I bought my AFM a year ago with a relatively new Mirco playfield that hasn't been tweaked, so it's got all the known issues (shooter lane is shallow so occasionally the ball hits the rails, one of the slingshots is not aligned so it's banged a small slot into the wood, the SOL hole is smaller than the original playfield's, etc.). I bought Cliffys for the SOL hole but the smaller hole causes the Cliffys to bend out of shape interfering too much with gameplay. So I bought a Mantis protector but haven't installed it since it won't fit in the too-small hole.

I've been playing the machine a lot (how could I not?) and the SOL hole is starting to show a little bit of wear. I know what it will look like if I don't do something. Ideally I'd send the playfield off for fixing and re-clearing, but don't have the time/money right and also don't want to be without my baby for the time it would take for me to tear her down and put her back together.

So I'd like to enlarge the hole myself, with the playfield still populated (except for the SOL mechs and vicinity). I'm adequate mechanically, but a total klutz with anything having to do with paint or - god help us all - clearcoating. So I'm hesitant about any playfield mods that could damage the playfield or clearcoat, etc. and eventually I WOULD like to send the playfield out to get properly fixed.

So my question is - should I attempt to enlarge the hole myself, with the playfield in place, and if so, how? Just a lot of hand sanding? Any recommended grit? TIA