I responded to a post letting someone know that I could flame polish their ramps for them. Since that post I have had about 20 PMs asking if I had a video of the process I use. Unfortunately, I do not have a video of the process. The process that I follow can be found below. If you have not done this before, I would recommend starting out on an old/broken ramp or playfield plastic set to practice. I have had great success following this process, and others that have seen my games with flame polished ramps and playfield plastics were always in awe.
Anyways, this is the process I follow:
CLEANING AND PREP
1. Remove the ramp
2. Clean the ramp thoroughly with dish soap and water
3. Dry off the ramp with a lint free towel
4. Hold the ramp up to a light to make sure it is clean
5. If the ramp is not that bad to begin with (minimal ball lines and very light surface scratches) proceed to Flame Polishing. If the ramp is in rough shape, proceed to step 6.
6. I'm not sure how many people do this step, but if the ramp is very cloudy and has deep ball lines in it, I will lightly clean/scuff the ramp with a scotchbrite pad. This helps to smooth things over a little so less flame polishing is needed.
7. Repeat steps 2-4, then proceed to Flame Polishing
FLAME POLISHING
CAUTION: If the ramp is not perfectly clean before you flame polish it, the dirt will melt into the plastic during flame polishing and it will be there forever!
CAUTION: Never leave the flame in one spot when flame polishing. Always keep the flame moving across the ramp. Leaving the flame in one spot will create bubbles in the plastic or completely destroy the ramp. If you start to see small bubbles appear, stop immediately and allow the ramp to cool.
CAUTION: Excessive heat can warp the ramp and make it difficult to re-install.
NOTE: I always flame polish the top of the ramp first. The underside normally only needs minimal polishing.
NOTE: I use a BernzOmatic Heat Shrinking Torch Head (model #: 1791545) that can be purchased at Lowes or Home Depot for $39.99.
1. While holding the ramp up to a light so you can see all the scratches, position the torch head approximately 6-7 inches from the ramp and begin moving back and forth across the ramp surface. The scratches will quickly disappear before your eyes...like magic.
2. When the top side is done, hold it up to a light and look for any small areas that may need to be flamed again. Allow the ramp to cool for a few minutes then repeat step 1 on those areas.
3. Once the entire top side of the ramp is polished, allow the ramp to cool for about 5 minutes.
4. Repeat step 1 for the underside of the ramp. If your ramp has decals, go around them. After doing the top of the ramp you will learn how quickly the flame polishing process goes, and how much area gets covered by the flame. Keep your distance from the decals and you should be fine.
5. Allow ramp to cool for about 5 minutes
6. Now that both sides of the ramp are flame polished, hold the ramp up to the light and see if any areas need to be lightly flamed again. Flame polish again as needed.
You will know if this process was successful because you will have a hard time removing the smile from your face. I think I stood there and looked at my WH2O for about an hour after I installed the flame polished ramps. I could not stop smiling because they looked that good. The ramps really do look better than new ramps once they are polished. Once I had this technique down pat, I started flame polishing everything. I just finished flame polishing the playfield plastics on my 1978 World Cup. The shine like a clean piece of glass!
I hope this helps. Good luck, and remember, keep the flame moving.
Mike