Interested in the transparency too - I tried clear vinyl which curls upon contact with the resin, so no good. I've thought that acrylic or lexan might work and keep things super flat and intend to try. If those work, I'll try to get circles of appropriate size cut out of them so that I can cure JUST the resin on the insert then easily wipe off the excess.

I'd like to see that if you get it done

My quart of Solarez came yesterday. Note that it requires a small amount of MEKP as a catalyst. A respirator is recommended when using MEKP:

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npg/npgd0416.html

It's also very explosive:

#t=19

I'll report back with results shortly!

Ummm.... why?!

Oh yea....cool!

Crap, Home Depot has moved to "MEK substitute". Looks like I need to find a specialty store.

I didn't use it - it hardened fine.

FYI - I bought the Solerez and found it a little thick and sought out the advice of the maker. Here is what he said:

"This resin is already pretty thin. If you heat it up in the microwave (8oz 1/2 pint for about 10 seconds each time until it gets to about 120°F, like very hot bath water)

If this is thin enough, we have a vinyl ester resin that starts off at this viscosity. It is clear too. But heat is an easy way to "dial-in" your required viscosity without diluting"

I haven't tried it yet - just sharing.

We have used the Solarez on about 20 inserts with no MEK.
All of them are still going strong.

Has anyone tried the optically clear UV resin they use when replacing cell phone screens?

APS-340 UV - LOCA (liquid optically clear adhesive)

Thanks for the heat tip. I used UV for 5 minutes and it hardened okay, but it has a slight blue cast and is a little "rubbery". But I assume this flexibility is good. I'll try it tonight on my Buccaneer's ball-trap inserts.

The solarez we used didn't require the MEK. You must of purchased one of their many other versions. Also it hardened completely. The little mylar film on the top gives it the glassy shine when it is removed.

Can someone send a link to the actual product they used successfully? I did a search and see a million different things.

Just look half way down on the previous page. There is a huge picture of the bottle of solarez we used and plenty of how to pictures. I bought it on amazon. Just make sure you buy the one that is what I have pictured and not the one that needs the MEK the other guy got.

I bought the exact same thing you did. I'm not sure why I got different results, but I'll play with it some more this weekend. I'd like to finish up my Buccaneer.

Nope, exact same thing. This is the lamp I used:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FSP04A8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00

Well that does look like the same product in a different conatiner. It clearly says "or" with a MEKP catalyst. You don't want to use it that way. Just use the UV light method. If you are using the light that seems to come with the kit you provided a link to maybe it is the wrong spectrum if you aren't getting good cures on the product. If it is off even by a little the product won't work. The little fingernail cure lamp we use works like a champ.

So can you use Solarez to clear coat a cheap playfield?

I have a High Speed playfield I've been trying to decide what to do with. It's in decent shape, just needs insert decals and some small touchups. Curious to see how it reacts to decals and types of paint. That finish is amazing.

I wonder how hard wearing that product is compared to 2PAC. What is the normal application for the stuff?

Same issue here with the exact same pen (UV curing one) and lamp. Not sure why but it seems the resin wouldn't cure even after several doses of light...

I had no issue with the pens, other than it made some trouble for my clearcoat guy when he did my playfield, but repair looked much better than the ghosting, and I would say I left the UV flourescent blacklight 12v tube I had on it for 15-20 minutes.

Then maybe that's the problem. As the Carpet manicure lamp shuts off after 45 sec., I applied a dozen doses which is about 9 min of exposure. Maybe that wasn't enough...?

I dunno. I never got around to buying a "nail drier"... my UV tube is powered off a 12v wall wart, so I just plugged it into the service outlet, put it on the playfield, and walked off for a while. I gave up trying to babysit it after the first few times it didn't cure. Even when it DOES cure, you will still have some leftover liquid residue to clean up...at least I did.

How about just putting it outside in the sunshine for a few seconds?

Mega UV there.

So just curious - does the simonize UV stuff work well or not?

Found on Ebay for a buck shipped:

ebay.com link: like

The little LED fingernail dryer cures it in two or three presses of the button. Something might not be right with your product or your light if it isn't curing. I had a pen that didn't cure before as well. The solorez cures fast!

I don't think you could get it perfectly smooth like you would with a spray application of clear coat. I don't think I'd try it.

A Bump of this thread to see if anyone has tested this process and verified that it works well?

Tried it a few months ago with the exact stuff recommended in the original post and got mitigated results. The main issue I ran into was to get the simonize to harden. Even with several UV shots... Maybe I put too much...

Anyway, I'm now planning to fix it using vid1900 method, that is to use a clear to glue back the original clear coat on the insert...

I didn't have any luck either. Same stuff as the original.

Hey all, trying to get my Flip Flop more playable and am going to use the solarez technique to level the many cupped inserts. I was also planning on touching up black circles etc as there is a fair amount of paint gone. Any advice as to whether to do this before or after leveling the inserts?

I would fix the cupping first and then do the keylines. You will need to put something over the circles afterwards or they will wear fast.

Bumping for the new crowd.

Did anybody ever find an economical UV cured resin that is thin enough to put into the cupped inserts? I know there are the pen kits, but that is not very much material, and not an optimal dispensing solution (unless you are trying to fix automotive scratches).

Not sure if anyone is still monitoring this thread, but... Can anyone confirm a product & affordable UV light combo that's still available? I have a couple of inserts that have some minor lifting of the clear along one edge, creating a "flap" of paint that will probably break off if I don't do something about it.

Scanning through the thread, it sounds like the formula of the original Simoniz product changed, such that it's no longer UV curable. Though something that *looks* like the original product (and has the "UV activated" logo), is available from a number of sources (amazon, ebay, walmart): ebay.com link: sch

Solarez seems to have just over one billion products available. I like the idea of the fly fishing flavor, but I didn't see a follow-up report from anyone who'd successfully used it: https://www.amazon.com/Solarez-Ultra-UV-Cure-Fly-TIE-Resin/dp/B077MWZW8X/

It seems like most of their other flavors aren't "ultra thin"? I'd definitely need something water-thin, as even lifting the edge of the paint flap enough to get the stuff in there will be tricky. Speaking of which - has anyone used these (or other) options with a syringe, and if so do you have a link for one with an appropriate gauge needle? Or does the pen-based stuff just wick in there?

As for cure lights, the original item is now $55. Amazon has literally dozens of options, and I can't tell if they are somehow different. This one claims to be 36W (compared to the original item's 6W), but it runs off USB power, so that's clearly wrong: https://www.amazon.com/Dryer-Polish-Timer-Connector-Tools/dp/B07GB42Q73 Other's claim "light that's closer to white, to protect your eyes", which also seems anti-science. Failing any way to tell them apart, I'd probably just pick a cheap one at random: https://www.amazon.com/DIOZO-Portable-Manicure-Curing-Anti-UV/dp/B07K1QNK9W

DSC_0039 (resized).jpg

Pulling my comment from another thread (edited):

I used Solarez UV resin: https://www.amazon.com/SOLAREZ-Fly-Tie-Cure-Resin/dp/B07MLTL3FM/ref=sr_1_14

Pour it into the insert (and under the decal in your case), then place a stiff piece of mylar (anything flat and transparent) over it to flatten it out even with the playfield, then harden with a UV flashlight: https://www.amazon.com/LETION-Flashlight-Highlight-Waterproof-Detection/dp/B07X1H5TJQ/ref=sr_1_6

Curing the UV takes a couple minutes: shine the light on the resin for 5 seconds, leave off for 30 seconds, then another 5 seconds, leave off for 30, then leave on for another 30 (follow the directions on the bottle--my times might be off, but that's the gist).

Pull the mylar up and you've got a flat, hard, clear insert. It won't all be cloudy like your existing insert decal though (but it will be functional)

This is not a perfect solution (stripping everything and clearcoating is more professional for sure); but I'm much happier with the inserts where I used the resin than the inserts where I used the stickers I purchased.

After about 8 months of use, the resin still holds, though there's some chipping around the edges.

What kind of blacklight is it? A lot of the old style incandescent UV lamps were just blackened to limit the visible light and the UV would still be there but they only have enough UV make a shirt glow but not enough to cure anything. Any good UV lamp is something to avoid looking at directly.

Yeah, I’ve been able to do that. Eventually the “glued” piece might pop back off though.

Also—make sure your playfield is level when you’re doing this. Extending the playfield out and resting on its “arms” will get it close but you might need to adjust.

The UV resin probably wouldn't work in that case. Some have used superglue (dangerous because it gets hard to fix a screw up). Mylar might be your best bet.

Couldn’t this be injected into ghosting inserts to fill the void? I know people have injected superglue which since there’s theoretically no air I can’t imagine turns out well.

The factory never applied decals on the inserts. The artwork on the insert was silkscreened along with everything else. Whatever they used to clearcoat it doesn't always stick to plastic verry well and it pulls the ink with it, which also does not adhere verry well. The only thing that I have witnessed and works is to inject clearcoat under it with a syring.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/vids-guide-to-ultimate-playfield-restoration/page/2#post-551865

for solarez, this UV light works (it has 365nm wavelength):

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07G31SQZ7

7mil+ mylar is handy:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07WMS6F4P

make sure you get a "finish" resin:
https://www.solarez.com/product/dual-cure-polyester-gloss-clear-finish-resin/

a laminating resin will have a tacky surface when cured because it's designed to have more layered on top. If you got the laminating by mistake, the use of mylar on top may give you the hard surface you want anyway.

solarez removal will lift damaged ink (like peeling up mylar will), but solarez comes off good ink without damage, especially if there's still wax on it when the solarez went down.

this makes fixing screw-ups possible.

So far, screened artwork from inserts has survived experiments peeling up cured solarez. I need to try cleaning the inserts and playfield very well with acetone first and seeing what happens when removing the cured solarez.

I'm trying this method on my Stern Lightning where all the inserts were sunken in (wasn't like that when I bought it but time has taken its toll.) I'm removing each insert because with the warpage some are too high or low now anyway and I wanted to re-set them in. I am using windshield repair resin.

Works well. If I get a big bubble that I can't get out I wipe if off and start over. One cured with a smaller bubble I didn't notice, so I put one more half drop on the bubble making sure it was filled and put another mylar on, fixed it. The weird thing about this stuff not curing unless it is covered - the ring of resin that seeps out around the edge of the insert cures hard but it's *not* covered, the underside is exposed to air. (?)

it depends on the kind of resin. All with cure hard-ish, but some will cure with a tacky surface designed to have more resin layered on top. If you want a slick/sandable top layer, you either need a different resin for the top layer or a kind that when deprived of air will cure to a dry surface.

some resins will also cure cloudy unless the top has no air.

the mylar is also helpful to prevent the resin from doming if it has a higher surface tension.

so far the SOLAREZ UV Cure Polyester Gloss Resin has held up with no problems on the Pacific Pinball Museum games it's been used on.

This windshield repair stuff cures very hard, not tacky, and crystal clear with the mylar method. So far I did the large number of round inserts down by the flippers and slings, finally no more of the wacky unpredictable ball movement down there I've been suffering through for years. I also tried dulling it up with a pad, polished up nicely with Novus but the stuff is hard so takes some rubbing.