(Topic ID: 198472)

Easiest method for art blades install?

By PinMagnet

6 years ago


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  • 13 posts
  • 12 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 7 months ago by Doozer
  • Topic is favorited by 10 Pinsiders

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#1 6 years ago

Some say the wet soapy water method is best, others say too dangerous with electronics. Some say take the play field out, others say no. What is the best method for applying art blades (specifically the Stern vinyl yeti art blades to a Ghostbusters prem)? I watched that video on YouTube from John's arcade and he had mega trouble doing it. Thanks.

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#2 6 years ago

Here is what I did what I install the blade decals from hassanchop for my Creech with the playfield in the game.

So I start by lining up and applying the back first with the playfield in this position.

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While working on the back, the front end of the decal is held in place with some clamps.

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Once the back has been applied then I lift the playfield in the upright position and remove the clamps. You can see where I cut the peal off backing here.

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For the second half of the backing since it is longer you can cut it in half and apply in two parts. This will make applying easier to line up and smooth out any wrinkles or bubbles.

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Since this is a Stern the playfield comes out of the cab pretty easy and I would recommend doing that if you are comfortable doing that. Not sure if there is enough slack to just pull the playfield out and rest it against the side of your cabinet.

#3 6 years ago

Doesn't the clamps get in the way or damage the playfield while you are applying the back of the decal in the first pic you listed.

#4 6 years ago

You can use painters tape much the same way that clamps were used-

But really the soapy water is the best way to go. Lay the decal down face down on the carpet, remove the backing and spray it lightly with the soapy stuff, then use your hand to spread it around the entire decal so you have the layer of soap film on the whole thing. Installing it is super easy, no need to remove the playfield. You install it vertically, moving it as needed to get good alignment. then once it is in the right spot just use a towel or roller to adhere it fully.

I've done it once with help, once by myself

#5 6 years ago

For GB, since there is only 3 connectors I believe, I just pulled the playfield out. It was super easy. We still used painters tape though.

Lined it up, taped the first half to the cab, peeled the back half off (and cut the backing) and placed it. Then just took the tape off the front, peeled off the backing, and placed that.

Easy peasy.

#6 6 years ago

I use the painters tape method.

I precut the backing paper in the middle which makes removing 1/2 of it easy. Using several pieces of painters tape, line it up perfectly. Raise the PF and rest it against the back box. Peel the backing off the front 1/2 of the blade and stick down. Lower the PF, slide forward and remove the backing off the back 1/2 and stick down.

I never tried the wet method on blades but that sounds easy too.

2 months later
#7 6 years ago

I just put art blades on my Spiderman VE today. I too saw John's Arcade video and was spooked about the difficulty. What I did first was to slide them in place to check where the front of the decal needed to be and marked it with clear tape on the top of the rail. I then stood the playfield up as close to vertical as possible and measured the distance from the front edge to the playfield and with a x-acto knife I carefully separated the blade from the backing at this point and using scissors cut the backing. Then, starting from the front I applied the decal while peeling the backing off. I then pulled the playfield forward and applied the rest of the decal. Worked like a charm and looks great. I would suggest a helper to hold lights, tools and to steady the playfield. I was never a fan of using soapy water on these sorts of decals, and I certainly was in no mood to remove the playfield, I don't think that is necessary at all.

#8 6 years ago

Honestly if it's a newer game like GB just take the playfield out and apply. It's only a few connectors you need to unplug and it just makes the job so much easier. Just use some painters tape to align, start on one end and slowly peel away the back as you stick it to the side. I also recommend using a felt decal squeegee to help push out the bubbles as you're laying it down.

4 years later
#9 1 year ago

Bumping up an this old thread as it comes up in Google Search - here's a walkthrough video of how I do it, similar to some of the folks above - no playfield removal, easily done by one person! Hope it helps.

#10 1 year ago
Quoted from andre060:

Bumping up an this old thread as it comes up in Google Search - here's a walkthrough video of how I do it, similar to some of the folks above - no playfield removal, easily done by one person! Hope it helps.

Great video ! I prefer the wet method myself, have installed many with no problems

#11 1 year ago

I use a variation. No blue tape, I simply remove about 10 inches of the blade backing, about a third of the way from the back, and where the playfield rest in up position, and then I hand position the blade, touching the exposed area to the side wall only when perfectly aligned. Then I remove the remainder of the backing and press it down center to front and center to back much like in the video.

2 months later
#12 1 year ago

Thing I did to install art blades for FH 2.0 w/o help or removing pf. If you’re nervous about doing art blades, I say this is an easy and fast method due to that it uses Rapid Tac which makes the process forgiving (soapy water is probably similar though I’ve never tried it)

Use a rope to position pf like so

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Lay decal face down on a surface and peel backing.

Spray cabinet where decal is going, and the decal sticky side, liberally with rapid Tac.

Lift and hold decal on opposite ends, slide it down between pf and cabinet into place (one arm on each side of the pf). While wet you move it, lift it, smooth it, etc

Use a cloth to squeegee out the decal, wipe up excess fluid

As rapid Tac dries, keep pressing on any parts of decal coming up. It will dry within minutes, restoring full adhesion of decal and it will stick down.

Before it dries move pf up/down to access and smooth out area that was covered by pf.

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6 months later
#13 7 months ago

Bumping an old thread. I just did my first art blade install by myself, by taking out the playfield first. I was done faster than it would have taken to finish watching the video about how to try the other method while leaving the playfield in. On the new sterns the playfield comes out with just two clips and the data cable. The playfield comes right out, and then you have all the space you need to line it up, and stick them on. Playfield went right back in. Done in 15 minutes.

I only watched this deadflip video first:

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