So was this the discounted one?

Ya lol

What pf is that, it’s beautiful.

It’s pirates , well both are

Did you get any notification? I have heard nothing. Would have thought they got all of them delivered.

In had to follow up twice, the order was just sitting in their que...

I was cleaning/waxing my playfield yesterday and noticed that a few of the metal posts show the clear-coat ripple. Up until now I would have said I didn't have any issues (no chipping thankfully). Since most of the posts are fine, this would indicate either inconsistent curing times across the playfield, or more likely some of the posts were installed too tightly, or both.

So if we go for the extra playfield, the consensus is that the printing is not adhered to the wood that well? That’s why the artwork chips away. Otherwise if it was just clear than clear would chip but artwork would stay. I guess the thick clear does not help the situation. But it’s like the bond is stronger between the layers of clear and the printing, rather than the printing and the wood.

Going forward, do we get the extra playfield or are we just setting ourselves up for the same problem again?

I guess if we do go for it, keep in original packaging and lay down flat? If we keep it for years like this can it go off? Some have had bad experiences. I would like to keep for a number of years as insurance if my playfield gets worse.

When I do replace, rubber washers under all posts and don’t over tighten.

Thoughts? I know I am chasing my tail, but a lot of money if it is not a guaranteed fall back or if I can damage the replacement by storing incorrectly or for too long.

Thanks.

While I suspect no answer will be a guarantee I believe the art issue is more of a suspect opinion than a consensus. My Opinion (no guarantee lol) is the base of the clear is strong and bonded to the art like nails (permanently bonded to the art). It's the top thick coat that is soft and needing time to gas over and harden. In my opinion if you opt for the replacement and keep it in the really nice box they ship it in, in 6 months (like a fine wine) she will be ready for the high seas! Just do a nail test or other if you want to check on it under the apron area of the playfield. Truth is nobody will know for sure for years if any of this works when playfield swaps happen but my guess is like most time can Cure all wounds (or woods). lol As for rubbers etc, replace as normal just use common sense in how tight you reassemble and enjoy that fun ass game!

I'd like to see this also.

And for me, if I'd want to use this as a replacement, I wouldn't expose it directly to sun. That's just me though.

JJP take care of your customers!

Listen, at 9K-12K you can only do so much in terms of quality and overall attention to detail.

There are two levels of quality. There is the quality that the company talks about on TV----or any other medium, in an effort to get you to buy. And then there is the level of quality that comes face to face with paying the rent. The suppliers. And the employees. I guess we could call it crisis management.

Any company can shout quality from the rooftops. But when problems arise and problems start cropping up in the pipeline, that is where you get to see what the company is really made of: Mainly, is it capitalized with enough cushion to weather the storm(s). History is replete with companies ceasing to exist because management made the wrong calls. Or the company just ran out of money and could not handle the issues. Any young pinball manufacturer could certainly be at risk.
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This is where Boeing Aircraft is at right now. Talk about about an expensive product to sell. Management made some bad calls that have come back to bite--- hard. And the customers cannot use the product. The customers want to be made whole---so Boeing is going to have to eat that. Boeing is a well capitalized company, but it depends on how long its crisis lasts.

And it is a little sobering when you consider the Boeing bought up McDonnell-Douglas Aircraft and part of the reason for that happening is that M-D never fully recovered from when a DC-10 lost an engine at O'Hare Airport in 1979 over a quality issue.

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I have a picture etched in my mind. On one side is P.T. Barnum who mastered the fine art of selling bullshit. And on the other of that pic side is any (take your pic )corporate CEO wishing he could be like P.T. I suppose this is not very charitable of me, but I'm old enough that I have been jacked over on the fine print too many times.

If this playfield ever gets used, it's going to Ron Kruzman first without a doubt. I don't trust the quality at all. I'll do the nail test tonight, and my estimate... it will dig in, even handling the playfield the surface feels soft.

Will a play field cure under glass or does it have to have the glass off. Mine is February build and just got it 1 month ago has some slight dimpling around posts and has neoprene under posts after 5 plays and only 20 plays on it ...I know 20 plays been super busy

Proof is in the pudding, brand new playfield,epic fail on the fingernail test...

To contrast that test, I walked over and did the same test on a Kruzman cleared creature playfield... nothing.

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Mine was February as well, had 95 plays as of a few weeks ago. I still had issues.

Fuck...

Can you post a side view of this spot so we can see how thick the clear is?

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Here two pics kinda hard to tell.. but does not look terribly thick..

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Are those dimples just above your mark? It is hard to tell for sure.

Yes you are seeing correct dimples, they are small but there

Sign me up!

The wood is sealed before art is applied. Probably with the same clear.

meh.. I think you are barking up the wrong tree there.

Since Mirco is very silent here. Being a very small producer of new playfields Stern Star Gazer & Seawitch. Also years ago (11) one of the pioneers of using direct ink uv inkjet production. Over the years I have always continued to use Varethane Interior Waterbourne Gloss (Home Depot) to seal the sanded playfields old or new before ink (2 coats). The last 11 years they went after printing for clear coats. 2 coats of automotive clear, some contractors may of misted before first coat.

Since the high cost of finish clear coats by my local contractors, & some times not the best results. Later this month I am moving on to doing 2 coats of Varethane over the uv ink, & then likely 2 finish auto clear coats. A problem lately is weep holes at the edge of some inserts. So if I can make sure they are not a problem. It avoids higher costs to fix or do more finish clear with the contractor!

**In the past with many failures. I mentioned that it was from too much finish clear being applied & not allowed to off gas! Some playfields would actually react badly with black ink. People at Expo when I first brought the first restorations, they were still soft going into a box. Most finish clear coat contractors will speed up the process with heat lamps, or air dry. Hope this helps out. I would guess that Mirco, CPR, & others are using a similar product to seal the wood initially to save money (why waste auto clear to seal wood).**

Mirco is considered a small producer of playfields!?! They appear to be the single largest.

No I am one of a group of very small producers of playfields. But share my experience & some failures here. Most big suppliers will not disclose their secret process here. Same with backglass production, thanks Spooky!

Wonder if CGC has any issues with their playfields? If not, then JJP should start using them for playfields!

I thought CGC made theirs in house

I can't see a problem with tapping them in with a hammer. I agree that the author makes it sound like something sinister is going on. But if you are not hammering them in, you can pull them in with a spacer and a screw/bolt, but this would be slow, cumbersome way to install hundreds of T-nuts per day. You could press them in but no you need a press with a large size working table and the challenge is how to do this to hundreds of play fields with out them getting scratched up during the press process.

Until I can know more, my opinion is that hammering them in is the least offensive way to place a T-nut on an assembly line.

CGC does make them. CGC was born from Churchill Cabinet Company and CCC made a lot of the PF's for WMS back in the day.

CGC - aka Churchill cabinets - is probably the oldest playfield contractor in business and still producing pfs.

They were one of several producing play fields in the heyday and afaik the only one from the 80s and 90s still doing it.

What is afaik.? Yes why not give CGC the business and keep it in the states?

Great idea!!!!