So I,ve stripped my EM play field (front and back). Cleaned with magic eraser and polished wit( novus 2. Pulled all inserts and have replacements to be glued in etc. Scanned and and recreated all graphics for water slide decals.

Gluing the inserts with epoxy and primer. Once all all installed. I’m going to spraymax the playfield before touch ups and decals. What grit sandpaper can I use over playfield and inserts for tooth for spraymax? The entire playfield I’m referring too.

Once lockdown is complete I want to paint and lay labels. What grit do I use to get level but still smooth enough for paint and decals to hold without ghosting/clouding? I’d like to get it sanded smooth enough for next clear layer to bite but not cloud up the decals.

Make since?

Just wondering if anyone has tip of sanding the really small dips/divots before applying second coat of 2K.

Sprayed my first coat and of course there were low spots. Hand sanded but got close to cutting into the new paint so can't sand perfectly flat (get rid of all the low spots). So I'm getting ready to spray a second coat. However, as we've been told the 2K will not stick to the bottom layer if its not been scuffed up with sand paper.

How do you guys go about scuffing up those tiny shiny little low spots? Will clear stick to these small area's of not sanded? Most are really tiny like top of pen. Other like the size of a pencil eraser.

Any tips would help.

Scratch Pen....never heard of such a thing. Time to Google

Thanks for the advice!

Picked up one of these red pads.....works like a charm. Thanks!

So I manage to spray the playfield (two cans) and on the second coat one of painted lens rings bubbled and went south. I'm thinking I got to heavy in that area and ate away at the glue or something.

Either way the rest of the playfield came out good and sanded pretty flat with 1200 right now. I can easily paint that ring again but then that's on top of the new clearcoat layer. I would love to avoid having to use/purchase a new can of clear and spray the whole thing sanding it all again for the sake of a 2 inch circle.

Anyone got suggestions ... and I hate myler so that is not an option for me

So I've finally got my playfield cleared with 2K in can. Sanded and buffed. Just wondering about waxing and repopulating.

Right now its been three weeks since final clear and buffing etc. Do you apply wax? What kind do you recommend these days?

Wax before repopulating playfield (wooden rails etc)? How long should I wait before putting down wax and populating? I've been reading all kinds of dates from from 4 days, to 6 weeks to months....not really sure how long to wait to be honest.
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Thanks! A lot of work and learning curve but enjoyed doing it. Also, created full vector graphic to scale of the playfield. So if I ever just want to do a printout/overlay that's an option.

Learning vector graphics and color mixing I think was the hardest parts. Now I just got to figure out what to do wax wise and time frame to start putting everything back on it.

Get inkscape or vectornator and and start with a graphic layer you want to trace/redo. Learn how to use the ink/pen tools etc. to make curves, how to take two layers and merge them into another to create the graphic you want.

When ever I was stuck google was my friend. SVG files are by far the best way create perfectly sized graphics without quality loss on scaling. Some of the things I found odd was trying to copy & paste a section of scanned graphic. I usually just dump the image into another graphics program and cut the part I want to work on. Then save that into a bottom layer within the vector software. Work from the bottom up I guess you call it.

Once you get an understanding of it. Its really not to hard just a lot tools to remember.

Hmmm....What am I looking for in the die back? The playfield has been fully sanded and buffed smooth and ready for repopulation of components. Has been that way for 3 weeks with no change that I can see. Is there something else I'm looking for before waxing? Boy I hope I don't have to clearcoat again and re-level/buff before waxing. Essentially redo everything I just done over the past few months.

Sort of confused here now as I thought processes sanding flat between coats of clear then doing the final steps on the last coat. I could wait and buff and wax.

Does the clear do something with the level surface after 3/4 weeks that I need to do it over again? I don't want to start populating everything only to have to take it apart and redo.

Thanks for the info though as I was getting ready to prep the surface for parts and glad I didn't until I can find out what look for.

Ok I had no idea this would happen over such a long duration. I'll let it sit for a another month or two and see how goes. Hopefully it won't be to bad and I can sand it out if pronounced.

I used 3 full cans. After the the first I sanded as flat as one could. Waited a month or so and sprayed the second. Sanded flat again and a week after that sprayed the third. About 3 days after that started sanded flat and over a week or so worked it through the various grits up to 3000 and then Novus 2. So right now its been sitting for about 3/4 weeks since that final coat.

Thanks pinballinreno

Yes that was the other thing I was wondering about. I thought the whole point of clear was to protect the field and not have to wax it. However, everywhere I read mentions waxing as it protects the clearcoat which sort of makes since as we do it with cars right.

Either way I'm letting it sit for another 2 to 3 months and go from there. Lots of other things I still have to work on like recreating some of the plastics, buffing the steel....always something to take away from the "put it together" urges

So Naptha is really just a type of zippo lighter fluid. I used camp fuel from automotive store called recochem camp fuel. Not Colman's as they add antirust and lubricants to their products. Any automotive paint store should be able to supply you with a pre-prep cleaner. Trick is to make sure your piant is fully cured and you apply the cleaner to the rag and not directly to the playfield. I made this mistake and ended up smearing some of my colors and having to redo.

2K in can on wood works fine. As long as its clean and scuffed up to bind. 2K does shrink as it cures and I'm seeing it on my playfield now that I cleared almost two months ago. Thanks to the people here and their advice. I left it before repopulating and now I know why. I'll have to re-sand and polish I'd say in the coming month.

The crack you have there. I'd get some wood glue in between the layers and clamp for a day or two so it dries well. The remove/sand an access glue and use a strong wood filler to fill any gaps. Let it dry well and sand flat. Once painted and cleared it should hold up fine.

I had a few spots like that as well and used the process I just mentioned. Worked fine. Think I used a two part wood filler though. Its putty stick and you cut what you need off it. Need it in your hands so its warm like playdough an then squeeze in the cracks. When dry its rock hard. You'll need to scuff up the area's so the wood filler has something to bite to.

mrm_4 That bar of soap might do a great job on cleaning the playfield though

First coat I lightly sprayed and then waited 10 minutes or so. Sprayed heavier coat and waiting another 10 minutes then emptied the can. Waited a day or two and sand flat as best I could. After about a week I ruffed it up with a brown 3M pad and done some touch ups.

Than about a month after this first coat sprayed a second can in a similar matter but heavier. Waited a a few days and sanded flat and still low spots etc. Scuffed with 3M pad again and made sure playfield was scuffed well.

Think it was about a week after that sprayed my third can. Sprayed it heavy filling in all the areas. Waited 3 days or so and then started the sanding from 1000 to 3000 grit. Buffed with Novus two and thats where it sits. The sanding & buffing took a week or so.

Been about two months now and yes you can feel the dieback . Not bad but if you run you fingers over it you can feel the circles around the lens rings. Really fine but noticeable. I'm hoping I can just do a light sanding to remove them and buff again with novus.

Yes thats what I'm leaning towards. If you run your finger over the lenses you can feel the little circles but not catching when pulling your nail across if you know what I mean.

I'm thinking if I use a paste wax it will help. Either way its a game that will be played at home. So really not that big an issue to be honest.

I think I could sand it enough not to worry about going to low. In all honesty thought it seems to be more like rings than concave indents. I might just leave it and wax when the time comes. I'm letting sit for another month or so and see if it gets worse and decide from there.

Strange though as the are all new inserts. I used 3M adhesion primary and two part epoxy to glue them in. Then used UV resin to seal any gaps an low spots. Painted and sealed with first layer clear months ago so I'm not sure why the clear would be wicking down when the first layer had already been applied.

I'm wondering if its the clear pulling the lenses....sort of like shrinking?

I'm good with the "Good Enough". If anything it will add some nuances to the game play if it gets worse.

Looks great! Unfortunately not sold anywhere near me. We are all limited by what's available for purchase. Did you 2K over that or just use the diamondclear?

Well waited another few months and sanded the clearcoat again hoping to rid some of the dieback. Seemed successful enough that I feel I won't need to spray another layer on it.

Just finished Novus 2 and till some really fine scratches if I direct the light different ways but nothing I'm overly concerned about.

I sanded and repainted the rails then Krylon clear spray over them. Rails are back in place and in the process now of cleaning the playfield before waxing. Bought some Chemical Guys 3X Hardcore Carnauba paste wax. Never used wax before so see how that goes...

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BJM-Maxx I think the only place the ball may touch is the side drain lanes (the 10,000 bonus red area). There is another spot up in the green area with roll over holes that has a metal protector there.

I used Kylon clear to help protect the paint on the rails. Only be a home machine for scattered play so wear shouldn't be bad. I'm debating Mylar around the pop bumpers though. Think just leaving clear and wax won't do much to protect from divots or chipping during ball jumps.

Pin_Fandango yes I'm always open to trying something new.

I don't use novus 2 as a cleaner. Its used more to help reduce some of the fine scratches left behind by sanding etc. After I've sanded with 3k grit I used Novus 2 and it does help with some of the finder scratches. I don't know if there is a way to remove all scratches truthfully as everything we use has some sort of abrasives that just get finer.

You are absolutely right though. I'm certain there are alternatives we could all be using. In most cases people can only use what available in their area to purchase and what they can afford. Dolphine Glaze is perfect example of that. Great for filling holes on the playfield. However, not available in my area and if I were to buy it online. Its well over $150+ .... so bondo it is. Bondo works but may not be as good as the glaze but its what I can get at a reasonable price in my location.

I think everyone in this community is open to alternatives. Nothing is set stone and some stick with what has proven to work. That's what this community for...helping each other in the hobby trying to keep the older machines going.