Hardtop is an excellent product. Anyone else that says different is a pinball snob.

I just did a hardtop on a bally flash gordon. Looks amazing and plays great. No complaints.

I had a hardtop FG as well and it played fast and wicked. lot of them are frankenstein jobs if you don;t know how to line them up correctly; and some just look like crap.
I got a CPR for the same game and swapped and it def looks much much better. A Does it "play better?" Maybe a little...but the weird hardtop spins didn't really bother me.
Are either of them really better than a waxed OG PF...? Probably faster sure but unless there's majorly cupped inserts and shit like that a lot of it is just for looks TBH.

Each one plays diff'rent. I haven't thought they are worse off now though

I've played a few games that have been hardtopped. I didn't see any issues with them in terms of gameplay. They sure played much better than a lumpy, warped playfield with cupped inserts.

There are some vintage titles that actually originally had a "hardtop", such as Interflip Dragon.

I'm not against hardtops per se but after successfully leveling the badly sunken inserts on one of my games with UV resin + mylar, personally I wouldn't do a hardtop where you fill and sand the inserts down again first *if* that was the only major issue with the playfield. After UV curing you peel the mylar off, nice and level again, came out wonderfully.

I’m not a fan of hardtops they look and play different and I just don’t get wanting to do a hardtop over a remake the extra work involved for an inferior result does not justify to few bucks you may save up front but will lose on the backend as they do seem to sell for less…

I would a try to keep an original playfield as is or restored.
New replacement field as a second option.

Not a fan of hardtops unless there is no other option.

Regardless of what others have said, they do play slightly different. Some more so, some less.

Every time I consider buying one to give a through test, someone posts a problem with one. Art delamination. Poor playfield adhesion. Bad CNC routing.

I appreciate the product is available, but the quality is still uneven.

There are personal preferences that make this impossible to answer. Does a players quality game play different from a NOS play field or a CPR play field or a Hardtop? Of course! I have two machines, one with a Hardtop and one with an original play field in great condition. I love them both, no regrets.
As far as issues, you will find what you're looking for if you look hard enough. I've seen enough grievances with every product you could stack against each other.
The only answer is get out there and try the machines yourself

Have used playfield protectors on a few which have been great, only thing I have noticed is on some games the ball can bounce back off posts into the air. Does this happen with hardtops?
Fish Tales and Taxi have the bounce back air balls. After buying a FT playfield from CPR recently I will try and save the originals where possible.
Did this with Taxi recently using a playfield decal kit and protector. Looks great now but has some annoying post airball bounce backs.

I'm a playfield swap guy, myself. Yes it is more work, but to me, it is the "correct" way to do it. With that said, hardtops are impressive tech.

Do playfield protectors have cutouts for the posts, or some of the posts? In that case the ball would hit the post rings at a slightly higher point... you could just raise the problem posts up to the right level with the correct size and thickness clear discs (?) Looking at hardtops it appears the posts would be at the same level as a regular playfield.

Back in the 80s, I remember mylar was the big bugaboo. "Ya gotta take it off, makes it play different." I only had one game with full mylar, a Xenon, I left the mylar on as didn't want to risk removing it. How it played never bothered me though. Yeah if I'd had another Xenon without mylar next to it maybe I'd notice some little differences. Hardtops are harder material than mylar so I would think it would at least be closer to a real playfield surface vs. mylar as far as the ball doing any weird stuff where you could notice it but I don't know.

Mylar, for me, sucks because it gets dull, gathers dirt along the edges, and bubbles up. That's my main issue.

I'm a playfield swap guy too.

Picked up an EK hardtop at expo a few years ago and ended up selling it for a loss to get a CPR repro. They just seem to have a plastic, glossy look to them and to me they do play differently. And if I tried one and didn't line it up properly it would drive me crazy.

Not only that, but it's nice having the underside of the pf all clean too - if you hardtop you COULD pull everything off the bottom and sand it, but by that time you might as well just replace the pf.

Keep in mind that hardtops don’t seem to have the problems of bad colors, missing artwork, or missing woodworking that the products of a certain reproduction playfield manufacturer have been sending out lately.

My collection consists of games with original playfields, original playfields that have been restored/cleared and swapped back in, hardtops, and new playfields that have been swapped.

There’s a time and place for each situation. I guess a purist restorer would want an original playfield.

For me, I prefer a full swap with a new/restored playfield, but I really like the hardtop for games that, for me, don’t financially or nostalgically justify the cost of a new playfield.

There’s really no wrong answer here.

I agree, but it does save the playfield though. I wish my roached Transporter and Millionaire had more on it when it was made.

More on point, I have a Space Shuttle with a hard top. It was installed well by the prior owner and plays great. You would have to look close to realize it is a hardtop. I also have CPRs on my Bad Cats and Cyclone. They both look great and play faster (better) than when they were original. I guess one thing to say about hard tops is that they will never dent like wood does. Took Cyclone to Expo last year and wow it needs quite a few more plays to flatten out (you can only tell from a side angle with bright light). Regardless both products work well and wouldn't hesitate to use either.

All of the options you mention are good ones depending on the machine/condition. Not all games need to be museum pieces. The only time I would default to replacement/hardtop would be screwed up inserts that affect game play.

Could you further explain this process and the products that you used?

Ive done a hardtop in the wizard and black knight, they looks great and DO play slightly "floaty"

All in all they are fine.

Ive done 8 hardtops and like them alot. The key is the proper prep of the surface and lining up things. I spend a great deal of time on the surface as I dont want adhesion issues.The Time Warp and Blackknight played great when done. I played BK constantly before it left.
You don't have to worry about clearcoat issues etc. Reasonably priced etc.
I will continue to use the product and hope they continue to make more titles.

If I had my choice between a players game and one with a hardtop same price, I’d prefer the players game.

I have all EMs. I’ve never done a swap or used a hardtop, but I’ve restored four playfields with success and really like the results.

I use alcohol and Magic Eraser to remove the yellowed old clearcoat and ball swirls (I skipped this step on the one woodrail I restored for fear of losing the artwork), touch up with craft paint, and use brush-on polycryllic with a sponge brush. I now put on put on 15-20 coats (yes, it takes a while), putting extra on sunken/cupped inserts, sand it down a bunch of times with increasingly-finer grits, and finally polish with Novus 2. The result is a matte finish (I assume it could be glossy if I wet-sanded, which I don’t) and a leveled-out good-looking playfield. At least for me, the result is worth all the effort.

In order of preference:

1. Clear coated NOS playfield swap.
2. HUO excellent condition unmolested pinball playfield.
3. CPR playfield swap
4. Nicely touched up original and cleared playfield
5. Hardtop playfield
6. Expertly installed overlay with automotive clear over top.
7. Original playfield with redone inserts and touchups (no clear).
8. Original playfield with redone inserts and touchups with playfield protector
9. Original playfield with heavy wear, but smooth and flat inserts.
10. Original playfield with heavy wear, and uneven inserts that can catch the ball.
11. Expertly installed overlay with no clear.
12. Ammature installed overlay with no clear.
13. Playfield sanded down for the the "whitewood look" and left alone

Sataneatscheese,
This is an very educational pinside thread on a certain reproduction playfield and will probably change how you rank things.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/meteor-playfield-reproductions-coming

You are correct...prep is key.

Having installed multiple hardtops, what have you found to be the best way to prep the playfield for the best adhesion? Do you sand all the way to wood? Do you leave it bare (applying clear to just exposed wood), or do you apply clear to the entire playfield? If applying clear, do you buff it or just use fine grit sandpaper? How do you handle inserts? Do you sand them with fine grit sandpaper and leave them bare, or do you apply clear and buff them?

Thank you for your time.