This is the sort of stuff I'm talking about...

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I'm being quite pedantic, but because I actually enjoy double waxing my pins (I'm weird like that), little details like this are a bit of an annoyance to me. The reflectivity is probably the worst aspect, although you don't notice it during play.

It's actually really easy, took me like 5 minutes on a game I had.

I don't know about slower, usually after an first wax (after 50-100 plays) it plays a little to wild. It's harder to do drop/live catches on, but I like the challenge so I'm fine with it. Before the wax and intial break-in period it doesn't play that well. Did before and after video of the last game I did. That was the main thing I observed along with the ball having a bit more spin. Almost the same thing as if a regular playfield was super waxed.

Are you buying the ones from Germany? So far on Jurassic park, guardians and dredd it’s been fantastic for me. For example I was worried how it would line up with the hole where the trex eats the ball and it lined up perfectly. Sucks you guys are having issues though. I rotate my games from home use to my route so they get lots of plays. I most likely won’t route a game again without one, at least the games I plan on keeping forever.

A waxed playfield protector?

Aren't you worried about getting wax underneath?

If you have an older game nothing...if you have a newer game,one word...DIMPLES... ............Joey

nope, I took one off a star trek after 7k plays due to the magnet thing I wrote about in a previous post. The playfield still looked brand new. There might be a little dust/debris/wax that gets under it, but it's not going to kill anything and wipes off. All that talk about particles grinding in the field under a protector is stupid.
The playfield protector did it's job in the end.

There's one on a dialed in at a local arcade. Ball regularly gets stuck in the left end of the slit where Bob the builder moves back and forth. Have to wait for ball search for bob to move and knock the ball free. Usually the mode timer will run out if I'm in a mode. Pretty annoying. Also makes the phone scoop tighter.
I'm pretty sure it's the German brand and it came pre installed from the German distributor.

Would not recommend waxing, but they definitely need to have the adhesive cleaned off of the top of them before being played. If you ever have a new one do the "finger drag" test before and after using some novus 1 on a small area. It goes from slightly tacky to slicker than eel snot and will play like a freshly waxed playfield.

There are some tweaks you need to do in order to get it to play right and so there are no ball hangup's (like adding plastic or building up to certain areas). I haven't done one to a dialed in, so I wouldn't know about that issue specifically. it all really depends on if the person installing takes the time or not.

yup I agree that just cleaning it with novus after you take the protective coating off will make a difference and is probably good enough. I still like using a small amount of wax though, but only after enough small scratches have formed on the plastic. it's all about personnel preference I guess.

Yeah, I buy them from playfield-protectors.com. Most of the time they are pretty good, but I've had a few situations where they need adjustments. I've shaved off parts on Pinbot, Oktoberfest, Black Knight Sword of Rage (LE), and Twilight Zone. The most major of the adjustments came in the form of Black Knight SOR's flail ramp. I found that with the fully waxed plastic on there, that shot became very difficult. I ended up just cutting it off, and it played perfectly again.

I've had the same exact experience. People tell me how the protectors cause too much spin, or slow the game down. After they are waxed and worked in, I can't see any difference other than my playfield stays wear free. It is interesting to hear you say that about drop/live catches. I'm going to have to test that and see if I notice it as well.

I have a downside. I just put one on a LOTR and sheesh it took a long time.

Really, a good chunk of it was installing / adjusting the full cliffy set. Peace of mind about being able to play the crap out of this thing without any damage is well worth it. I may have brain problems though.

When installing the playfield protector , are the pop skirts the same size as the holes in the protector?

The protector holes are slightly smaller, but you can push the protector over them. The only thing you need to remove on pops are the caps.

Thanks!

I install them on all my new games I like the play and the way they feel. I have a video on twitch if you would like to see one installed on a black knight pro from start to finish. Ok me for link. Don’t want to spam thread.

Hi! Do you wax the playfield protectors also, or just clean them? Thanks!

It’s a similar material to newer car headlights. You can play for a very long time but it will eventually dull a bit. You could polish it up easily when this happens. I have over 1000 games on my Metallica and it’s still fine no issues.

I wax them the same way I would a playfield. It makes them really slick.

I took a Captain Fantastic in on trade that was restored with a playfield protector on it. Looked great and the game played very well. Sold the machine the following week to someone who purchased it for their 1st machine. After three week one of the pop bumpers locked on and fried the pop coil. He changed the coil and it happen again. Being he is 200 miles away I tried to guide him thru checking the pop switch and the relay for that pop bumper. He was intimidated with trying so I had someone do a service call. Turns out the plastic playfield protector somehow caught the pop skirt in the down position causing the pop to stay locked on. I never installed one so I not sure why it happened. Other wise I like the look of it and the machine played very well.

I have had this happen on my Firepower. I was lucky because I was running one of those fuse boards that protects the coils and boards, but it still blew the fuses.

I was able to stop this by taking some fine grit sand paper and rubbing it on the edge of the pop bumper skirt. I can’t tell why it only happens on my Firepower and not any single other game I’ve put the protector on.

Also, for further context, that Firepower has brand new pop bumpers and skirts. All I could figure is that the angle, and the “roughness” of the two plastics can catch randomly.

You can also trim the protector with a sharp hobby knife. It might be worth shaving a tiny bit on the protector you are talking about. I would have to see it, but in general I modify them to fit.

Hope that helps.

I have one on my Bally Star Trek and it doesn‘t work well around the Star rollovers.

Nevertheless, my experience has been so positive I would install them on any EE with no or just one star rollover

I have a playfield protector on my GBLE before first play. Took me some time to install it. Had to adjust only the left outhole. It has been on there for 3 years now. Looks perfect. Got some scratches but with a bit polishing once in a while it holds up pretty good. Now the real downside....this did not prevent dimpling! Especially in front of the magna slings. Massive dimples, although less noticable due to the protector. But looking into bright light you will see it. I do not have much dust underneat it. Once a while I clean what I see. I have no stains, moist or whatever. I do not notice the difference in play.

Just got done putting one in my Getaway. I think the game plays great. SUPER fast now. I had several raised inserts and now the game plays flat and nice. I don't understand how people don't like them. I got one for my HH as well, I'll hopefully get that installed this weekend

Always hated these protectors. Gameplay becomes slower and the ball makes some weird trajectories some times.

I’ve now filmed both a natural playfield and the protector in slow mother…I believe this is completely untrue and the result of a “placebo effect”. People tell me this stuff all of the time and I really cannot reproduce anything that doesn’t happen on a clear coated playfield. The only difference I can see is that the protector never wears down, whereas the clear coat does. After 10k plays, the “bite” is different on the clear than the protector because of all of the dimples.

I believe that if you say so when it comes to the speed of the ball.

But with the pf protector, the ball sometimes makes an effect that never happens on a clear coat pf: It makes some harsh slowdowns on some moves. For example, the ball comes at high speed and out of nowhere it slows down way faster than it should to the point that almost stops.
I have never seen this effect on a non protector pf and see it many times on the T2 I play.

But if overall the ball has the same speed as you say, then this tiny "incident" is irrelevant in my opinion, which makes the pf a great buy. Any way we can see those videos?
I would love to change my mind about this. All the spanish machines made in the 90s had some kind of pf protector on top, and all of them have a perfect pf today lol

It acts just like a freshly waxed playfield. Same spin effects.

If you don't know what I'm talking about wax your machines more often.

Sounds like something is wrong with the installation of the protector. It may not be totally flat.

I’m not sure I have them anymore. Maybe I can make some new ones. I haven’t done a perfect scientific experiment, so I am certain there are holes in my assessment.

I was simply trying to counter the “these are bad” arguments because some people simply refuse to accept new things.

Don't need to make new videos. You word is enough for me.

You did changed my mind so I will be looking at these in a totally different way. For example, I always ran away from machines for sale that had the protector . From now on I won't

Wow! I wish I made money from this company! Lol. I think the product has room to be improved, but it is certainly nice for those of us who are routing high end pins.

I have tried to be really objective on my assessment of them. At first I felt it was different so I took one off after a week. Then I started to notice the same things I saw as “different”. I started doing some slow motion iPhone videos to make sure I wasn’t crazy. I ended up looking at the data and gaining a different opinion.

EricHadley what would you recommend for an older game with badly cupped inserts with raised edges? Would a playfield protector not be recommended for this scenario? Thanks!

For what it's worth, this is the reason I buy the protectors. Had some raised inserts on 2 Data East games and some sunken ones on a Genie. It was worth my time and the money and I feel they play better.

A few months ago, I removed the playfield protector from my Data East TMNT for a cleaning along with playfield paint retouching project. I decided to use novus 2 in an attempt to shine/smooth out the protector playing surface. The ball now seems to move way too fast (if that's possible, or even a "thing").

Positive: Captive splinter shot is easier since ball travels at higher speed.

Negative: Entrance ramps and Orange Michelangelo Targets seem to be taking much more of a beating. Also getting more airballs.

Is it possible for the surface to be too slick? I went back and tried buffing the protector some more to remove any residual Novus 2 that may have been left. Also, I made sure to wipe the pinballs of any oil that was used during storage/shipping from Marco.

A freshly waxed protector is fast. I like fast so that is right up my alley. Just don't Novus or wax it. It will get a little dirty but you can just dry wipe it once in awhile.

Excellent! I'll leave it alone. Maybe it was meant to play fast. Also, I made some entrance ramp protectors to slow down damage. Thanks!

Did you remove the adhesive residue when you originally installed it? If not it'd play much slower until you used the Novus. Once you do that it should feel slicker than eel snot and play fast as hell. As far as airballs make sure none of your posts are loose.

6 months ago I purchased a GB Pro with a playfield protector installed. Yesterday I decided to remove it, just to see/feel the difference.
It's a whole new game now.
The feel is much better.
No more playfield protectors for me.
Just my 2 cents.

I think they are the stupidest thing you can add to your game. It’s like wrapping your new couch in plastic.

On new game with no issues, I suppose you could argue for stupid but on a 40 year old game with cupped inserts that you are trying to protect from more wear, protectors have their place.

I put one on my Batman 66 when I did my playfield swap, and I don’t regret it at all. The previous playfield was significantly (and distractingly) dimpled, and my wife and I both think it plays great and are thankful that it’s installed.

We don’t have one on our Munsters, but the dimpling on that machine is *much* less noticeable.

A protector did wonders for my F2K - almost every insert was cupped. Game is 100% more enjoyable now.

If your playfield has not issues (raised/cupped inserts).

I think the best comparison you can make to something else. Is to add a screen protector to your phone.
It alters the feeling when touching the screen. But it also protects it from scratches and maybe even breaking.

There are more people I know that adds it to the phone then not. Because mean while it might make the touching/feeling worse. They want to protect their phone.

If you want to add it to your playfield or not is a very personal decision and it depends on if you want to have better protection against scratches/wear vs. how it playes without.

People that complain playfield protectors play differently never wax their playfields

its like you get that fresh waxed feeling all the time.

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