When paint is that flaky and fragile, you will need to lock it down with a layer of clearcoat.

Since the damage is just on that right lane you do have the option of just coating that area. I have done this in a similar situation before using varathane and a brush. It looked great and has held up for years, my friend now owns the game.

Where paint has already lifted a little.. what would you do to prevent clear from getting UNDER it?

Yea that would be my concern as you would need to sand it flat potentially through the lifted paint. You can't seran wrap a playfield..

I agree, you can probably get away with a spot treatment of some sort. At least that's how I would approach it at this point.

From experience with similar situations (but not on pins, yet), it's kind of a judgement call. If the chipping paint wants to lie flat on its own, a good solid continuous overcoat membrane's own weight and tension keeps the paint pressed in place so long as that overcoat is consistent, level, and adhered along all boundaries. Think of it as if you were applying a film of mylar or packing tape: you'd press it flat and everything beneath it holds that way, so long as the edges of the patch tape are solidly adhered.

Actually, for a such a relatively small and inconspicuous area, a piece of mylar might not be a bad idea if you can press the chips flat and burnish them as you apply it. Not a perfect solution, but it would preserve what's there with minimal grief.

Otherwise, I wonder if the backglass trick of Triple-Thick with a plastic-wrap press would work...?

If the paint chips want to curl and rise "at rest" the mylar option becomes much riskier, and either way you're going to have to attack them methodically. You might be able to dribble some clear beneath a chip and press it into place. But that will result in an unlevel surface - again, it's a case-by-case judgement call. In the long run, if the area isn't too large, it might not be so bad to just remove the chips and touch it up altogether.

The clearcoat is watery thin, so it will flow under the chips and help glue them in place.

If this was a super rare game, you could put clear in a syringe and squirt it under the chips and press them down (like you do with insert repair).

I'd be more worried about what will happen to the mylared areas when you remove it before clearing. And if the paint is that fragile, ball action will just shred the rest of it regardless. Damned if you do or don't...

Looks like you have a full touch-up project dawning on you, d'oh. But you sound like you're experienced enough to handle it when ready. Good luck...!

You can punch the wireforms out from the back - carefully (in case there are barbs on the ends).