Seems like a good opportunity to replace post, wax playfield and replace rubbers.

I'm on the fence on Waxing though. Will the shine of the surface cause issues with the shine of the mylar. Don't know.

I had one game with Playfield protector and wasn't a big fan of it to be honest.

My rule is on a new game or a game with a near-perfect playfield, do not wax it because it will show a mottled appearance. But in my experience, on older worn playfields, the mottled wax effect isn't as prevalent (or noticeable at least), so I wax those.

Naptha is just "lighter fluid" - and a great solvent for removing wax.

They are just as easy to remove as install, but the difficulty varies with the game. I wouldn't think Paragon would be too bad since it is a single level game and no ramps.

Nah, don’t wax it.

1000%, NO wax before the protector.

Do a super good cleaning, wipe it all down and try to get all the dust out.
Then put in the playfield protector.

After that, wax and clean off the protector.

All set.

I will say that protectors are awful and the only time they are worth using is when you have cupped inserts. Aside from that 1 positive, they are expensive, dont actually protect the pf much (dirt still gets under them over time and will grind the pf more when you cant easily clean it up), and the games play a bit slower than on wood.

There is 1 more big positive - you can maintain your playfield in mint condition if you install a protector on a new game - zero dimples. Really helps out on games with ball drops and/or tendency for airballs or magnets. Worth a $150 to me.

It is true that dirt gets under them, but no "grinding" - the protector shouldn't be sliding around if installed correctly. You can take them off every couple of years if you want to clean them. You can also just cut them off with snips in about 5 minutes if you want to remove them permanently to, say, sell your game.

As far as speed difference, ask 3 people and you'll probably get 3 different answers. I have them installed on everything from old EMs to modern games, and I personally think the speed difference is negligible. Hell, some people even say the ball travels faster.

In the end, YOU are either going to like them or not, but nobody else can tell you if YOU are going to like them or not. Just like I can't tell you what your favorite color is, even though I know it's green Try one and see for yourself.

Don't wax it!! There's absolutely no point to waxing your playfield if you're laying a protector down. You'll run the risk of unsightly "wet" spots appearing between the protector and the playfield caused by the wax. It's called mottling. Naphtha is used to safely clean and remove the wax so this doesn't happen. I have protectors on my newer Sterns and love them. Much easier to install/remove on older pins. Majority of users are very pleased with playfield protectors.

think they are to new to say this one way or the other. I understand the logic but, can't imagine some dust particles doing that much damage.
I'll let you know in 10 years when I take one off a NIB game I put on route.

haven't noticed the ball going slower, but maybe that's just me.
thought there might of been less spin.
I took some footage before and after on a stern star trek install, need to post it on you tube or something.

What does it look like after 5 years?

Can’t speak for him but I have a protector on my MM that has been on for 3 years. I just pulled it off to install a restored/ clear coated PF. There was some dust and lint looking particles under the protector but that was it. I reinstalled the protector on the new PF and it looks like the pf is under water. I also waxed and buffed the new pf before putting on the protector. I have always waxed the PFs of my games before installing a protector. Never had any problems. They all looked the same, Artwork under glass. The games don’t play any faster or slower than a waxed up Clear Coated PF. You never have to worry about ball impacts on the PF.

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Do you wax the protector itself or just keep clean? Bought a T2 a while ago with one installed and today is clean/wax day. Thanks!

I'm getting ready to put a playfield protector from playfieldprotectors.com on an old Mata Hari. After hearing some opinions and looking at this thread, opinions seem to be 50/50 on whether or not to wax the playfield before putting on the protector. Anyone have any experiences to share since this thread was started? Any and all advice is appreciated. Thanks.

I don't wax the playfield, instead I clean it with naptha before installing the protector. There are Newton rings though at some point usually - the new idea that I read on this forum is to put some powder (or whatever it was) an invisible amount on top of the playfield before installing the protector in order to hinder the Newton rings -phenomenon.

I Novus 1 the playfield and both sides of the protector, It has anti-static properties that help keep the dust off. I've done at least 6 and I'm happy.