OP

Quoted from kruzman:

Well this is a good question to have in the archives. I am sure others have answered it, but everyone has an opinion. I also like flight 2k, so I will give you my opinion.
Auto body guys are awesome at what they do, but the only thing in common with their job and pinball is the material used. process is so different!
They paint metal and plastic, but not metal with plastic in the middle of it without a seam dividing. When I spray a car, I spray 2 or 3 coats of clear in one day, and if there are no problems that is the end of it.
ok well to get down to it, the biggest thing is most of the time body shops want to dust it then paint it. It is so important that you sand that pf level. you have to get out the wood grain as well as level the inserts. When you start sanding you will see the gloss parts remain after sanding, they are the low spots. You will be amazed when you run a sander over it and see how level that pf is not. My process is apply 2 coats at a time, allow 15 days cure, and repeat. before recoating you have to sand. Not only for the clear to grab, but to level. Dont forget hand sanding the low points and the edges of the cut holes. this takes me at least 25 min besides the full sand with the sander. if you dont sand the low spots like the dimpled areas and edges of holes they will break, chip, lift, everything bad. After the last coats I sand the entire pf level, then I progress in grit from 800, 1000, 1200, 1500, 2000, 3000. Then I polish. I have that process down to a full long day. (then you need to clean the compound out of the cut out holes' edges.
I am not just pedaling my wears. I highly recommend my install kit for when you install! it eliminates lifting, chipping, and all of that, and it repairs lifting (ghosting) which you will have plenty enough around the edges of your inserts if you dont sand the wood and insert level. I think the shipping would be about 25-30 bucks, not sure.
You may want to explain to your body painter that you want a clear that is durable for a ball rolling over it
So I hole that helps. Now that I explained my secret process, I expect to be out of biz soon, so I am going to submit my app to the nearest fast food restaurant.