Quoted from Pin_Fandango:

So cromax is sprayed before the can?
Or is the promoter mixed with the clear?
In this case it would not work with this product due to the method of application/can.
Just a bit confused

Quoted from pinballinreno:

The next day after the first coat:
I block sand it down to start the flattening process and do my touch ups, keylines etc.
Then put on a light coat, then spray the paint into a jar and use a disposable pipette or dropper to fill all the low spots and insert edges.
Next day,block sand, then light coat, slpooge more clear into the low spots with a dropper, 2 meduim "wet" coats.
Next day flatten out the playfield by block sanding quite a bit to check for more low spots.
If its pretty flat, light coat, then a medium coat then 2 heavy "wet" finish coats. Basically a whole can.
If it looks mostly perfect, let it sit 6 to 10 weeks and assemble the playfield later.
If there is substantial die back at 6 weeks, block sand, fill low spots and put a heavy coat or 2 of paint.
Let it dry 4 weeks and then block sand to thin the paint a bit, then buff it out then start assembly.
The whole process is 3 or 4 cans of paint in 3 operations. 3 if all goes well enough.
1: mist coat to seal up loose fibers and give a foundation for touch ups
2: heavier filler coats.
3: finish coats.

Quoted from pinballinreno:

Im so sorry that I didnt take pictures of my work.
I will start doing it later on, Im doing a TAF right now.

Quoted from jasonspoint28:

I’ve never tried it, but I was wondering if you could use the output side of a cheap $20 shop vac to push air into a respirator. Might have to find a way to regulate how much flow goes to the mask. Do you think this would work, er no?

Quoted from docquest:I've also seen the $160-ish version listed below that comes with a mask and it's own pump. You have buy your own hose to make it longer so the pump part is far enough away from where you are spraying. Some reviews state the mask is very small. Some say the gasket part that goes around your face is stiff and rigid so its hard to get a good seal around your face. Having a sealed comforatable fit is the primary job of the mask so those features need to work.
Anyone using this version and can comment on those complaints?
amazon.com link »

Quoted from docquest:

Been thinking about getting the right equipment to use spray max safely. Based on what I've read here I want to go with a full face mask with air coming in via a hose form a distance away.
A few here have mentioned using the $50-ish kit that allows a standard oil free compressor to as an air source. I'm a little leary about breathing air from a tool compressor. The cheapest OSHA approved air pump I could find is listed below. Anyone have any experience with this unit?
amazon.com link »

Quoted from gdonovan:

The filters will give you a false sense of security as even bad will suppress the smell but not the really bad compounds.

Quoted from Pin_Fandango:

I respectfully want to ask the following, since we are in a painting thread:
Why do you polish clearcoat with a polish designed for plastic?
I think personally is a very poor choice, to get clear coat to shine properly you can do better and achieve better results if you use compounds formulated in compound or polish form or something even better: like optimum spray polish that grinds down to finer grit as you polish.
You will get a much better shine than using novus which is really not formulated to cut clear coat.
I dont polish the clear coat of my vehicle with novus, why would I polish the same clear on my pinball with novus.
I personally think novus is just a wives tale that has been passed down over yhe years ans people dont know better and xontinue using it. It is very gritty and therefore cleans due to its abrasiveness, wipe a cloth with it on your Cc by hand and with thr same flashlight you are using now shine a light on your pf and get ready for “swirl galore”. Trust me.
I dont polish anything that needs clarity (like clearcoat does) by hand. Not even Mr Miyagui can achive q swirl free surface by hand because it would take centuries, we get tired and apply too much pressure, results: more awirls, more clear coat is lost and poor results.
Enter the polisher machine: it is capable of polishing anything, faster, removing less materi than by hand and more clarity even when using the wrong chemical (novus)

If I am wrong please educate me in the art of doing anything pinball with novus, people seem to like this plastic polish compound.
That said, I have hundreds of hours fixing clear coat and for the same reason we dont use tooth paste (also a polisher) we would not use novus.
In other works, toothpaste would also work but it is not formulated to cut clearcoat just like novus is not either.
Here is a much better alternative, your beautiful PF and hours of hard work deserve it:
https://optimumcarcare.com/product/optimum-hyper-polish

Quoted from Pin_Fandango:

I will when I clear coat the lw3 pf I will be working on. But it will be a while.
I will write something here in thr meantime ans can probably just help you by learning a little of what your current process is like.
But always, the principle is thr least aggressive pad for the surface.
More to it later, but tell me a little of what chems and machine you are using and I can guide you.

Quoted from Pin_Fandango:

thanks,
polishing is not that complicated, but knowing the basics and breaking it down to simple principles is what you need you understand, once you do, then it is not anymore about removing scratches but about material removal.
The grit in the compound makes cuts and swirls, hundreds and hundred of this fine swirls will eventually all match up and make the surface flat. Polishing is like a very fine sanding process that can happen in many different ways depending on the tool you use (rotary, dual action, by hand).
a rotary polisher only rotates in circles and heats up the paint really fast, in the wring hands it will cut through clear quickly specially when polishing an angle.
The DA is like a rotary, but slower and while it also rotates in a circular motion it also does it randomly (although always on the same randomness) and this helps in keeping the heat down, it is easier to polish and renders often times, better results than a rotary (if the rotary is used wrong can left ghosting behind).
The DA is slower, A LOT slower and will take a 30-40 session to polish a PF done at 3000 grit.
when you are polishing you are basically sanding again but this time things are getting flattened, this gives you the clarity to see through the clear coat again.
For those of you worried about burning the clear, the DA is the best. You really have to be a bonehead to burn the paint. The rotary is very safe here too considering the surface is flat so if you keep you hand steady and fast, and check for heat you will be ok. I would personally use the rotary now.
Pads and chemicals needed:
here is where the art is at. You want to combine these 2 according to the type of clear you cutting. The aggressiveness of this combo will determine everything els
your cutting time and material removed and final results (clarity). The clarity will only be as good as your chemical used, if the chemical can only break down to 1000 grit or 2000 grit or else. I think optimum renders 6000 grit at the end of the polishing cycle and starts at about 1200.
The goal is: remove the absolute minimal paint and obtain 98% clarity (you will never know when 100% is reached) but once you are happy you stop.
Happy for me is: no more swirls, the surface is perfect. There are no visible scratches.
If you had a metal substrate you can measure your paint thickness before and after, but since we work with wood you can't. You don to know how much material you are removing here, but in my experience, with a DA, the removal is negligible.
There isn't a fast rule to know what combo of liquid and or paste and pad you need to use, so you will have to try it.
Once you polish the paint and measure your time/results you will know whether you are cutting too fast or too slow.
That said...
For a PF already sanded up to 3000 or 5000 (or any number after 1000 grit) you do not want to use compound. Compound is used for old paint that has been exposed to the elements, bird dropping and has TOO many imperfections so you want to give yourself a good base to polish off. You would otherwise polish all the imperfections to 100% clarity, but the imperfections would remain and the scratches would still be visible. You would end up with a really good clarity but a lot of light swirls and bird droppings would be actually popping out as well (we are talking paint on cars here, therefore the paint droppings example
So, for your PF, once you have sanded it and it is evenly sanded (this step is crucial) you proceed to use POLISH (not compound).
You then tried your softest pad and give it a whirl. Are you on DA? criss cross pattern, you move really slow with a DA and I mean this, less than 5 inches in a 1 thousand -2 thousand - 3 thousand rhythm, If you are going faster than this, flash news: you will be polishing that surface for an eternity. The DA needs a little time to work the surface, go slower than your think you should, keep moving.
You do a criss cross pattern, overlapping all passes, up down left to right, about 6 times. You then measure your results. Are you progressing?
If ou are not progressing, then the pad is wrong (too soft). Get a new pad that is harder.
Try again. One you figure out your pad then you do not have to do this again unless you change your clear coat.
Simple.
Rotary is the same except that you move a lot faster, you do not stay on the same spot and the motion is steady and medium-fast depending on the pad you use.
Anything wool= MOVE FAST.
anything that is foam is very very very approachable. Use foam.
Whether you use a DA or rotary, do no use your body weight to polish the surface, you only use your hands to keep the polisher FLAT. You are not pushing it into the paint, if you are, then the PAD is wrong. your hand weight is just enough to keep it flat.
How do I know how much pressure? this is simple, flat is flat, if the pad is deforming outward you are pushing it in. If the polisher is walking aways then it is not flat. you will figure this out quickly.
You want the pad to work with you and not work for the pad.
Polishing is really rewarding when done right because your realize the potential the paint had once it achieves its clarity to the max. In the case of paints with pearls is really nice to see those shine again, and a good polished clear returns the true paint colours that are otherwise hidden behind an opaque lens (clear with a poor clarity or swirled up).
These are things that I have done to my own vehicles, and clients vehicles while fixing the paint before installing other paint protectants. Merely as a hobby that it eventually turned into a business, lol like most of the hobbies I enter into. Apparently it is an ADHD thing I have been told. I am no longer in the detailing world because I have other priorities and my only hobby is pinball, lol so there is that. But it was nice to use these skills into this hobby.
Last, but not least:
your polish liquid/cream. the clarity you achieve will be determined by this product. Novus will never have the clarity of any clear polishing product because it just can't, it is probably 1000 grit max.
Might as well use any polish, but if you only have Novus go ahead, use it. It will polish, just do not expect it to be amazingly shiny and if it is, congratulations, your prep work PRIOR to novud paid off. anything would have polished that surface the same, including water.
The polish cream I recommended earlier is exceptionally good and easy to work with. It is my go to always.
3m product is also excellent, but to get good THE BEST results you need to go through the 3 steps or it otherwise won't get you the results you want. The optimum cream breaks down as you polish and it does everything in 1 step unlike the 3m product. Optimum is cheaper and perfect for this application.
Anything is better than Novus, please stop using it. lol

Quoted from Pin_Fandango:

Pads come in different colours just as guide. They have different rigidness to them, the more rigid the more aggressive it is.
whenever you are searching for the Polish/Pad combo to find your cut, only change one element at the time (unless yo were totally off at first) but the rule of thumb is the least aggressive method first (to remove less clear, because you only have so much of it until there is none).
So always have 2 or 3 different foam pads, these are always found in detailing shops. You have to shop at a professional detailing shop, do not expect to find this at walker nor Home Depot, these things do not exist there. These pads are specifically made for detailing expensive cars.
that said amazon might have some but often times a good detailing shop (if you go down the rabbit hole of detailing you can go nuts, lol) they will have everything you need.

Quoted from ripple:

Here is a quick clear job that just got finished with a little help from some friends.
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