Sure doesn't sound normal. Clear coat has to cure between coats. If it doesn't, then you get some version of what your experiencing. I would have a chat with the manufacture. Send him some pics and ask questions before you go any further.

I'm not the expert here but I seem to recall people with experience doing playfield swaps saying that you shouldn't hammer t nuts in, you should try to draw them in. The reason they said to do that is for this very reason - cracks in the clear

Which company? Which game title?

Clear is very hard but a little flexible. Too much flex and it will crack or show hairline cracks. This shouldn't be a problem with a playfield under normal use. Hammering on it, or tightening screws too tight, could cause it to crack. On the other hand, when you describe clamping leaving impressions sounds like it is not cured. The cure is a chemical reaction with the clear and the catalyst (hardener). Doesn't need to "dry" between coats. If there is the proper proportion of hardener and clear when it is sprayed, it will begin to cure. It should be cured well beyond expectations after a few days. Sounds to me like the application wasn't done properly.

No.
The clear you talking about would be an automotive 2 part clear coat. Manufacturers say the cure time could be 30-90 days, but that's before you start using chemicals or sealants on them. In reality, you take your car in for collision repair, they fix the dent, then in a matter of a couple hours they prime, paint, and clear coat. Only a matter of minutes between the prime, paint, and clear coats. Could be a couple hours longer if they are doing two colors, but my point is that after the clearcoat is applied it dries (cures) to the touch in maybe 20 minutes. In 24 hours it can be buffed out with an electric buffer-polisher. It's that hard in 24 hours to be able to withstand the polishing machine. Not sure how to quantify it, but I suppose it does get harder as the days go on. But I'm guessing the clear coat has achieved >95% of its ultimate hardness in 24 hours. So you pick up your car a day or so after they have painted your car and you tear off down the freeway at 80 mph. That's how hard it is. Basically cured.

If after 90 days you are leaving impressions in your clearcoat, then I'd say it didn't cure properly, and there is nothing you can apply to make it cure more. Will your playfield be protected against bouncing and swirling balls? Hmmmm. Not sure.

The worse part, you can't remove the clear and start over unless you sand it off. Not sure how you do that without ruining your paint.

When clamping are the depression due to compressing the wood or just in the clear itself? Clamping down hard on any wood can cause a dent or low spot.

^^^^^
Clear does not make the plywood any harder. Just makes the surface able to be polished.

I have a CPR PF I let sit for around 3 months and I think every single item I placed on the PF and tightened down made an indentation. Of course I mostly used an electric screwdriver to tighten posts and dont baby them much.
Rotisserie clamps made indents for sure also.

I screwed up a clearcoat once by applying it too thick and not keeping it at proper curing temperature long enough. It behaves exactly as you are describing. I ultimately babied it with high (80-90 degree temperatures) for a couple weeks. It finally cured. I would use my nose and fingernail to test progress. Initially, it would really smell like fresh clear when the playfield was warmed, and I could dent it easily with my fingernail. Gradually, the smell decreased and my fingernail had a harder time leaving a mark until it finally stopped smelling and was hard.

Full sunshine exposition: many hours per day and many days in a row.

It normally takes two months for a clearcoated car to have a very solid layer of clear. Car manufacturers speed up the process by baking the chassis.

Yves

This was exactly my thinking that led me to the solution I posted above. The difference here is that we’re talking about a piece of painted plywood rather than a metal and plastic car body. Keep an eye on the playfield as you warm it in the sun that it doesn’t get so hot that it warps or delaminates. I had the playfield rails gently screwed on to help keep it flat.

It's a Bride of Pinbot, from Germany (not Mirco).

A playfield with multiple coats of auto clear takes at least 6 months to cure.

If the vendor has a good customer care, there is no risk to mention the name. If the reputation is bad, doesn't matter.
My suggestion is to contact other BoP playfield customers in the maker's thread. Hopefully they have experience about the behavior of the clearcoat after 3-6 months.

Same PF installed, no issues as you are describing.

1) I did my own clear coat on one play field. It took almost a year to completely harden up to where I felt it was safe to proceed.

2) Another CC I did, I placed the play field in the sun to cure. That helped for a way faster curing rate. However, I noticed that my inserts seemed like they were raising from the play field due too heat expansion so I stopped the sun cure. But by then, the play field was cured. It was a play field with a lot of black so it got real hot in the sun.

3) If you are extremely careful, you might be able to use an industrial heat gun to apply some heat for a faster cure. Your hair drier will not supply enough heat to be worthwhile.

4) Placing the play field in an old flat screen TV box and putting it in the sun might give you enough heat without direct sunlight.

The other part of the cure problem is our demand for glass smooth multi-layered clear coats. A couple of coats of clear is all that is needed for superior game play. It may not look as pretty, but thinner and less coats are less likely to start chipping.

Same here. I got on of the first repo PF's years back. Installed it that same weekend I got it. Took me about a month to complete the restoration. It dimpled just like most of the current PF's are doing but a fingernail wouldn't have caused any damage. The clamp damage I would see as normal as it's really not a great idea to clamp wood without some sort of media between it and the clamp at least.

The only thing I had would be slight indentions from where post were installed if I screwed them in real tight. Does look like the clear is a bit soft on your game. Maybe contact one of the PF restorers/clearcoaters on this site and ask their opinion in PM. CaptainNeo is just one person that comes to mind.

Two component low bake automotive series clearcoats, if baked according to the manufacturers datasheet, are considered fully cured after 72 hours. Some chemical reactions will continue after this, but they have essentially no effect on the paint properties. Probably after 6 hours you would not really notice that they are not cured. Most car manufacturers use one component clear coats on the sheet metal body, these are cured at a higher temperature than the two component systems and are “fully cured” even earlier after baking. There is no way that an auto manufacturer could allow longer durations before the clear is hard because the painted parts would be damaged during assembly. I’m not sure where some of these statements are coming that a paint requires months before being cured. If the clear is still soft after a few days then it was processed incorrectly. Possible reasons are wrong paint to hardener ratio, poor mixing, curing temperature too low, curing time too short, layer thickness too high, etc.

Now I will say I have no idea what clearcoat products are used on playfields, how they are processed and how thick they are, but I would be surprised if, for instance, the furniture industry accepts significantly different clearcoat performance than automotive. From where I’m sitting, the scenario you described is unacceptable.

Hella good customer service!! Great company and people for sure!

Playfields take longer because you can’t bake them like automotive parts. Painted plywood with glued in plastic inserts are waaaay more finicky and fragile.

Yes. Stop hoping reproduction playfields will be any good.

Get your new playfield, send it to Ron Kruzman for re-clear. Done, no issues!

Too much work, time, & monies. eXpecially for a BOP which has got to have one of the smallest usable PFs ever?

Unrelated to this thread, but yes; he and I have some things in play.

I guesss when one manufacturer says it's normal(Stern)
Others can just jump on the bandwagon.
I feel for you man, that's a bummer.