Mal,
You do fabulous work.
Absolutely a waterslide decal will work. How to fix the original platter is an interesting challenge. It can be restored by painting and still may be, or a hybrid of some smaller decals (horse heads) and painting. I believe I can do it quite well. If we go the decal route for a new or original fix; The tutorials by Vid explains how to use a decal to fix a damaged area.
I am probably going to try both ways. First; make a new platter. It will mean the new wood is 'finished' possibly with a 'Shellac' varnish coat to match the original game before using 'Vids' guides to first paint the painted areas white, auto clear coat, add decal/ decals as needed, final clear coat in stages to protect the decal. I will ask Mal to make the wood area white in the mean time.
However for the original platter, the problem is the wood part under the bumpers. What you see is the wood cleaned and patched with filler as best you can in the first picture Mal inserted. The damage to the surface is quite deep. This wood area can be painted I suppose but I have not seen wood fixed this way satisfactorily in my research to date. I would love someone to show me that it can be done. For the original platter I will need to look at the wood area and research more before attempting the restore. Time is my friend here no need to rush as the new platter will be used initially.
Suggestions welcome.
Steve J.
