We're going to be talking about this issue tonight on "Bro, Do You Even Talk Pinball?" podcast, 8pm EDT, twitch.tv/buffalopinball

This has been a long time coming. I was set to talk about it in February when I had an issue with my Deadpool, but waited to see what Stern would do, and also so that they wouldn't retaliate against me for discussing it on our platform. I have 10 years of NIB issues to detail. Seeing this problem continue is incredibly frustrating and my goal is to elevate it to help protect new buyers and maybe, just maybe get them to actually solve the issue, rather than continuing as business as usual.

Expect a healthy dose of cursing.

Absolutely, JJP will be mentioned. My focus will be mainly on Stern as my direct experience/issues has been with them over a 10 year period and 6 NIB games. I've purchased 2 JJP games and have not had any cracking issues, but I will acknowledge that people have posted on the forums documenting issues.

For the record, I wouldn't personally buy a GnR now with the issues I'm seeing. I'm happy to be honest and say that. That's just me personally though, and I'm not in the market for a GnR. I was considering an Avengers, but waiting until the issue clears up.

I'm a customer of both companies and won't personally purchase a machine from either company until they fix the issue for good. I'm happy to state that on the podcast.

I like both companies. I want to purchase more games. My goal is to advocate for the consumer. Sponsorship or no sponsorship.

I'm also happy to have a rep from either company come on a future podcast to discuss the issues and how they intend to address them.

Yea, I'm sure you're right. It would be a good PR move, I think, but you're probably right.

100% agree.

I'm sure they are experiencing negative consequences, due to some people no longer buying NIB due to this issue as well as the cost of sending out a new playfield. I think part of the issue is that they have no way of tracking the impact of lost customers. Add to the fact that sales overall are probably increasing, because more people getting into the hobby, and this gives them a lack of significant reason to truly fix the issue.

But I think it's safe to say it only benefits them to fix the issue. That it's worth whatever it takes to make a product that doesn't chip.

I'm with you. They are passing on the problem to the consumer, which isn't right.

It seems washers would have solved many of the issues. I'm not sure all of them, but at least some, especially my Deadpool damage.

Our podcast reaches over 3,000 listeners/viewers. It will also go up on YouTube. That's more than a pinball show will reach.

One thing I want to be clear about, is that I'm not "anti-Stern". I've purchased 6 Sterns for my personal collection and probably 10+ for my business. I get what you're saying though. JJP is a sponsor and we don't hide that fact.

There was a quote I jotted down from the Netflix documentary, "The Social Dilemma": "It's the critics that are the true optimists". I know Stern and JJP can do better on this issue. I want them to do better, because they both have talented teams that are crushing it in terms of making amazing games. And I want to own as many of these games as I can.

I obviously know Kev very well and he was saying exactly what he believes.

I'll ask Kev if he wants to weigh in, but let me play out his argument a bit. I think Kev was saying, "Out of site, out of mind". In other words, if he can't notice any damage, it's no issue to him. He did say that extensive chipping damage, like on early WOZ, that that would bother him and be unacceptable.

I'm more, "Out of site, still in mind, still unacceptable". But let me play that out more. My damage on Deadpool sucks, but isn't THAT noticeable, at least NOW. I see pooling and minor chipping/cracking as potential for much more damage down the road. That once it starts, there's a good chance that it will get worse, possibly to the point that Kev mentions on WOZ. So to me, Kev should be bothered by this, because it has the potential to be really bad.

Maybe I can get him to jump in and discuss this further...

Curious how Led Zep games are so far. Any issues?

This guy gets it.

A bandaid, not a solution. Hope some of you find this helpful. Big shout-out and thanks to Yellobird as this is his idea.

Listen, if you ever more to Buffalo, we can be best friends.

I'm guessing I know the answer to this already, but I'll ask anyways: If you were to get a GnR, leave it in a box and not play it for a year, would that eliminate/decrease the chance of pooling/chipping? In other words, would it allow more time to cure and that would help?

My DI playfield is absolutely beautiful. Is that Mirco? What the hell happened between that game and the ones that followed?

This is on a sling post of my NIB Rush I got less than 2 weeks ago. It has roughly 100 plays, but I believe it was like this when I got it.

It doesn't seem to be pooling. And it's hidden. I'm just wondering: will it progressively get worse and spread?

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That was my assessment as well. Has yours gotten any worse over time?

Totally. I documented it in case it gets worse over time.

This is out of the box, before the ball even hit that post.

Stern has no doubt mainly solved the issues they faced in years past of pooling and chipping by taking the paint away from the posts. My issue looks like someone over tightened the post, causing the chipping. This seems to be the exception these days, rather than the rule, demonstrating that a company can still produce playfields on mass scale that don't lead to chipping and pooling through play.

It seems I simply have bad luck in my case. But that's doesn't make it OK, either.