Do you have photos? I'm not sure what you're describing.

Are you referring to "wet" spots under the protector? If so, yes its very common and nothing to worry about. Small trade-off for the added benefits.

yeah I had no idea what the hell that was either when I first saw it. it's alot more prevalent on some games then others, Especially if the game was brand new when you put it on.
I assumed it had to do something with the new clearcoat. Like thundergod76 said nothing to worry about, just sucks that it looks wet.

The other thing that kinda sucks is on some games, mainly sterns the protector seems to lift in certain areas. I've been using that double sided tape, that cliffy uses on his protectors to get it back down. Doesn't affect gameplay just looks weird when the ball rolls over that area. Assuming this is due to the uneven areas though the playfield. That's if the protector isn't pushed up on something like a post.

Pro's far outweigh the Con's IMO.

We have a playfield protector and a full set of Cliffys fitted on every machine we own. They are a pain to put on and a little painful to look after as you have to vacuum the machine every time you clean it to stop the dirt and dust getting under the protector. We have fitted playfield protector to 3 NIB Sterns and each one has the issue in your photos. Ours are not as bad as that as we ask our distro not to wax or spay anything on the playfield before we get it. I believe this is the wax or polish applied to the playfield at the factory. It is extremely hard to get off. We do our best to get as much off as we can with novus no1 before putting the protector on. Once we start playing the machine, we have a long piece of flexible plastic and push a microfiber rag in between the playfield and the playfield protector until the wax is gone. Process is quick but It takes a while before the wax is gone.

Up side is ball scratches the shit out of the protector not PF, no ball track marks on PF, much less dimpling, no stuffing around with mylar, no mushrooming of magnets, The list goes on and on. You can still Novus no 1 & 2 the playfield protector and machine plays like lightening. Machines are very easy to sell with a nice minty playfield. Surprisingly, most people ask us to take the protector off before giving them the machine.

I just had my AFM professionally restored with a new playfield from Mirco. I installed a playfield protector on day one. Mega wet spot right in the center of my game. Seems like the plastic uses the LED gi like a fiber optic and enhances the effect of the wet look. Also my led gi bulbs are only at 45%. I emailed playfield protector and they responded in minutes. They advised I lift part of the protector and use a hair drier to remove moisture. After I did so with zero results I emailed again to see what to do next with no response. Seems like your on your own if you have this issue. This is what I did.

Clean terry cloth, wipe with naphtha and repeat about 10 times with a new clean cloth every time. Playfield and protector got this treatment. Each time better than the last. Turns out naphtha is ok with my protector. Been three days and wet look has not returned. There are still little tiny areas left but 95 percent better. Suspect its silicone from polish or something similar.

IMG_9753 (resized).JPG
IMG_9779 (resized).JPG

Thanks very much for taking the time to post. I will be giving this a try today on AFMrLE.

It's not a wet spot. It's perfectly normal. The protector is so smooth that it will "suck" to the playfield in certain places. The air gap in between the playfield and the protector disappears and that looks like a wet spot. You can rub all you want. It will stay. Haven't seen a single pin without those "wet spots" (except those with really banged up playfields...).

We have 5 machines with no wet spot. The machines are older and I cleaned the playfield with Shellife (Naptpha) before fitting the protector. Our new machines all have wet spots. I believe this to be the liquid polish applied to the playfield in the factory. When you put the protector over it the polish returns to liquid. I have been extremely reluctant to clean a brand new playfield with Naptha. I have just done AFMrLE so now we have 6 machines with no wet spots! I only used a very small amount and let the playfield and protector completely dry before putting back down.

Not a real watery wet spot. Just the effect of what looks like a "wet spot" to others that might be playing the game. They are like "whats up with that spot on your new game?" It might be normal and ok but doesn't rub me the right way when its a huge area. I will continue to purchase this product because so far they have proven to be great otherwise. I have them on 6 of my games.

I've never really understood why these protectors are necessary. I own some heavily routed games that are 20-25 years old, and the playfields are still quite nice. I can understand some cliffys or mylar here and there, but a full playfield protector just seems like overkill on a game that will be in a home collection its entire life. I'm assuming they also change the way the ball rolls, which would be another negative.

I played a bunch of games with my star trek before and after. the same with my medieval, The only real difference I noticed was there was less spin. I could of been imagining that though. if anything it plays a lot faster, most new sterns have tons of uneven levels on their playfields and of course mylar that tends to hang the ball up on occasion.

Also if you've seen some of the new sterns after they have been at these free play places for a month, the dimples on those things are crazy. All the other manufactures have them to, but they are much less noticeable. This goes to what type of quality of wood they are using on their playfields. slow grown/fast grown, pine, oak etc..
granted a routed game will get played a lot more, but still...
These are expensive toys, and a protector gives piece of mind. I have them on all my games (most), mainly in case I'm not able to clean them for a prolonged period of time while they are on location. Think the biggest benefit is the resale value, for a 100 bucks and 4- 12 hours of time that aint bad.

All fine, but it's not about what you "believe". It's a fact (not an alternative one) and the result of a personal discussion with the the inventor & manufacturer. If it actually WAS some sort of liquid (which it isn't), the "wet" spots wouldn't disappear when you shift the protector sideways a bit, would they... However, they do.

I don't want to argue with your "belief" though. Believe what you want.

Huh, not on any of the ones I've played or owned.

I have them on older games that have heavily cupped inserts or other defects that affect ball travel. They are great for fixing that. They also seem to play faster overall.

OK. That is the beauty of opinion and this forum. We all have different opinions. We are all here for the love of pinball and to share our experiences, opinions and beliefs. Helping each other is what Pinside is all about. Can you tell me how many machines you have fitted playfield protectors on?

Did you peel off the protective layer?

Two personally, a SWLE NIB and a Getaway after a fundamental restoration including a clearcoat, applied by a professional. I have also seen about 50 machines equipped with the protectors at a location here in GErmany, where most of them also hat the spots. The older ones less so.

What I expect to increase the wet spots is high surface planarity in combination with electrostatic charge. This wold cause stronger cohesion between playfield and protector, hence squeezing out the air better. What MIGHT solve this i to find a coating / polish that chages the surface energy (or increases conductivity) of the PET. However this is my assumption as a physicist. A chemist would sure know more.

one game that it's really bad on is ghostbusters, run your hand down the playfield you'll see what I'm talking about. Compare it with their newer games or another manufacture. I would assume it's the same with GOT since it was made in the same time frame, I have one, I remember thinking it was the same but not as bad. it's not like super uneven, but it's definitely not flat. like the inserts weren't leveled correctly or something. real close, but not quite.

it's probably not going to impede anything at least not noticeably.

they have done a lot better job with it with the last few games. with guardians there were no uneven levels, think that's when I noticed the difference.

Mine was fine and the clear was really think on that one. None of mine has ever impeded the ball that I remember...and certain(t)ly never got a ball "hung up" by it.

I always clean off all the wax and silicone from the playfield with Naphtha, BEFORE I contaminate the new protector.

There is an AC/DC on route by me that looks completely molted. The OP says it's because he used Meguiars liquid **wax** right before installing it.

I've never had problems with carnauba wax underneath protectors but my games are all older so the playfields aren't super smooth anyways.

Thanks Vid, I agree with you. We have started doing the same going forward.

If you have a theory, try it out and share your information so we can all benefit from your experience. I have tried Novus No2 on playfield and protector. No wet spots but playfield protector moves too much on the playfield defeating the purpose of using it.

Who sells the best protectors and are all the same when it comes to installation?

Playfield Protectors is my favorite even with the spots or molted areas. They are thin and seem to hold up better than the one in my TZ ( Manufacter unkown) and my Hobbit (installed at factory). No unwanted spots or molted areas on them though. I figure its a matter of time before the spot or molten thing is figured out and will be a resolution to eliminate it. Time will tell. Until then I will keep buying them. I have had to trim up the playfield protectors brand on a few games for a better fit but it is to be expected.

Thanks I'm going to check their site out and see if I want to purchase for my machines.

This reminds me of when Translites "stick" to the glass, the link below shows before/after improvement pics using anti-static spray, perhaps that same technique would help here?

http://www.pinballinfo.com/community/threads/hook-the-restoration-youve-been-waiting-for.19738/page-4#post-157495

well, not sure what to tell you, maybe it's just the sterns I bought from that time frame.
Never said the levels were going to "hang up" the ball. Uneven levels probably would slow a moving object down to some degree, not noticeable to you or me though.
not sure if I said it in my post, I meant the mylar has a tendency to hang up slow moving pinballs. which was an added benefit of installing one of these. had mylar interfere on several occasions.

I like the idea of a protector for an older pin I have but sadly no one seems to make one from what I’ve been able to find.

Has anyone had any luck “rolling their own” protector?

I was thinking of pulling the trigger on one for Paragon, but those "wet spots" have me hesitant.

We have never had wet spot issues fitting a protector on an older machine. Only new games and new playfields.

Same experience here. Older games seem to be ok with the protectors. I have good results with my Popeye, TZ and Corvette. All original playfields and waxed with paste wax before installing.