Keylines are too thin to create a stencil using a Cricut. I think waterslide decals are the way to go

Would I look like less of a man if I told you that there is only person in this household who owns and knows how to operate a Cricut… and it’s not my wife

So, assuming I’m an absolute buffoon when it comes to anything regarding playfield touch up, do I have any chance of saving this insert art or should I just leave well enough alone before they all end up looking like that old painting of Jesus that got restored into oblivion in Italy a while back?

Would like to shiny up the jewels above too, but that’s most likely waaaay above my pay grade.

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Honestly no chance; Just wax it and enjoy.

Silhouette Cameo 4 Pro does fine detail nicely.

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You absolutely can cut perfect key line stencils in paint mask with a vinyl cutter. You need to use transfer tape to apply it properly.

Everything on this playfield was repainted using stencils:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/bare-wood-em-playfield-repaint#post-5935113

Nearest artwork is a deck of cards away..

I have a cameo and am well versed in Photoshop and Illustrator now. I did all the major artwork using vectors in Photoshop then imported into Cameo as SVG file. Keylines are very fine and I don’t imagine it would be easy to do this using vectors as opposed to decals. Thoughts? I also like Oramask. Worked better than Frisket, which seemed to leave a residue when removed. I still have imperfections on my playfield. Small divets and scratches which I’m not thrilled with. I don’t have the patience to sand back and start again. Also I didn’t use the createx clear product you mentioned. I used createx paints with the reducer/thinner and unfortunately I didn’t use an Iwata. Results would probably have been better with a decent airbrush and compressor. I found that I couldn’t use the createx paints straight out of the bottle without the thinner.

It can absolutely be done. The nice part about this is that you have specific edges to go to. That’s tremendously helpful.

First, scan the playfield once you have it torn down. You can fix a lot of stuff in pShop and AI even if you don’t have scans to work from.

I would remove the inserts completely, and sand the art off of them. Then re-glue them with epoxy; presumably some amount of movement of the inserts is to blame for the wear in the first place. While at this stage, get out the magic eraser and alcohol and work out those ball swirls, to the degree you are able.
Then, shoot your first layer of clear coat.

Sand out the clear. Use frisket masking and an airbrush to repaint the white on that ROYAL FLUSH banner. If it was me, I would probably do a second layer of airbrushing to restore the lettering using the silhouette cutter to make lettering stencils.

This next step is debatable, but I’d probably use frisket, cut out the white background of those cards, and spray a white layer down. Then, hit everything with the second coat of clear.

I would then proceed to do as Vid recommended - print white water slide decals for the card art and apply them. My thinking on doing a base layer of paint is that it will make for a more consistent look. White water slide decals aren’t super opaque, so you might see the transparent inserts behind the art even when it isn’t lit.
I agree with gdonovan - if you can’t find scans of the art work, just use a deck of cards and scale up the art to the print size you need. Purists will have a conniption fit at this suggestion, but honestly, they didn’t go with the nicest face card design anyway, and you could make a bit of an improvement there.

I would remove the art up to the keylines , and repaint all the inner card area white with an airbrush. Clear coat the whole play field, wet sand with 600 grit , apply water slide decal created from scanning the figures from a deck of cards. You can either use clear or white decal depending of the opacity you want. Try both and see how it looks with light shining below the inserts before a final clear coat. The S and H letters can easily be added last . Have in mind that the white you use should be consistent with the dull white of the rest of the play field and present on the ribbon that has the ROYAL FLUSH lettering .

What about this area of a Mars God of War? It's the planet on the playfield, with 4 pop bumpers and the associated damage. You also have various dings/dents in this area, and heavy ball swirl (that I've cleaned up somewhat).

How should I approach masking/repainting this? I need to get a smooth finish through the large solid spaces, but also accurately get around the little varied planet details with the orange color.
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Anyone have suggestions for building a spray booth/room? I'm building a 30x16' storage building on my property and I'm wanting to carve out some space to use for spraying.

What's the minimum clearance I should have around a cabinet? Any ideas for DIY ventilation? Hoping vid1900 has some ideas

https://formufit.com/pages/pvc-spray-paint-booth?epik=dj0yJnU9bDd1Y0ZYSlZOZVoxc3BxWGVBLTU2NHF6SDFoWERKZUEmcD0wJm49ZWJNQ1VPbkpEd1BpN2RVTkp2YmkwZyZ0PUFBQUFBR0hmMUNN&utm_medium=social&utm_source=pinterest

Perfect, thanks vid

On this topic, and with my plan of building a temporary booth in my garage…
What mask are you guys using when spraying clear?

Best would be a supplied air respirator. I am using 3M 6001 and goggles but I spray outside and it’s a once a year thing for me. But I am still thinking I should spring for a supplied air system.

Any tips for installing spiral fin screws for pop bumpers? They don't seem removable at all from the old pf, so I've ordered new ones. But neither old nor new have a driver slot. But I also think I'm not supposed to hammer anything into the new play field?

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Thanks.
I recently played the Dracula you did, perfect job, great resto overall, I have the same standards as you do. I want to do this to an IJPA NOS pf I own.
I also followed your other thread recently when you did a lot of painting on a PF. Amazing work. I want to learn all these things.

When you say you spray outside, would you be able to give me more details as to what kind of setup you have. I want to keep it simple as possible.

If you are open to have a chat on the sidelines, I would be happy to pick your brain. I am also working on other pinball things, making williams boards and Pin2dmd screen, if any of this interest you I can share some knowledge with you.
Thanks

Yes, they are hammmered in-also old ones to be removed by hammering them out carefully

Hammer time. Make sure you clearance the clear around the entry first with an oversized drill bit (in your hand, not a drill....). If the screw part doesn't go in smoothly.... drill out the hole a little bit. That type, not too much as they WILL pull through the playfield.

If you don't want to hammer, start them in, and use a nut on the other size to draw them in - put a fender washer or something on there so you don't pull into the PF though. You can also just use the pop bracket itself to do so.

Perfect, thanks! Similar technique as I used to install t-nuts, except in that case I used a bolt and washer.

I have a spray tent from Amazon (ASIN B07HMZQ4M7), set it up in the backyard on a promising day and go at it, ensuring my neighbours are not out when I do it. Playfield levelled on a pair of sawhorses. It's not ideal but I don't even have a garage so I don't have much choice.

This is a hobby where you can indulge in such a variety of different disciplines. I learned kicad and recreated a BSD lamp board for that restore.

Glad you enjoyed playing the BSD I restored, poured my heart and soul into that! Thanks to @vid1900, @HEP and others for inspiration and teaching.

My current thinking is build one wall out of pvc that holds the fans, and this will hang on loops in the ceiling. The other 3 walls will be a plastic sheet on a track, like a big curtain

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09261X3TP/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_5KCSZ1RY2KXC8DM8THP5

That way when I’m not using it I just shove it into a corner

Drawing pop bumper nails in from the start, with a nut is a little risky.

I have broken them off this way and drove them back out with a small drift.

It seems best to hammer them in as far as then will go, then draw the last 1/16" in with a nut and washer on the other side.

This of course after removing the clear out of the divot with a countersink running backwards (press lightly) and cleaning the hole with a drill bit running backwards. The hole should exactly fit the nail firmly with no slop.

Too big a hole and they can pull thru the playfield.

This must be one of the most over-analysed steps in all of playfield work.

I agree with @pinballinreno, you don’t need to smack hell out of them.
In a restored playfield, the holes are already there, you just want to ream out the clear coat. I have never once worried about going further than just re-establishing the hole. No countersinking or slicing away the clear under the nail head. Just tap it in gently until you get to the spiral (I like spirals more than fins and replace fins if those were in the playfield originally, but that’s just me.) I use a lightweight rubber mallet and it is sufficient.

Then, go ahead and install your pop bumper bracket. This is a fine time to do it. Tighten down the screws gently, and watch the nail heads as you do this. You will see the heads seat themselves into the clear coat perfectly. When they are basically flush, stop. If it feels like it’s getting tight and the heads are a tiny bit proud of the surface, don’t worry about it. You’re done. Move on.

In a new playfield, if it isn’t pre-drilled, I start with a 3/32” bit, then do a bit of a countersink, and work my way up until the hole is the correct size. Sorry, I can’t remember which diameter that is, but basically whatever the diameter of the threads is, that’s what you’re after. (You can also do a test on a scrap of 1/2” plywood to establish that you’ve got it right. Go ahead and mount a coil bracket as a practice run.) Countersinking between bits slices the clear away from the hole, preventing the clear from lifting or crazing as you go to the next size. Honestly, it probably took longer to write all this out than it does to do it for real, lol.

Basically - this is not a difficult or scary step, it just needs to be approached in a controlled manner. It’s quite easy once you have a method figured out.

Quick question.
I filled sunken inserts on my flash 2 years ago with minwax polycrylic and then went ahead and sprayed whole playfield with several coats of same.

Looked great...3 months ago found it chipping up in pop bumper area. So bummed.

I'm depopulating top of playfield again and I'm gonna spraymax 2k it.

I'm gonna get any loose pieces of the old clear off. Should I scuff the whole playfield then naphtha then clear?

Thx for any advice

Any advice for this?

Previous owner tried some kind of fix but not quite sure what is going on here. Dunno how to get this smooth again?

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What’s best to fill deep chunky holes? Kwikwood? I searched around and there is tons of conflicting info... it must be in this thread somewhere.

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So here is a problem I have had repeatedly.
After laying down frisket and doing my Xacto work, when I peel back the Frisket, it pulls up the clear coat with it! It’s happened a few times over the years, usually, like this, only in a small spot. I have successfully painted over these issues in the past (rather than de-spraying and re-sanding the whole playfield over it), but it is irritating and slightly worrying.

- I use low-tack Frisket
- I use adhesion promoter before shooting initial clear coat

Do others have this issue? It’s super annoying.

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I am no expert but I can see dirt around the posts on that pf, so could it be perhaps that even though you have used adhesion promoter you did not prep the surface well enough? not enough sanding?

I suspect the playfield wasn't sanded with the proper grit.

I don’t see how you sand a playfield that’s 41 years old, where the paint is barely hanging on to begin with.

I clean everything as best I can and try to get rid of the topcoat with ME and alcohol. LOTS of prep time. I don’t go after every speck of ground in dirt from where stuff was screwed down if scouring it out seems like it will get down to the level of the adjacent art I’m trying to preserve.

When the playfield is cleared and I’ve dropped in around the inserts, the whole thing gets level sanded with 500 grit on the random orbit with a hard pad.

600 to 800.

Clear needs something to bite into.

If the edges are high, I would tap the insert down until the highest part is flush with the surface , even if it means creating a low spot in the middle.

Careful with water. If it can touch bare wood it might cause movement you don’t want. Maybe use naptha instead

You can spray it into a cup and then syringe it in. I level inserts first before clearing the whole pf

Spraying into a mixing cup is the preferred method (get small 4 or 6 oz disposable ones at the auto paint store) , then apply to the area with a disposable pipette.

There will be bubbles in the cup, let it sit 5 mins or so before applying.

If you see bubbles anywhere after splooging onto the playfield, poke them with the end of the pipette or a naptha cleaned needle.

Glass isnt necessary, automotive disposable mixing cups and pipettes work really well.

I have sprayed into a mixing cup with good results by spraying a bit slower (fast dribbling?) to not agitate the fluid too much before starting a spraying session.

I have also got a few bubbles, but they go away for the most part or can be popped with a clean needle or toothpick and spraying over them.

The only other way is to buy some omni-clear and hardener in the can and pipette it in from a mixed cup.

Over all the bubbles are a nuisance but can be dealt with with some thought and care.

Dry bubbles can be drilled out with an exacto knife tip before spraying and filled while spraying and a toothpick or needle if they dont sand out.

The idea is to get the filler coats down while paying attention to the insert edges and bubbles.

Then put down heavy coats to straighten it all out later on.

Each successive coat will fill more and more.

Generally I can get it done in 3 or 4 coats after the mist coat.

Some times a 5th coat is needed if there are defects like missed bubbles or an insert edge.