Is this an early April fool day gag?

HEP
Kruzman
Brian Kelly...

First three that come to my mind, am sure there are others
My spelling might be off but they are on here And readily available.

Ah, now it makes more sense!
Why not try your own hand at it, nothing more satisfying that shooting that first ball after a restore.
Imo the investment is relatively small, provided you wish to do more than one.
I lack any artistic ability and think I pulled off a pretty good SBM and am now tackling an Atlantis.
Just a thought.

HSA is not taking playfields at this time are they? Their work was very nice

Lol, it's mine too. Why not get one of the new re-pops from CPR?

But maybe worth it for the grail?

How about Mirco, they have several options for TAF playfields and they look really nice.

The title should be changed to say “playfield restorers”.
High end, is a matter of opinion. I think there are plenty of private hobbiest that do stellar work, but the question is will they take your project and live up to your expectations?

I do not and never have.

Bill Davis did mine.

Is Neo not taking work anymore?

So 15 posts in and we don't have a single recommendation for a really good/competent restorer whose active?

Looks like he's not doing them anymore

Planetary has a CPR Gold in stock:

http://www.planetarypinball.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=PPS-31-1002-50038

Kruzman
Neo
Keith Holbrook

All have decent waits but all have done excellent work from what I have seen on several games. Never owned a Neo restored playfield so just going by what I have seen in others games.

Playfield restoration - truly exceptional playfield restoration - takes a significant amount of time. So, of course the really good guys are booked up. If you want the best, you have to be very patient.

Wait forKruzman is my recommendation. He had a PF of mine for 6 or 8 months and I was starting to get a little hot about it... but then he sent it, and I actually saw the work in person. Ho-leeee-shiz.

Don't know aboot Kruzman. He's told me multiple times, and others, that he'll only do NOS stuff.
Other people say diff'rent.

I used to take them in here and there but usually end up regretting it so I have pretty much stopped unless it is straight clear or minor touch up. Those I can squeeze in while I am working on the projects I have.
It is tough to diversify too much when you are a one man show.

The Mirco booth TAF playfield I looked at at TPF was impressive. I liked the glittery gold logo on it (they have it without also).

In my opinion since I have a recent CPR playfield, the Mirco is better quality and they re-did the mansion keylines to cover the light bleed.
Its really a nice PF.

The clear message here, there's demand waiting to be satiated. Nature abhors a vacuum almost as much as cats do, maybe someone new will pop up, but then its about who to trust and how do they establish at the highest levels without working up to it visibly.

Honestly I would love to restore pins and would love the work. However I know for sure I would HATE working for people and managing expectations and patience of all parties involved. Too much hassle for the reward. I think those who are successful, have built up (and rightfully so) the reputation to be demanding and blunt in a way that is impossible to create without a body of work. Almost a Catch 22.

I have a buddy, Bruce, who owns a body shop. Bruce has an airbrush artist he sometimes uses for work on his cars. The pic shown is some of his work.

I've many times thought about seeing if he would be interested in getting involved with playfields. Then I thought I might as well just kick him in the nuts. That might be less painful then dealing with some pinball people.

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haha thats awesome

I've restored several playfields both for myself and for others. PM me and I'll be happy to send you some more pictures of the work I've done. Here's a before and after of a Black Knight playfield I saved.

IMG_7804 (resized).JPG

IMG_7933 (resized).JPG

But what a show it is.

Keith holbrook
Neo

Not sure anyone else is still at it

I don’t think the lack of people doing this is down to demand.

I don’t know these people personally but I get the feeling that for many it’s as much a labor of love as a profit making enterprise.

Very nice!! Ive done a few of my own. Just doing touch-ups and clearcoat is very time consuming. Getting it perfect can be nearly impossible. I can't imagine trying to make money at this and pleasing picky customers. My advise to op is buy a Mirco TAF and sell the original or hang it on the wall.

To the very few that have mastered this skill you guys are the $hit!

Have you looked at mirco and cpr remakes? They can look pretty good after blocking and re-clearing. If that wasn't good enough for your standards maybe you could send one to Chris Hutchins, he stated in this thread that he would consider doing some touch-up and clearing.

I have a CPR gold and it looks great,I can not find anything wrong with it. The clear looks great also.

CPR says they still have them in stock.

Playfield restoration is very time consuming and the pay for doing it is horrible . It's no wonder why most people that can do it choose not to .

Yep- that was my point- it’s a labor of love not profit.

If you find a replacement playfield, I'd be interested in your old one.

I know a couple guys who have been pleased with the mirco replacement playfields.

i have a neo playfield, was done very nicely. joe cambino does them also... at least he was doing them last year. saw it on FB in a pin group somewhere. pinball services page i think is the group he has on there

I've asked Neo if he would take in my Haunted House playfields. We'll see what he says if/when I hear from him. I have the feeling he's booked solid, especially since I've asked for a level 3 restoration on all three playfields.