The playfield... aye'carumba
So it does look like this playfield may have, at one stage, closely orbited the sun. Crusty, dry, yellow. Clearcoat seems to be all gone. All the donut and icecream inserts lifting. At some point half the Mylar has been pulled off Bart and some red spray paint used. Good as new, play on kids! All the other areas with the typical wear, Moe and his apron, cracked ramp etc.
Initially thought I could freeze off the Mylar, clear and have it look semi respectable but as I was stripping down the PF and the paint was flaking off, it became apparent this would either need a new PF or be an overlay job.
So it turns out overlays for the Simpsons do exist. France of all places. There may be others out there but I didn't find them. It arrived the other day and have to say the quality looks spot on.
I spent some time and alot of freeze cans to remove some of the Mylar but in the end it was removed in the same manner a tablecloth can be removed from beneth a fully set dining table. Ta da!
The lifting inserts removed with care but they still had cracks so new ones needed.
The whole playfield was sanded down with 80 grit then 240. Small imperfections filled with Tamya putty. A dremel was used to clean out all of the old glue residue for the inserts, that took some time, very sticky stuff. New inserts sanded flat in preparation and treated the edges with Loctite SF 770 for the best possible bond with the epoxy when installed. Some hardwood, baking paper and long throat G clamp used for the install. They set fairly flush but given another 80/240 sand to be completly smooth and flush once set.
Overall the playfield timber is in good condition. All the other inserts fine. That's where she is at for now! Will need a good coat of clear some time to harden up and a good sanding job before the decal can go down so may be a few months before there's any more progress...
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