I bought a restored TAF from Italy and the guy had put one on after installing a new Mirco playfield, which looks like its already clearcoated?. He took great pleasure in telling me that a ball has never touched the playfield.

I'm not sold. My TZ and Tron have been double waxed and they play fast and the paint looks really deep and glossy. My TAF on the other hand looks nice, but not as nice. Also, there are specks of dust underneath in a few places that I can't get to. On a couple of occasions the protector has ridden up slightly during a game, at which point you can see the ball "warping" the protector as it passes over it. I've even had the ball get stuck on the bookcase circle part once.

I feel like I can't clean my machine properly, which irritates me. If I try and wax the protector there is a chance I'll get wax underneath and it'll be impossible to clean up, so that's out too. The only saving grace really is that I'm not getting any wear on the ball drop area on Addams, which isn't adequately protected by a Cliffy (it drops before the rollover switch).

I think the next time I'm inclined to take the ramp off I'll probably cut it out..

It's hard to know how you'll feel about it, everyone has a different perspective / tolerance level.

First off - having a playfield protector on means, obviously, your playfield is essentially untouched by the pinballs. This means no ball trails, smashed ball drop rollover switch holes, etc. But, the ball will wear and scratch the protector instead so it's not like its a panacea for wear & tear.

Playfield protectors can alter how a game plays. They will be slower than a waxed playfield, they will raise the floor of the playfield up slightly which might mean you have to adjust rollover switches, etc to compensate. They can create reflections that might be undesirable. They may trap dirt and debris underneath which would become difficult if not impossible to clean without removing it again, etc.

The TAF I bought had a brand new Mirko playfield with a full playfield protector fitted from new. The restorer made a big deal out of the fact that "no ball has ever touched the playfield". Initially I thought this was great, but it plays noticeably slower than my TZ and Tron which are double waxed. There are also a few areas where I can see dirt which I can't access, in one place in particular there is a wood splinter which actually forms a bump when you run your finger over it. There are also a couple of areas where grease, moisture or some other liquid sits between the protector and the playfield, which will never go away. It has on a couple of occasions lifted up slightly which has meant I've had to remove the glass to reposition it back down again.

I'm planning to remove mine when I get the chance, simply because my playfield is already clearcoated and the usage it gets does not warrant having the additional protection given by the protector. I tend to look at it as one of those "bonnet bra" (hood I guess in the States) which protects your car from stonechips at the cost of making it look terrible. You're compromising your own enjoyment of it for the benefit of the next owner.

Regards protector waxing, how are people doing this? I've got carnauba wax and apply it using a foam pad, but even being careful it gets on star posts, etc. I can wipe this off easily enough, but with a protector I can imagine the liquid-state wax could get underneath it and then become impossible to remove?

What are Newton rings?

Incidentally, here are a couple of photos of my TAF and TZ. TAF has a playfield protector on top of a clearcoated Mirko playfield, TZ just has a clearcoat. Both have PDI glass on so is a pretty accurate comparison I think.

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It's hard to see but the TAF playfield protector reflects above the playfield light quite a lot more than a clearcoat does. The colours on TZ are more vibrant as well.

Ah yes, I have seen those in places too. Assumed it was some kind of liquid underneath?

I tend to look at this stuff as preserving your girlfriend (or boyfriend)'s chastity for the next partner, at the cost of your own enjoyment...

If you've got a clearcoated playfield, and have waxed it, what are you sacrificing to have the protector?

I've got a full Makrolon protector on my TAF (it was a mint restore and the restorer put it on there) and it plays markedly slower, and isn't as vibrant as my TZ and Tron which have just been waxed. The protector is somewhat reflective too, so I can see a reflection of the backbox in it. I can see it reacting to the ball rolling over it, sortof like a very slight distortion effect.

The only reason I haven't cut it off is because it's a pain to do, and it is ultimately there now and is protecting the playfield, and TAF in particular has a ball drop which can't be protected with a Cliffy, but to suggest it comes at zero cost at all is disingenuous I think. At the very least you are clouding the artwork mildly (no polycarbonate protector is completely transparent)

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.

A waxed playfield protector?

Aren't you worried about getting wax underneath?