Considering working out of order on a Cheetah since the inserts are out and I'm more or less repainting all the large areas. Winter here so it will be a while before I can spray.

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Thoughts on doing some painting before the lockdown clear? Playfield paint is stable despite how torn up everything is. Do I screw things up by not painting on a flat surface like the clear would give me? Any reason not to paint before inserts go back in?

Just thinking through how flexible I can be with order before introducing major headaches.

Exactly the information I was looking for. Thanks!

Any suggestions on how to touch up Bksor insert decal? Will be getting professionally clearcoated. Random airball did this damage and I just wanted to see if there was any way to touch it up before I handed it over. Thank you in advance for your time and help!

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vid1900 here are the images. Sorry for the repeat, I can’t find the first images in the thread to tag you! An airball rocked my playfield around the Bksor hurry insert. I already had it set up to be professionally clearcoated. Are there any recommendations on how to best touch this up prior? Thank you in advance for your time! It seems to be most of the damage is sitting in the black lines. There is some damage at the top of the insert. I’m trying to decide if that is just a scuff or if somethings actually cracked In the clear coat, it doesn’t seem to go past that.

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If you were to reclear this pf, do you have to sand it first or just use adhesion promoter?
The clear on sterns is so thin I am afraid to go through the art in no time.

What grit do you start with?

That chip looks like a straight line, actually a very deep scratch rather than a chip. Have you inspected the pinballs? I suspect one of them has a deep groove in them.

I’m putting my C37 playfield back together after a professional clear coat job.

I ground off the barbs of the ball guides as recommended in this thread. I just put the bang back guides in with a little candle wax on them to help them go in easier, as I have been doing with the screws. Those didn’t have barbs on to begin with.

Now for the rest of them. Vid, you said to put a little white glue on them (to hold them in since there are no longer any barbs.) On a single ball EM like this, will they pop out over time if I don’t? My concern at the moment is to get them in without damaging the playfield. So I kind of want to put wax on them too.

White glue for sure?? I guess wet glue would act as a lubricant too.

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If I was using glue, and I wouldn't unless they were loose, I would scruff up the part of the ball guide that goes into the wood with a scotch-brite pad to give the glue something to bite into. I would use some blue tape so I didn't get any glue where it doesn't belong.

Is there any problem with using urethane clear coat?

Use two part automotive acrylic urethane

You can absolutely try it, but it may lift off the surface and chip on the edges.

It will have to be sanded thin and then buffed.

Its very difficult to get automotive clear coat to bond properly on a spot repair.

But if the repair is deep enough it might hold.

Update on Lightning playfield restorations:
Pinsider Dono had asked about potential for issues resulting from stacked decals.
I have used that technique repeatedly in the past with no problems. Machines I restored 3 and 4 years ago still look fine, so issues.

But for whatever reason, my top insert decal rings separated from the lower ones.

I didn’t have the heart/was too mortified to photograph the issue, though for sharing and education, I wish that I had. Basically, the clear looked just fine, not ghosted at all, but there were air bubbles underneath the key line rings.

At first I thought I would inject clear under them. But that quickly started to look like it was going to make a mess and take forever.

So, I though the problem through again.
I want a black and yellow key line decal which has a true black to match the surrounding screen printing inks, and I don’t want any white edge from the decal background.
The solution should have been obvious from the start. Print the key lines slightly heavier than I want them, then tell the vinyl cutter to cut 1/64” *inside* the lines. No white edge.

Armed with this realization, I set about the unenviable job of sanding out all my previous work.

I sanded down through all the decals, including the base decal, which had held very firmly to the surface. I switched from 500 grit on the random orbit to using the “spent” paper and hitting the remnants of the decals by hand, rather than risk burning all the way through the clear. For good measure, I then shot a fresh layer of clear over this, sanded that at 1000 grit on the random orbit, and prepared my new decals.

I recently invested in an Epson medium format photographic ink jet printer. These inks are rated for 100 years against fading. It’s the only way I have seen to get a really solid black in one layer. It also is much easier to get a good color match using the full range of photo inks than the limited CMYK toners used in laser printing. So, the new decals were printed using inkjet.

Inkjet has some built in fragility compared to laser. Laser toners heat fuse to the surface, so your decals are actually pretty robust. Fold one over accidentally and there’s a good chance you can still use it.
Ink jet is much less robust. After printing, you have to give it at least an hour to dry completely before handling. Once dry, it must then be sprayed with a fixative. I use rattle can clear coat, as recommended by the waterslide decal manufacturer. Then the clear needs to fully cure. This all takes time and is way the hell less convenient than firing up the laser printer and just going to work. But: really good black and really nicely saturated colors. I’m sure I’ll end up using both printers in the future, depending on the application.

Anyhow - it worked. When you apply inkjet water slides, the fixative makes them a bit stiffer than what I’m used to, but it’s advantageous as they really slide off the backer pretty nicely, with less tendency to wrinkle. I have found, however, that if they *do* wrinkle, you’re likely to lose ink. It’ll just flake off. So prep multiples of anything you are going to need, in case you wipe out.
Also, it seems that Decal Set solution tends to want to lift the ink as well. But given that the decals lay flatter in the first place, I found that I didn’t need Decal Set anyway. Get the decal in position, and then just lightly dab it dry, with a patting motion rather than pulling the paper towel across the surface. They’re delicate.

There is just the tiniest ghost of a white edge where the decals were cut out, but it’s really not noticeable unless I’m right up on it. I’m calling it a win.

My question now is: this playfield has more layers of clear on it than I would prefer. I had wanted the decals to be deeper down in the finish, but now they are under only one coat. Part of me says scuff this out and shoot another layer, but that’s adding yet more clear to a surface which already has more than enough. Another part of me says level sand and buff it out. I’m a bit concerned about sanding through, though that’s probably uncalled for? Versus a level/scuff sand and final layer which puts the decals under a heavier layer. Advice on how to get to the finish line here?
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If it was mine I would shoot 2 more layer and call it a day... after that, if it fails, well it fails but I would not be worrying about the thin layer of clear,

but what do I know! I am going by gut feeling here!

Spectacular work regardless. cheers.

I would wait 2 weeks for the die back. I almost always have to add 2 coats plus fills to get it mirror flat again.
Then wait 10 weeks for more die back. If i address it at 2 weeks, I seldom have to reclear at 10 weeks.

Thicker clear gives you a bit more die back.

Thanks for the feedback.
I was hoping not to have to wait around on this damn thing any longer, but I think I knew that was now inevitable. I've been juggling projects all winter due to various supply chain setbacks and the like. Guess I'll still be doing that for a while longer! But it seems wise to be prudent and patient. No sense hitting the marks all the way through only to blow the landing.

I'm not worried about the clear being *that* thick, just trying to be mindful how much is ending up on there. I've had to use 5 to 6 coats more than once on demanding restorations, but I like to level sand in between.

Heavy sigh. Will update down the road once this is actually completely finished.

I just got a LOTR with the below issue. It seems like the plywood veneer lifted and cracked. I initially thought about glueing it back down but it doesn’t seem to move, I haven’t put much pressure on it. I doubt the previous owner attempted to fix this prior.

What would the best course of action be? My main concern is it getting worse. My thought for now is clean it up with naphtha, wax it and put some Mylar over it, but I’d like to hear some more experienced opinions before I do anything. Thanks

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I'm about to tackle my first water slide repair on IJ. I have a pf scan from another pinsider. An op put screws through the top of the pf to hold the stripped flipper plates below. 2 questions-

1. What should I use to fill the holes that won't be visible through the decals -

2. For the discolored wear area by the slingshot (2nd pic, to the right of "Marion"), can I just make a water slide that color and cover it up rather than trying to match that paint and airbrush it?

I've only tried airbrushing once. There's another screw thru the pf halfway under the apron in the same yellow color area. It seems like trying to get a perfect match for that would be next to impossible, and if I can just fill the hole and put a color-matched water slide on it, bingo -
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Thanks Vid, I have some super glue, I'll plug those holes and give that a shot for now. I've only played the game a few times because I'm concerned about those screw heads damaging a ball and then really ripping up the pf. Maybe I'll drag it up to a paint shop and see if they can match it.

I've learned a ton from your various threads, in fact that's what prompted me to get an airbrush and Createx paints...and a long nose air stapler, and a center punch kit, and....damn, you've cost me a lot of money! Lol

Seriously, you've made restoring and repairing games a lot less intimidating with your tutorials. Thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge with us.

You surprised me there. I would have drilled a clean hole and put in a hardwood dowel. Is that overkill or would that not work?

That would be my path as well.
Hardwood is key; a dowel is end grain, so it doesn’t grab wood screw threads as well as face grain.
This is especially important when the screws are going to have to hold the weight of a coil bracket, and deal with the stress of all that flipper action. I like European beech for this kind of thing. It’s not available in dowels as far as I know; I band saw some small square strips of it, then plan3 down rge corners, and chuck it in the drill press, which works as a quick and dirty turning lathe. Take some 120 grit sand paper and run it up and down the dowel while the press is running at moderate speed. You can dial in the diameter you need very efficiently that way. I’ve only ever had to do one repair that went all the way through the playfield (I’ve more frequently made little tapered wood plugs.)
A fine finish pull saw will trim the dowel flush on both sides, sometimes perfectly. A *sharp* chisel finishes the job if the saw didn’t cut it exactly flush.
Always, always, always pre-drill before driving a screw into such a repair!!

Have you tried making plywood dowels?
Sandwich a few layers of ply, then turning it to the size you want.
You will basically end up with the same material as the original pf and in the same orientation, face grain.
I have used dowels for repairs before and they hold very well, but these repairs dont like the screw coming on/off often in my experience for the reasons you stated.

Aww man, Ive never heard of this, I think I'm going to just buy a plate. Where did you find one for $2?

I have a set of Grizzly deep plug cutters. Perfect for this. And there are lots of cheaper sets out there.

///Rich

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Full disclosure, my shop is a sometime cabinet shop, so things like thin strips of hardwood are lying around to start with.
The dowels at my local hardware stores are softwood junk. It’s just too simple to whip up my own using stuff that’s already sitting there.

I stand by the practice of sanding down a dowel using a drill press; with a torn out wood screw, the hole isn't dowel-shaped, it’s a taper, and you can put a taper on a dowel that you sand this way. (I try to ream out the hole some as well, to get good glue adhesion on a cleaner surface.)
Repairing torn out wood screws is the worst, and the highest stakes over time, so I really try to get those repairs done just exactly right. Titebond sets up in 30 minutes but I let these repairs cure over night just to be safe.

A couple years ago I had to plug a spinner hole that was in the wrong spot. I had to fill the hole and then cut away part of whatever repair I did because the factory hole wasn’t off by a full diameter, if that makes sense.The existing hole wasn’t an exact increment; it was, whatever, somewhere between 3/8” and 7/16”. Maybe that neato dowel shaver tool would have helped me out, but using the drill press I was able to take a larger dowel and shave it down until it was exactly just tight enough to fit with a generous application of glue. Then I was able to cut a new hole which partially removed my dowel repair, and it worked very well. Painted and cleared nobody would ever know it was there.
(In this case I used one of the cruddy softwood dowels off the rack at the hardware store, since it wasn’t going to get a wood screw and didn’t need to hold up to any stress.)

Surprised me too, I was thinking fill the hole w JB Weld or something that hardens.

Ouch!

///Me

Finally picked up one of these... $200 on ebay. Just need to buy a full hood for it after I find the cheapest compatible one.

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@vid

vid1900 thank you! I got everything and I look forward to working on it this weekend. I have one more question. Once the touchup is done, and has had proper time to cure, would it be OK to play at all? It’s going to be several weeks before I switch games out for clear coating, he has one finishing up now, and wanted to get the repair done as soon as possible. I just didn’t know if minimal play would be OK with proper work done, or if it should just sit. Thank you for everything, I appreciate you and your time

First pinball restore and first post in this forum - be gentle

I picked up an RFM from someone who purchased it in a container buy. Based on some of the corrosion and other signs, it must have spent its life in a seaside arcade in Italy. Overall it is in decent shape but the playfield has significant chips. As replacement playfields are unobtainium, looking to do my best to restore this one.

Some of the non-chipped inserts seem to be uneven with the playfield - slightly sunken or risen to the point where I can feel the edge when I run my fingers over it.

What is my best course of action and how do I get started? Thanks!

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Vid will surely have good advice for you and I’m sure he will get on here to make recommendations.
For my part, I think you’ll do well with full color white waterslide decals for some of the graphic areas which have halftones. It will be helpful (but not essential) if you have access to a vinyl cutter which can cut the outlines of the decals. The lettering such as Mothership Multiball can be created that way (and the vinyl cutter probably is indispensable toward that purpose.)

Sounds like the inserts have raised; I would probably remove them and either replace with new or clean them up and re-glue them. That would be my first step, after a thorough cleaning. Clean, insert work, clear coat, then assess where you want to do airbrush vs. decals.

You can do it! Take your time, there are some really knowledgeable people on here who will definitely help.

Thanks. By stabilize do you mean remove and re-glue as outlined in the first few pages of posts? I'm comfortable doing that and following the steps as outlined, but I'm unsure how to fix the playfield art afterwards.

Am I using "full color white waterslide decals" over entire areas - such as the chipped inserts and the area around it? Or do I need to just touch up the parts that are currently chipped? I have less confidence in my ability to do that. I would love to clearcoat the entire playfield once repaired.

When applying clear to small area, do spray it like you would if you were doing the whole playfield or is there a different application technique