What's the best way to readjust the shooter lane? I have to shift this hardtop way to the right on this Comet. The last comet needed to be shifted about 1/8" to the left.

Attach then cut? Cut ahead? This isn't the easiest material to cut nicely. Any overflow on the edges and I usually use a block plane.

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I am ready if they come out.

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Did you hear anything or just hoping as well?

Just hoping! I will retheme if it does not happen which would not be what I would like to do but I have ideas! I have done 2 hardtops so far and LOVE them! My Flash is also on the chopping block hope they do that one also!

Still hope that they do the small upper and lower playfields for Elektra. Most need them and I’d be up for a couple sets.

Ive been avoiding the hardqarw store as the lines are insane right now but here i go. I dont have eniugh confidence in my vibrating sander anyway so time to pick up a orbital.
Ive watched the tutorials available but what is the concensus on the different grits of sandpaper i should pick up? Start down near 100 and work my way up to about 1000? Ive heard too fine is an issue when clearing inserts. I have up to 4000 around the house for when im making ugly lockdown bars nice again.

Sorry that was wordy and lost my question

Which sand paper grits are recommended?

I did up to 320 on the whole pf, but polished the inserts up to 3k

I did the same on the ones I have done works great!

Had one last game. It has begun....

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Just want to check in on everyones preferred clear.
Krylon the consensus?
Ive got some cans of Painters Touch already. Ive used it before lots of times but not for pinball. Any input? Ok to use or not? Krylon is a bit tougher to find around here.

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I used Rust-O-Leum 2X gloss clear on my HS shooter lane and it worked great, with naphtha and a wipe with a paper towel between applications. It looked slightly different than your cans but I think it's the same stuff. Would recommend again.

I think i may cut it ahead to get it close and then sand it with a dremel to get it dead on.

If im understanding what you mean, I would just use a long file. If you arent familiar with how to best file and edge off cleanly, watch a cheap counter top installation video on youtube

A small router with a template bit will do it quick and easy. Just clamp a straight edge along the line you want to cut.

Edit: sorry I just saw the first few words where you said it’s already down

I ended up using a mixture of files, shears and a dremel. I took the rails and some other stuff around the lane. I was able to get decent access to right side. I came out ok. The left side came out so so. I could only lift it up a little bit.

So next title up is Time Warp... which is cool and all, but a low-demand title in the poll. What about Space Station?? Or even F14 which is probably the most mentioned one not on the poll?

Note to OutsideEdge, I have a Space Station I can lend to the process if that's the holdup...

Cool to see that Time Warp is being done. Now let's see Time Fantasy!

Someone at Outside Edge must own a beat up Time Warp lol

Just keep em coming..

Still holding out hope for Elektra.

I successfully installed my Wizard Hardtop and have to say it looks and plays awesome. I've also read most all 32 pages of this thread and its interesting to read some of the results.

Couple of observations.....
Fist off, preparation is key. Dust or crap under your inserts are lack thereof. In my instance my inserts were not salvageable so they were removed and replaced with new. They are stunning and theres no gap, the hardtop is completely resting on top of them. If I could salvage the inserts, I would have sealed the insert from underneath so there is no air gap. You'd be surprised how much air is getting in-between that space where old glue is shrunk, gone, or the insert has shrink just a tad. I would recommend gluing the entire insert in place if they can't be removed/replaced or re-seated flush. This is also a place to trap heat. Not good for the insert or the hardtop.

If you didn't wait a few days after sanding, cleaning, gluing, wiping with Naptha, cleaning the area, clearing the inserts, etc. I am assuming this is where some ghosting could be coming from. Off-gassing is a b*tch.

I purchased a small trim router from HF(I think it was $28) and a trim bit($8) from Lowes. It was perfect in routing off any excess Hardtop. I used it in every light/mech/etc. hole and even on the outside edge of the PF. I had a small lip on one side and took that off too. Clean look, and everything was 'fitted' at that point.

I addressed the kickout hole at the top and the shooter lane by standard practice of repair. They were a little chewed up. I cleared those areas and painted them 'wood' color. I then cleared them again. Seeing old dirty wood under the Hardtop was not an option, the contrast between the bright brilliant colors and the old wood was just plain bad. It looked much better with 'faux' wood color than the beat up stuff. If the wood was in better condition I wouldn't have done this step.

I also painted black around every insert(for replacements only) as well as brown around any rollover lane or holes that accepted wire guides. These too were cleared after painted. This way the holes looked fairly uniform if the Hardtop was a little misaligned and the eye is not distracted by odd variants of colors.

I would also not recommend cranking down your screws and bolts. Snug is good. Remember some posts left negative indents on the PF so all your doing is compromising that slight gap. It would put stress on the Hardtop unnecessarily.

Added a pic just for yuks. Yes I know the top apron is bad but finding that color paint may be impossible as well as replacement bottom apron decals since Pinball Rescue no longer makes them

Next up is a coveted Evel Knievel and I hope this one comes out just as good! Thats for making these, what an amazing product!

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I'm stuck on finding the right color or colors for fake wood. Would you mind sharing which color(s) you used and which product? Much appreciated. Thanks.

Its a total pain in the balls. Its all about mixing and mixing and just tweaking till you find the right shade. I would encourage getting a color wheel at a hobby or art shop, they are maybe 2-3 bucks. They will help you mix basic colors, then you can slowly add other colors or mixes of colors to get the right shade and tone. I made a nice beige but I did not get into doing 'grain' like some have. Honestly didn't seem worth the risk of making something stand out if it came out bad. I used acrylic paints, most normal brands you find at the hobby store. I also painted it with an air brush with helps it look flat to the surface. And always clear coat over the paint, rattle can is fine.

Thank you for sharing. I was afraid you'd say this. I have used the $1.00 acrylic paint bottles and a small airbrush a couple times to retouch a shooter lane and it was a pain!

I was hoping you were going to say that you used a Rustoleum Straw or Kahki (or a different color) and I could just pick up a can! Well, like most things, it's never that easy.

Jungle lord, embryon

If my deal with a mata hari comes through I certainly will be buying a hard top. The creation of this product has certainly changed my buying habits of what I am looking for.

Are there any quality products for overlays for any titles that aren't made in hard top, or are all of the products on the market poor registration and inaccurate colour? I get that with an overlay you need to clear coat it yourself and one of the benefits of a hard top is that it already includes this protective layer

Yes! TimeWarp!

Thats awesome. I wonder when they will be ready? I was going to order a Black Knight hardtop but might wait to save on shipping.

Based on other hints until actual shipping, I say..within a month.

It would be very nice and helpful to post tear down pictures on Outside Edge's website of the machines you have hardtops for. Maybe include a watermark or something. I'm taking apart a project Pharaoh and there are so many hacks on this thing. It would be nice to know what goes where for real. Hard to find pics on the www.

I have detailed tear down pics of about 30 different games. Ive always wanted to start a website for them. Its probably over 3000 pics total. If I had a Pharaoh Id help you out.

I've already posted this in a few groups but I thought this might be a good place to share it too.

Here is a look at my Blackout playfield restore with the Hardtop.

I would like to add my vote for a Gorgar hardtop please

I already have confirmation that it will be available in the future
When? Who knows. I waited about 2 yrs for Blackout. Worth it though

I know it's been mentioned before, but F-14 Tomcat really seems like a great candidate for hardtop considering how often I see people mention the playfield damage on it.

God please don't do F-14 before I sell my crummy cab/factory mylar F-14. Please save me from my own stupidity, just this once.

Make it a 2022 reveal, that works grrrrreat.

Don’t listen to this guy!

I will take 2 F-14’s please!

Haha, F-14 has to happen at some point. Now is fine, I just need to force myself to say no.. This cab needs too much for me to go down that road with it...

I think I yelled out for F14 at least twice earlier in this thread. I'm conflicted, okay?!

Lol! I know a guy who knows a guy who makes new cabs.
That guy will be start a F-14 restore soon. Goes by the name of HEP

Oh of course, there are tens of zillions of things to do about my cab situation..like, you know, filling nicks and stenciling new art on. But I'm already pretty much at the tail end of where I feel comfortable being invested into a F-14. After a hardtop and a board rebuild I'd be seriously asking myself why I went so deep into it.

But we're all different kinds of collectors, and some of us are restorers (not me) and others of us are just fixers (me) who want to leave things nicer than they came to us. I can deal with some quirks and 'patina' on a 20+ year old game..my wallet certainly thanks me for that stance lol

I just don't tend to think of hardtoppers as "restorers" because someone who was truly restoring would want a NOS or *MAYBE* repro playfield, or a very very clean original. Again just my opinion and that's worth about a half of a penny.

Man that looks great!

Yeah, that's fair. I don't personally think a new repro playfield immediately makes a machine not considered "restored". Personally, I don't think a hardtopped machine is "restored" though. Awesome, however? Yes. Very awesome. And I'd certainly call it "refurbished" and IMO improved in most cases. I love these things, I just know how "collectors" can be.

I agree with you on a true resto being a nos pf. But for some that is out of budget. As for me this was my first restore and yes it will have a nos pf cc by a pro. I am also under water on it as I have put a lot into it but knew that going in.
Now as for my buddy he would be happy with a hard top and I also have my old pf that I will hard top once they come out with F-14.

I'm hyper attentive to how much I have in my pins..I refuse to let myself get way upside down in them, just based on the fact that my budget is so restricted. I'm glad there are people out there who don't have to do it like I do because there would be a lot less AMAZING stuff out there for people to see, play, and appreciate. Hardtops are great for me, I sure as hell can't afford new or repro playfields..lol

Last time I checked, I'm not playing the cab. If it's in okay shape and I hardtop and bulletproof the game and it plays amazing, I'm happy. I have a row of 4 pins side by side right now and you can barely see the cabs. The only one I want to move out of there is my Iron Maiden because the side art is really cool. Black Knight, Firepower, Judged Dredd and soon-to-be-moved-in Space Shuttle? Meh...

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Nothing like having a bunch of sleeper pins. Like a beat up old VW Beetle with a Porsche motor in it...

If it's a grail pin and you want to do a full restore then I'd be looking for a NOS or repro/CPR playfield not a hardtop.