Ive been contemplating this thread for a week now. I decided to wait a few days before posting it. Kind of a cool off period to give me some clarity and try and think of a solution. Ive contacted a couple guys with the proper skills to fix my playfield but they both said they wouldn't touch it. That makes it a total loss. I think the only thing to do now is follow through with my part of the original deal. Show off Great American Pinballs playfield touch up and clear coat work.

First a teaser pic and a brief rundown on how this whole thing came to be.

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Ten months ago I was trolling pinside as normal and I ran across this thread.

http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/need-playfields-for-art-work-touch-ups

As you can see in the thread Mike and I struck up a deal. We talked on the phone and it was agreed I would send him my PF and he would do all the touch up work and have it clear coated. The touch up was pro bono and in return I show it off for all to see the work GAP is capable of. The clear coat I would pay him for. The cost would be only what it cost him to have it cleared. The shipping I paid for. This would take 6-8 weeks. Sounds like a killer deal. I felt like I hit the lottery. In my head I was going to have a professionally touched up and clear coated PF. The cabinet wouldn't do the PF justice in its current condition so I decided to restore it while I waited on the PF. I took the cabinet down to bare wood, repainted and fully restored it. But this review isn't about the cabinet.

What followed in the next ten months was a series of excuses and blow offs. Im patient and understanding most of the time so I made it a point not to bother Mike. After the 6-8 week mark came and went I sent him a message simply asking if he had a timeline in mind for the project. The response I received was one that would be used by him on multiple occasions. “ My paying customers have to come first”. Usually he just didn't respond to my messages but when he did this is what I got. Heres another pic. Photo album coming soon.

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February 8th I sent him another message asking about a status or timeline with no response until Feb.18th. His response was,
“ We are going to be finshing up the touch ups this week and sending it off to get cleared coated. Should have it back next week!”
Another month goes by.
---March 18th:
“Playfield is ready Price is $350.00 including shipping to VA.. You can paypal *******@.com”
---Me:Mike,
“Thanks for getting the PF done. I decided to completely sand and restencil the cabinet and I'm just about done. I'm kind of surprised about the price honestly. When we talked on the phone last may I asked about a time frame and clear coat cost. You said a couple months and you would charge me what your clear coat guy charged you, $150-$200. In your original thread you also said you would charge me what ever your clear coat guy charged you. Now it's 10 months later and $350. I need my playfield back but I'm just a little sticker shocked. I'm not sure what changed from when you first made the offer to now. I would like you to reconsider your original post and our original conversation. I however will still be more than happy to take lots of pics and post them on pinside so people can see the good work you do. Maybe I will start a thread showing my restored cabinet and playfield going back together. The guys eat that up. Thanks again, Tony”
---Mike:
“sorry dude that was a type - o. it is $250.00. I hate typing fromsmart phones! $200 for the playfield and $50.00 for the shipping. We are good, thanks”

I sent the $250.
I received my professionally touched up playfield in the mail finally. Well thats not exactly true. I had moved in the ten months this process took. Exactly 4 times I sent Mike my new address with a note that I had moved. My PF still went to my old address. Luckily I was able to retrieve it. When I did this is what I got.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/dp6kddvo8cz58fo/y7kUnh1eaQ
I don't know what happened. As far as I can tell mike sells high priced tricked out pins and new pins. Anyone can take a nice pin apart and make it shiny but playfield work is a whole different story. I was reassured with his talk of an art degree and the addition of PF work to his business. I assumed someone with his experience would know better than to clear over the mess thats on my PF. If something went wrong and he was not able to do it I would have understood. If he didn't want to level my inserts and just wanted to touch up my Pf I understand. Why in gods name did you clear over it before it was done? When I look at the work that was locked in by the clear it almost makes me think he was angry with me. The touchup is not even done. Its missing lines in the road and there is still wood showing around the upper traffic lights. The left large blue insert in so high the PF is not even close to playable. The clear is so thick and pooled and wavy its sad. I asked mike why he did this to my PF and all he would respond is “I'm sorry you don't like the work.” I cant imagine mike thinks this is how you touch up a PF. I can imagine he didn't know better. Im really curious to why with all the good work he puts out this is what my project turned into.

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I told mike I wanted a refund for the clear coat since it would have to come off. He refunded the $250 plus another $100 for shipping with a note that again said he was sorry I didn't like the work. Im still out though. Im out 10 months and I'm out a chance at a CPR(not that I can afford one atm) and I have a fully restored cabinet without a PF. Im mad, I'm out a lot of money and I don't want anyone else to end up in the same boat. Our original deal was for me to show his work off on pinside and RGP, thats what I'm doing. The pics I took don't do it justice and I didn't take pics of everything, just the highlights.

You can see a before pic here,
http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/getaway-highspeed-ii-playfield-restoration-90-complete-1

Just a side note. I know these threads have a tendency to go south. Thats part of the reason I was hesitant to start it. Im not looking for a pissing match or any drama. Im not going to respond to anything that even sounds like it might be trolling. My goal has two parts. One, anyone shopping around for a touchup and clearcoat job to be aware what their getting into. Two, I'm looking for some suggestions on fixing this mess. Ive thought about a PF overlay but they seem to be a thing of the past, or I just don't know where to look.

That makes two of us.

They are in the last link to gaps thead.

The clear is a disaster. Its just very hard to capture that in the pics. Look at the glare. Its supposed to be near flat.

Every pic I took is of the touchups. Except for the traffic lights. They were left bare wood in places.

Exactly. Im just doing an honest account of what happened and pics of the work as asked. No name calling or cursing. This is what he asked me to do when this whole thing started 10 months ago. Thats why I was so shocked to see this.

Sure, but before he had a playfield that could easily be restored.
Now what does he have?

This is exactly it. The PF is done now. The mistakes are buried to deep under to much clear. I have nothing to work with. And to think I restored the cab to match what I thought was coming in the mail. Heres the cab I did.

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This thread is an honest review of a situation that originally started here on pinside. My part of the deal was to do exactly what I'm doing now, post a review and pics. As long as everyone acts mature and keeps themselves composed I would be disappointed if this thread were closed. Its no different than the MAD thread. I understand their are two sides to every story and I want to hear the other side also. I asked what happened and didnt get a real answer.

lol, no I take that back LMFAO

Certainly not all people feel this way but IMO if its going to cost more to properly restore it than buy an NOS its not worth doing. Id say the rare NOS would be around $1200.