Yeah. I got f--ked on my Shuttle after I put the CPR playfield in it. I'm not even sure I broke even, and I bought that game as my first pin for all of 500 bucks! If I could go back, I never would've sold it. Still pisses me off that it won a "Best XYZ" award at a show after being repainted and the trim being cleaned up. Just a bit. I completely resoldered every wire on that play field. Every. ONE.

CPR playfields are the gold standard of playfield restoration, period, short of having a NOS playfield that's 100% pristine and having it cleared by a professional. Are we really arguing a plastic sheet is the same? C'mon.

Hardtops are acceptable in MANY situations, but the big three are: Laziness, Cheapskatedness, Unavailability of better option. If there's a choice between CPR or Hardtop for the same game, I really can't fathom picking the Hardtop. Does that mean I wouldn't buy a game with one on it? Hell no, that's stupid. In fact, I plan to put one on a Future Spa playfield because CPR apparently WILL NOT EVER RUN IT even though they're already doing Paragon and Space Invaders!

You also have to consider the CPR playfield is more likely to hold up over time, and be more easily repairable, while a hardtop, if damaged, is simply done and has to be fully replaced. You can't touch up art and reclear a hardtop. In that regard, a hardtop is definitely worth less than a CPR playfield, but I still think it's vastly better than a beat up original playfield with flaking worn art.

Yeah...but how many games on them? It's not like a Williams game which may have had 20k plays on location. In home use, of course, you're right...because it'll be the same.

Yes, but people are stupid, and do stupid things. (And frankly, I barely trust myself to install a Hardtop without f'ing up the backside of it and losing some art LOL) You don't find games at budget prices that were well taken care of, and I'm a project person. I'm concerned with what THEY'RE doing, not with what I'd do, because...well.... yeah. I've rarely ever sold a game that played like crap, and when I did, the price was certainly fair. If I didn't lose money, I can promise you I only broke even. Then again, I'm pretty sure most of our local community knows I'm not the snap-rag type, but I also don't want to end up buying (theoretically) a hardtop that's damaged enough that I'd want to replace it, as I'm sure they did their research and that adhesive is designed to hold on. Put that over a 30-50 year old piece of plywood......

I dunno. You tell me hardtop guy. Say in the case it ultimately got cracked, or too cloudy to polish out....can you pull a hardtop off a playfield without also pulling old brittle wood with it?

This is exactly what I was hoping someone had. Actual evidence. This is a good example of how these things will hold up over time under heavy use, but well-maintained. Thanks for posting that!

*Edit* I think some people, including OutsideEdge...... are mischaracterizing, or at least misunderstanding, my sentiments here. I said that I have every intention of buying a hardtop for Future Spa, and would consider it for other games that are NLA or unlikely to get run as a full playfield. Cyclone would be an immediate purchase for me for a Hardtop. Bad Cats also. Given the option, *I* personally want a full playfield though.

And yeah, as someone said above, CPR playfield swaps can be a pain. I did a lot of fiddling with Space Shuttle, because the dimples weren't necessarily obvious, and I didn't have a big punch-map paper from my old playfield...it was my first swap. But....that's just par for the course. Playfield production isn't an exact science, it's an art, and art has variations. It's all about how much dedication you're willing to put into your work, and personally....if I have to spend a few more hours on a swap to have things line up correctly...so be it. But I'm doing the work for myself FIRST, and for resale LAST, and I've never done a PF swap for anyone else or for the sole intention of trying to get more money. I leave that to the people with more money and space.

Because I've literally never, ever seen a Sonic / Zacc on route, nor do I ever expect that I will, because I live in DALLAS, not in Seattle or Chicago, or the NE. If you're putting a Jolly Park on route, good on ya! It was a statement about the future of the machine...not the past.

LOL...that sounds like something I would've done. Nice.