(Topic ID: 33446)

Vid's Guide to Ultimate Playfield Restoration

By vid1900

11 years ago


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#6201 5 years ago
Quoted from vid1900:

I've had frisket pull ink off inserts, but never leave glue behind.

It's really weird, man! And a hassle. The stuff I'm using currently is actually *low* tack. And it's fairly tough to remove (you know how it it, get an x-acto edge under it and pull with tweezers) so I can't imagine using a higher tack version. I'm stuck swabbing the residue with q-tips but it's a real dumb time sucker.

#6202 5 years ago
Quoted from sethbenjamin:

Anybody else on here have issues with frisket leaving sticky residue behind? I don't remember having this problem on my first project, but lately it's been an issue. I thought it had to do with the very humid summer we were having, but I have a new roll of Frisket brand masking and it's still happening. You can get it cleaned up with Naptha, but that also dissolves the paint unless you can remove the residue with a q-tip and take it very carefully. Seems like such a dumb problem to be having. I didn't buy film that was "high tack" or anything like that.

What brand are you using? I tried some "original frisket" awhile ago because my usual brand (grafix) was out of stock. The "original" left adhesive residue behind. I returned it for a refund.

#6203 5 years ago
Quoted from pinheadpierre:

What brand are you using? I tried some "original frisket" awhile ago because my usual brand (grafix) was out of stock. The "original" left adhesive residue behind. I returned it for a refund.

Yep, Frisket brand. Sucks!!! I can get rid of the residue (worse on inserts than on the rest of the playfield), but it is a hassle. Appreciate the tip on Grafix brand, will try that next. There is no art supply story anywhere near me so it's all online for me. Wouldn't have anticipated this sort of PITA...

#6204 5 years ago

Just get the good stuff and save a lot of trouble:

http://www.tcpglobal.com/KUS-CMF12150.html?sc=114&category=1931989#.XAQyOOJReUk

TCP often sells it cheaper on eBay, so check both.

Make sure you get the CLEAR not the TRANSPARENT

#6205 5 years ago

Well, shoot. A guy might've imagined that the Frisket film made by Frisket was a safe bet...

#6206 5 years ago

Another irritating little issue...I'm printing from a Mac, and whenever I need to print a partial image for a waterslide decal, the printer driver wants to place the images smack dab in the middle of the page. This is incredibly wasteful of waterslide decal paper, and I cannot for the life of me find a workaround. I'd like to, for example, make color variations of halftone dot repairs and print multiples of the same thing on a page. Anybody have an insight into that?

#6207 5 years ago
Quoted from sethbenjamin:

Another irritating little issue...I'm printing from a Mac, and whenever I need to print a partial image for a waterslide decal, the printer driver wants to place the images smack dab in the middle of the page. This is incredibly wasteful of waterslide decal paper, and I cannot for the life of me find a workaround. I'd like to, for example, make color variations of halftone dot repairs and print multiples of the same thing on a page. Anybody have an insight into that?

Make your page/workspace 8.5 x 11" size

Move the image exactly where you want it on the page.

#6208 5 years ago
Quoted from vid1900:

Make your page/workspace 8.5 x 11" size
Move the image exactly where you want it on the page.

Yeah, you can't do that in Preview. However, you *can* do it in Pages. Have to import the graphic to Mac's word processing program, and THEN you can move it around within the page. What you *cannot* do from within Pages is tweak the color. So, if you're doing what I am doing and creating a decal of colored half tone dots (and want to make a few different variations to see what is a really good match), you have to create multiple copies of the same image, each with its own color tweak, and then import those to the same Pages document. Then you can fill a sheet of waterslide decal paper with many copies of the repair decal.

Hope this saves somebody else some time...if anyone knows a more streamlined way to do this, I'd be all ears.

#6209 5 years ago
Quoted from sethbenjamin:

Yeah, you can't do that in Preview. However, you *can* do it in Pages. Have to import the graphic to Mac's word processing program, and THEN you can move it around within the page. What you *cannot* do from within Pages is tweak the color. So, if you're doing what I am doing and creating a decal of colored half tone dots (and want to make a few different variations to see what is a really good match), you have to create multiple copies of the same image, each with its own color tweak, and then import those to the same Pages document. Then you can fill a sheet of waterslide decal paper with many copies of the repair decal.
Hope this saves somebody else some time...if anyone knows a more streamlined way to do this, I'd be all ears.

Use gimp... not office productivity apps

#6210 5 years ago
Quoted from flynnibus:

Use gimp... not office productivity apps

Oh, cool, didn't know about that.Will give it a try today, thanks for the tip.

#6211 5 years ago
Quoted from sethbenjamin:

Yeah, you can't do that in Preview. However, you *can* do it in Pages. Have to import the graphic to Mac's word processing program, and THEN you can move it around within the page.

I assumed you were using Photoshop

#6212 5 years ago

Update on the Hurricane restoration, Playfield Mylar stripped, cleaned 4 coats of 2pac, plastics cleaned, led's new rubbers, drops, flips and much more. all metal cleaned and buff to shine... The game is up and running, playing well with no sound but that will be fixed this week...

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#6213 5 years ago

^ Looks great!

#6214 5 years ago

Thanks to this thread I was able to complete my first insert replacement. The art isn’t perfect but the insert is level and solid. I also removed all the old, worn out mylar and cut my own full playfield mylar. Robocop hasn’t looked or played this good in years. Thanks Vid!

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#6215 5 years ago
Quoted from vid1900:

I assumed you were using Photoshop

I probably should have kept this problem to myself as it may not apply to a lot of. Other people. But, in the interest of clarification: I'm using p-shop on an old laptop that can't drive my laser printer. Adobe won't let me update or transfer my old copy of P-shop and I am unwilling to pay big $ for something that I already own which does the job. However, I do have to transfer the pshop files onto my other computer before printing them. That's where/why the problem turned up.
Import image(s) to Pages and put them where you want them. All set.
Somebody eventually will find themselves having a similar problem...

#6216 5 years ago
Quoted from sethbenjamin:

I probably should have kept this problem to myself as it may not apply to a lot of. Other people. But, in the interest of clarification: I'm using p-shop on an old laptop that can't drive my laser printer. Adobe won't let me update or transfer my old copy of P-shop and I am unwilling to pay big $ for something that I already own which does the job. However, I do have to transfer the pshop files onto my other computer before printing them. That's where/why the problem turned up.
Import image(s) to Pages and put them where you want them. All set.
Somebody eventually will find themselves having a similar problem...

You can do Photoshop on a monthly basis for $10 a month.

#6217 5 years ago
Quoted from kciaccio:

You can do Photoshop on a monthly basis for $10 a month.

Yep. And 30 day free trial period. You can also turn the service on and off if you aren't using it on a regular basis. The new price model makes using photoshop very accessible to non-professionals and casual users.

#6218 5 years ago
Quoted from Spraynard:

You can also turn the service on and off if you aren't using it on a regular basis.

NOW we're talking. I've done some projects that didn't involve photoshop at all, and others that do, so paying every month for it didn't make a lot more sense to me than buying it outright. Being able to use it on an as-needed basis is perfect. I didn't know that was an option, thanks for letting me know!

#6219 5 years ago

Hey Vid - I'm almost finished restoring this Agents 777 playfield, but have just run into a ghosting insert problem.
I don't spray clear myself but have a pro finisher up the road do it for me in his booth. He's been droppering in clear around any low spots or indentations around the inserts, adding a bit more as needed between coats. I was working down a slightly heavily built up spot, when it kind of went milky on me. Maybe it wasn't fully cured (was applied ~24 hours ago); now I can press on it and see the air under it move around.

I've been using the clear finish that NAPA carries; I'm operaring under the assumption that the average clear that is not the old Diamondplate will be less hot and will make for a decent repair, following your "slice and inject" method, but I thought I'd check with you ahead of time. Making things a bit trickier is that fact that this ghosting isn't restricted to the insert itself, the blister is somewhat amorphous. Looks like, for whatever reason, the drops didn't bond well with what was underneath (it was sanded with 400 grit). Was it just the heat from me trying to sand it down, possibly before it was fully cured?

Didn't see this problem coming, but it wouldn't be a restoration of I didn't have to endure at least one nail-biter...

GHOSTING (resized).jpgGHOSTING (resized).jpg
#6220 5 years ago

^ that looks like it lifted from the artwork.

Carefully score around it with an Xacto, and remove it.

Clean any silicones out, scuff it up, and fix with a drop of clear.

#6221 5 years ago

Better to surgically slice it away rather than inject underneath it? (I'm pretty certain there isn't any silicone contamination.) Just want to be sure I'm following.

It seemed to separate when I was sanding it down. Using 400 grit, did I cause it by working it too much at once and inadvertently allowing it to heat up? I've gone around to the other droppered places and sanded them down as well, taking care to do a little bit and then back off so as not to have a repeat of this problem. The rest of them are fine; I *really* took it slow.

#6222 5 years ago
Quoted from sethbenjamin:

Better to surgically slice it away rather than inject underneath it? (I'm pretty certain there isn't any silicone contamination.) Just want to be sure I'm following.

You inject underneath when you are preserving art, like over an insert.

It came off OVER the art, so I'd want to remove the clear and see what the hell is going on.

Something made it not stick in that spot....

#6223 5 years ago

Best way to frisket this area to spray the white? How to leave all the circle/arrow inserts covered? Will small frisket circles stay in place?

Thanks!

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#6224 5 years ago

You can cut Frisket around the circles and arrows, as well as cutting out little rings to re-establish the keylines.
I'd probably make a waterslide decal of the lettering (maybe some of the smoke/shadow details as well) and just shoot new white over the existing. You'll have to feather out the paint at the periphery since the smoke/explosion graphic doesn't have any hard edges. Set the airbrush to a very fine spray and go slow, do it in several very light passes.

#6225 5 years ago
Quoted from kilmarnock1350:

Best way to frisket this area to spray the white? How to leave all the circle/arrow inserts covered? Will small frisket circles stay in place?

I'd frisket the arrows and circles, then restore the text and the keylines around the inserts with decals.

#6226 5 years ago
Quoted from kilmarnock1350:

Best way to frisket this area to spray the white? How to leave all the circle/arrow inserts covered? Will small frisket circles stay in place?

Do you have a Silhouette or Cricket cutter?

#6227 5 years ago
Quoted from kilmarnock1350:

Best way to frisket this area to spray the white? How to leave all the circle/arrow inserts covered? Will small frisket circles stay in place?
Thanks!
[quoted image]

Why go through the trouble? I dont see bare wood. It would look awkward next to the aged appearance of the rest of the art. I would only touch up the spots around the arrows and paint the black lines around the inserts. And then clearcoat everything to preserve whats there

#6228 5 years ago
Quoted from yellowghost:

It would look awkward next to the aged appearance of the rest of the art.

Depends how close a match they can get to the color of the current state of the background paint, and how good they are with cutting frisket and feathering out the airbrush. Definitely a case to be made for knowing where to call it good enough, though.

#6229 5 years ago

What is the best way to clean a Demolition Man playfield and the not so clear plastic ramps? The green boards that hold bulbs under the playfield are black, what is safe to use to clean them?

Thanks

#6230 5 years ago

Any recommendations for fixing this bit of wear on a Tee'd Off?

HX0A9755.jpgHX0A9755.jpg
#6231 5 years ago
Quoted from pzy:

Any recommendations for fixing this bit of wear on a Tee'd Off?[quoted image]

Looks that the damage is level with the rest of the Playfield so , I would try to match the red with an acrylic paint , preferably Createx , and paint the area , including the undamaged one that touches the bare wood , with multiple thin layers of paint with heat in b2in. Then apply an oval shaped thin piece of Mylar and no one would notice that it is touched up. If the damage is recessed in a way that affects the ball travel then you would have to bring the bare wood area level with the rest of the Playfield either with some kind of bondo or , if you have acces , with some drops of clear coat before painting and applying Mylar over it. Of course there are others more experienced in this and their approach may be better than mine .

#6232 5 years ago
Quoted from Demoman1:

What is the best way to clean a Demolition Man playfield and the not so clear plastic ramps?

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/cleaning-and-waxing-pinball-machines-vids-guide

Quoted from Demoman1:

The green boards that hold bulbs under the playfield are black, what is safe to use to clean them?

Just put them in the dishwasher.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/cleaning-playfield-harnesses-vids-guide

#6233 5 years ago

I have been watching my Diner playfield closely after seeing the dimples thread, and now I am about 700 plays in. At this point I am getting what looks like a (ghosting?) around the drops. There is no impression that I can see so I am wondering if I have something worse happening? It looks to be just cosmetic but was looking for opinions. Do I need to do anything in this case? I am not worried about cosmetic. I restored it to play the crap out of it. I also have a spot on the inlane where the ball drops 30 times a game. There is a part of clear chipped away. I assume i can just drop some in that spot? Thanks for any advice.

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#6234 5 years ago

Perhaps I should say, I'm not worried about cosmetics as far as some normal wear that is inevitable.

#6235 5 years ago

i would get a cliffy for around that switch in the last picture

#6236 5 years ago
Quoted from Tomass:

At this point I am getting what looks like a (ghosting?) around the drops.

It looks like the clear is not adhering to the playfield?

Things I gotta ask:

1. did you get all the wax and silicone off the playfield before clearing?

(I ask because there is a ton of Millwax in that drop target slot!)

2. did you sand for tooth to give the clear some grip?

3. Is the clear way too thick?

4. Is the clear some super hard stuff that does not flex?

5. Do you have any clear left over if you have to do a surgical repair?

#6237 5 years ago

My thanks to Vid and this thread for the information to restore the playfield on my 66 Crosstown. Before and after pictures to follow.

Before

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12
#6238 5 years ago

After

55153039-FF58-4B93-AA3C-2F85B05103AD (resized).jpeg55153039-FF58-4B93-AA3C-2F85B05103AD (resized).jpeg835C7633-C601-428E-BD9A-3E12429B7F13 (resized).jpeg835C7633-C601-428E-BD9A-3E12429B7F13 (resized).jpeg90425802-FD5C-4877-A38D-F541DE6F6C67 (resized).jpeg90425802-FD5C-4877-A38D-F541DE6F6C67 (resized).jpegA4C99F7A-2E0A-4DA8-AAFC-B7ADE66F92E2 (resized).jpegA4C99F7A-2E0A-4DA8-AAFC-B7ADE66F92E2 (resized).jpeg
#6239 5 years ago

Wonderful job! ^

#6242 5 years ago
Quoted from Silverstreak02:

After[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]

Super Job!!

#6243 5 years ago
Quoted from vid1900:

It looks like the clear is not adhering to the playfield?
Things I gotta ask:
1. did you get all the wax and silicone off the playfield before clearing?
(I ask because there is a ton of Millwax in that drop target slot!)
2. did you sand for tooth to give the clear some grip?
3. Is the clear way too thick?
4. Is the clear some super hard stuff that does not flex?
5. Do you have any clear left over if you have to do a surgical repair?

1 I think the funk in the drops is from wet sanding and not cleaning it out properly. It was stripped and cleaned very well so probably not that.

2 yes but maybe not enough in all area?
3 it is thick. I had to put a good many coats to make up for a couple high spots.
4 I used a 4.2 voc urethane "Euro Class" that a collector up here recommended. So not sure on that.
5 yes, tons.

10
#6244 5 years ago

This is my third restoration using Vid's guides. I'm definitely getting better at it.

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#6245 5 years ago
Quoted from sethbenjamin:

I probably should have kept this problem to myself as it may not apply to a lot of. Other people. But, in the interest of clarification: I'm using p-shop on an old laptop that can't drive my laser printer.

I use GIMP. It's free and there are similarities to photoshop. And, there are plenty of utube instructional videos.

#6246 5 years ago
Quoted from Demoman1:

... clear that small area and the method that I should use? Do I airbrush it also or whatever.

Hey Vid. I didn't see that you answered this question. Is it OK to use an airbrush to apply clear?

#6247 5 years ago

I'm currently working on my Blackout project and hit a minor snag. All of the arrow inserts were cupped, so I took them out and ordered new ones.

The red and orange ones are a perfect fit, but the green ones I ordered are just a tiny bit larger so they don't fit into the holes (they are a slightly different mold... may have gotten the wrong part?).

I tried sanding one down on the sides to make it fit, but that's tricky to do and I fear they will be sanded unevenly. Anyone have some advice?

IMG_7242 (resized).JPGIMG_7242 (resized).JPGIMG_7249 (resized).JPGIMG_7249 (resized).JPGIMG_7250 (resized).JPGIMG_7250 (resized).JPGIMG_7251 (resized).JPGIMG_7251 (resized).JPG
#6248 5 years ago
Quoted from Pindufus:

Hey Vid. I didn't see that you answered this question. Is it OK to use an airbrush to apply clear?

Spot clearing is really tough to do (that's why they can't just paint one spot on the hood on your car, they have to shoot the whole hood)

Airbrush is perfect for clearing.

Try to make the transition between old and new clear in a hidden place, in case it starts lifting.

#6249 5 years ago
Quoted from koen12344:

The red and orange ones are a perfect fit, but the green ones I ordered are just a tiny bit larger so they don't fit into the holes (they are a slightly different mold... may have gotten the wrong part?).

They might be Gottlieb.

Trace them onto the playfield with an Xacto knife and slightly enlarge the playfield holes.

#6250 5 years ago
Quoted from vid1900:

They might be Gottlieb.
Trace them onto the playfield with an Xacto knife and slightly enlarge the playfield holes.

Thanks vid, what tool would i use to enlarge the playfield holes?

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