Looking good! Love your "spray booth" too.

Just a quick note on the SprayMax 2K, it does have a shelf life so check your dates. You may want to return it if you don't have plans to use it before then.

Keep posting pics....

very nicely done...

the finishing , sanding and buffing is the part I hate the most. So time consuming.

Is it even possible to lay down a so perfect flat coat as the last coat that this step is not needed?

no. No matter how smooth that final layer is. There is always some random crap that happens to get in the clear. Either particals of dried clear, or random shit floating around or something. Obviously the less crap that gets in that final layer, the less sanding with 3000 grit you have to do, but there is always some to some degree and you always have to buff with buffing compound. That's why, just clearcoating , costs so much for me to do ($350 for level 1 with minor black line work). Just basic clearcoating for NOS, or repro, that needs leveling and 3-5 layers of clear, takes a crapload of time.

First there is playfield prep. Insert edging detail, then first layer of clear. Then block sanding, then scuffing, then 2nd layer. block sand, scuffing, 3rd layer (rare cases this is final), block sand, scuff, 4th layer, then 3000 grit spots where crap fell in. Then about an hour of buffing and glazing layer.

Looks great , now you can do the cabinet as well.
Because there is no color anymore on it

You did a great job!

Turned out very nice, Good job!

Looks good and should hold up well.

Very inspiring! Thank you for documenting it all!

Looks fantastic!

Awesome

This thread has actually started giving me some confidence to try spraying my playfield. I know you brushed, and it looks great, so I figure even a bad spray job (which is probably what I'm capable of) should go on at least as smooth as brushing, so I have may a shot at it turning out nice.
I truly am impressed at the entire process from start to finish and how you cobtinued to work with it until it came out great.

looks awesome !

shirkle.... go for it.... but be warned; Spraying Clear can have issues.
I have done about 6 playfields outside of my garage... every one has been a challenge to get right.
On one I had really bad orange peel... almost like the clear was drying on the way onto the wood. It was fixed by basically putting another layer down ... but it still tried my patience.

Boss

end result looks pretty good. Well done.

Awesome job man

Nice work Brian

Agreed!

Awesome job!

Couple of cheats I use. Did not read the whole post so disregard if previously mentioned.

I am terrible at painting. I have to mask everything. I would tape and freehand frisket. X-acto knife ooh-nooooos no more.
Now I just take some hi-res pics perpendicular to the PF. Measure the area. Go to my graphics artist guy and he vector renders the photo.
Then laser prints "stencil" decals. I prep the area. Take the decal and peel it half way off the backing and leave is sit in a clean room for about an hour. I roll the exposed decal back onto the backing and peel away the other half and leave it sit. This removes a lot of the adhesion. You can use some Fix-it spray your first few times until you are handy at placing the decals without offset or wrinkles. Then I remove half the decal and position it on the PF. Then pull the other half off and stick it. I now lay the decals down in the correct order. Paint. Peel the decal and discard it. Repeat.

I also do this "decal stenciling" when I repair scoops or other difficult areas to wood fill. I make the decal MUCH larger than the area I work on. This protects the PF from me dropping putty or tools. Someone suggested using vinyl and letting it cling to the PF but my store doesn't laser cut vinyl

I use a Pantone color wheel to match when I can't easily get the item to be painted to the store. IF you go to a paint store, go to a GOOD paint store. The equipment that matches the paint (a spectrophotometer) needs to be properly maintained and calibrated. Most places install the unit and forget it. A trained operator can "compensate" for the machine if they are worth salt. Try to find an older Pantone wheel at your local paint store. Otherwise they can be expensive.

And no store will becauSe it creates clorine gas. For vinyl you will need a plotter.

Good ideas though, Ive thought of doing something similar.

Any chance you could post some photos of this process?

Most new lasers incorporate vacuum removal of gasses and dust.

Next machine I do. I will. Was hoping CPR was going to get going on the Space Invader Playfield. IF not then that's next.

Milton

Doesn't' matter. Chlorine gas is toxic in any concentration.
It also damages the lenses and internals of the laser.
NEVER cut vinyl with a laser. ever. period.

Not to disagree but I cut Vinyl a lot. It's a fibre laser. No contamination. And for the record a lot of the types of steel that is cut with the laser is also toxic. I do this for a living. 29 years.
Milt

Here's a really good example of how a laser can be set to cut vinyl.

Just because you do it doesn't mean it's safe.

"Although polyvinyl chloride (PVC) can in fact be cut with laser, the thermal process produces hydrochloric acid and toxic fumes. For this reason, we advise you not to use laser for cutting PVC in order to prevent corrosion of your laser system and to ensure the safety of the machine operator. "
-- http://www.eurolaser.com/materials/polyvinyl-chloride-pvc/

I do not understand the difference between fiber and co2 lasers w/ regards to the cutting process; but every laser vendor and laser manual I see clearly states that PVC is not to be cut with their systems for the affore mentioned issue.

Fantastic restoration. Thank you for sharing your ups and downs.

Yves

Go for laser safe vinyl.
It can be mylar.
It can be 3m decal magic paper.
The point is you get perfect lines.

And for the record you can't get near the vapors. The machine is completely sealed.
More for light radiation than vapors. They don't care if you eventually die but you can't run the machine blind. And like I said I'm pretty much an expert on lasers.

Milton

Any tips for preventing bubbles with the foam brush?