This was a little better than a year ago. I did a playfield swap for a friend.

These were the minor issues.

What really pissed me off was Kevin initially took no responsibility for any of the issues we had. Pointed the finger at me and said it had to be all my fault because they have never had issues like this with any of their playfields. After a little research, we found that was not the case.

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You mean like this. This started out as 2 chips on the left side of the scoop. Keep in mind, this happened after a small handful of plays.

This pic is after stripping everything off the playfield and making an agreement for a replacement.

Just for fun, I started picking at the chips with a fingernail.

It got a lot worse than this.

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I've seen a lot of people saying this but it makes no sense. While Ron does a great job of touching up and clearing playfields, if the issue is art not sticking to the playfield, redoing what's on top isn't going to make a damn bit of difference.

Here are three pics of a Mirco FH playfield swap I did for an op friend of mine. He sent me these pics after about a week's worth of play. While it looks minro now, I guarantee you it will get much worse.

I'm so fucking tired of this shit!

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Makes some sense, but then I'll say you have a ticking time bomb. All it takes is a chip anywhere (scoop holes are prime spots) and if you don't seal it somehow, it's gonna spread.

And what do you do when shit happens to a playfield that you installed in a customers game? Do you warn everyone of what may happen and you're not responsible for it?

The FH playfield was for an op friend of mine and he knew the risks. The Whirlwind I posted earlier was for a good friend who lives nearby.

What do you do when it happens to a customer's game who may live across the country? Who's fault is it? They'll contact CPR or Mirco and they'll point the blame on the one who did the swap. That's you and me! We'll tell them differently but who will they believe?

Oh' it'll look fantastic! Feel the edge of all the holes. Are the edges real sharp? Like you could almost cut your finger on them? My understanding is all Mirco's playfields are CNC'ed after artwork and clear. I'm sure there's a reason he does this but I wish he wouldn't. I dare you to take a ball and tap the edge of any of those holes. Please don't...I'm just making a point.

Clearing it again will at least put some kind of protection on those edges so they aren't quite so prone to cracking or chipping.

Fuck it!

I need a beer.

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That's because the holes are tapered. Look at all the other holes.

If it were mine, I'd have it cleared just to seal all those edges.

In all fairness, don’t lump them all together because of the actions of one.

I just received a STTNG playfield from Mirco. It's for a playfield swap I'm doing for a local op friend. This game is going to get beat up bad at this location. It's going to get a ton of plays.

Artwork looks amazing. Are there slight color differences from the original and slight registration issues? Sure, but no one is going to give a shit once this game is on location. Even if it was going in my collection, I wouldn't care.

I will say, there isn't much clear on it. Like, not much at all.

What I don't like at all is the fact that he CNC's all the holes for lamps, posts, scoops, etc. after printing and clearing. It's the last thing that gets done. This results in razor sharp edges. LOTS of them. I can only imagine what's going to happen when a ball hits the sharp edge of say a scoop hole.

What I've done is cut strips of sandpaper and sanded the edges of every sharp edged hole so it's more of a rounded edge. Now it's going to my buddy's body shop where he'll put 4 coats of clear on it, spraying in all 4 directions so all edges of holes gets sealed. It then gets sanded and buffed.

Then, John and I will cross our fingers.

To everyone saying quit buying and Mirco will change his ways, some like my buddy John have no choice. His original STTNG is beyond help.

You don’t want his kids.

Anyone who has seen a Mirco playfield would have to agree that CNC'ing certain holes slots, etc. is the last thing done. THEY JUST ARE! Those edges are so sharp they're almost like a razor. Not sure how long this has been going on but I'd say the last couple years at least.

I've done the same as you with the last half dozen playfields I've received from him. Sand all those edges to remove the sharp edge then I have my guy apply 4 coats of clear from all four directions to seal all the edges. Then another 3-4 hours sanding and buffing.

Final cost for a Mirco playfield for me is $1500 once that's all done.

Having said that, I came to the conclusion the other day, it makes no difference who I get a playfield from, it's gong to cost me $1500. IT JUST IS!

I received a WCS from CPR the other day and it seemed obvious it had been sitting for quite some time. There was a dirty dust on it and there was more than normal ribbing present along with typical insert level issues.

About two weeks ago I got a Buthanburg T2 playfield that had been done about 4 years ago. The ribbing was twice as bad as the WCS and the insert issues were also twice as bad. That one took two clear sessions to make it look perfect.

I will also say, there's not a one of them that puts enough clear on. Not even close.

So long story short, I don't care where the playfield is coming from, I tell me guys the playfield is gong to cost them at least $1500.

That's just the way it is.

I'll be at the Texas show this year and plan on asking him what the story is.

That was me. I have every repro playfield redone no matter who makes it. There simply isn’t enough clear on them from the factory and it will look a whole lot nicer when my guy is done with it.

I’ve ordered an MB playfield from Micro. I emailed him this morning to find out when it would ship he said it’s getting second coat this week and will ship Monday. I said I’m going to redo it anyway so just ship it whiteout the second coat. He said he would never ship one not completed by him and if I do anything to it it will void the warranty.

I just laughed.

I think this is in reference to my comment I made earlier?

I have a guy who does my clearing for $400. That pricing is because of what I do for him so it's a win win.

New playfield is $1100ish plus new clear is $1500. That's what's in it total. Not what the new clear costs.

The firsts three pics are of CPR WCS playfield I received about a month ago. Next three pics are after 4 coats of clear and 3 to 4 hours of sanding and buffing.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, no one makes a repro playfield that I would be willing to put in a restoration with having it redone. NO ONE!

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If you want decent work, yes.

If you want it to look nice, as I define nice, absolutely not.

I have. What I love about Peter's playfields are the colors. So rich and vibrant because he still screens them.

The issue is the clear. As far as I'm concerned, no one puts enough clear on them and you'll never get that glass finish unless they're sanded and buffed, which isn't going to happen with production work.

This is a T2 I bought from a guy who said the playfield was perfect. No issues. It was also from his first run which was roughly 4 years ago. When I complained to the guy he simply said he's never had anyone complain about a playfield he's sold.

This one cost closer to $800 to have redone. Took 2 sessions instead of one with 4 relatively light coats each session.

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Peter's are better than the others.

It did not ship on Monday.

But it is shipping today. Just got notice.

At least a packing slip has been made up.

LOL Sorry. You lose. It's already at FedEx.

Takes maybe 5 days to get here.

In all fairness, it showed today and was an actual MB playfield.

Packaging has never been an issue. The cardboard he uses is super thick.

The playfield looks great. Colors are good and the clear is damn near perfect.

As with all Mirco's playfields, I can't stand the fact he does some CNC'ing after the clear is applied. I asked him why he does that via Email but never got a response. An example of this on MB is the Drac track. The entire track has razor sharp edges. I can only imagine what that track will look like if a ball catches any edge a time or two...chip chip chip.

So I will again void the warranty and sand all those sharp edges and have my guy re-clear it.