The inserts on my Lightning always had some warp to them but last week a ball actually got hung up behind a raised edge for the first time so okay, now I gotta tackle at least some of them, 20+ more years have made them progressively worse. Sunken in middle and many arrows are also warped upward at both ends.
Idea: I do not want to clearcoat the whole pf, but handle it per insert. Has anyone ever removed one and filled it with clear coat etc. *outside* of the pf trying something like this?
- strapping tape or wax paper or non-drying putty or something around the perimeter of the insert so there is a very very short temporary ‘dam’ of sorts around the top edge
- Eventually fill it so it also coats all the way up to the high spots a bit, not just the center
- then sand it perfectly flat if needed (full coat should prevent ink on it from being damaged) and spray a final layer on the top, clean up the sides and then shave the bottom of the insert a bit so I can level it with the pf?
I'm trying to come up with something that doesn't involve hammering or heating them because they are both sunken and have raised edges. Thanks!

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On the arrows I don't think that would work though, since they are warped up vertically on the ends. It might fill in the center but edges would still be sticking up enough to hang a ball up. And not sure about applying a protector over those edges, seems like would be a bunch of peaks sticking up in the plastic.

I did try the boiling method on one of the big blue arrows awhile back but didn't work that well for whatever reason. Plus it's large so a lot to go wrong while your trying to flatten it. Had trouble with heating with dryer and pressing a few inserts flat on couple other games too, where yeah the center is flattened but the sides start going goofy on me, it's always a little iffy. I wanted to find something more sure-fire where other than sanding the bottom I'm not coercing the inserts with heat but just a one-by-one leveling with clear thick enough to be able to refinish the top without damage to the art, then stick 'em back in. This week I'll try goofing around with some old sunken round inserts I have in a junk pf and see if this idea is a crap-out.