I wax first then add them. Easier to remove in the future then if you want to.

I assume stock paint is the only surface - you haven't cleared over the existing paint.

I'll let others chime in... but if you didn't do clear - I'd personally consider clear Mylar rings with maybe a coating of wax between the painted surface and the mylar ring.

If you decide to go the mylar route; I do sell mylar rings in clear. I'd also be willing to do a custom shape if you'd prefer.

I always add mylar under pops, as well as any other high wear areas. Like mentioned above, wax the playfield first.

Always add PBR endorsed non adhesive mylar under pops-never had a problem and provided great protection.

That's worse than no mylar at all. Dirt and grime gets trapped under the non-adhesive mylar, and gets ground into the playfield, and wears it down much faster.

Very forceful words which bear no relationship to my experience and the experience of many when adhesive mylar is removed from playfields. There is absolutely no need to damn the experience of others particularly, I would have thought, when you are a moderator!

That wasn't forceful... and the moderator is entitled to participate in these thread.
I happened to agree with him. You are free to voice your own experience and let others decide which is the right answer.

Here is some evidence of what can occur when Mylar pop bumper protectors without stickum is used:

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After some cleaning:

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I know nothing about the history of this Gottlieb Snow Derby so I can't tell you if these pop bumper protectors are original or add-ons.

Dirt and grit CAN collect under the protector, causing wear, possibly even increasing the speed of the wear. Without the adhesive, these protectors tend to lift over time and no longer lie flat on the playfield - not an aesthetically pleasing sight.

Given a choice between non-adhesive or adhesive, I would choose the adhesive pop bumper protectors. Removing the pop bumpers and thoroughly cleaning and waxing the area under and around the pop bumpers is a must before putting on the adhesive Mylar pop bumper protectors.

There is another option that you might want to consider. It involves using the non-adhesive protectors and some rubber cement. It is experimental, so consider that carefully before you choose this option. If it doesn't work out for you, it should be fully reversible:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/a-pecos-diary-tips-and-tricks-for-restoring-and-fixing-em-and-ss-pins#post-5335577

I agree. In my experience, the non-adhesive ones look ok until they ruck-up which then allows crud underneath. I prefer adhesive ones, but, I like to re-touch any damaged areas first, then apply some lacquer to seal and then the adhesives ones on top once the lacquer has completely cured.

I have used both; my advice for the non-adhesive ones is as part of maintenance, making sure you clean under them periodically to prevent build up of any crud.

The reality is in a home environment I don't think they will cause any significant wear.

I'd also consider some at the top between the gates. On every wizard I've seen this area develops a giant rut.

Non adhesive mylar rings are the reason every gotty black hole I've ever seen has playfield damage.

Common on Gottlieb for decades.

It's just another maintenance item. Adhesive require less maintenance. Non adhesive require some maintenance to keep them clear of contaminants.

I have many 50,000 plus play Gottlieb games which came to me with original non adhesive mylar with trivial wear underneath. Something tells me the operators of these games maintained them properly.

The picture example above is clearly a poorly maintained game.

For home use, you simply don't need pop bumper Mylar. Pop bumper Mylar is for machines that aren't regularly maintained. I remove any pop bumper Mylar from my machines, and then do a thorough cleaning around the pop bumpers. Then I apply a few coats of wax around the pop bumpers. This protects the paint and the machine plays faster without the Mylar...

#TeamAdhesiveMylar

Oh, I don't know about that. Someone took the time to replace this with a rubber band ring!

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Based on the Project Pins I get, most home pin owners aren't particularly good at keeping their EM pinball machines maintained, cleaned and waxed.

So true!

Here is what those lovely floaty mylar rings Gottlieb used do when I presume that area is not cleaned well. My current project.
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Here’s my current project that had non-adhesive mylar around the pops, another Snow Derby.
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Mine did not deteriorate as much.
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Thanks for this. Getting rid of the 3 dirt traps on my Flip a Card tonight. Tomorrow cleaning and waxing.

Looks like Im in the Minority but I dont install any mylar on EM games. After touch ups and re-clear i just keep em clean and waxed. For HUO EMs (in my opinion) Mylar isnt needed, provided you keep them clean and waxed and new balls inserted.

Non-adhesive mylar has NEVER been my friend.

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A pair of scissors?
Or are you implying you want to do this an reuse the mylar ring? If so; no. you have to remove the pop body which requires desoldering of the lamp wires at a minimum.

I used a small extremely sharp pointed pair of scissors to remove non-adhesive mylar on all my games. I cut the mylar ring in four quarters. If your looking at the mylar ring as if it were a clock scale....the cuts are made at 12, 3, 6, and 9 (3 and 9 are at the metal pop rings).

Make sure the scissors cut completely through the mylar ring edges. You can lift the plastic pop bumper lower ring up at each section of the cut to get you through the mylar completely.

Once the cuts are made you can use a heavy duty linemans pliers to pull a part the mylar ring, but you'll need to use some force. Be very careful not to scrap the playfield while pulling off mylar with the pliers. You might be able to slip a thin piece of cardboard under the mylar ring before attempting to pull off with pliers.
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Anyone every do colored rings? I thought I might give it a try

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Scale is hard to determine from your pictures; but they look a little small.
I sell colored pop bumper mylaron my site.

They are the correct size. They just look small next to that giant circle cutter.

I'd recommend replacing the mylars even for home use as personally, I like the glossy reflection particularly when the pop is lit during play. They also deflect any touch-up imperfections if there are any. The pops appear a little, "Out of place" to me without mylars during play, (from what I'm used to).

I'm with Mike O all the way here. Just the state of some of the non adhesive mylar rings in this thread tells you all you need to know about what has happened. These games were not well maintained. If you take the time to restore a game, then maintain it. If the platters are so bad that they're curled up and you couldn't read anything through them, it's a maintenence issue. Not a platter issue.
This is my Royal Guard that I restored 8 years ago. It has received fairly regular play in the years since. This is how the non adhesive mylars and the playfield underneath look today. The area under the bumpers was like a lot of the playfield, pretty roached. I had to sand out the ball wear groove in the upper arch, it was so bad the ball would hang in it.

Royal Guard platters (resized).jpg

Restored a host of games with the adhesive mylar and have moved away from that approach; it's just too difficult to get it applied without micro-bubbles, no matter how flat your playfield is, at least in my experience.

I go naked, no mylar whatsoever.

I apply adhesive mylar to my em games. No bubbles, just install like a screen protector. They are obviously beneficial and prevent playfield wear so they are a no-brainer.

Would you add them (adhesive style) to an NOS play field?

Absolutely.

In a home environment you'll probably never face the issue but the problem with the adhesive mylar is, well, it's adhesive. If it gets messed up you run the chance of paint loss trying to remove it.

Again, the results from the non adhesive mylar platters are because nobody maintained the game, not that the mylar caused the damage.

I'd bet they are original because in order to replace them, you need to remove the bumpers. And the condition of those bumpers tells you that has never been done.

Same if not worse on Haunted House.

Pinball Resource has the nice thick ones that are easy to work with and lay out flat. The ones Marco sells are paper thin and wrinkle up as you try to lay them down.

Agreed, but I'd wax the heck out of the pf before putting down the mylar

Sure. But you really only need a normal waxing. If you put down multiple coats it really won't give any more protection

Doesn't adhesive have a tough time sticking to wax?

I know, but it sounded good.

It would be able to be removed without (hopefully) pulling up paint.

I'm concerned about ruining a 49 year old NOS pf if I add the mylar, as well as if I don't add mylar! Granted this will only be home use only, so it won't get much wear at all.