Hey Pinsiders!

  I'm on my second round restoring a pinball machine, and I've decided to take the leap and share my progress with y'all! 

  Found an overlay through eBay several years ago, but never started the project. Just this month, I finally decided to make time for it, and I've been following the instructions from @vid1900, and this handy website: http://homepinballrepair.com/pinballrestore.html

  Attached here is what my Flash Gordon machine first looked like; you can tell the playfield had a lot of wear. Not only will I be putting on a new overlay, but I will also install new clear inserts, and converting all the lights to LEDs (just as Andyzola87 did with his playfield: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/found-overlay-for-flash-gordon).

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Here's the overlay I'm going to install it with. It already has a very thick mylar sheet on top of it, so I don't think I'll be clear-coating it once it's on (let me know if I should!). Also, since I got it through eBay, I have no idea who originally manufactured it. If you know who, then please let me know!

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I started by taking off the plastics, and I took as MANY pictures as I could. This way I know exactly where everything goes once the overlay is installed. Here are few pictures just to get the idea. I took pictures with notes between my DSLR camera and my iPhone. I also labeled every wire I unsoldered with masking tape.

***Note*** for anybody else doing this, MAKE SURE you have a backup of your iPhone once you take your pictures. I took a bunch, and just this last week my iPhone decided to "update" overnight, and it erased every freaking picture I had. I was SOOO bummed, and now it's too late because as of today I already took everything off the play field. Live and learn!

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By day seven, I finally got everything above the play-field off!!

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In addition to taking all the parts off (and unsoldering tons of wires), I cleaned up the play-field with a magic eraser (with isopropyl alcohol), and I made a 2x4 stand so that I can easily work with the play-field for the rest of the project.

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Hello @monster_bash! I got it through eBay, so I have no idea who originally manufactured it. If you know who, then please let me know!

As of now though, there are a few available on ebay without any clear coating on it (it's basically like a huge decal sticker): ebay.com link: BALLY FLASH GORDON Pinball Machine Playfield Overlay

Monster_Bash - For other resources, you can also order overlays with a hardtop from here: http://www.pinballgifts.com/hardtop.html

They just don't produce any overlays for Flash Gordon yet.

As this site suggested: http://homepinballrepair.com/pinballrestore.html

I bought tracing paper and I taped a bunch of them together. I labeled every hole that was on the play field, and what was originally screwed into it. This way when I put the new overlay on, I know exactly where everything goes. Took awhile, but it was sooo worth it!

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As you probably could guess, the next phase was sanding it! Wahooooo! Before then, I ordered a variety of sanding pads from Amazon, and it's plenty: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0738Z8946/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00

Got my orbital sander out, and I started with 60 grit sandpaper; then with 100, and then finished it with 180. Here's a time-lapse video of me doing it:

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Finally, to where it is today, I've taken all of the inserts out by following vid1900 instructions here: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/vids-guide-to-ultimate-playfield-restoration#post-549797

In one night, I was able to take all of the inserts off, and here's a quick time-lapse video me doing it:

Next step will be installing inserts!

Till then, Merry Christmas ya'll!

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Jjsmooth packie1 Flyrod

Hey Guys!

Thanks for replying, and I totally understand where ya'll are coming from. It would have been a LOT easier if I had just left the old inserts in the play field . . . but I didn't want to stop just there. Like my dad said, I like to go WAY beyond the average restoration. He's right – I'm little bit anal, but it's going to pay off in the long run. After thinking through this many times, I've decided to remove the inserts for three reasons: One, with the clear inserts it's actually brighter than it would've been with the old colored inserts. Two - it gives me more control on color of the LEDs than it would've been with the existing colored inserts (even with the opaque overlay, the LEDs give me more options). Lastly (the main reason) - I love the "starburst" effect; the old crackled, cracked, colored style just isn't my jam.

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Hi @stretch7, I actually don't think it's from classic arcades. I could be wrong, but I ordered an overlay from "classic arcades" through eBay, and I returned it because of this very reason. Attached below are three different pictures to show the differences in shades of red. Thanks for the reply though, and please let me know if I'm wrong. Happy New Year!

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Hi @mschonbrun – I'm pretty sure I lost them, but hopefully maybe you can help me. I'm currently on version 11.2.1 (latest version) on an iPhone 6S Plus.

Here's the story... last week at some point during the day, the iPhone asked if it can update. I declined, so then it told me that it will update automatically at night when I go to sleep.

Well then, at midnight I was still up and I wanted to look up something (probably pinball stuff, lol), and my phone wouldn't turn on. I swear it was showing absolutely no signs that it was updating; no spiraling sign, no loading indicator, nada... and it was plugged in. I was confused, so I did a hard reset (where you hold down the power button and the home button). Very bad idea.

So you can probably understand now.... The iPhone then booted up and it told me to plug it in a computer to finish the update ; it would not let me do anything else. The next day, I plugged it in, and then iTunes said that there was some issues and it needed to be factory reseted. I had no other options but to reset it, and then use the backup I had from Feb. 2017

Yep, I figured. It's okay. Hopefully people can learn from my mistake, and I'll use iCloud to back it up going forward. Thanks for trying, @mschonbrun.

Awesome! Thanks, @stretch7.

Finally got all of the new inserts wet-sanded down. Started with 60 grit and finished with 400 grit. Next step is glueing them in the playfield!

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Yeah, I thought about it. That would’ve definitely been the easy way out.

The main reason I did it this way, is because I wanted to wet-sand the inserts. It felt safer. This way I can get the very best insert lightings I can get without any sanded scratches to worry about. Wet sanding the exposed wood on the playfield would’ve been a very bad idea.

Once the clear coat is on, then I’ll use an orbital sander to sand it flush, and then I’ll throw on another coat to keep it flat and ready for the overlay.

Live and learn! You are correct; they don’t fit. Do you know where I can order the right ones?

Officially got three inserts glued in the playfield. Only a few more to go, lol.

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Thanks @mwiz!

Yeah, I compared the old arrows to the new clear ones, and sanding down each clear arrow is gonna take way to much time. I’m gonna go ahead and order the white and red opaque arrows. Unfortunately it won't be as cool as the clear starburst inserts, but this way the plastics are new along with the rest of them.

UPDATE: I ordered them from pinballlife.com! They're on their way.

Finally installed all of the inserts on my Flash Gordon playfield. Here's some pictures, and here's a short time-lapse video of me installing the last two inserts (shows how I've wet sanded them as well):

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FatPanda Not yet... but SOON! Here in Kentucky, the weather hasn't been friendly (it's bipolar, lol) and it's really cold. As soon as it gets back up in the 60s, I'll throw on auto clear coat and I'll make sure I get a time-lapse of me doing it.

Then finally I can lay down the overlay.

Meanwhile, I've been collecting supplies and preparing for the clear coat. Here's an excel spreadsheet of what I needed and how much I ended up spending for a clear coat: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1bY1LwkdtQWSupwuAyj_zbBNKkEDK5oA4HAaBibsiaUw/edit?usp=sharing

FatPanda That's awesome!! Congrats on acquiring a Flash Gordon; definitely one of my favorite pinball games of all times. Don't worry – I'll make sure I post the outcome when I get to it.

The weather here is now up to around 50/60 degrees, so the warm weather is finally here! I just need a weekend without rain, lol!

Finally got all of my supplies needed for the auto clear coat!! For anybody who's interested in seeing how much it was or what the list is, you can see it all in this excel spreadsheet (made it available to everyone): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1bY1LwkdtQWSupwuAyj_zbBNKkEDK5oA4HAaBibsiaUw/edit?usp=sharing

The plan is to finally lay the clear coat on tomorrow (if the weather cooperates).

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Yeah – that's awesome. Stoked for you!

Doing just the overlay would definitely save you half of the time I spent so far; totally understand.

Finally got the chance to throw on auto clear coat (**video coming soon**)! Packed it all in a Honda Civic (yes, it actually fits), and went to my father in-law's house to borrow his HUGE air compressor, and his garage. Hence, the canopy tent I bought really came in useful to keep all his stuff clean. Flyrod FatPanda

I threw on a base layer today, but unfortunately between my raw wooden play-field and the clear, I've developed a bunch of divots/contours (see pictures). I don't think it has anything to do with the spray, because it sprayed on beautifully. I think it has something to do with where the play-field had the most wear; something about the surface of the raw wood where paint was actually gone verses the other areas where paint originally was protecting it. Please let me know if I'm wrong, lol (vid1900 tatman9999 Deez @mwiz, anybody); it is my first time, so I'm learning, and probably learning the hard way.

Tomorrow (hopefully), I'm going to sand it with 600 grit sandpaper (with an orbital sander), and then try to fill in the divots. Let it dry, and then sand it again... then let it dry again, and then shoot one more final layer of clear on it. After all this, then the overlay will go on!

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FatPanda Yeah – I understand where you're coming from.

Two reasons. One, my overlay actually has a thick mylar piece over it already, so I'm not sure if I want to clear coat over that (if it was just a big piece of a sticker sort of thing, then I would've done what you assumed).

Secondly, I've learned that it's best to spray on some soapy water on the play-field before placing the overlay on – to position the overlay correctly. From what I collected on that, I wanted to make sure water wouldn't damage the wood underneath in any way. So that's why I did it this way.

Additionally, if you look closely, you'll notice that I kept the old star rollovers inserts in where they were (top play field), and then pulled them out after I threw on a layer of clear. This is so that when I put the new overlay on – I can cut out those circles and then put back in new star rollovers to be flushed along with the overlay.

Hey ya'll! I made some great progress yesterday. Went ahead and sanded the clear coat with an orbital sander using 600 grit sanding paper, and the play-field got flat while it also showed where I needed to "fill" in all of the divots.

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I went to Walgreens and bought some eye-droppers to do the job. Used Naphtha first to clean off the play field, and then I mixed a very small 2 ratio of clear for the eye dropper. After that I simply did little droplets of clear in all of the areas that were divoted and let it dry for about 6 hours. (**I have a video for this coming too**)

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After the clear hardened, I sanded everything by hand (using a used 600 grit sand paper) to give the layer some tooth, and then threw on another layer of clear coat. If I sanded the drops I had done before throwing on another clear coat, then I'd be risking to sand it all the way to the wood (which is what I don't want).

So the good news is, this time were no divots! Later tonight, I'll be sanding it flat agin, but then I'm going to leave it once sanded. This way the entire play field is sealed and flat as expected, and it has tooth for the overlay.

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FatPanda lol, yeah, but the imperfect droplets are going to be sanded though. Tonight after sanding, the entire play field will be flat flat. It'll be awesome!! I'll post the final look before putting on the overlay.

FatPanda Ahhh, I didn't know that! Thanks for telling me – it does sound like something I would consider. What does it look like? Is there a link to it?

Fantastic! I didn't know about that thread; following it now. Thank you!