Vid's Guide to Ultimate Playfield Restoration

0

#7101 3 years ago

???

Flipper_McGavin

Pinside member

Sacramento, CA

5y 47,800 541

Quoted from pinballinreno:
That looks great!

Thanks man, after a few other color touchups and a "Lost Treasure" insert text repaint, I will be clearcoating it with Spraymax and then re-swap out the Micro playfield with this one. I can probably try a waterslide decal for the Lost Treasure but I have no idea if the Spraymax would dissolve the decal or the printer ink.

I'm using the opaque yellow 5204, and I'm mixing it with the wicked colors orange 0004. After using the reducer I had to add more of the orange because it looked like it was reverting back to the 5204.

0

#7102 3 years ago

YOP

PinballShoppe

Ye Olde Pinball Shoppe

Wellington

9y 59,300 217 17

The big art store in Wellington also recommends Golden, and I've got myself a copy of Michael Wilcox's book "Blue and Yellow Don't Make Green", which is a great help in understanding how colour pigments work at the photon-level, and how to mix colours based on that knowledge. I'll be learning my way on a '69 Miss-O which got it's first mist-coat of Dulux Duramax (2PAC in a spraycan) last weekend. This will be a wall art project, so the clearcoat won't have to deal with silverballs.

20201004_150742 (resized).jpg

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#7103 3 years ago

???

PinballBillinFL

Pinside+ Frequent

Fernandina Beach, FL

10y 27,650 81

Quoted from dr_nybble:
I use the Nix colour scanner and input RGB

I'm guessing from this that you have the entry level Nix scanner? I looked at that one as well as the much more expensive one that allows you to create your own library of colors, but could not justify the cost simply to input the set of Createx colors I have. If your results are good, I'd be willing to dump the Createx, buy the cheap Nix, and use the color matching tool and the Golden Flow paints.

Any issues with spraying 2PAC over those colors? I'd guess not...

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#7104 3 years ago

Pinballsoul

Inactive member

3y 31,400 109 1

Nicotine or stain bleed? Weird.

0

#7105 3 years ago

SMM

dr_nybble

Pinside+ Frequent

Ottawa, ON

10y 114K 3,538 15

Quoted from PinballBillinFL:
I'm guessing from this that you have the entry level Nix scanner? I looked at that one as well as the much more expensive one that allows you to create your own library of colors, but could not justify the cost simply to input the set of Createx colors I have. If your results are good, I'd be willing to dump the Createx, buy the cheap Nix, and use the color matching tool and the Golden Flow paints.
Any issues with spraying 2PAC over those colors? I'd guess not...

I have https://www.nixsensor.com/nix-mini/
It remembers your scans in the app.

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2

#7106 3 years ago

JOE

alexmogil

Pinside+ Frequent

Parkersburg, WV

7y 79,550 1,026 17 29

The Harbor Freight HVLP guns are $9.99 until October 22nd.

https://www.harborfreight.com/20-oz-hvlp-gravity-feed-air-spray-gun-62300.html

Get two, and buy a replacement plan.

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#7107 3 years ago

GTX

gdonovan

Pinside member

7y 185K 13,207 70

Quoted from alexmogil:
The Harbor Freight HVLP guns are $9.99 until October 22nd.
https://www.harborfreight.com/20-oz-hvlp-gravity-feed-air-spray-gun-62300.html
Get two, and buy a replacement plan.

I love those little guns, spray like butter!

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1

#7108 3 years ago

WOT

Atari_Daze

Spd

Houston, TX

7y 141K 10,052 7

Quoted from alexmogil:
The Harbor Freight HVLP guns are $9.99 until October 22nd.

I always keep a new one around 'just in case'. I HATE having to leave something in the middle to make a parts run.

I have one that I modified for shooting latex by following this technique:

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#7109 3 years ago

MRB

mark532011

Pinside+ Frequent

9y 82,800 1,716 7

I just picked up a whirlwind and the playfield is covered in a large sheet of mylar and thus in good shape. It looks like most of the arrows have pushed up and created a bubble in the mylar. I'm guessing the only real answer (other than "leave it as is and enjoy") is to remove the whole sheet of mylar, pull the arrows out, glue in flush and then get a new sheet of mylar?

Mark

DSC02259 (resized).JPG

DSC02260 (resized).JPG

DSC02262 (resized).JPG

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1

#7110 3 years ago

WOT

Atari_Daze

Spd

Houston, TX

7y 141K 10,052 7

Quoted from mark532011:
I'm guessing the only real answer (other than "leave it as is and enjoy") is to remove the whole sheet of mylar, pull the arrows out, glue in flush and then get a new sheet of mylar?

Unless you're going to do a full restore, your assumption above is what I would do.

0

#7111 3 years ago

MCP

packie1

Pinside+ Addict

Kewanee, IL

12y 57,800 638 26

Quoted from Atari_Daze:
Unless you're going to do a full restore, your assumption above is what I would do.

You could try Vid's tip and epoxy from the underside and press the inserts back down. this would at least stop the ball from hopping over the arrows.
Just a suggestion.
Mike

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2

#7112 3 years ago

WMS

sawbill

Pinside+ Frequent

7y 80,050 92

Pulling Mylar on a System 11 is very dicey. Proceed very cautiously so as to not damage graphics.

0

#7113 3 years ago

MRB

mark532011

Pinside+ Frequent

9y 82,800 1,716 7

Quoted from sawbill:
Pulling Mylar on a System 11 is very dicey. Proceed very cautiously so as to not damage graphics.

I was really worried about that. It’s a huge piece and what’s under it is beautiful. I will try it but I have to say I am nervous!

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4

#7114 3 years ago

SMK

TheLaw

Pinside+ Addict

Ann Arbor, MI

12y 162K 48,038 19 30 1

You should be extremely nervous. You might get it off fine and be left with a ton of glue residue, and cleaning thst can be what does the most damage

0

#7115 3 years ago

CCA

phototamer

Pinside member

Limassol

6y 49,800 557 3

Other than a full restore ( including applying clear ), fixing minor problems and reapplying Mylar looks the way to go.

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17

#7116 3 years ago

OP

BOY

vid1900

Pinside member

Sana'a

12y 164K 40,199 18

Quoted from mark532011:
I'm guessing the only real answer (other than "leave it as is and enjoy") is to remove the whole sheet of mylar, pull the arrows out, glue in flush and then get a new sheet of mylar?

Just leave it alone.

That's too nice of a playfield to be your first butcher job.

Sys9 and 11 often the ink comes off the inserts too

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5

#7117 3 years ago

AXE

YeOldPinPlayer

Inactive member

Unknown

8y 111K 6,454 4 12

!!!!!!! Welcome back Vid!

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3

#7118 3 years ago

MCP

packie1

Pinside+ Addict

Kewanee, IL

12y 57,800 638 26

All hail VID!!! All hail VID!!!

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7

#7119 3 years ago

DO

Dono

Pinside+ Frequent

Glenelg, MD

9y 86,050 1,784 12 25

Just want to reiterate the feeling among a ton of pinsiders that you've helped over the years - we're hoping that your return is a long one, and know that you've been a big part of successful restorations from folks who have had the pleasure of using your advise, tips and tricks to fine tune their restoration game.

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5

#7120 3 years ago

TY!

radial_head

Three Knocks Pinball

South Berwick, ME

5y 84,800 1,762 6 2

Welcome back Vid. Now hopefully the community can let you post your guides in full before we start bombarding you with questions.

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3

#7121 3 years ago

ZS

detroitzoran

Pinside member

Macomb, MI

5y 30,050 57 4

I am soooo happy you're back!

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5

#7122 3 years ago

FUN

pinheadpierre

Pinside+ Frequent

9y 94,800 2,557 16 1

OP
Quoted from vid1900:
Just leave it alone.
That's too nice of a playfield to be your first butcher job.
Sys9 and 11 often the ink comes off the inserts too

Dude....long time no see. Nice surprise to see you back in the thread

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3

#7123 3 years ago

HAR

harig

Pinside member

Wiener Neustadt

6y 51,850 547 7

Yuhuuuu the Master is back!!!

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5

#7124 3 years ago

WAY

wayinla

Pinside member

Torrance, CA

5y 51,300 392 8 9

As a newish pinball owner (about a year and a half) I’ve found your guides invaluable. I hope you pop in more than once in a while and continue to share your knowledge.

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3

#7125 3 years ago

LAR

Apinjunkie

Pinside+ Frequent

4y 90,550 1,928 28

Quoted from wayinla:
As a newish pinball owner (about a year and a half) I’ve found your guides invaluable. I hope you pop in more than once in a while and continue to share your knowledge.

This is my sentiments exactly. Thank you vid, you're helpful resource has made all the difference in the world for a beginner like myself to feel confident enough to tackle a hardtop install on a space shuttle. The simplest advice of, "use a sharp drill bit when removing a rivet from a stand-up"goes a long way toward straightening the learning curve for so many of us. Thank you for all you've contributed.

0

#7126 3 years ago

MRB

mark532011

Pinside+ Frequent

9y 82,800 1,716 7

OP
Quoted from vid1900:
Just leave it alone.
That's too nice of a playfield to be your first butcher job.
Sys9 and 11 often the ink comes off the inserts too

I’m thinking I might try to heat the inserts up a little from the bottom with a heat gun, then use a deep c clamp and see if I can force the inserts back flush. That won’t eliminate the Mylar gap but it seems like it should help...won’t it?

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2

#7127 3 years ago

HAR

harig

Pinside member

Wiener Neustadt

6y 51,850 547 7

I had good success with leveling lifted inserts on my players condition F14 and described my quick and dirty solution there:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/vids-guide-to-ultimate-playfield-restoration/page/139#post-5635204

Post last edited 3 years ago: “typo”

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3

#7128 3 years ago

OP

BOY

vid1900

Pinside member

Sana'a

12y 164K 40,199 18

Quoted from mark532011:
I’m thinking I might try to heat the inserts up a little from the bottom with a heat gun, then use a deep c clamp and see if I can force the inserts back flush. That won’t eliminate the Mylar gap but it seems like it should help...won’t it?

Yes, you can level them, but the Mylar probably will still have the hump

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2

#7129 3 years ago

CCA

phototamer

Pinside member

Limassol

6y 49,800 557 3

Well .. that's a very welcome surprise !! Very happy to see back the Person that gives life and spice to this site !!
Hope your stay will be a long one. Take care big man

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14

#7130 3 years ago

JMS

John_in_NC

Pinside member

Chapel Hill, NC

15y 95,050 1,960 19 26

Latest restore. Moderate planking issues. Repainted all yellow, dark blue, white, touch-up on the remaining colors. McFaddens lacquer with new plastics.

40F54A03-9113-4C98-8B13-1F77925759B1 (resized).jpeg

0

#7131 3 years ago

???

PinballAir

Pinside member

11y 91,050 4,267 6

Did you mask off the shadowing on the white dresses or just repaint it?

0

#7132 3 years ago

JMS

John_in_NC

Pinside member

Chapel Hill, NC

15y 95,050 1,960 19 26

Quoted from PinballAir:
Did you mask off the shadowing on the white dresses or just repaint it?

Hand painted around it. Touched up. Did do a water slide for the text on the top rollovers.

0

#7133 3 years ago

???

PinballAir

Pinside member

11y 91,050 4,267 6

Looks awesome.
Beautiful work!

0

#7134 3 years ago

???

Bele20097

Pinside member

Boucherville, QC

3y 22,900 32 5

Quoted from John_in_NC:
Latest restore. Moderate planking issues. Repainted all yellow, dark blue, white, touch-up on the remaining colors. McFaddens lacquer with new plastics.
[quoted image]

Absolutely beautiful!

Which paint did you used for the touch-ups? I see several kinds of McFaddens lacquer available. Which specific one did you use?

Thanks

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1

#7135 3 years ago

JMS

John_in_NC

Pinside member

Chapel Hill, NC

15y 95,050 1,960 19 26

Quoted from Bele20097:
Absolutely beautiful!
Which paint did you used for the touch-ups? I see several kinds of McFaddens lacquer available. Which specific one did you use?
Thanks

This McFaddens - Polishes nicely. Colors were whatever I had. Testers for yellow, blue and white were a mix I made up.

pasted_image (resized).jpeg

0

#7136 3 years ago

???

CryptKeeperAUS

Pinside member

Perth

5y 52,050 427 5

Hi all, Is there anyone out there that will print water slide decals to order? I want to repair the damage around an old Twister playfield. The spinning magnet disc has done its fair share of damage. Any suggestions would be welcomed. I have found a high res picture but it isnt perfectly centre.

20201113_192657 (resized).jpg

0

#7137 3 years ago

OP

BOY

vid1900

Pinside member

Sana'a

12y 164K 40,199 18

Quoted from CryptKeeperAUS:
Is there anyone out there that will print water slide decals to order?

Your local hobby shop probably does (they do in the States)

You will have to protect the decal with Clearcoat or Mylar. The waterslide decal itself is rather fragile by itself, unprotected.

Quoted from CryptKeeperAUS:
I have found a high res picture but it isnt perfectly centre.

Often a simple black keyline looks great and unobtrusive

0

#7138 3 years ago

???

Huds

Inactive member

Unknown

3y 6,250 1

New....Seeking advice on process steps for the Royal Guard Playfield. Have read most of the playfield resto thread. I just want to understand sequence/steps for the bricks mainly. Mask and spray the purple... then mask the purple and spray the grout?? Oh My!

Thanks,

Pete

Close (resized).jpg

Far (resized).jpg

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1

#7139 3 years ago

DII

dtrimberger

Pinside member

Portland, OR

5y 64,800 389 10

OP
Quoted from vid1900:
Most playfields have lots of reflective white areas that are lit by the General Illumination circuits.
Even though you often don't directly see these areas, it's important to repaint them bright white.
My light meter says that by repainting these sections, you are gaining 30-40% reflectance - that's a lot.
Not only are you getting a brighter reflection, you are getting a pure reflection, rather than one tinted beige or yellow.
The old paint has yellowed, the old Lacquer on top of it has yellowed, but at some point these areas were indeed a nice white.
These areas are mostly out of sight of the player, so you can do them without a bunch of leveling and patching. Because you can do them so quickly, there is no reason not to do them.
Sometimes these areas are just clear wood on one version of the playfield and screened white on another, latter production run. It's a judgement call if you want the extra light reflection (and color purity) by painting the clear wood white. Some purists frown upon it, many customers insist on it.
Don't get paint in the light sockets, or try to put balls of foam or tape in them. Just put some old bulbs in the sockets and paint around them.
[quoted image]

Re-doing a Stern Stars. Would everyone recommend painting the GI areas under slings, plastics ,etc white even though I don't plan on painting the other white areas on playfield which at this point are a off white/cream color (presumably from age)?

0

#7140 3 years ago

SMK

TheLaw

Pinside+ Addict

Ann Arbor, MI

12y 162K 48,038 19 30 1

Quoted from dtrimberger:
Re-doing a Stern Stars. Would everyone recommend painting the GI areas under slings, plastics ,etc...

Nope.

Well I guess I should ask are you really re painting every part of the PF?

And then the answer is still no.

0

#7141 3 years ago

DII

dtrimberger

Pinside member

Portland, OR

5y 64,800 389 10

Quoted from TheLaw:
Nope.
Well I guess I should ask are you really re painting every part of the PF?
And then the answer is still no.

No, just had to touch up one red outlane, the red through the center points track, the SK star and a bit of some black down at the bottom. It was completely flaked so I didn't really have any option of clearing over it or using a playfield overlay.

I thought I read on Vid's guide here somewhere that one of the main errors with redoing a playfield is not painting the white and the post I quoted implies you should repaint the hidden white because nobody ever sees it and it helps the lighting.

0

#7142 3 years ago

SMK

TheLaw

Pinside+ Addict

Ann Arbor, MI

12y 162K 48,038 19 30 1

Quoted from dtrimberger:
I thought I read on Vid's guide here somewhere that one of the main errors with...

Yeah he probably said that, but you should be OK. Light spread should be OK even without LEDs.

Again, unless you're clearing over everything anyway and want to get deep into it; Even then I wouldn't.

0

1

#7143 3 years ago

FCB

Fred736

Pinside member

8y 33,050 152 3

Quoted from Huds:
I just want to understand sequence/steps for the bricks mainly. Mask and spray the purple... then mask the purple and spray the grout?? Oh My!
Thanks,
Pete[quoted image][quoted image]

I'd slap some Frisket across the entire playfield to cover the building and I'd cut out the entire section of bricks. All straight lines so would be relatively quick with an xacto and a straight edge. Just a bit of free hand around the top of the windows, shrubs, hat and sword tip.
Then airbrush white.

Then from a properly scalled, scanned and vectorized image of the wall portions, id cut myself a mask to mask out all the grout lines and would spray the purple bricks.
Nothing complicated, just time, patience and ressouces. You need a bit of computer skills for the vectorizing and need access to a scanner and a vinyl cutter.

Some with a different point of view may question why you want to repaint at all.

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1

#7144 3 years ago

OP

BOY

vid1900

Pinside member

Sana'a

12y 164K 40,199 18

Quoted from Huds:
Seeking advice on process steps for the Royal Guard Playfield. Have read most of the playfield resto thread. I just want to understand sequence/steps for the bricks mainly. Mask and spray the purple... then mask the purple and spray the grout??

I'd scan the area.

Then I'd paint the entire area the grout (mortar?) color

Then I'd print the purple bricks on waterslide and apply them, in sections, over the grout

0

If you are feeling artistic, you could paint the area the grout color, then apply Pinstripe or Drafting tape, and spray the purple.

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2

#7145 3 years ago

OP

BOY

vid1900

Pinside member

Sana'a

12y 164K 40,199 18

Quoted from dtrimberger:
Re-doing a Stern Stars. Would everyone recommend painting the GI areas under slings, plastics ,etc white even though I don't plan on painting the other white areas on playfield which at this point are a off white/cream color (presumably from age)?

That's what I do.

Those old yellowed sections reflect ~30% of the light on my camera light meter, after painting that number goes up to ~70%. That's a big difference.

That number is from using Createx Opaque White, but there are even more reflective white paints that can hit 85% reflectivity.

0

#7146 3 years ago

TRB

Fifty

Pinside member

9y 74,900 2,328

Hi vid1900 I am following your insert replacement section. I managed to get the inserts out, cleaned out the insert hole, primed the insert, and epoxied one in. Then I tapped it down gently. Unfortunately the insert isn't flat with the playfield. It is tapped down all the way.

I do not have plans to clear this playfield. I just wanted to replace these inserts because the star rollovers were getting stuck, and some of them were broken.

How do I fix this? Thank you.

555 (resized).jpg

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#7147 3 years ago

TOM

pinballinreno

Computer Extreme

9y 134K 15,505 31

Quoted from Fifty:
Hi vid1900 I am following your insert replacement section. I managed to get the inserts out, cleaned out the insert hole, primed the insert, and epoxied one in. Then I tapped it down gently. Unfortunately the insert isn't flat with the playfield. It is tapped down all the way.
I do not have plans to clear this playfield. I just wanted to replace these inserts because the star rollovers were getting stuck, and some of them were broken.
How do I fix this? Thank you.
[quoted image]

Heat it, clamp it down firmly.
If that fails,

Pull/grind/chisle it out.

Sand the top and bottom of the next insert so it fits better.

0

#7148 3 years ago

OP

BOY

vid1900

Pinside member

Sana'a

12y 164K 40,199 18

Quoted from Fifty:
Hi vid1900 I am following your insert replacement section. I managed to get the inserts out, cleaned out the insert hole, primed the insert, and epoxied one in. Then I tapped it down gently. Unfortunately the insert isn't flat with the playfield. It is tapped down all the way.
I do not have plans to clear this playfield. I just wanted to replace these inserts because the star rollovers were getting stuck, and some of them were broken.
How do I fix this? Thank you.
[quoted image]

Put a piece of Scotch tape on each side of the insert

Hold a brand new utility knife blade across the insert at a 90 degree angle

Draw the blade across, shaving the insert down

As you start to hit the tape, stop - close enough for pinball

0

#7149 3 years ago

TRB

Fifty

Pinside member

9y 74,900 2,328

Quoted from pinballinreno:
Heat it, clamp it down firmly.
If that fails,
Pull/grind/chisle it out.
Sand the top and bottom of the next insert so it fits better.

It is down as far as it can go.
I am sure I could get it out, but I would like to avoid this if possible.
I will sand the bottom of the next insert to avoid duplicating this mistake.

OP
Quoted from vid1900:
Put a piece of Scotch tape on each side of the insert
Hold a brand new utility knife blade across the insert at a 90 degree angle
Draw the blade across, shaving the insert down
As you start to hit the tape, stop - close enough for pinball

Sorry, but I'm trying to understand this.

It's a round insert, so I don't understand what you mean by put Scotch tape on each side.

Is there a specific type of utility knife that you would recommend? I'm picturing this in my head.
razor (resized).jpeg

Could you clarify?

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4

#7150 3 years ago

MPG

Catch86

Pinside member

10y 57,900 398 6

Quoted from Fifty:
It's a round insert, so I don't understand what you mean by put Scotch tape on each side.

I think what he’s saying is to put scotch tape around the insert on the playfield not on top of insert so that as you start to scrape/shave the top of the insert you will be able to see the razor getting close to the playfield by seeing the tape getting cut by the razor. And yeah that’s the type of razor I would use. Never had to do it but that’s how I would go about it.

By vid1900

11 years ago

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