Just MHO but if the playfield is dimpled, doesn't that mean the clear coat is inherently dimpled? The wood cannot be affected without going thru the clear coat, is what I am stating. So the clear coat has to be part of the issue, if not all of it. Maybe more recent pins have thicker clear coat or I guess, thinner clear coat if the wood is being impacted. I am not sure it is a wood issue entirely.

It's kind of like the arguments about why in MLB, there are so many more home runs than in the past. Could be the balls changed, could be the bats changed, could be the players changed. Could be the speed of balls being pitched has increased. With pins, air balls are definitely a part of the problem, so what causes them? In MMR, the troll popups sometimes happen when a ball is passing overhead and the glass gets smashed, with a long drop to the playfield. Having the Mantis castle protector contributes to airballs on castle strikes. In general though, maybe certain manufacturers have flipper setups that have stronger coils. Who knows?

"I service people's games all the time and I always laugh how few plays they have on them..So the luithers get tired of the same nonsense being posted every week." I guess you could include your number of plays conclusion that the guy is a pinball poser in the same category when everyone knows the number of plays can be easily reset. Maybe he does play the pins all the time and just recently reset the settings.

"I service people's games all the time and I always laugh how few plays they have on them". Well if the guy reads Pinside he's probably laughing back, knowing that he reset the number of plays to fool with you.

I am not an expert but my NBAFB is not dimpled like Stern machines are. I think that stern is using more clear coat and it is dimpling differently, but that's just a guess on my part. Interesting subject, well covered already though in the forums.

Imron 2 component hardcoat- Diamondplate

http://www.flippers.be/pinball_playfields.html

Houdini has acne!

Interesting article. Pat Lawlor first pursued automotive clear as a playfield coat and afterward felt it was a mistake because pins were not as disposable and replaceable by operators because the playfields lasted a long time, hurting sales at Williams (and Gottlieb too), and ultimately contributing to the demise of pinball in the late '90s.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/62638-13-when-williams-start-clearcoat