(Topic ID: 66394)

Touching up translucent areas on a peeling backglass = success!

By NicoVolta

10 years ago


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  • 32 posts
  • 12 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 6 months ago by NicoVolta
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#1 10 years ago

Many pinball fix-it blogs regard touching up the translucent color areas of an old peeling backglass as next to impossible. Which, after trying to dilute and apply acrylic paint, I would have agreed with. However, I found something that works: DecoArt glass stain and frost gloss paints.

First apply the "frost" colors in layers with a fine-tip brush, then a final tint layer with the accents as needed. Make sure to shine a flashlight on the underside as you paint... it's much easier to check uniformity as you go. Also be sure to Krylon "Triple Thick" the glass before painting.

I'm not a professional painter but managed to get excellent results with this product. 5 or 6 coats did the trick. Of course, nothing will look as good as the original paint before peeling and flaking, but it's vastly better than seeing exposed areas shine through the backglass altogether. The frost glass paints also look better than taping colored cellophane to the back.

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#2 10 years ago

As pictured below, the yellow areas of the logo and pitcher have been touched up. In contrast, the blue areas of the batter and the red outline of the logo have not been touched up yet.

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#3 10 years ago

Logo after touching up the red border. Looks much better now.

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#7 10 years ago

Thanks! It's not a "perfect" technique but it is a good way to cover bare bulb spots while preserving the original look. It's also MUCH easier than trying to do it with diluted acrylic paint... just don't go there.

One caveat: After applying one coat, be certain the color match looks good in ordinary light from the front-facing side (no backlight). If it's a good match, proceed to add coats on top with the flashlight to check translucency from the backside. Once this stuff dries it doesn't come off with alcohol, so check once and paint five!

#9 10 years ago

Tried a couple of new experimental techniques tonight. First... applied one yellow "finishing coat" to the entire color area after doing touchups. The result was better uniformity and blockage of light leaks through the cracked/crazed areas. "Y" is before, "B" after.

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#10 10 years ago

Same technique applied to light blue areas. Not a perfect match, but still pleasing to look at:

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#11 10 years ago

Second technique was to apply "frost white" to previously touched-up spots which increased the opacity while preserving the original color. Much better blending of the touched-up areas with the original paint...

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#12 10 years ago

I recommend using the "experimental" techniques... they both deliver great results. I have since applied one thin coat to the back of every translucent colored area with cracks in it. Now the colors glow without revealing where the bulb is behind it.

I also applied a thick blob of frost white to every touch-up spot to match the surrounding opacity. It's now much harder to tell what has been touched up vs. the peeled paint around it.

I suggest using one of these illuminated art tracing panels if possible. Makes checking your work MUCH easier!

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#15 10 years ago

The gloss enamels are intended for use on glass, so I think they'll stay put especially after the triple thick. One thing to note is all subsequent touchups will sit on top of it rather than directly against the glass which creates a visible "bubble" of clear protectant in front of the paint even if it matches perfectly. It's not a big deal but it is noticeable under certain conditions.

Thus to consider...

1. Once you triple thick, you won't be able to cleanly razorblade your way back to the original paint layer because it will splinter all over the place. So plan accordingly because some areas might be better served by removing all of the original paint in a specific area first and then using gloss enamel as a fresh new layer of translucent color. I wish I had done this for the "GAME OVER" text... removed the flaky letters with an X-acto knife and painted in a replacement green color before doing the triple thick. Now I'll have to match what's there and touch it up.

2. The "clear bubble" isn't a big deal in my opinion. The only way to avoid it would be to do your touchups *before* triple thicking the glass. However... you had better be of LEGENDARY skill to attempt this because if you screw up there will be no way to recover short of razorblading the affected area and painting it all over from scratch. That's why triple thicking first is recommended... you can undo your mistakes with alcohol/water before they set.

I recommend triple thicking first & then doing touchups. Otherwise it's too easy to screw up. The movement of your brush near flaking paint might be enough to unseat it. Besides, "experimental technique #2" (globbing "white frost" onto the touchups) helps you match the opacity close to the original which looks great when backlit.

What sorts of long term issues are people running into with triple thick? Frankly I'm glad the stuff was available when I started this project because the flaking paint was already blowing away in the wind!

1 week later
#16 10 years ago

Found another use for the frost white enamel... fixing micro-scratches in plastic.

After I cooked this piece in the oven to flatten it (on parchment paper @ 250 degrees for 12 mins) and sandwiched it under a heavy book, I noticed some micro-scratches when the light shined directly through. The scratches were likely from plastic expansion after the piece was flattened. Normally not noticeable unless a lightbulb sits directly underneath.

Well... I noticed... so I painted a thin coat of frost white on the backside and then wiped it off. Same technique as when touching up playfield white spots with acrylic paint. Guess what? No more visible scratches.

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#21 10 years ago

Looks good & nice job with the color matching! That's the trickiest part... matching how it looks under ordinary light *as well as* when illuminated. Sometimes you get lucky when the default colors match. Other times... not.

Every time you have to go back and chip out the gloss, it takes some of the surrounding paint with it. Ugh. On one area I've already done this four times. Hopefully perfectionism will take a backseat soon.

#22 10 years ago

Some colors can be particularly difficult to match. In the case of the lime yellow baseball field, my first attempts looked like the first photo. Too much green, not enough yellow. Looked bad. Had to chip it out and redo a few times.

Photos 2 and 3 are typical of a "good" match and is the type of result you can expect with this method. It's important to note frost gloss enamel dries darker just like ordinary acrylics... so blend on the light side and judge the color after it is dry before proceeding to paint every area (unlike I did the first few times).

The final photo is the finished panel with rear illumination. Looks very nice in person.

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#24 10 years ago

"Hey Nico... if it's a "good" match... why don't the missing letters in GAME OVER look the same?"

Here's the deal: It's a tradeoff. Your touchups won't be as flat against the glass as the original paint. The only way to do that is by using something like acrylic paint directly on the glass. Which is next to impossible if you're hoping to get the color, texture, AND translucency correct in one go.

The frost gloss enamels are semi-transparent. It has to be glopped on fairly thick to achieve the right color when illuminated. Thus, it won't ever look 100% identical to the surrounding paint at the glass edge. It's more of a gel coating than a layer of paint.

As mentioned, it's not a perfect method and the touchups are most noticeable within large blocks of single color (like the green baseball field). But in other areas with more detail/colors/chipped paint it masquerades as texture and blends in perfectly.

dothedoo, did you use the same stuff to touch up Lasercue?

4 years later
#25 6 years ago

Wow... I think this is the first thing I ever wrote on Pinside.

Wanted to update the product selection with another product called Pebeo Vitrail. Stained glass gel paint, but higher quality than the frost gloss stuff.

Generally I don't try to save paint chips about to fall off. Better to remove them and do corrections rather than risk gluing them down in the wrong place!

#27 6 years ago
Quoted from DropTarget:

looks interesting. I'm assuming you use the translucent version, as opposed to the opaque.

Yes, translucent colors.

Quoted from DropTarget:

Can it be airbrushed?

Not sure.

Quoted from DropTarget:

Can it be easily removed before it dries (on triple tricked glass)?

Yes.

Quoted from DropTarget:

Do you paint a translucent white behind it?

Yes, if more opacity is desired, as above.

#29 6 years ago
Quoted from DropTarget:

What about this guys technique?
» YouTube video

Ahead of his time, truly. The trolls won.

5 years later
#32 6 months ago

Wow... my very first Pinside thread. Next month it will have been exactly 10 years ago! Back then I knew absolutely nothing about pinball maintenance whatsoever and the hobby was just beginning with this first machine. Whole different world now. Everything changed.

Anyway I'm glad this technique worked for you! It may look ugly on the backside, but it is still the easiest backglass touchup technique I know of. Basically paint by numbers. Easy to do and even though you get texture in the touchup it doesn't look bad at all. In some cases it even adds a little pseudo-detail.

If you'd like to slightly dim the transparency of the blue touchups to blend in better with the existing ink, you can double-layer with white as above. It will give you a more seamless look between the unblemished blue and the touchups.

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