When it comes to dimpling I have seen plenty on the CGC remakes.

All of this talk of older playfields looking great is too funny. I own a 1987 Williams f-14 that has almost no clearcoat, the areas the maylar was not on is heavily faded, the inserts are rediculously raised causing serious play issues. Removing the mylar and heating/reseating the inserts was a pain in the butt. I think I'd rather have the thicker clearcoats than the mylar covered playfields with lifting inserts. The Addams family I play at league has a lot of raised inserts as well so not just mine. I've experienced.this a lot on older machines.

You also don't get air balls on JP like you do on Stranger Things. Seems every game I get a glass hit with ST not to mention all of the air balls due to shooting the demo ramp. I don't recall ever seeing an air ball or glass strike with JP.

My f-14 doesn't have any clear at all. The mylar was destroyed and had to be real careful removing it. I have the newer thin protector on now and it plays so much better than the mylar that was on it before. I do see dust under it but using compressed air to clear it has worked well so far. I'm happy with it.

It is providing a really smooth surface. I re-levelled all of the inserts and glued but a few of the arrow heads have broken free anyway and started to raise again. If I was doing a full restore I would have replaced them completely as the colors are faded and some are even broken a bit. Probably from the heat of the lights. Even with the few raised inserts the protector levels that out no problem. There is work to do for sure if I decide to do it.

I can't compare how the new protectors perform against a normally clear coated playfield. I've never had the experience to play two to compare. Compared to a mostly mylar'd playfield tho it's very similar. The other machines I've played with protectors are a capt fantastic and a jungle lord both with the old style. No bueno

If I had only ever played the older, thicker playfield protectors I'd be agreeing with everyone else. It's not a great experience.

The newer protector plays more like a freshly waxed cleared pin to me. You see some crazy spin early on but as it gets used that goes away a bit slower than it would on a cleared pin. Little things can make changes like that.

I just replaced my flipper rubbers with titans on my stranger things and potc and the spin I'm getting is crazy. Taking some getting used to. That type of spin is what I was seeing on my f-14 after putting it on. I've had the protector on for almost a year now and I don't even notice it anymore.

I have a Stern Pirates from 2006 that has a few playfield issues. Really nice machine and plays awesome but the art work is not lined up with the inserts. It's not even close and looks kinda weird. There is also a good bit of planking on it. Hard to see in the current light but at night it's very noticeable. One thing I don't see at all though are dimples even though those standup targets really send the ball flying and hitting the playfield hard. My Stranger Things on the other hand looks like the moon but the inserts are lined up and I don't see any planking

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That's pretty much how my stern potc looks can't see it in well lit situations but when it's dark it's very visible. Can't feel it on the playfield and the machine plays great.

This has been a thing for years. My 2006 pirates has the exact same lines that my Nov 2020 Guardians has. The lines are identical which would seem to indicate sanding or some sort of machine is doing it. Same lines as seen in the lz promo images too.

Accidental double post

I've got 2 2020 built machines from stern. My stranger things has some pooling around posts but nothing too bad. The clearcoat was soft though and with the demogorgon ramp I've got some major craters in the playfield. Looks like the moon.

My NOV 2020 built Guardians doesn't have any pooling at all but the ridges and ribbing are quite noticeable in pretty much any light. I'd rather have the minor pooling of my Stranger things than the ribbing.

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Thanks for that. Yeah it's uniform over the entire playfield. Seems too uniform to be wood grain but it's easier to see in person than through a phone picture.

For ST it's the same. Much more noticeable in person as it covers the playfield. My Munsters and Guardians have minor dimpling so I'm used to that. Nothing I would worry about. My Stranger Things you can hear the ball rolling over the craters and even see the ball be affected when it's moving slowly. I expected the machine to dimple but this is way beyond dimples. Thankfully there are so many inserts in the playfield lol. All of the pooling is out of visual areas luckily. This machine has ~3200 lifetime plays on it.

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