Could you do that with the non-sticking circle mylar pop-bumper protectors as well?

Hi,
I started working on a spare Power Play playfield... I was working on the shooter lane and wondering - the rest of the wood has a yellowed varnish, while I'm sanding this down to bare wood. Basically when I wipe it down with alcohol (since we can't get naphta here in Canada), this is the look it's gonna have with 2PAC?
It kinda looks right so I figure I might not have to adjust the color, but what if I did? Would I need to use wood stain or paint?

Edit: so here's how to paint it - https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/vids-guide-to-ultimate-playfield-restoration/page/18#post-1730160
But, my question remains as to whether this needs to be done just to account for the bare wood vs yellowed varnish.

IMG_20141125_214925090.jpg

Shellac!
Thanks
Yes I know I'm not done sanding yet. I'll also get myself some Naptha.

Cheers
Phil

Oh man, I overdid it... I went wide to clean up the eject marks, then I didn't like the bump I had at that spot so I corrected the line to make it straight all the way to the end.
What kinda threw me off too is that for some reason I don't have the regular plank pattern. Not a huge deal because I picked a very rough playfield to practice, but I'm not too happy with my work there...

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I think the ball sits pretty well down there, it just looks kinda weird.
I'm wondering if maybe I could shoot the inside of the lane just a tad darker with translucent paint but "draw" it a little straighter and thinner than the actual shape.

Here's how it looks "wet".

Maybe I'm just overthinking this - I'll do the rest of the PF and see if I still care towards the end. Kinda like when I redid my kitchen. Some details nobody notices I was distraught over at first.
Certainly not professional work, but probably ok anyway.

Edit: I don't want to hijack this thread, maybe I'll start my own later, but just wanted to give an update on this.

So i wasnt happy with the shape of the shooter lane. I put some minwax epoxy wood filler then used a broomstick as a guide for the sandpaper. In my case where I had to reshape it, I found it helpful to keep it straight and continuous. Now be very careful when working with that thing ("I was working on my shooter lane and I slipped" )

I think I'll have a hard time matching that funky wood pattern though. I'll probably have to paint it flat or fake the regular plank pattern.
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It's below freezing temperature over here and I don't have a garage. I'd still like to get started with my first coat of clear to be able to get crackin' with the airbrush.
How long does that stuff stay airborne and toxic? I was thinking of doing it at my office after work friday so it has the time to settle and leave a nice coat all over the furniture for when people come in monday morning...
Kidding aside, I don't want to make anyone sick, does that sound like a somewhat reasonable plan?

If not I'll just wait until christmas vacation to do it over there when no one's gonna come in for over a week.

OK thanks for the tip, and thank you on behalf or my coworkers who will never know about my crazy plan.
I do know some classic car guys i can probably find someone to help me out... Or maybe ill try to start painting without that first coat and see how it holds up

Cheers

So lets say i do go ahead with the paint without clearing first, do i need to sand to help the paint stick? Il be using createx paint.
I cleaned the PF with alcohol and novus 2.

OK, so a light 600 grit sand and wipe with naphta first?

Thank you sir, will do.

I don't know if this was linked already, but PAPA have made a nice digest of this thread (with due credits)
http://papa.org/learning-center/collector-resources/playfield-restoration/

and on pinballrehab.com:
http://pinballrehab.com/1-articles/pinball-restoration/playfield/219-ultimate-playfield-restoration-guide

Yeah I'm not happy with it... I think I'll try to remodel it into the correct shape using wood filler. I picked up some Minwax epoxy wood filler at the Home Depot. I'll give that a shot, and when I get to painting time I'll try to dig myself out whatever hole I dig myself into.
I'm thinking I'll try to fake the ply wood pattern and then try to match the wood color, all with Createx paint and the airbrush. I'll wait to do that over the first layer of clear though, so I can try to fix it if I do mess it up at first.

Looks to me like it's a single flat color, can't you just shoot it with the airbrush and blend it in?

Looking good! But my problem with my 70s bally is that I don't have that layered pattern to start with, which is why I'm wondering whether I'll try to fake it anyway.

I'm not sure I agree with that statement, or maybe I'm doing something wrong, or maybe some colors dry darker and not others. The bottom two spots are the same mix - left one is dry, right one is wet. This is Createx paint.

IMG_20141215_194305750.jpg

Man, color matching is hard.

Directly on the blue playfield. Thick enough so that the paint is not see through.

Hi,
still working on that Bobby Orr playfield. Again, it's really beat up and planked, but for my first time I didn't mind having to work too hard as I figured I'd learn a couple of things. Another thing is that it's cold here in the winter so I decided to go ahead and do the airbrush before I'd clearcoat.
Now I have the reds and blues done, still have the whites and blacks to go.

I'm wondering though, first thing - will the clear fill the planking so that it doesn't show up anymore or will I have to do one layer, then repaint, then some more clear to seal it all in?

Same question for the wear hole - should I have filled that in with putty to make it flush first? Should I try to sand the edges to make the transition smoother? Maybe I should try to paint it with a brush and then sand it somewhat flush?
Thanks!

Planking
Planking
Wear hole

Argh I guess I'll have to redo the whole thing. Lessons learned: go ahead and do it right with a coat of clear first so that you know where you stand with the planking.
Mix big batches of paint! Color matching is hard so better have too much and waste a couple of bucks worth of paint than a couple of hours of your time.
Createx dries darker, and I also have to disagree with the single coat being enough thing... The good thing is that it dries very quickly so by the time you're done spraying a big area you're ready to start the next coat.

Here's an interesting article about paint mixing basics:
http://m.wikihow.com/Mix-Colors

Again, the bottom two spots here are the same mix. The left one is dry and the right one is wet.

332722-i.jpg

Thanks for the info. Can you name some of those cleaning agents?

Yep.

IMG_20141219_224111018.jpg

One thing you're making me think about though... I'm not going nuts trying to cut the frisket precisely on the line, and for example around the text and stars I'm going a little wide so I'm leaving some of the old paint exposed. If you look closely and know where to look, you do spot the difference, but if you don't know you wouldn't see it.
I figure the playfield is 40 years old so it's probably not going to be fading dramatically, but maybe the new paint would?
So would I need to be more careful to cut real close to the lines and maybe go with a brush to paint around the stars and text?

Yeah that's what I figure... a big spot would become noticeable, not a 1 or 2mm line...

Checked home depot, amazon and eBay and I can't find this product. Any place online you think I could get it?

Yep I'm documenting the whole thing, I'll do a thread once I'm further along.

Maybe you should try sanding with something that's going to be flexible enough to go inside the holes... Some kind of brush, or some light sandblasting maybe?

I'm working on a Bobby Orr's Power Play right now and I have a bunch of plastic metric stencils. Indeed, it seems that the sizes come in between the sizes I have (and I have 1mm increments) - maybe imperial ones would work better.
Another issue is that the x-acto blade cuts through the stencil. I tried to grind it to get it dull except for the tip, but I still have a hard time doing a straight line.
I have to redo almost all inserts so I think I'll make a bunch of decals and go that route instead.

That's why Vid's guide states that you should lay a thin coat of clear before you get started to lock the existing paint in.

You'll probably have to scan what you have and fill the gaps in photoshop unless you can find a kind soul that has that machine and a scanner on pinside.

I tried to get all the brown out of my Bobby Orr PF and made a mess. Was way too wide when I finished and looked like crap. Put some epoxy wood putty in and fixed it. I'm yet to repaint it though, I put the project on hold

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Ok so since it was winter over here, I decided I'd put my Power Play restoration on hold until summer would come around. Now summer's almost gone (

) so I should get crackin'.

I've done a bunch of airbrushing already, and I was hoping it would cover up most of the planking and stuff, but it didn't do all that well.
I was thinking I should probably have started with a light coat of clear before I did anything, but what's done is done.

Here are a couple of specific problematic spots. I was thinking I was going to do a light coat of clear to see where I stand and then...

-Will clearing and getting the clear flat make this stuff blend in or should I try to sand my light coat of clear flat and respray?
P8250019.JPG

-I was thinking of printing a decal for this (after I've replaced the incorrect color of insert - dang!). So, same question, how do I get it flat enough for a decal?
P8250020.JPG

-Will this depression blend in with the clear or will it still stay visible?
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-I was thinking of doing a decal for this part too - makes sense?
P8250022.JPG

-I guess I'll be able to blend this with the translucent Createx paints?
P8250023.JPG

-Will that kind of stuff still show up after clear?
P8250024.JPG

-I was thinking of doing a decal for this (and basically for every circle, because I can't cut a perfect circle with my plastic stencils) - makes sense?
P8250025.JPG

Keeping in mind that I've already spent a crazy amount of time, and I'm looking for a good, not perfect, result and learning a lot along the way.

Thanks for the help!

Thank you good sir, I hadn't thought of the pre-filling... makes much sense.

Bubbles in my clear

It's a tough job but somebody's gotta do it.

"another tricky technique, but easy to do, in order to make those ball shooter lanes look NEW!!!!!!!"

Alright, this project has been on hold for close to a year because I was unsure where to go next with it.
This thing looked like a piece of crap, I made it much better but still not quite there.

• I redid all the colors, cutting around the numbers and writings. That looks pretty good imo.
• I tried to fill in a gouge with blue paint I mixed in a different batch and the mix isnt quite perfect. I don't feel like redoing the whole thing so I'll see if I can get it closer, and if that doesn't work I'll redo it once more.
• I got sloppy when I did the whites and go a bit of overshoot. Pretty sure I can cover that up pretty good and blend it in.
• There's some black keyline that's not as sharp as I'd like. I guess for this I'll need to make the colors touch and do decals for the keylines. I was thinking of doing a decal for the blackhawks logo but I guess I should try to cover it up first?

-shooter lane obviously needs to be painted

• I put some shellac in the lane at the top but it still shows
• redid the hole at the top, I'll need to paint and decal that too.
• some parts are pretty smooth looking, some you still see the texture of the beat up paint below. I'm hoping 2pac does away with that...
• I'll do the black circles around the inserts with decals

**So.. I'm wondering, is the light 2pac layer next or is there some of this stuff I should do before the clear?**

I did all that stuff so far using createx with an airbrush and frisketed many times, everything's pretty well locked in.

I should point out that I still have the red and white paint mixes I did, and the second blue batch from the right slingshot area, which I hope I can get reasonably close to the rest of the blue.

I know this is not going to be perfect but I get my enjoyment taking things from piece of crap to nice more than from nice to perfect (not sure I'd have the ability yet anyway...)

IMG_20151207_200059.jpgIMG_20151207_200114.jpgIMG_20151207_200148.jpgIMG_20151207_200209.jpgIMG_20151207_200229.jpgIMG_20151207_200248.jpgIMG_20151207_200427.jpgIMG_20151207_200132.jpg

And about the clear, what would you do?
Try to blend in the top track a little better with shellac, then thin layer of clear, then fix up all the other issues, then complete the clear process?

Thanks Vidster.

I'm working on a Power Play playfield. The goal is not to get it in an out of this world condition, but rather to learn as I'm going. It's a beat up machine and a beat up playfield... Now I had to rebuild the shooter lane from wood epoxy because I had to sand out too much to get it clean.
I'm having a hard time matching the wood color and/or "faking" a wood pattern.
I'm using the Createx sand color as a base and trying to mix it up with other colors but can't get that golden color.
You can see the difference with the hockey sticks.
I'm thinking that if I do the ply pattern in the shooter lane it might not look that bad, but again, I'm trying to hone the craft so if there's a better way to go about it I don't mind shooting over what I have now...

And another question about the clear... I shot with OVP95 rated respirator cartridges. I could definitely smell the clear (Spray 2k) - I'd just get my head outside of the backshed which is where I'm shooting to get some fresh air and hold my breath, but I took a few breaths of the stuff inside before that.
Are the cartridges the correct rating? I also have a beard which I know I'm not supposed to have to have a good seal, so that could be it too. Is there some way around this, like oiling up the respirator "gasket"?

Thanks!

IMG_8033_(resized).JPG

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Hello,
for printing water slide decals, is this the right stuff?
http://www.decalpaper.com/category-s/3.htm

And I have this printer at work, good 'nuff?
https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/support/details/copiers-mfps-fax-machines/support-multifunction/imagerunner-3245i

Thanks!

Thank you sir!

I've spent lots of time working on this playfield - bondo, repainting, redid the shooter lane, decaled every insert, clearcoated - I thought I was done and did my last SprayMax 2k layer to seal everything in.

This is what I started with:
IMG_20141125_193548013 (resized).jpg
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This is what it looks like now (that's a white shirt down there, not tighty whities, by the way )
IMG_8856 (resized).JPG

I was feeling pretty good about it but when I took a closer look, I noticed with disappointment that:
-there is bubbling over every decal - looks like it got to the surface so I think sanding will take care of it.
IMG_8855 (resized).JPG

-a decal melted - I guess I'll just repaint
IMG_8853 (resized).JPG

-I shot some red and the color had some weird reaction where it went orangy and ran over the white. I had done it only a day or two before the clearcoat. I guess it wasn't cured enough. I'll reshoot the white and red and leave it a good two weeks before I clearcoat again.
IMG_8854 (resized).JPG

Overall I think the result will be pretty good considering what I started with, but I guess it just shows you have to take your time! For the decals, I'm not too sure what happened though, because I think I followed the instructions pretty well - used the proper paper, a laser printer and decal setting solution.

So I'll wet sand everything flat with 400 grit, reshoot the red and fix the black and white lines then go for one last coat of clear.

Hard to tell for the bubbling because I went with an xacto knife and cut out the middle of the inserts. I did one large decal for the indian's face and that one has no bubbling so I'd say it's only over the black print.
Yes, I did some filling already, but I'll see how flat it is after I wet sand it and will refill if needed. I'm now almost out of my red mix so I hope I don't have any issues this time around. I'm using Createx and I've been sporadically working on this playfield for over a year, and I had to refill the paint with some water to get it to a correct viscosity.
I did the same with the blue with no problems though, so I think it probably is because it didn't cure long enough...

Fish Tales!

Thank you very much Vid! Never would have attempted this restore without this thread, and I had much better results than I hoped for. Definitely not perfect, but good enough to my liking.

I wanted to start with a beater and get it to a decent level so I'd learn more stuff along the way. Definitely picked up some skills - the only thing I'm still not understanding is the reaction I had with the decals... I'll try using a more professional printer next time around, and maybe let them sit longer before I clear them next time.
Also will move on from using SprayMax 2k to the real stuff. The product itself is great, but it puts too much pressure on trying not waste too much, and makes you feel bad for making small touchups and wasting the whole can and such.
Another thing is making sure the holes are filled flat with Bondo before painting. I created myself a whole lot of extra work by trying to fill in holes with paint and later on with clear.

Before:
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After:
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Hello Vid,
I think I have a good idea on how to handle this from reading other posts in the thread, but I'd like to be sure of the best way to get these nails back in.
I want to be sure to drill the clear just enough so that the nail heads will be flush with the playfield
I'm thinking I need to heat up the clear with a heat gun, then use a brand new brad bit (not what I have in the picture), then drill.
Should I go high speed or slow? I'm thinking high speed with low pressure?
There's no way I can get all the way in there with a drill press so it would have to be with a hand drill.

Thanks for the help.

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So are you saying I should carefully shave away the clear by hand with the sharp bit? I just tried on a hole under the apron and it looks like it works pretty good... should I heat up first since some of the holes are kind of irregular?

*double post*

Yes, brand new bit.
Ok I'll try that, thank you sir!