I know an elderly man who drives across town to buy peanut butter that is 10 cents less than at his local grocer - and he is proud when he tells me about these savings. He has completely compartentalized the cost of gas in his head. Ultimately his circuitry is deriving some happiness from this procedure.

Same in pinball, you can convince yourself that you are saving money by spending countless hours searching for artists, nickle and diming then, then doing it again with inserts and clear and paint costs and part costs and errors and mess and the end result will be - well something. When you add it all up it will ultimately cost more than a new playfield but might feel like you’re saving money. Then you may ultimatey look down at it and order the new one.

And as was mentioned above, what about your time? What is the cost of your time? Compare to ordering new playfield at perhaps and hour or two total.

Like a gambler that frequents Vegas who always returns to tell stories of his wins, there is value for some hobbiests to tell their friends about how much they saved to a restore. Often they neglect to mention the final tally.

You can afford something since you’re in this hobby. Whatever it is that you can afford per month, stash away until you have the amount you need for a new playfield. Thats my 10 cents on this topic. Good luck