My DILE and SWLE have lots-o-dimples. It's a bummer, but it doesn't appear to be vendor specific. If dimples are disturbing, buy the old classics with harder wood and less fragile clear. My 2004 LOTR has thousands of plays and looks better from a dimple perspective than my modern pins with 100 plays. No joke.

snaroff

Not this again

Come back in another twenty years when all the dimples have evened out just like they do on every "classic" game.

Dimples are normal

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This confuses me - my SW pro has tons of dimples on it as well as my TWD pro. My WOZ has zero and I've had it longer than the other two and I've played the crap out of it. Riddle me that.

Mmmm. Dimples!

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All wood dimples. Only Orbiter 1 is immune.

I have noticed that the color of the PF can make the dimples more reflective; my SW looks more dimpled than my AFM, but both are about the same number of plays and both have the same number of dimples.

I just swapped out a 1997 CV playfield and have it hanging on the wall now; dimples everywhere, but the wood has compressed pretty uniformly and it looks flat. Same with my Star Trek; so many dimples it looks flat now.

The playing the crap out of it is the key. You dimpled that one faster because you played it more.

I'm going to shine a light on it tonight and check for it being the coloration of the playfield. I think the wood is just harder. It doesn't look like a dimpled playfield. Like my older BW games are dimpled smooth like you say. It's different than the fresh clearcoated look my WOZ has.

Do you really think that Mirco found a stash of harder wood laying around? Serious question: it’s plywood. It’s not like folks go out and buy instrument grade hardwoods, this is plywood! Metal balls are harder than wood. Clearcoat needs to flex and dimple or it would crack. It’s not softer wood. It’s not cheaper wood, it’s just pinball.

No I don't think that - I do have eyes and can see that my WOZ playfield clearly has no dimples compared to the crater field of my Stern's. I have no evidence as to why. I would actually like to know what the difference is. I will admit that WOZ has really shitty GI so it could just be the dim GI doesn't show the dimples like the super bright Stern GI bulbs. I will shine a light on it tonight to confirm.

It has so many dimples that you can’t see them now.

Take WOZ apart, get under a ramp or a place that a ball never goes and drop a pinball from a few inches up. Dimple.

Dimples are completely normal, even for older Bally/Williams games.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/playfield-dimple-reality-check

I guarantee you that your WOZ is not dimple free.

Because your LOTR has thousands of plays and thousands of dimples.

I just try to oxycute 'em.

So how has it affected the game play?

Ok I shined a bright LED light on the PF and no dimples. I'm going to post some pictures if I can figure out how to capture it. I'd like you nonbelievers to check it out.

Just received my new Getaway playfield. Will be doing the swap in the next few months. Better not dimple or seriously ....

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It absolutely will.

Especially because i paid extra for the super duper non dimpling superman plywood playfield....

Took me too long to post my next thought lol

It’s definitely going to dimple but don’t worry about it. One thing I have noticed, the more beer that you drink the less dimples you will see. You won’t care either.

Don't hate on my perfect PF. I can't help it mine's rock hard and smooth while you've got a limp dimply mess.

You probably haven’t played the game or something like that.

WOZ does dimple though because there are pics on here of WOZ games with dimples. It’s all good though, play the hell out of it and have fun!

Dont buy that bullshit about old classics and dimples...... My Huo AFMs PF looked like the peel of an orange over the entire thing, So did my MB.

My WOZ isn’t dimple free, but it has substantially less than my friends new SW. His sits in his house and my WOZ gets more play in our store. I believe you!

I hate newbies......

Dimple Defenders Unite!!! Steel is harder than wood! Blah blah blah.

Yes, a steel ball will dimple wood. HOWEVER, some playfields are made of softer wood and dimple more. The softer the wood, the deeper and more noticeable the dimple. Somebody actually took equipment and measured the difference on different games. On some games it looks like crap, and will NEVER even out as some people say it will. But on other games that are the right hardness, it will even out and look great.

It just depends on the game and what the manufacturer built it from. This keeps coming up because each game is made to different specs. And being direct, softer wood is cheaper. I know this because obviously customers are dissatisfied with the end product when soft wood is used, and yet it still gets used. Go through lists of modern games. I bet you can list the good wood from the soft wood.

You got one made of steel?

That’s it! I am done with wooden playfields, I will only buy steel playfields from now on!

In all seriousness, I wonder if it’s possible to make a playfield that would dimple less; mill the plywood as you normally would and then put it through some sort of press that would squeeze it and compress the fibers; analogous to what the ball would do, but do that at the time of manufacture, then CNC it, sand it, etc. I wonder if that would do anything or not.

Pictures from Vid's post I linked to above.

Original AFM playfield with a sea of 1,000,000 dimples.

A perfect WOZ playfield when new and one that has been used showing thousands of dimples.

Again, this is perfectly normal and expected.

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What I dislike are the lines that you see in the pf. The dimples get rid of that over time. Basically If you can't deal with the dimpling, sell you pinballs and go play video games!

A possible solution for those folks who want to have a pristine NIB game with no dimpling on the pf, get and install a pf protector. I have done several of these, one on a new pf I put in my TOTAN.

I tried a playfield protector on STTNG when I installed a brand new play field. I HATED the way it played, removed it after about 200 plays. I don't worry about it anymore, pinball machines are to be played and enjoyed. Dimples will be dimples, let them be.

AFMr feels great. Preferred it over MMr for sure. AFMr feels more like the original to me, to be clear I did not have a Bally AFM in the same room last night to compare as I did log time on both a MMr and a very well kept original MM and I stuck to the latter after it opened up.

I didn't see too much airball action in my few AFMr games. It was getting more constant play than any other pin I saw there. Maybe it has a couple more PF dimples now.

Exactly...not a black & white issue. The type of clear coat can also make the dimple's more noticeable. The newer, really glossy clear coats make the dimples look worse. No CC will protect the PF from dimpling, but it will effect how they appear.

snaroff

Don't give Stern any ideas. They'll raise their Pro model prices another $500!

While I agree with most of what Steve says there are differences in the amount of dimpling that goes on...... I have been collecting for over 20 years so I think I have some insite also. Point and case , my ST pro has almost no dimples and my GB Premium has alot.

Take a guess which one is newer and has more plays.

Not that this can be controlled as drying and wood hardness can vary, but to say all wood PF's dimple the same is totally false....... Period!!! And I dont need to ask Lloyd that .

1,000+ plays since clearing the pf and NO DIMPLES, and PZ is airball city! SprayMax2k is my choice of clear coat, it wont dimple from a ball drop up to 6 feet. Secret formula of acrylics and resins. Finding a clear coat system that works for pinball is like being Goldie Lox man and they just haven't found the right bed!

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The wooden playfield is what dimples, not the clear coat. What exactly are you getting at anyway? You got me very confused........Maybe im not understanding what you are trying to say or something?

Dude a good clear coat can TOTALLY protect your playfield from almost all dimpling and surface scratches. First off it's the wood and lack of crappy factory clear that's dimpling together creating the craters. In the past acrylic like Polycrylic was too hard for pfs and cracked but now there are a ton of synthetic systems designed for all applications from water tanks to automotive use. Water based acrylics don't yellow over time and when applied liberally to a pf if it gets some surface scratches in the future you can either just buff them out with rubbing compound or sand it down with 2k grit and recoat! I fell like it's been historically, Varnish first used as a clear coat system, then Lacquer, Varathane, and now "Automotive Grade" but with all the different manufactures out there you have to search for one that will work with the high impacts from a pinball. Search for SM2K here on pinside, it's a 2+ year ols thread with nothing but stellar reviews...and nobody complaining of imperfections in the clear after hundreds of plays!

On a somewhat related note marine plywood quality (used in wooden boat restoration or new builds) has deteriorated over the years due to inferior veneers used for the plys, which create voids.A void is simply a gap or hole existing in the subsurface between plys. All plywood is not the same, good quality hardwoods once used have made way for readily available rain forest and Indonesian "Mahogany Types" which are usually not as durable.
I am curious about present day plywood suppliers being utilized by the big 3 pinball Manufacturers, as well as who supplied the Classic Era.

Sounds like you have the dimpling issues all figured out that playfield manufacturers can't. Maybe you should call them up and offer your services to them. Who knows, it might make you rich.