The clear does not stick well to glossy surfaces.

So we rough it up, then drip in our clear to fill cupped inserts or other glossy low-spots.

Use a hand sander (like a 10x4" drywall sanding block) rather than a powered sander, if you are new to clearcoating.

Sand the playfield, and you will quickly see the low spots.

Once you have the whole playfield sanded, take the paper, and by hand, sand the low spots (a block won't follow the curves).

Tilt the playfield in the light, there should be no glossy spots.

You can use a wire brush to get into openings and rough the hard to reach spots.

If the back of the playfield is still populated, tape off large openings, smaller ones will be fine:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/vids-guide-to-ultimate-playfield-restoration/page/20#post-1788273

Just finished wet sanding and buffing my BK playfields. Wet sanded with 1000, then 1500, then 2000 grit. Then buffed it out with Meguiars number two and then a machine glaze after that. Wow, it looks incredible.

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Nice, sanded tonight, started at 1500-2000-2500-3000 did it by hand with a hand held block. Got it pretty dang smooth! I haven't used the Meguiars cutter creme or the final creme yet, tomorrow eve probably.

I thought the playfield looked really great before the wet sand and buff. I almost didn't want to do it and not get a better result. But after wet sanding it and buffing it out, there is a huge difference and well worth the extra time to finish it properly.

haven't kept up with this thread in a while. this video showed up in my youtube feed. Thought it was interesting that this guy repainted his car fender using rattle cans and followed up with 3 coats of spraymax and it came out great (except for some minor drip by not keeping his glove taught and caught some of the spray)

How many days after you use Spray Max 2k, can you wet sand and polish ?

I usually wait at least 2 weeks if there is only a lock down coat and then a finish coat. The longer the better. It will shrink and if you play it too soon it will dimple

SDTM Cary Hardy: Pinball Clear Coating Booth on a Budget

I spray late afternoon on a calm day in my backyard. No booth needed. Dries so quickly I have never had a problem.
Lighting is perfect.
I roll the rotisserie into my shed overnight and we are good to go.

Great you are making a booth and well done. I like the video as it is tackling this work from the necessary safety angle.

I use a similar spray booth bigger but outside never inside, this clear stuff is too nasty. The weather can and will push the clear back into your garage. Bring your play-field in to your garage to cure after an hour or so if the weather dictates.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/making-a-collapsible-pvc-paint-booth#post-3634101

If you want to see how you really use 2K look at this:

His lungs will have the nicest clear coat on them!

Oh wow!

He read the instructions but thought they were in a foreign language think it was in English. The words he though were foreign perhaps were cyanide or carcinogenic. I don't think that was the first time he has used it after that comment.

And yes he now has a clear coat film on his lungs.
Wow....

Freakin crazy

I spray outside with a mask and full suit.

When using this for the initial base coat, how long does it take before I can start on my touch-ups?

You should be able to send the base coat the next day depending on how thick it is. I usually wait a week on a thin coat, sand it smooth and begin touch up. It's going to shrink some if it is thick.
If you can smell it when sanding it is not cured. And is still toxic IMO.

The reckless abandon, yet 100% confidence, with which this guy sprays all around himself cracks me up. RIP dude

He looks immune to it though.

For those who used 2 parts clear before, there's no way to stand around that stuff without a mask. At least for me...

He's a beast.

Well I guess after that first coat of clear throughout your respiratory system, smells just don't bother you any more lol

I've seen some people spraying 2K outside without a mask. While not advisable, I think you can "get away with it" if you don't do it on a regular basis. But inside a small basement is really tough...especially with the smell as Plumonium mentioned...

& if you look at the comments on his utube vid, no one makes a huge deal about it

This must be the foreign language he was struggling to read.

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He did reply to my comment:

Guillaume Bourque
21 hours ago
Safety first they say...

Ed Moore
14 hours ago
Safety 3rd...after beer and women! Lol

Ha ha ha hilarious. Your early funeral.

I doubt he has a motorcycle helmet. Otherwise, he would have taken the opportunity to Spraymax2K that as well.

Safety first = more beer and women.

Anyone else notice how much that dude looks like Milton from Office Space?

milton-waddams (resized).jpg

I've been having issues with the last two cans of Spraymax that I've used. First time, I assumed the can's pressure was not quite right but the second can did the same although to a lesser extent. The first can was something that I had on the shelf, it was never activated until I sprayed it. Second can was from a new order but date stamped 9/2018.

I'm spraying on a horizontal surface and I get drops of clear falling onto the surface. Am I expecting too much from a spray bomb when it comes to a horizontal spraying surface?

I have had the drips a few times. Its from the spray fan actually getting close to the can rim and collecting on it and at time it looks like it slightly runs down the spray nozzle. I do about 6 left /right passes and then take my other hand with my gloves on and just wipe my finger on the lip / ridge to stop it from accumulating too much to and start to drip off.

Be sure your glove is not in the fan of the spray pattern.
Also, maybe moving your finger back on button so the downward pressure angles the fan back rather than forward towards the rim of the can.
I have had other spray bombs leak at the stem. I tend to push the button further down than is necessary. Too much pressure. The pool grows and I don't know it until I see the droplets.

Last several cans did not drip. I'm really liking the SprayMax lately, significantly less overspray than using the gun. I got a 6 pack off of Amazon which brought the price per can down to around $14.

Wow, that's cheap.
I like there is little to store and nothing to clean up.
It is expensive if you want to level inserts.

Yeah...I still have the stuff for the gun that I can mix up in very small batches for leveling.

Just FYI for those not aware, they always have a 2 pack on Amazon for $35.

USC Spray Max 2k High Gloss Clearcoat Aerosol (2 PACK) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00W2D806Y/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_.WPNCbRMDK3M2

just finished my second can of spraymax and noticed i have some small dimples in the playfield, these are about the size of a grain of sand or even smaller. didnt have these after the first can. you really have to get horizontal to see them. Are these worth worrying about. I was only going to do two cans, but i have 2 extra, so i can do another coat if everyone agrees i should. If so, how should i fixe them? you can kind of see them in the reflective area of the picture. They are not all over, i would say there is about 30 of them total on the playfield

20190405_160441 (resized).jpg

anyone?

It's up to you. Do you plan on sanding and buffing?
There may be enough material to cut down to the bottom of those dimples.
Truth is that the minute you start playing, more dimples will happen.
The thicker the clear coat , the more likely it will dimple.
Finally, only you will see those. Anyone, including the most anal collector, will not likely see those under the glass.

A dimple?? Like a fisheye? If so.. contamination of some sort. Did you wetsand the first coat.?

yes, i did wetsand with 1500 then cleaned with naptha and then a microfiber cloth, but i didnt tack cloth it, which is what i think i may have done wrong. i was planning on wetsanding again with 1500, 2000, 3000, then doing mcguires buff.

Could have been something on the microfibre. When I paint anything I usually do it again ..with a different clean cloth. Thats the crappy thing about oils and silicone..they are invisible.

I was wondering if others could help and look into something. I have used this product on 2 play fields so far. I was wondering on other people play fields how does it look around your inserts after about a month? Have you noticed any clear slightly recessed around the profile of an insert? My Lectronamo I did last Aug has been holding up great but i did notice some time ago the inserts all have a slight ring that is recessed around the inserts. It looks like possibly the clear has slightly shrunk / contracted in these areas and caused this to happen. The clear is not cracked in any way and it hard to see unless your looking at it close and with light at the correct angle. The inserts on that play field were all original and not new installed ones so I don't see them seating or moving due to being recently installed.

The Sinbad i just recently cleared about a month ago has the slight same thing going on. All inserts on this one are new but i don't think that's contributing to it. What I did notice with this one is its only happening at this moment to inserts that spend most of the time with the lights on under them. The inserts that almost always remain off during game play are still as smooth as glass.

Im thinking the heat from the lights with this clear my cause it to slightly contract, but that being said why just a recessed ring and not a full step down over the insert? I sanded the Sinbad inserts were flat prior to install and after fitted only 3 required filling and leveling with clear.

Thoughts?

I think that is normal die-back that happens during the longer term cure. I think all polyurethane clears will do it. I am not fully aware of what is actually the cause.

This stuff works. While it will cost you an arm and a leg not a bad investment. Still toxic and need to use proper precautions.

Note Hardtop PF. Used Spraymax on playfield prep and shooterlane resto.

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Die back.... I knew I heard of that before but forgot what it was called. I wonder what curing time should be allowed to help this do its die-back thing prior to final sand and polish. I wonder if my coats are slightly too thick.

I think you have to wait months between if I remember Ive read it someplace before.

I think 30 days is most of the movement. Would like to know what the cause really is. How does clear know it is on an insert. But definitely, thinner coats suffer from it less.

I think its the lamp heat build up that might accelerate it and make it more prominent in those areas. Like i noticed the lamps that are almost never on dont have the die-back yet.

My experience is with an unpopulated playfield standing up against a wall, and it did it.

My own experience / observations... Dimples mostly come from compression of the playfield wood. I have a LOTR that was heavily dimpled that got professionally clearcoated when I restored the game. There are still hardly any dimples and that was 3 years ago. You can kind of see it before in https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/lotr-refresh#post-3129134 and after in https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/lotr-refresh/page/2#post-3292380. Once the wood's been compressed and is protected by a thicker coat of clear, it is a lot more resilient.

I saw in person a couple games restored by HEP and even after a few years, there are hardly any dimples.

On the other hand, the clear on the LOTR has recessed by a very slight amount around some of the inserts. You really have to look for it with the right lighting and at an angle to see it.

I got a NIB AFMr and after 500 or so plays, there are dimples all over the playfield, and the clear has also shrunk a bit around some of the inserts. It happens with or without heat as the clear cures.