Vid's Guide to Ultimate Playfield Restoration

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#7351 3 years ago

M.S

Marco1973

Pinside+ Frequent

Bolzano

7y 36,050 141 8

Quoted from Boslaw:
Buthamburg makes a very good repro BoP playfield. There are lots of old BoP playfields on the market that are in better shape than what you have. I enjoy restoration work but you could probably get one those NOS for $50-$100 from someone who upgraded to a repro and save yourself a ton of time and $.

Thank you. I know Buthamburg, I went in Hamburg and I can speak German very well, but unfortunately they are expensive (about 970$).

I will try anyway torestore it according Vid's suggestions. I like difficult plans I will post pictures of the work.

But if you have some link or names someone who is selling it, I will appreciate your help. Maybe I will have one restored PF more to sell.

0

#7352 3 years ago

JAH

John_In_WI

Pinside member

12y 36,550 357

Quoted from Boslaw:
Buthamburg makes a very good repro BoP playfield. There are lots of old BoP playfields on the market that are in better shape than what you have. I enjoy restoration work but you could probably get one those NOS for $50-$100 from someone who upgraded to a repro and save yourself a ton of time and $.

And have some wood for the fire...

0

#7353 3 years ago

M.S

Marco1973

Pinside+ Frequent

Bolzano

7y 36,050 141 8

Quoted from John_In_WI:
And have some wood for the fire...

That means you don't know the wood of the playfields
Try, you will see it will not burn. Not good at least.

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1

#7354 3 years ago

OP

BOY

vid1900

Pinside member

Sana'a

12y 169K 40,240 18

Quoted from Marco1973:
What kind of plywood do I need to buy ?
Trying making the holes again on a reproduced lower part will cost only some €.

Find a scrap of Baltic Birch plywood of the same thickness.

clamp it to the old playfield and use the old playfield as your drilling and routing template.

Any local woodworker could do it all for you in less than a hour, including the glue-up.

But if you can just buy any other $40 BOP playfield, that's what I would do. I've never seen a worse one than yours....

0

#7355 3 years ago

???

Silverstreak02

Pinside member

Lutz, FL

8y 61,300 1,306 4 7

The frisket is leaving a glue residue on the playfield. How do I remove the glue without hurting the new paint? While I intend to remove as much as possible I wonder how the Spraymax will react with whatever is left. Any thoughts?

0

#7356 3 years ago

OP

BOY

vid1900

Pinside member

Sana'a

12y 169K 40,240 18

See if Naphtha will remove the glue, that's what I use to clean all the playfields before clearing.

If the frisket is old, warm it before peeling it back.

I have no experience with Spraymax, sorry

0

#7357 3 years ago

???

PinballAir

Pinside member

11y 91,050 4,267 6

Even if the spraymax doesnt react, you will still see the residue in the clear.

0

#7358 3 years ago

???

Silverstreak02

Pinside member

Lutz, FL

8y 61,300 1,306 4 7

Quoted from PinballAir:
Even if the spraymax doesnt react, you will still see the residue in the clear.

Good point. I’ll use Naphtha like Vid suggested and hope I get all of it. It stinks since I bought a new roll of frisket to avoid this issue.

0

#7359 3 years ago

DBK

TinyBlackDog

Pinside member

5y 70,050 666

Has anybody tried the Speedokote clear coats? These seem readily available and fairly inexpensive. The two in particular I’m considering are the SMR-1150:

https://www.speedokote.com/clear-coat-acrylic-urethane-smr-1150-1102-q-4-1-kit/

And the SMR-130:

https://www.speedokote.com/smr-130-speedo-line-clear-national-rule-gallon-kit/

Both are available on Amazon. Anybody have experience, thoughts, or warnings I’d love to hear them.

0

#7360 3 years ago

???

Silverstreak02

Pinside member

Lutz, FL

8y 61,300 1,306 4 7

OP
Quoted from vid1900:
See if Naphtha will remove the glue, that's what I use to clean all the playfields before clearing.
If the frisket is old, warm it before peeling it back.
I have no experience with Spraymax, sorry

Vid the Naphtha works but does remove some of the paint. I tried heat on the frisket. It seamed to work on the first two small sections. Unfortunately it made a big mess of the third piece. I wish I know why this roll is leaving glue behind.

0

#7361 3 years ago

???

PinballAir

Pinside member

11y 91,050 4,267 6

I usually buy the low tack from blink.
Where did you get the frisket?

0

#7362 3 years ago

OP

BOY

vid1900

Pinside member

Sana'a

12y 169K 40,240 18

Quoted from Silverstreak02:
I wish I know why this roll is leaving glue behind.

Could just be a bad batch.

Call the supplier and have them replace it with a different batch number

0

#7363 3 years ago

BSM

sethbenjamin

ReplayResto

Greenfield, MA

12y 84,050 1,448 8

Quoted from Silverstreak02:
Vid the Naphtha works but does remove some of the paint. I tried heat on the frisket. It seamed to work on the first two small sections. Unfortunately it made a big mess of the third piece. I wish I know why this roll is leaving glue behind.

I had this problem as well, and had it across brands. Went through the same issues you're describing, even had an issue at one point with lifting the clear, which *really* sucked. Finally switched to low-tack Frisket and never had a problem (so far.) I take care to lay it down lightly and then lightly burnish the area where I need a hard edge line. Works.
I can’t remember which version of Frisket film I used most recently, but I expect switching to low-tack is the important part. In the past I had issues with adhesive residue from both Frisket name-brand as well as other manufacturers’ products.

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1

#7364 3 years ago

???

PinballAir

Pinside member

11y 91,050 4,267 6

I also only "rub" the actual edge of where the paint is going.

0

#7365 3 years ago

AVA

Piso

Pinside member

Faenza

4y 36,300 93 2

I'm restoring my TZ. Playfield will be clear coated. I noticed this dark brown stains on the lower part of the playfiled. What could cause this? Will I be able to remove this just by sanding?

Screenshot_20210403-234249__01__01 (resized).jpg

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3

#7366 3 years ago

???

PinballAir

Pinside member

11y 91,050 4,267 6

Looks like a spill/ liquid on playfield that wicked under the original clear.

0

1

#7367 3 years ago

M.S

Marco1973

Pinside+ Frequent

Bolzano

7y 36,050 141 8

Quoted from Piso:
I'm restoring my TZ. Playfield will be clear coated. I noticed this dark brown stains on the lower part of the playfiled. What could cause this? Will I be able to remove this just by sanding?
[quoted image]

Ciao Piso.
Yes, sanding will cancel it, but it depends on how deep it is gone.
Are you sure the PF was never restored ?

0

#7368 3 years ago

AVA

Piso

Pinside member

Faenza

4y 36,300 93 2

Completely original, never touched. I will try to lightly sand it and see how deep it goes

0

#7369 3 years ago

???

gawlicd

Pinside apprentice

Unknown

4y 9,150 79

Hi, what format works best for saving scanner images for later stitching etc. Jpg, bmp, pdf, other? 300dpi 600dpi. Thanks , found my old flatbed hp 6500 i think that I never used but vista64 driver works in windows 10.

0

#7370 3 years ago

???

PinballBillinFL

Pinside+ Frequent

Fernandina Beach, FL

10y 27,650 81

Quoted from gawlicd:
Hi, what format works best for saving scanner images for later stitching etc. Jpg, bmp, pdf, other? 300dpi 600dpi. Thanks , found my old flatbed hp 6500 i think that I never used but vista64 driver works in windows 10.

Based on advice I got here, 600dpi. I save as jpg; haven't tried bmp. I've used Microsoft's Image Composite Editor (ICE), a freeware program, to do stitching, with varied results - scanner alignment is pretty critical. Bus since I also did some scans to cover specific areas where I don't think I could frisket successfully, and since I've already fixed all the major issues with the scans, I'm a bit reluctant to re-scan and re-fix.

Good Luck!

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3

#7371 3 years ago

SMK

TheLaw

Pinside+ Addict

Ann Arbor, MI

12y 162K 48,066 19 30 1

In general I wouldn't use a lossy format like jpg.
I'd go TIFF

0

#7372 3 years ago

FUN

pinheadpierre

Pinside+ Frequent

9y 94,800 2,559 16 1

600 dpi, tiff

0

#7373 3 years ago

DBK

TinyBlackDog

Pinside member

5y 70,050 666

Some bozo who previously owned my Shadow decided to screw down some kind of protection over the sanctum and I’m left with 4 screw holes to repair (there are 2 more on the other side of the magnet). I’m going to ultimately clear coat the playfield and will be completely repainting this entire gray area (w/ frisket and waterslide decal). My question is what should I do with the screw holes? I was thinking they should be drilled a bit larger and filled with epoxy/JB Weld. Or should I just dome punch them and fill with paint?

2111D192-E160-46C7-8A32-11CBDE74B0B1 (resized).jpeg

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1

#7374 3 years ago

OP

BOY

vid1900

Pinside member

Sana'a

12y 169K 40,240 18

Quoted from Piso:
I'm restoring my TZ. Playfield will be clear coated. I noticed this dark brown stains on the lower part of the playfiled. What could cause this? Will I be able to remove this just by sanding?
[quoted image]

Some sort of liquid cleaner got wicked under.

It could take a lot of sanding, might be quicker to just touch up with paint

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3

#7375 3 years ago

OP

BOY

vid1900

Pinside member

Sana'a

12y 169K 40,240 18

Quoted from TinyBlackDog:
Some bozo who previously owned my Shadow decided to screw down some kind of protection over the sanctum and I’m left with 4 screw holes to repair (there are 2 more on the other side of the magnet). I’m going to ultimately clear coat the playfield and will be completely repainting this entire gray area (w/ frisket and waterslide decal). My question is what should I do with the screw holes? I was thinking they should be drilled a bit larger and filled with epoxy/JB Weld. Or should I just dome punch them and fill with paint?
[quoted image]

Plug with bamboo skewers, dipped in glue.

0

#7376 3 years ago

MRB

mark532011

Pinside+ Frequent

9y 82,800 1,716 7

if you have a lot of cracking it seems like the difference between bare wood and old paint will be really obvious even when painted over. Do you typically just build up several coats of clear and sand pretty smooth before starting a paint over or something like bondo to fill in the depressions. I noticed earlier that bondo is used but it doesn't sound like it is recommended for shallow spots like missing paint.

DSC03380-cropped (resized).jpg

0

1

#7377 3 years ago

OP

BOY

vid1900

Pinside member

Sana'a

12y 169K 40,240 18

I always spray a "lock down" coat of clear.

Otherwise the bare wood will soak up the paint, and of course the frisket will pull up the flaky paint.

0

2

#7378 3 years ago

???

vec-tor

Pinside+ Addict

Unknown

7y 91,150 4,608 83

OP
Quoted from vid1900:
Plug with bamboo skewers, dipped in glue.

I had a hobby guy till me about a technique of using small round doweling...
The ship model builders used the metal drill bit holder as a template for making
small round wood rods.
By using a drill, and feeding the round dowel through the holes in the metal drill case holder,
you can make smaller diameter wood dowel rods.

0

#7379 3 years ago

CLM

mad_carl

Pinside member

5y 54,300 403

Hey - picked up a Royal Rumble (WWF) recently and got a second unpopulated playfield in the deal.

The one currently In there has raised inserts and faded colours and this one is in much nicer shape aside from it being super dull in spots. I’m toying with the idea of clearing it but either way I’d like to clean it up a bit.

What’s the best approach for trying to get the shine back on the portions the ball has touched? I’ve given it a quick whip with naphtha and a magic eraser to try to get the mess of wax or whatever else was previously put on it (it’s caked into gi sockets and holes throughout)

Is there anything I can do? Or just wax it and accept the fact it is what it is?

129C162D-E061-4E3E-8E14-43D8EEAE3D08 (resized).jpeg

5A6936CE-3C06-43F1-8A4C-38086992753C (resized).jpeg

722AFFF2-818E-467C-A0F8-1A5A288E2D54 (resized).jpeg

0

#7380 3 years ago

LUD

lb1

Pinside member

Bay Area, CA

11y 66,800 1,242 1

Quoted from vec-tor:
I had a hobby guy till me about a technique of using small round doweling...
The ship model builders used the metal drill bit holder as a template for making
small round wood rods.
By using a drill, and feeding the round dowel through the holes in the metal drill case holder,
you can make smaller diameter wood dowel rods.

That's interesting. So if I understand correctly, you hold the original wooden dowel in the drill mandrel as if it was a drill bit, and you run it through the hole in the metal case that has the right size?

0

#7381 3 years ago

???

vec-tor

Pinside+ Addict

Unknown

7y 91,150 4,608 83

Quoted from lb1:
That's interesting. So if I understand correctly, you hold the original wooden dowel in the drill mandrel as if it was a drill bit, and you run it through the hole in the metal case that has the right size?

Yup. I had to repair a animation scene, and it had lollypop sticks has wood bracing that broke.
I was able to use small round doweling to get the right size and repaired the unit.
I have used the same technique to fix bad holes in playfields and to fix holes I did not like
in reproduction playfields. Finish off the repairs like vid1900 does.

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2

#7382 3 years ago

OP

BOY

vid1900

Pinside member

Sana'a

12y 169K 40,240 18

Quoted from mad_carl:
Hey - picked up a Royal Rumble (WWF) recently and got a second unpopulated playfield in the deal.
The one currently In there has raised inserts and faded colours and this one is in much nicer shape aside from it being super dull in spots. I’m toying with the idea of clearing it but either way I’d like to clean it up a bit.
What’s the best approach for trying to get the shine back on the portions the ball has touched? I’ve given it a quick whip with naphtha and a magic eraser to try to get the mess of wax or whatever else was previously put on it (it’s caked into gi sockets and holes throughout)
Is there anything I can do? Or just wax it and accept the fact it is what it is?[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]

I imagine that in the future, you or somebody else will want to clear coat that playfield and protect it.

When it is clear coated, someone will need to undo all of your polishing work

So, I would just put it in a box for now, and don't look at it, or think about it.

0

#7383 3 years ago

???

pincity

Pinside member

6y 28,050 130

I ended up removing some mylar from my Monte Carlo under the ball drop. It was peeling up and getting dirty underneath so I decided to pull it using freeze spray. It went pretty well except it seems a little bit of topcoat came off the "Recoup and Advance Bet" insert which is just a plain insert (no text) - so that small portion of the insert is a little "cloudier" than the rest of the insert. Looks similar to the clear inserts here: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/cracked-mylar-on-spring-break#post-1811116.

I don't plan on clearcoating the playfield and I plan to replace with a fresh piece of mylar after waxing. Is it worth trying to fill in the insert if I'm going to be putting down mylar anyway?

0

#7384 3 years ago

DBK

TinyBlackDog

Pinside member

5y 70,050 666

I am going to be clearcoating my Shadow PF soon and have a couple of questions:

1. What quantity of clear do you typically mix for a clearing session? I’ll be using a purple Harbor Freight gun and plan a dusting coat followed by a light coat then a medium coat for the first day. Since it is my first time spraying clear I’m sure I’ll waste some but the Omni 161 was so $&%^# expensive that I’d like to minimize waste. My initial guesstimate is about 10 to 12 ounces.

2. Has anybody tried clearing wireforms with an HVLP gun and 2PAC? The brass coating on my Shadow wireforms is in decent shape and is cleaning up nicely with Nevr Dull wadding polish. I was thinking of a thorough Naptha wipe down and then hanging from a hook to spray. Am I nuts to be even thinking about this? Alternatives are to just wax them, or bust out my checkbook and get them brass plated but that is about $400 for the set from Chris Royalty.

Thanks.

0

#7385 3 years ago

???

PinballAir

Pinside member

11y 91,050 4,267 6

This line on the edge of the factory mylar is a small amount of dirt under edge of mylar.
Anyone have any tricks to clean it without cutting back or removing mylar?

EC23BAAF-9507-4063-83D8-00AC715A73CD (resized).jpeg

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2

#7386 3 years ago

???

PinballAir

Pinside member

11y 91,050 4,267 6

I would not clear the wireforms.
Just my opinion.
I think it will chip and make keeping them uniform in appearance will be difficult after that.
On the games i have restored, polished metal generally looks very good for several years depending on where your games are. (Enviroment)

0

#7387 3 years ago

DBK

TinyBlackDog

Pinside member

5y 70,050 666

Quoted from PinballAir:
I would not clear the wireforms.
Just my opinion.
I think it will chip and make keeping them uniform in appearance will be difficult after that.
On the games i have restored, polished metal generally looks very good for several years depending on where your games are. (Enviroment)

Thanks. The chipping was my concern, too. I know that replated wireforms have a clear coat applied afterwards, which is why I thought about it in the first place. I don’t know what technique is used to apply it though.

0

1

#7388 3 years ago

OP

BOY

vid1900

Pinside member

Sana'a

12y 169K 40,240 18

Quoted from TinyBlackDog:
Thanks. The chipping was my concern, too. I know that replated wireforms have a clear coat applied afterwards, which is why I thought about it in the first place. I don’t know what technique is used to apply it though.

Acrylic powdercoat is often applied to metals that will quickly oxidized.

It still tends to chip, think of solid brass doorknobs on your front door

0

#7389 2 years ago

OP

BOY

vid1900

Pinside member

Sana'a

12y 169K 40,240 18

Quoted from PinballAir:
This line on the edge of the factory mylar is a small amount of dirt under edge of mylar.
Anyone have any tricks to clean it without cutting back or removing mylar?
[quoted image]

You can cut it back, but if it were mine, I'd leave it as is

0

1

#7390 2 years ago

OP

BOY

vid1900

Pinside member

Sana'a

12y 169K 40,240 18

Quoted from TinyBlackDog:
I am going to be clearcoating my Shadow PF soon and have a couple of questions:
1. What quantity of clear do you typically mix for a clearing session? I’ll be using a purple Harbor Freight gun and plan a dusting coat followed by a light coat then a medium coat for the first day. Since it is my first time spraying clear I’m sure I’ll waste some but the Omni 161 was so $&%^# expensive that I’d like to minimize waste. My initial guesstimate is about 10 to 12.

A 1/4 cup is plenty

0

1

#7391 2 years ago

JEF

yellowghost

Pinside member

Winnipeg, MB

7y 44,550 1,059 7

Quoted from TinyBlackDog:
I am going to be clearcoating my Shadow PF soon and have a couple of questions:
1. What quantity of clear do you typically mix for a clearing session? I’ll be using a purple Harbor Freight gun and plan a dusting coat followed by a light coat then a medium coat for the first day. Since it is my first time spraying clear I’m sure I’ll waste some but the Omni 161 was so $&%^# expensive that I’d like to minimize waste. My initial guesstimate is about 10 to 12 ounces.
2. Has anybody tried clearing wireforms with an HVLP gun and 2PAC? The brass coating on my Shadow wireforms is in decent shape and is cleaning up nicely with Nevr Dull wadding polish. I was thinking of a thorough Naptha wipe down and then hanging from a hook to spray. Am I nuts to be even thinking about this? Alternatives are to just wax them, or bust out my checkbook and get them brass plated but that is about $400 for the set from Chris Royalty.
Thanks.

I mixed about 3/4 of a cup. For three coats but it was my first time using a HVLP gun so my technique wasn't perfect yet. And I had a little left over.
I dont think the omni will stick to the metal unless you rub it down with at least a scotch-brite and that might ruin the finish. Try on a old piece first.

0

#7392 2 years ago

DBK

TinyBlackDog

Pinside member

5y 70,050 666

I just removed mylar from my Shadow battlefield in hopes that this was an air bubble under the mylar, but it appears to be in the clear coat or surface of the insert itself.

Would it be possible to scrape off the existing clear on the insert, sand it, drip clear in to level, then clear the whole mini-playfield?

Alternatively - what about cutting out and replacing the insert? That feels like a tricky proposition since I’d have to touch up the black paint around the insert.

I’m considering a CPR replacement but they have some printing issues that make them less than ideal.

89776626-65F9-49B6-B273-DF4F7838E2F8 (resized).jpeg

8E1A32AB-44A8-42F2-AC3A-FECBF604EB19 (resized).jpeg

0

#7393 2 years ago

OP

BOY

vid1900

Pinside member

Sana'a

12y 169K 40,240 18

Quoted from TinyBlackDog:
I just removed mylar from my Shadow battlefield in hopes that this was an air bubble under the mylar, but it appears to be in the clear coat or surface of the insert itself.
Would it be possible to scrape off the existing clear on the insert, sand it, drip clear in to level, then clear the whole mini-playfield?
Alternatively - what about cutting out and replacing the insert? That feels like a tricky proposition since I’d have to touch up the black paint around the insert.
I’m considering a CPR replacement but they have some printing issues that make them less than ideal.
[quoted image][quoted image]

Page 2:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/vids-guide-to-ultimate-playfield-restoration/page/2#post-551833

0

#7394 2 years ago

???

vec-tor

Pinside+ Addict

Unknown

7y 91,150 4,608 83

Quoted from PinballAir:
This line on the edge of the factory mylar is a small amount of dirt under edge of mylar.
Anyone have any tricks to clean it without cutting back or removing mylar?
[quoted image]

I have used my finger nail, along with a soft rag with cleaner, to remove the glue grime.

0

1

#7395 2 years ago

JEF

yellowghost

Pinside member

Winnipeg, MB

7y 44,550 1,059 7

Quoted from TinyBlackDog:
I just removed mylar from my Shadow battlefield in hopes that this was an air bubble under the mylar, but it appears to be in the clear coat or surface of the insert itself.
Would it be possible to scrape off the existing clear on the insert, sand it, drip clear in to level, then clear the whole mini-playfield?
Alternatively - what about cutting out and replacing the insert? That feels like a tricky proposition since I’d have to touch up the black paint around the insert.
I’m considering a CPR replacement but they have some printing issues that make them less than ideal.
[quoted image][quoted image]

Don't change the insert just because of that. That can be fixed.

0

#7396 2 years ago

DBK

TinyBlackDog

Pinside member

5y 70,050 666

I'm doing final prep of my Shadow playfield for clear coat and am ready to apply the Sanctum water slide decal. My Sanctum was in bad shape so I airbrushed the entire gray area using Apple Barrel Country Gray (a very close match). I bought some really thin (5µm) laser waterslide decals and tried applying one directly on top of the painted area. The decal is so thin that it is really difficult to work with and spread out, which is exacerbated by placing the decal directly onto a painted surface which has a bit of texture. I'm pretty sure this won't come out well and needs to be redone.

1) If so, should the playfield get a thin coat of 2PAC before trying to apply the water slide decal?
2) Should I use a thicker water slide decal? I went with the thinnest I could find based on something I read in this thread, but think I may have gone too thin.
3) If I do the above, I should probably use some Decal Set when applying the decal.

I obviously want to get this right the first time. I'm nervous enough about applying 2PAC but I'd hate to ruin all this work with a crappy decal job.

IMG_0272 (resized).jpeg

IMG_0408 (resized).jpeg

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2

#7397 2 years ago

???

Fn4me

Pinside+ Frequent

4y 48,150 61 7

Quoted from TinyBlackDog:
I'm doing final prep of my Shadow playfield for clear coat and am ready to apply the Sanctum water slide decal. My Sanctum was in bad shape so I airbrushed the entire gray area using Apple Barrel Country Gray (a very close match). I bought some really thin (5µm) laser waterslide decals and tried applying one directly on top of the painted area. The decal is so thin that it is really difficult to work with and spread out, which is exacerbated by placing the decal directly onto a painted surface which has a bit of texture. I'm pretty sure this won't come out well and needs to be redone.
1) If so, should the playfield get a thin coat of 2PAC before trying to apply the water slide decal?
2) Should I use a thicker water slide decal? I went with the thinnest I could find based on something I read in this thread, but think I may have gone too thin.
3) If I do the above, I should probably use some Decal Set when applying the decal.
I obviously want to get this right the first time. I'm nervous enough about applying 2PAC but I'd hate to ruin all this work with a crappy decal job.
[quoted image][quoted image]

I apply 2PAC to the entire playfield and over the acrylic paint before doing the decals. After the light coat of clear, I use micro sol and micro set and it makes a huge difference. I'm using Sunnyscopa water slide from Amazon and it states that is 13 micron. No issues with it so far.

0

#7398 2 years ago

???

PinballAir

Pinside member

11y 91,050 4,267 6

I am not a decal guy but I would trim tighter around the lettering. Less unnecessary material

0

#7399 2 years ago

DBK

TinyBlackDog

Pinside member

5y 70,050 666

Quoted from PinballAir:
I am not a decal guy but I would trim tighter around the lettering. Less unnecessary material

My goal was to minimize edges and try to hide them in the black borders. The ultra thin decal material made that really difficult since it didn’t slide around at all after removing the backing. I will be putting Mylar over the magnet area after assembly and was going to align the upper edge of the Mylar with the lower edge of the decal.

I’m probably overthinking all that. Wouldn’t be the first time