Quoted from TechnicalSteam:

I'm not even sure how to react to Pinside post anymore and wonder why people even bother to serve our Toxic community lately.
A company spends a huge sum of money developing a decent product that solves a problem for the community and large. They ship
a "large run of playfields" to a pinball manufacturer who does not properly QC every playfield for flaws. Second the pinball manufacturer
may of not adequately designed the mechanics to work well with the product. Subcontractor gets thrown under the buss by the consumers
for something that might be out of their control.
There are only so many options available to us to restore our games. I don't see many others else navigating the complex world of licensed
playfield production today. I can only think of a hand full of people that can produce a playfield today at the 1000-700 dollar price point.
Throwing those people under the buss just doesn't make much sense. Especially if you restore games. I've owned several Mirco playfields
over the years and for the most part the quality has been exceptional and if I wasn't satisfied I know they would step up to make it right .
If your beef is with JJP you should look to JJP. If you don't like the "reproduction" you should see if you can do better. Love to see 10 of
the biggest winners try to reproduce artwork for playfield production, then figure out the process to print it, clear them and do 1000 of them
flawlessly. Then take into consideration a dozen people assembling games under tight deadlines. Yep shit happens.

Quoted from TechnicalSteam:

I have a stack of Williams Diamond Plate, Ballys and Gottliebs that will show you "no one did it right back then"

Quoted from TechnicalSteam:

That has been an issue in this hobby for awhile.
If plastics break.. Is that because something is wrong with the plastic?
Wonder if anyone has run the numbers on what to expect from the average playfield from a wear perspective?
0-5000 - plays some dimpling (for example )
5000-10,000 - cracked plastics, insert wear, shooter lane, scoup and outhole wear.
10,000 - 20,000 - ( inserts worn )
Merely Examples - but it seems that there would be some kind of rule of averages for expected condition of PF.
What is the industry standard for Playfield warranty and wear?
I'm just curious as I kinda feel most of the issues we see represent a small % of users that take the time to raise hands.
What % of owners have issues ( We will never know in todays market )

Quoted from Bmad21:

People surprised at playfield wear.
Ladies and gentlemen things wear out. You play something more with high frequency you will wear it out faster.
It's like we convinced ourselves this can't happen in pinball.
You have a ball, metal using friction gliding and rolling and banging into things and things breaking, shocking isn't?
When it comes to dimpling you act like it's a war crime and it shouldn't happen.
But people on here get freaked out because nature does its thing. Nothing in this world is truly indestructible except for one thing.
At some point indestructible things get worn out and become destructible.
Playfield wear and tear is a fact of life.
Dimpling is a fact of life.
Who knew that people playing pinball for hours on end for months is make things wear down quicker.

Quoted from Highclasspinball:

I think I have to chime in here again which I usually did not want. But if someone external would read these comments it sounds like we produce only crap and don't care. That is simply wrong.
Compared to the volume we produce the issues are really low. Please keep in mind here that we run approx. 20 times as many playfields per year or more than the other manufacturers do. This does of course result into more public issues, especially after being in business with playfields for more than 15 years.
Of course mostly pitchforkers are writing here as complains always cause more attention than other feedback.
Let's say you are right and we produce only crap, how can you explain that there is not a single playfield issue reported on TS?
Yes there are people writing about their experiences and issues. But the fact they don't write, most of the cases are years old. Not all, but most.
Of course I take popping up issues serious and adjust production as far as possible right away.
Does anybody here believe I have not changed anything in the past 15 years?!? Really?
There was a ton of quality control added to the process steps and also in process monitoring to make sure all boards are what they are supposed to be.
Yes, sometimes things slip trough quality control, especially as humans do the final inspection. But if so and there is really a big issue I ship out replacements right away. And even if it is not a qc issue but more cosmetic, you can always ship the part back and get a refund.
Good thing of this thread is that it does the opposite of what the pitchforkers want to reach here, it pushes sales instead of blocking them. Guess the reason is that people don't believe everything written online.
Best regards,
Mirco Steffen

Quoted from Bohm:

How about a compromise, have a playfield with no clear coat as an option. Have the buyer do it themselves.

Quoted from Flynnyfalcon:

the clearcoat however after waiting 6 months to cure was still soft.

Quoted from Colehvac1:

I really wonder how many of us there are, i know of at least 10, that will never buy jjp because of the no warranty stance!

Quoted from MiniPinHead:

But seriously, the guy and his team make really nice replacement playfields. They are sharp and look beautiful. They are accurate and true to original (okay, maybe it takes an iteration or two from whatever Williams’ file was used). If you have an issue with the playfield, he makes things right. What is the issue? You buy a playfield, he sends a playfield… from Germany… and it arrives two or three days after shipping.
I get cottonm4’s frustration with the rare playfield but I’m hoping it gets made as right as possible in the end.

Quoted from MiniPinHead:

What do you want him to change? Please provide something that can be practically done. The nonsense complaining is not stopping people from buying Mirco playfields.
Using WH2O as an example, the artwork is correct, the layout on the playfield appears as preceise and sharp as the original, the dimples are accurate, the inserts look great, and the clear isn't spilling over into the screw holes. In reading, the only possible issue I see outstanding is the clear and possible pooling, which can be combatted with washers and making sure the clear has hardened.
Do you want want a Kruz-quality clear coming from the factory? Then buy a set and send it directly to the Kruz, and you'll be estatic when its returned to you
The Mirco clear actually appears much thicker than diamond plate, albeit not the same hardness. That was a pleasant surprise, as there's more for you to buff off over time if you're willing to shave off layers of your playfield. You're much closer to the paint and wood with original diamond plate.
A fair comparrison for the thread would be Mirco's 'ceramic coat' compared to CPR's '5-layer polyurethane coat.' Why is CPR's superior (or not)? Do you want Mirco to start spraying on layers of poly instead of the 'ceramic'? I'm not an expert, so I won't be weighing in on that question, but I see that as the most practical that could be discussed in a helpful manner here.

Quoted from mnpinball:

Received my Quicksilver playfield and plastic set in four days time via FedEx.
Playfield registration and clearcoat looks amazing, it’ll be a while before I get this installed but for future reference I’ll make any notes and report back if I see any issues.
[quoted image]

Quoted from ForceFlow:

I have a newer playfield that was *not* cleared by Mirco or CPR. Rock hard, no chipping, no pooling. It's not brittle and it doesn't act like goo. I didn't have to treat it with kid gloves and put rubber or silicon washers under posts. It just acts like you would expect a cleared playfield surface to act.

Quoted from MiniPinHead:

It's recommended by some to let the playfield sit and cure for 4 months before doing anything to it. If it's fresh off the floor, then let it sit. If Mirco told you that it's already been sitting for a while, go for it, but better safe than sorry.

Quoted from Micky:

Guys can you all stop quoting/replying to the troll who doesn't have the intelligence to understand and doesn't want to listen to the great advice and insight you are all providing. He is not going to learn.
All I see is this shit after he blocked me for a single downvote on one of his first idiotic posts. It makes trying to read this topic impossible and a huge pain in the ass.
[quoted image]

Quoted from FlippyD:

I have followed this whole thread for three years, there's a lot of bad stories and bad pictures yes.
However anyone who chimes in and says "My Mirco experience was fine and the product is fine" gets blasted out of here.
So essentially it's a very biased source of data, which is a massive problem with internet echo chambers. According to this thread Mirco is literally the worst business man with the worst product ever, and everyone who is pissed off about it knows exactly how to fix it. So this thread is a type of Perpetual Grievance Machine... Which you are all most welcome to continue being frustrated in, I was just curious if people are getting close to the acceptance phase of grief.

Quoted from cottonm4:

How would you refer to a unit with a hardtop on? A renewal? A recover?

Quoted from cottonm4:

I think it is reasonable to assume the play field will need to sit a while and cure

Quoted from Lhyrgoif:

It might not be true for all types of clearcoat but a car painter told me that normally the clear dries in like x hours (can't remember exactly his stated time) and that all extra "dry time" is unnecessary. The ratio of clear and hardener is the important thing, if the ratio is wrong then it won't harden properly no matter how long you let it cure, it will never get good.
No idea what chemicals Mirco is using but it might be the case that it doesn't make any difference how long he cures his playfields, as long as he gives them the proper initial time.
What I'm trying to say is that the cure time might not be the problem, but his processes, the chemicals used or the ratios.

Quoted from cottonm4:

Good points. In the old days, the wood ( felled trees) used to sit and dry out before being run through the saw mill. I don't know how the factories used to make plywood, but in our supercharged get-it-out-the-door mentality, I think the wood goes out "wet". Sell that sucker and let it be the buyer's issue to deal with.
I recall when I built my privacy fence with pressure treated wood, that my fence posts were wet inside when I was working them. I have 3 fence posts that took on the look similar to boomerangs only after I planted them in concrete.

Quoted from swanng:

In the opinion of all who have posted here: should I, or should I not purchase a replacement Indiana Jones playfield set from Mirco? I don't believe there are any other manufacturers reproducing this playfield, so I don't really have much of a choice, do I?

Quoted from High_End_Pins:

As a service provider that can’t always pick my starting platform to work off of I have a consistent need for playfields.
I can also overlook and fix a lot that might be a problem to others in order to try and solve common issues in the interest of making the most of what’s available to me.
That said today I think I have finally reached the end of my rope with Mirco playfields.
They just may as well not exist at all.
That’s a strong statement given my profession and needs but it is the only conclusion that makes sense at this point.
I just can’t imagine being this desperate for a playfield ever again even if it means spending the time and charging accordingly to restore the originals.
What I received today after a month of delay and gaslighting is a total insult to me personally and I plan to return that favor starting with just real world honest documentation. That alone is bad enough.
It’s beyond a bad product and just total deception to send a used item in place of a new one.
I challenge anyone to tell me that there were not parts previously placed on this playfield before it was packed and shipped to me.
That’s just a new low.
Mirco High Class Pinball Twilight Zone Playfield as it arrived 2-9-24

Quoted from KJS:

Unfortunately there are none of the first run around.
Agree it's a nice gesture but I still want the game for myself but more importantly for my son without going into detail. All I want is a replacement pf and happy to do the swap and return this at my cost as stated to both distributor and Stern. But the pictures Patrick sent of the games in production seem just as bad.[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]

Quoted from cottonm4:

If a company agrees to make you whole, there is little room for complaint.

Quoted from Bryan_Kelly:

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.

Quoted from Lhyrgoif:

I talked to a professional car painter a few years ago about potentionally clearcoating some playfields for me and he explained that the clearcoat hardens/dries in a matter of hours or at max a day. If the clearcoat is too brittle or too soft after that timeframe then there was something wrong in the ratio between clear and hardener and more time won't make any difference.
I would think the same applies for playfield coating, meaning it doesn't help letting it "dry" for some extra months if the clearcoat ratio is wrong, were applied badly or bad prep-work before coating; extra time won't change anything.

Quoted from High_End_Pins:

That is a combination of things I know as a professional and things I suspect as an observer.