cabinetry in his shop before I came over, so the dust level was higher than desired. But hey, beggars can't be choosers. After it cured, I could feel and see some grit in places from the dust. I ended up having to go back to 2000 grit paper to get it out, then 5000, Perfect-It I, followed by Finesse-It finishing polish.
DSCN4420 (resized).JPG
There are still some areas that I can see from certain angles in perfect lighting, but to be honest, it's time for this to be over...
DSCN4421 (resized).JPG
Now it's time to let it flatten more...some nice curl came into the playfield after being monkeyed with for 8 months...Then off to the swap!
3 weeks later
Reese rails already in and ready to be installed...
Never saw plastic wood stickers fade as bad as those on firepower
I am actually researching...what sort of faux wood rails are those supposed to be? As in, what type of real wood are the stickers imitating? Id' like to get some rails made of the real wood it was supposed to be...I think it will be a cool effect.
Greensboro, NC
Not sure, the Reese ones are I think an Oak, with a dark stain...should look pretty good installed. If you wanted more factory look, I think maple would be the way to go with a lighter finish. I've never seen "real wood" that weird color of yellow-ish gray fortunately.
Quoted from La_Porta:I am actually researching...what sort of faux wood rails are those supposed to be? As in, what type of real wood are the stickers imitating? Id' like to get some rails made of the real wood it was supposed to be...I think it will be a cool effect.
Stock wood grain looks like oak to me. Maple doesn't have the black lines in the graining like oak does.
Taylor (Reese rails) was nice enough to provide me with some guidance when I made mine. I used oak and painted them black. I was debating making them red or blue but I had black paint on hand. Whatever colour you pick adds contrast to the shooter lane. He confirmed measurements for me - they are 1-1/8" high and 1/2" wide and various lengths. He suggested clear lacquer for added durability but it wasn't critical.
This is what I used for the rails, basically split it in half -
https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.oak-hobby-board-12-x-3-x-4-feet.1000761164.html.
Total cost for this project - $10. If you've got a table saw, this is easy. Otherwise see if the guys at Home Depot will rip the board in half for you. I didn't replace the top rail, I believe it is the wider one. It is mostly covered by plastic and is behind the curved metal at the top of the playfield. I just coloured any visible parts with a black sharpie.
1 month later
Thanks! I'm sure you'll be good, that was a pretty nice original you started with. Sadly, I realized I forgot to add the extra lights for the eject holes...so it won't be going in tonight. Really starting to regret not building a rotisserie... But that does give me another reason not to do another swap!
Quoted from setzkor:But that does give me another reason not to do another swap!
Come on! I've done three playfield swaps now and I don't have a rotisserie! 
I don't mind doing them when I can sit out in the garage on a warm summer night and pick away at it. Put a Blue Jays baseball game on the radio with a couple of beers and everything in the world is good!
Well, I'm dealing with the collapse of the Wild on TV here 
...so by the time I get enough beer in me to forget that, I'm really in no shape to mess with the playfield.
Quoted from La_Porta:I've got one machine, only will have one ever.
Famous last words!
Quoted from setzkor:I'm dealing with the collapse of the Wild on TV
I've suffered long enough as a Leafs fan. They're eyeing a playoff spot this year. Fingers are crossed!
Quoted from dzorbas:I've suffered long enough as a Leafs fan. They're eyeing a playoff spot this year. Fingers are crossed!
Yes, maybe they'll take Detroit's spot..
2 weeks later
Ok, spring break is over-ish, and I got the swap completed and working well enough to take a quick video. Well, my game was terrible, so I'll show one of my daughter and I doing a little glass off cheating. All in all, I think it's good to go now. I still have a few issues that irk me: the top right eject isn't strong enough and sometimes bounces right back in, and second, the "1" target insert is off-center and lights up in the red area. For the insert, I may try to mask off from underneath at some point. For the eject, I'll monkey with the switch some more, but if anyone has any ideas...
1 week later
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