Vid's Guide to Ultimate Playfield Restoration

0

#3401 7 years ago

woz

Pinside member

Hey Vid, what do you recommend here. I was going to go the laser decal route to replace the text but am concerned that the yellow won't be dense enough over the black paint. I have never used decals before so am not sure how they look once printed.

Would you replace all the text with a decal or just the missing letters?

I was thinking that it maybe it would be best to paint a block of yellow where the letters are missing and then just have a black decal over top that acts as a mask. What do you think?

Here's the worn area that was covered with Sharpie:
20160715_QBert_004_(resized).JPG

Here's what the text should look like:
20160715_QBert_005_(resized).JPG

0

1

#3402 7 years ago

JIG

jwilson

Pinball Art Prints

Toronto, ON

9y 106K 5,051 6 7

I'd paint a yellow underbase and put a clear decal over that in black.

0

#3403 7 years ago

JMY

jimy_speedt

Pinside member

Étalle

10y 58,300 1,159 15

Hi, On a whirlwind, the edges of the playfield hole surrounding the spinning disks are worn out up to the wood. After removal of the disk, how can I fill the gap and get a perfect flat circular surface ? thank you

image_(resized).jpeg

0

#3404 7 years ago

OP

BOY

vid1900

Pinside+ Member

Sana'a

12y 164K 40,195 18

Quoted from woz:
I was thinking that it maybe it would be best to paint a block of yellow where the letters are missing and then just have a black decal over top that acts as a mask. What do you think?

That's what I would do.

"hot" colors like bright yellow or bright orange are very difficult to print.

0

#3405 7 years ago

MDS

Pinterest

Pinside member

10y 73,900 932 4 22

Quoted from lb1:
I got the same and they did not seem to fully clean with mineral spirits. Next I will try these disposable ones amazon.com link »

I have used these - they work great and no cleanup - just throw 'em away when done.

0

1

#3406 7 years ago

OP

BOY

vid1900

Pinside+ Member

Sana'a

12y 164K 40,195 18

Quoted from jimy_speedt:
Hi, On a whirlwind, the edges of the playfield hole surrounding the spinning disks are worn out up to the wood. After removal of the disk, how can I fill the gap and get a perfect flat circular surface ? thank you

There is normally a gap around the discs on spinning games, so I would not fill the gap.

Repair/repaint the playfield normally, and then make sure the discs are remounted flush with the playfield.

0

#3407 7 years ago

M G

MarcelG

Pinside member

Boca Raton, FL

11y 37,450 209 4 1

OP
Quoted from vid1900:
It looks like the clear is not adhering well in that spot. Maybe years of silicone had soaked into the bare wood in that high wear area.
Sanding back, or drilling tiny holes with an Xacto and filling might be the only solution.
I'd make sure there are foam backers behind those targets to absorb as much energy as possible.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/replacing-stand-up-target-faces-vids-guide

Yes it would help but that bank has a plate above with a bit of an overhang which snubs the ball a bit, digs it into the wood at the same time.

0

#3408 7 years ago

CEM

BlueBlood

Pinside+ Frequent

8y 37,550 68

This is a side view of a lower playfield from a Haunted House. How would we tackle a slightly warped playfield? I understand adding a flat bar or some angle iron to the backside to flatten the playfield. If 2pac is added and then the playfield release from the flat bar, would this add pressure to the clear coat and possibly damage it?

image_(resized).jpeg

0

#3409 7 years ago

OP

BOY

vid1900

Pinside+ Member

Sana'a

12y 164K 40,195 18

That's not too much of a warp.

If you can find a place to mount a piece of angle, that you can leave installed - that would be good.

0

#3410 7 years ago

OP

BOY

vid1900

Pinside+ Member

Sana'a

12y 164K 40,195 18

Quoted from MarcelG:
Yes it would help but that bank has a plate above with a bit of an overhang which snubs the ball a bit, digs it into the wood at the same time.

Yeah, that's a problem spot in every one of those games I've ever restored.

Maybe foam behind the stand up targets and then thin foam under the metal plate (like double sided tape).

0

#3411 7 years ago

MJG

Mikala

Pinside+ Frequent

9y 78,800 1,390

Hello Vid, after going through about 40 pages in this thread, I came up with conflicting solutions where to go next. In most cases you recommend shellac, but then recently I saw you suggesting polyurethane for a shooter lane. I am in the middle of restoring a '64 River Boat. As you can see from the pics, I had no choice but to sand out the original wood sections. I have no plans on clear coating this playfield, as I prefer my EM's PF natural. So the question is shellac or polyurethane? If shellac, amber or clear? Thank you for your great thread.

image_(resized).jpeg

0

#3412 7 years ago

LUD

lb1

Pinside member

Bay Area, CA

11y 66,800 1,242 1

Quoted from Mikala:
Hello Vid, after going through about 40 pages in this thread, I came up with conflicting solutions where to go next. In most cases you recommend shellac, but then recently I saw you suggesting polyurethane for a shooter lane. I am in the middle of restoring a '64 River Boat. As you can see from the pics, I had no choice but to sand out the original wood sections. I have no plans on clear coating this playfield, as I prefer my EM's PF natural. So the question is shellac or polyurethane? If shellac, amber or clear? Thank you for your great thread.

I must have missed the part where Vid recommended shellac in most cases.

0

#3413 7 years ago

DUG

TopMoose

Pinside member

Cincinnati, OH

9y 111K 2,267 10 126 1

Vid, I'm heartbroken - please help!

The bottom of this "I" insert came unseated and the clearcoat over it is cracked. I've re-glued the insert, so it's now solid, but what needs to be done about the clearcoat? It doesn't look too bad, so I hope I can just put a Mylar patch over it, but I'm afraid you'll tell me that I need to rough it up, drop some clearcoat, sand it flat, polish, buff and wax. I'm concerned that it will look worse than when I started.

P7190233_(resized).JPG

0

#3414 7 years ago

OP

BOY

vid1900

Pinside+ Member

Sana'a

12y 164K 40,195 18

Quoted from Mikala:
. So the question is shellac or polyurethane? If shellac, amber or clear? Thank you for your great thread.

Your goal is to match up the color so the newly sanded wood does not look out of place with the other unpainted parts of the playfield.

Shellac allows you to build up layers and alter the color.

Poly only has that one yellowish color.

Quoted from Mikala:
I have no plans on clear coating this playfield, as I prefer my EM's PF natural.

If you did want to clear, remember you don't have to have a mirror finish.

As you polish out, you can stop at any time and still have a hard wearing surface, without the gloss.

0

#3415 7 years ago

OP

BOY

vid1900

Pinside+ Member

Sana'a

12y 164K 40,195 18

Quoted from TopMoose:
The bottom of this "I" insert came unseated and the clearcoat over it is cracked. I've re-glued the insert, so it's now solid, but what needs to be done about the clearcoat? It doesn't look too bad, so I hope I can just put a Mylar patch over it, but I'm afraid you'll tell me that I need to rough it up, drop some clearcoat, sand it flat, polish, buff and wax. I'm concerned that it will look worse than when I started.

You can just Mylar it.

But I'd cut out that section of clear that is no longer stuck to the insert, sand the surrounding area, touch up the black keyline where it cracked, drip some clear into the area, and sand it flat, and buff it out - if I were you.....

0

#3416 7 years ago

FCB

Fred736

Pinside member

8y 33,050 152 3

Back a few dozen posts, I started this full restauration on a Bally 1970 SeeSaw pf. Been progressing slowly and now colors are all redone except for the red.
Trying to mix this red using Createx paints. And not having success. I find that the Createx red that I use as the base has a definite pinkish hue to it while the red I am trying to match has more of a slightly orange hue. Added some yellow to pull it to orange but that doesn't help with the pinkish hue.

IMG_20160719_204451_(resized).jpg

The bid blotch is the unmixed createx red while the 4 small blotches are red mixed with more and more yellow.

You can see this mix is not going anywhere. Any suggestions on how to mix this red?

Please note that the picture doesn't do the red justice. In reality, it is more ”orangeish”.
The red in the scans below are much more true to life.

scan0002_(resized).jpg

scan0001_-_scan0002_(resized).jpg

0

#3417 7 years ago

OP

BOY

vid1900

Pinside+ Member

Sana'a

12y 164K 40,195 18

Createx does not make regular Orange paint right now, otherwise you could just add some of that to the Red and try.

I see that Jacquard also stopped making Orange, so it probably had something anti-EU in the mix...

Take the playfield up to the local hardware store and have them match it on the computer and get a quart of the highest quality paint (probably ~$13).

0

#3418 7 years ago

CEM

BlueBlood

Pinside+ Frequent

8y 37,550 68

Would the premixed shellac play well with the 2-pac or do I have to use the shellac flakes mixed?

image_(resized).png

0

1

#3419 7 years ago

FCB

Fred736

Pinside member

8y 33,050 152 3

Quoted from BlueBlood:
Would the premixed shellac play well with the 2-pac or do I have to use the shellac flakes mixed?

I used that same Zinsser shellac and then cleared it with 2pac and had no issues at all.
IMG_20160709_180309_(resized).jpg

0

#3420 7 years ago

FCB

Fred736

Pinside member

8y 33,050 152 3

OP
Quoted from vid1900:
...
Take the playfield up to the local hardware store and have them match it on the computer and get a quart of the highest quality paint (probably ~$13).

Would you choose a water based paint (latex), or an oil based paint? Or either? Or something else?

0

#3421 7 years ago

OP

BOY

vid1900

Pinside+ Member

Sana'a

12y 164K 40,195 18

Quoted from Fred736:
Would you choose a water based paint (latex), or an oil based paint? Or either? Or something else?

I'd take a water based.

0

#3422 7 years ago

GUS

Plumonium

Pinside member

Montreal, QC

9y 60,550 1,496 5 7

Hi Vid,

As discussed, here are the pictures of my Fish Tales playfield. Some planking. Is this fixable so I can touch up and then clear? I noticed the image is not solid color but rather dotted on the blue and orange part, I fear it can't be touched up. Is this playfield always going to be a player's condition? Should I look into a new CPR then if wanted better? If it's salvageable, what should be the process?

Thanks!

f0e2f5d1cbf56acb5d7dc17f10bd33ad91210949.jpg
da00dfc5c0ee673e4a9f24be44f633289f440fec.jpg

0

1

#3423 7 years ago

DKP

tezting

Inactive member

10y 54,300 1,104 1

Quoted from Plumonium:
Hi Vid,
As discussed, here are the pictures of my Fish Tales playfield. Some planking. Is this fixable so I can touch up and then clear? I noticed the image is not solid color but rather dotted on the blue and orange part, I fear it can't be touched up. Is this playfield always going to be a player's condition? Should I look into a new CPR then if wanted better? If it's salvageable, what should be the process?
Thanks!

Everything is fixable
Vid explains how to add gradient (dots) in this thread.

0

#3424 7 years ago

OP

BOY

vid1900

Pinside+ Member

Sana'a

12y 164K 40,195 18

Quoted from Plumonium:
As discussed, here are the pictures of my Fish Tales playfield. Some planking. Is this fixable so I can touch up and then clear? I noticed the image is not solid color but rather dotted on the blue and orange part, I fear it can't be touched up. Is this playfield always going to be a player's condition? Should I look into a new CPR then if wanted better? If it's salvageable, what should be the process?

Looks like someone stored that game in a garage at some point.

Yes, that is totally restorable.

But, there will be an extra step of printing the dots.

The process will be:

1. Completely strip the playfield.

2. Scan the playfield with a HP4670 scanner

3. Lightly sand playfield.

4. Shoot thin layer of clear.

5. Repaint solid areas.

6. Apply decals of dots and text.

7. Clearcoat playfield

8. Buff out and drool.

0

#3425 7 years ago

GUS

Plumonium

Pinside member

Montreal, QC

9y 60,550 1,496 5 7

OP
Quoted from vid1900:
5. Repaint solid areas.

6. Apply decals of dots and text.

Isn't the blue and orange area a gradient pattern?

0

#3426 7 years ago

OP

BOY

vid1900

Pinside+ Member

Sana'a

12y 164K 40,195 18

Quoted from Plumonium:
Isn't the blue and orange area a gradient pattern?

Yes.

Here is how to make the decals of the half-tone dots:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/vids-guide-to-ultimate-playfield-restoration/page/29#post-2024747

0

#3427 7 years ago

GUS

Plumonium

Pinside member

Montreal, QC

9y 60,550 1,496 5 7

So in these images, the solid color would be light blue and the dark blue would be ALL half-tone dots decals?

Sounds tricky

ftpf20.jpg
ftpf21.jpg

0

#3428 7 years ago

OP

BOY

vid1900

Pinside+ Member

Sana'a

12y 164K 40,195 18

Quoted from Plumonium:
So in these images, the solid color would be light blue and the dark blue would be ALL half-tone dots decals?

You got it!

Quoted from Plumonium:
Sounds tricky

Once you actually do it, you will become a restoration master.

A few years ago, every post about playfield restoration said "No one can repair dots, not even ***** ".

0

#3429 7 years ago

GUS

Plumonium

Pinside member

Montreal, QC

9y 60,550 1,496 5 7

Also, will "light sanding" take care of the bumpiness here and won't show up through the clear or something needs to be done?

Capture_(resized).JPG

0

#3430 7 years ago

OP

BOY

vid1900

Pinside+ Member

Sana'a

12y 164K 40,195 18

Quoted from Plumonium:
Also, will "light sanding" take care of the bumpiness here and won't show up through the clear or something needs to be done?

Light sanding will NOT take care of the bumpiness.

The sanding gives the tooth to the first layer of clearcoat.

Your latter coats of clear will bury the raised wood grain underneath the clear.

0

#3431 7 years ago

GUS

Plumonium

Pinside member

Montreal, QC

9y 60,550 1,496 5 7

If you got to apply frisket over an area that's already been touched up with water slide decals, how to prevent the frisket to lift the decals?

0

#3432 7 years ago

OP

BOY

vid1900

Pinside+ Member

Sana'a

12y 164K 40,195 18

Quoted from Plumonium:
If you got to apply frisket over an area that's already been touched up with water slide decals, how to prevent the frisket to lift the decals?

You have to put a thin layer of clear over the decal.

It is very fragile stuff until cleared.

0

#3433 7 years ago

SMM

dr_nybble

Pinside+ Frequent

Ottawa, ON

10y 114K 3,538 15

Hi Vid, I am working on a 1954 Williams Spitfire. I have removed the topcoat with alcohol and am left with a pretty decent playfield, but it exhibits a lot of pitting in the ink in wear areas:

IMG_2399_(resized).JPG
IMG_2400_(resized).JPG

What technique do you suggest to fill these pits? I don't really want to repaint entire areas on this old machine.

0

3

#3434 7 years ago

OP

BOY

vid1900

Pinside+ Member

Sana'a

12y 164K 40,195 18

Quoted from dr_nybble:
What technique do you suggest to fill these pits?

Carefully match the color, wipe paint into pits, allow paint to set up for a few minutes, then wipe off extra paint - leaving only paint that is actually in the pits.

Don't wipe paint into white areas by accident, as the old white paint is very porous (don't ask me how I know that).

0

3

#3435 7 years ago

E Z

Iizi

Pinside member

Helsinki

9y 31,550 75 7

OP
Quoted from vid1900:
Just because you have nothing to lose, try **surgically** cutting around the insert text, and the black keyline around the insert with an Xacto blade, and leaving the text behind.

That worked out pretty good. Clear I'm using shrunk so much I had to overfill the insert two times. After polishing the area I sanded the insert dull so it won't stand out compared to others. Saved me a lot of trouble not having to strip down whole playfield. Not perfect, but with glass on you really can't tell it's fixed. Thanks Vid!

IMG_0173_(resized).jpg

0

#3436 7 years ago

AM7

s2k4ary

Pinside member

Camarillo, CA

11y 57,300 343 73 1

So I decided to pull Mylar as too many inserts were cloudy. Started with heat gun, but soon realized its pulling insert image with it! So I switched to freeze method, and the rest of playfied was spared without any issues.

image_(resized).jpeg

0

1

#3437 7 years ago

AM7

s2k4ary

Pinside member

Camarillo, CA

11y 57,300 343 73 1

Then I used flour with 99% iso. Alcohol to remove glue. Then using xacto blade to outline the affected inserts. Using a small brand new chisel to remove the remaining insert decal.

image_(resized).jpeg

0

1

#3438 7 years ago

AM7

s2k4ary

Pinside member

Camarillo, CA

11y 57,300 343 73 1

Then covered the area of three inserts with frisket paper, and outlined it with some blue painters tape for extra protection. Wet sanded each insert with following sand papers; 220, 500, 1000, 1200. Then used Novus 3, followed with 2 to get it as smooth as I can.

image_(resized).jpeg

0

#3439 7 years ago

AM7

s2k4ary

Pinside member

Camarillo, CA

11y 57,300 343 73 1

Some more pics

image_(resized).jpeg

0

2

#3440 7 years ago

AM7

s2k4ary

Pinside member

Camarillo, CA

11y 57,300 343 73 1

Then laser printed the insert decals on waterslide paper, and cut a small Mylar of the same shape, yet a bit bigger for the inserts. Installed the insert decals on inserts, and applied Mylar on them. I know this is not the best way to do this, but it was an experiment I wanted to try without using/dealing with clear coat. So far it has worked well, and it looks good. It doesn't affect game play, but we'll see how long it will last. Vid, thanks for all your help and info on here, as it was a tremendous help. Hopefully these pics will help some one in future.

image_(resized).jpeg

0

#3441 7 years ago

???

Silverstreak02

Pinside member

Lutz, FL

8y 61,300 1,305 4 7

How do I smooth the puckered areas that were left when I removed screws and posts from the playfield? I plan to clear coat soon.

image_(resized).jpeg

0

1

#3442 7 years ago

MMR

MonsterBash26

Pinside member

Regina, SK

10y 30,550 65 18

Quoted from Silverstreak02:
How do I smooth the puckered areas that were left when I removed screws and posts from the playfield?

I have a bunch of different-sized small masonry chisels that I flip around and use (obviously with the cutting edge of the chisel up and using a chisel with a shaft diameter that matches the area I am trying to flatten). Most of the time I have been able to push them flat without having to tap it with a very small hammer. I've been tempted to buy a set of doming punches of eBay (basically a jewelers' tool), but I want to get these flat and not concave so I'm not sure they are the right tool.

One of the keys is to go slow and only use hand tools during removal so the lifted puckered areas are minimal. I am still kind of a novice, so at least this will bump the thread and maybe we can get some expert advice.

0

#3443 7 years ago

OP

BOY

vid1900

Pinside+ Member

Sana'a

12y 164K 40,195 18

Quoted from Silverstreak02:
How do I smooth the puckered areas that were left when I removed screws and posts from the playfield? I plan to clear coat soon.

You can use Doming Punches, or the butt end of a nut driver handle.

TJ9880AA_(resized).jpg

0

#3444 7 years ago

GUS

Plumonium

Pinside member

Montreal, QC

9y 60,550 1,496 5 7

Is it 100% necessary to strip of parts the back side of a playfield to clearcoat? How to deal with it then? remove switches, plug holes?

0

#3445 7 years ago

BEM

grandy

Pinside member

10y 53,050 488

Quoted from Plumonium:
Is it 100% necessary to strip of parts the back side of a playfield to clearcoat? How to deal with it then? remove switches, plug holes?

It's not 100% necessary - Vid deals with it at some point in this thread. I did mine leaving the under playfield parts on, taping holes, and sealing everything up below. Everything came out fine, but I would remove everything next time. It seems like it would be easier leaving it on but in the long run my guess is that i would have been more efficient removing it. That's my 2 cents.

In general, every "short cut" i've ever taken in my short time doing pinball restoration has led to longer processes or lower quality. I'm done taking short cuts.

0

#3446 7 years ago

OP

BOY

vid1900

Pinside+ Member

Sana'a

12y 164K 40,195 18

Quoted from Plumonium:
Is it 100% necessary to strip of parts the back side of a playfield to clearcoat? How to deal with it then? remove switches, plug holes?

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/vids-guide-to-ultimate-playfield-restoration/page/20#post-1788273

0

#3447 7 years ago

WTF

swanng

Pinside member

18y 50,800 482

Vid-
Are you ever going to be availabe to provide playfield restoration services in the future?
Still waiting to have Spirit done......................

0

#3448 7 years ago

OP

BOY

vid1900

Pinside+ Member

Sana'a

12y 164K 40,195 18

Quoted from swanng:
Vid-
Are you ever going to be availabe to provide playfield restoration services in the future?
Still waiting to have Spirit done......................

I'm still abroad, putting the demon in democracy.

One day I'll quit, get fired, or be killed.

If it's one of the first two scenarios, I'll have all the time in the world to restore more playfields

0

#3449 7 years ago

YOP

PinballShoppe

Ye Olde Pinball Shoppe

Wellington

9y 59,300 217 17

OP
Quoted from vid1900:
I'm still abroad, putting the demon in democracy.
One day I'll quit, get fired, or be killed.
If it's one of the first two scenarios, I'll have all the time in the world to restore more playfields

Be safe Vid, we don't want to see you adding to the Clinton Body Count (tm)

0

#3450 7 years ago

PLC

heypat

Pinside member

Shelby Charter Township, MI

9y 35,800 60 2 38

anyone in the shelby township / Utica area in Michigan that is good at matching paint. I have my first coat of clear down and cannot match the paint on the man and women on my jungle lord. its driving me nuts!

By vid1900

11 years ago

Topic Stats

You

Find in topic

Linked Games

Topic Gallery

Topic index (key posts)

Reply

Hey there! Welcome to Pinside!