I really struggled getting a straight line cutting the decal on the bevel. Experience helps a lot here. I ended up moving to using a long straight edge and cutting with that. The width of the bevel matters here, and how well the paint matches the decal.

I painted the white edges once I was finished. It keeps those white edges from being too obvious.

I actually think it’s ok if the bevel paint isn’t a 100% perfect match to the decal, as long as you paint the white edges and the line of the decal is straighht. The reason for this is that your eye expects a slightly different shade due to the way light reflects off corners and edges, so it isn’t as noticeable as you might think.

That being said, I prepainted my BoP corners with the closest match I had prior to applying decals. It came out pretty well. The straight edge method worked best for me.

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I know it's easy to get caught in the weeds on the paint match (I've been down this road). I wouldn't stress it. If it's not a perfect match, it will still look good. If you were restoring a playfield and had to blend it, it would be a different story. For the cab, you're essentially paint matching for the bevel, and to some extent the back of the backbox. If it's really close, in my opinion, it's good enough.

Contrast this to the paint match work I've been doing on a Future Spa apron. Total nightmare! I can't match it due to changes in the regulations, they don't make the paints and pigments anymore to get what I'm looking for. I can keep fighting and getting crazy, or I can get as close as I can and do my best. Worst case, I sand the whole thing and paint the whole apron in a new base and re-decal it and clear over that. You can get too caught up in this, trust me.

Just a recommendation, I'd advice not taping them off, but spraying the edges and allowing the spray to feather to the primer. Either that, or tape it off and then sand down that edge.

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That was latex paint, yes. I think very similar to what you purchased. I sprayed it with an HVLP and did my best to feather it. Once it was dry, I took the edges down by sanding, you can't see it there in that photo.

This was all based on @bryan_kelly's advice, and honestly, you won't see a better, smoother decal application. As Bryan_Kelly says, you don't need it to be "glass smooth," so you can go too far, but imperfections definitely carry up through the decal if you're not careful. A hard painted edge would be visible so best to sand it down.

Oh, nevermind, right from the source.

I don't recommend hammering a playfield. The screw installation tool method works great and draws in the t-nut very nicely. MY ONLY CAUTION using a tool like this is that the washer or surface making contact with the playfield be as large as possible (possibly be covered with felt) and that clear coat be fully cured or you'll end up making a nice felt-like stamp in the clear.