Technically it would protect the entire plastic, not just one area, but for me it's total overkill and not worth the look/time
(if more than slings) puttign them on. And then you get to the colored ones that just look so stupid.

PETG over metal all day too.

I'd look over where you want to put any protector. How many ways could the ball hit it and how ? Straight on ? Side ? Push up or push down ? More than one way ? No one protector can do it all. Choose the best you can for the situation.

LTG : )

I use protectors when available and PETG washers when not. Metal washer can potentially ding up the ball, and in turn, possibly start wearing down and chewing up the playfield.

I find the metal washers extremely noticeable, as no light is getting through. PETG all day, with fitted protectors still providing a cleaner look. Need to carry different diameter washers for those odd slings where the washer is way bigger than the end of the plastic. Just need them to be a bit proud of the plastic, not sticking out too far which i don’t like.

think the biggest thing isn't necessarily the protection it gives, they are both pretty similar since edges are vulnerable. They almost always seem to break at the weak point where a washer would go.
I've had plastics break regardless both ways, but it might of held it off a little longer.
the main advantage to full plastics is they don't leave an indent in the art under the plastic, on some the art gets ripped off when you take the washers off.
I've never seen a full plastic protector do that.

You're not installing them correctly.

Protectors/washers should be placed between the top of the plastic post and the nut of the metal post. Not just slipped on top of the metal post and the plastic put on to of that.

It is done that way so the protector has room to flex from an impact without touching the plastic.

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I'm mainly referring to the metal ones. a good majority of the time the artwork comes off with the washer.
I've bought games where the plastic ones were installed under the plastic. I wasn't aware you were supposed to put the plastic ones on top though.

No, he's saying if you install the washers correctly they don't touch the plastic, therefore they cant hurt the artwork.

ahhhh I got ya. Wish stern would install them that way.

Obviously the metal washers look terrible. Even the clear washers look out of place a lot of times. I prefer the full plastic protector because it provides the most protection, looks the best and also helps bring more of the GI light out from under the plastic. Generally I try to get a full set of protectors and install them under any that look like they would be easy to break. A lot of the sets are overkill and not all of the protectors are worth the time to install if the plastic is in a spot or shape that would be hard to break. That said, I absolutely HATE the colored plastic protectors. Why would someone want to make their entire game look puke green instead of the intended colors in the artwork?

I'm going to have to throw the BS flag on this one. This is not the way to install them. You might get away with this on washers, but not on plastic protectors. A lot of games have very little clearance between standup targets or even the sling kickers and the bottom of the plastics. The first time you hit one of these stand ups, the target face will bend back, get stuck on the lower plastic and not have room above to come back forward resulting in a stuck switch. I have seen this happen on a few games. Also, installed like that you will have a couple of less threads of screw into the playfield making the post less solid and more prone to bending and breaking. I always install the protectors as they were intended, between the top of the post nut and the bottom of the plastic. This has the added benefit on older games of helping flatten warped plastics and most likely will help prevent plastics on newer games from warping in the first place.

Washers aren't a good look IMO. Once I had more than a couple games, I bought a cheap scroll saw, some drill bits designed for plastic and a sheet of polycarbonate (Lexan) to make my own protectors. It's somewhat time consuming to make them, but protector kits aren't cheap and don't always include needed protectors. Plus, polycarbonate is a lot more impact resistant than PETG. Will essentially last forever.

You can get drill bits for plastic at the Tap Plastics website and you can buy a scroll saw and polycarbonate at Home Depot/ Lowes.

I've used the plastic washers in the past but now I just use the rubber nuts that press on the studs instead, yeah, a hit will toss the plastic up and pull the nut off, but it doesn't break it. Plus, now it's easy to pull the plastic off to clean, swap rubber, etc.

Sure on old games, new games it's pretty poor looking.

My newest game is from 1995 but most are 70s-80s.

I was thinking about it. Always assumed the reason they put the washers under the plastic was to distribute the force of the nylon nut and help with vibrations of the habit trails. at least on sling plastics, seems half the time plastics break right along that weak point near the hole in the plastic.

Only other pro to full plastic protectors is the other half the time where the plastics break, there is no where to put a plastic/metal washer anyway.