First, a huge thanks to Vid and everyone who has contributed to this thread. Only recently started reading and it's really well done... plenty more left to read!

I am hoping someone can give some advice, reassurance mostly, before i start my first restore. I have 2 basic problems on the playfield. Some small cracking thats noticeable in lighter coloured areas and some paint lifting in a high traffic area.

If someone could tell me this sounds like the way to go i would appreciate it...

I am planning to (lightly) use the ME foam and 99% isopro on the areas showing cracking. Just a small test to see if its just cracked clearcoat and dirt and not going so far i remove paint. If it works i just prep these areas before laying down the first clear...

The other area where paint it lifting i am not so sure about. If i am not going to paint it or just a little grey touch up, should i just clear over the top after that? If i wasnt going to clear coat and just mylar i think it would take more paint when the mylar is removed down the road. I would like to do it once and do it right.. I would mylar after the clear coating is finished.

Thanks

Steve

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Anyone know how to deal with flaking paint next to an insert? Can you just clear coat over the top or need to cut more away? Thanks.

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Thankyou. I'm in the process of my first proper restore with this one. I will cut about a 1mm or so then. Paint touch up on the bare wood then clear. It's a small area so im hopeful to get away with careful fine brush as opposed to fine spraygun.

Thanks for the advice. I will do it the right way you have reccomended and learn. I have never clear coated before but this isnt an expensive collectable pin but a great way to lean and end up with a nicer looking pin for me and the kids to enjoy. Cheers.

Sorry for the dumb question but I have to ask, is dulling of the playfield area when using a magic eraser (melamine) normal or a sign you have almost removed the paintwork? I have been working on some areas to remove general marks and some cracking lines full of dirt in readiness for clear coating. Shellite did an OK job for a general clean but some areas have only responded to melamine and rubbing alcohol. Having read a few other forums I was cautions and expecting the paint to be removed after a few rubs but it is taking a lot more than that just to make an impact on my playfield but noticing the areas are dulling a bit. Color is still OK when wet with some isopropyl so I'm hopeful I have not ruined anything but unsure if I should keep going on these areas or not.
Thanks.

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Thanks for the information, I'm more assured i havnt damaged anything but I wont keep going at the cracks.

Well ready to give it a go hopefully the first of many..

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Good luck with the screen printing. I am sure there is a thread covering this somewhere but i wonder what happened to the original screen printing setups when manufacturers shutdown?

I have laid down the first coat of clear. Really happy with how it looks considering this playfield was on the scrap heap. Wondering if the attached pic is whats called "fish eye"? Or maybe just some contaminant i missed on the final clean. Only in one area and i can live with it. Also wondering if sanding the 1st coat before 24hrs is OK? Very keen to flatten out and get a 2nd coat down. Thanks for any advice.

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Clearcoating over Cabinet Decals

I have not read anything about this in the topic but hoping someone might have some experience/advice with this? I have seen some pictures that look great of freshly decal'ed and cleared cabinets but have a few questions. If there is a better thread for this i will remove and put the question there.

Surface tension. Is this only an issue on small decals for a playfield or still true on large cabinet decals? Is just going over the top of a decal OK or should the decal be between clear coats?

Decal shrinkage. I have noticed a back box i decal'ed has evenly shrunk over the past year (1-2mm). Would this be an issue if it was clear coated over the top after install? Would clear lock it in and stop shrinkage?

For context, the machine I am working on isnt a collectors pin or anywhere near a redeemable condition to keep stock. Personally, I think where possible machines should stay true to the original. Everyone is different but I have seen some refurbs where the original pin looked great beforehand only to be poweder coated, decal'ed & modded. I am hypocritical as i am changing this LW3 but it is a good candidate given the poor condition.

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Yeah I got 2 installed. If it's water, probably just the swet off my forhead or a small couple of droplets past the exhale valve on the full face resperator. Very hot in those things. Seemed to sand out OK. Havnt been able to get a 2nd layer down as my touch up paint didnt arrive as planned.

Yes it's a good point about toxicity, especially for new people like me. Outdoors isn't an option for me and my setup would be fine if i had an air supplied mask. I have only done one coat and stopped for now as it was full of mist for those 5-10 minutes and although it was a full face sheild my filters were only P3 (not chem), not enough airflow in the both so not happy to continue until i sort it out, especially as i am planning to clear the cabinet too.

I hadn't done enough research on the filters prior but Im happy i atleast had a good fitting P3 but and it was only the once but it would be foolish for me to keep using it now knowing i am exposing myself. I may set up an extraction fan and tube it well away along with better filters.

Hi all, Is there anyone out there that will print water slide decals to order? I want to repair the damage around an old Twister playfield. The spinning magnet disc has done its fair share of damage. Any suggestions would be welcomed. I have found a high res picture but it isnt perfectly centre.

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Fantastic thread for Pro's and Noob's alike! A question on cabinet decals if anyone has the time. I noticed that a cabinet decal i did shrunk by about 1-2mm after about 6 months of being applied (or maybe it was a day and i just didn't notice) but I am wondering if clear coating a freshly decal'ed cabinet would "lock" it in and offer some UV and damage protection or if clear coating decal'ed cabinets has a hidden trap?

Thanks for the advice Vid. I had not even considered ink run from the vinyl, although it seems obvious now you have pointed it out.. and vinyl melting!? would like to avoid that for sure! I will do a test run on the coin door cut away before deciding to go ahead with it. I am only considering it as i sourced some cabinet decals and they are much lighter and thinner than the last supplier i used. Worried they won't take much punishment and wanted to make them handle a bit more wear and tear.

Hoping to wind back the clock on a Twister pinball ramp with some weld on #3 and a syringe.. the damage is well under way but not yet catastrophic. Just hoping the capillary action alone will draw the solvent into the crack. Any advice is welcomed as i have not done this before. I was also planing to flame polish (another first) but logic is telling me this should only be done after the repair to give the glue a better chance of being drawn into the crack..although i am also wondering is #3 may not take kindly heat treatment post repair?

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True enough Vid! Don't want to press my luck as it is already looking quite nice after some Novus 2 as is. I will post how the weld-on performs, learnings or failures once its done. I didn't picture them but this ramp has 2 stainless steel protectors.

Will do. There was a 5yo thread somewhere on using this weld on #3 on ramp hairline cracks around a screw fastening point. Looked to work well as long as the solvent is drawn in and you don't flood it/get too much run off to other areas of the ramp. They inserted the screw and applied solvent allowing the screw to help draw it in to the fine cracks before removal and allowing to cure. This is a bit different. Hopefully it works!

A quick before and after. This stuff has an amazing capillary action. A more experienced repairer may have gotten a better result but i am happy enough as plenty of product made it into the cracks and is definitely stronger as a result. I would recomend a very fine syringe and well lit workbench. Had a hard time seeing and added a little too much in some areas. It also really does go hard in about 2 seconds. If you get it on too thick it will dry milky but within cracks it drys clear.

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Most, not all. With some practice i think it would be possible to get a crack perfectly bonded. I am happy enough that this crack shouldn't run now but in hindsight i would have set up a small jig of some sort to just have a fraction of pressure to keep the crack slightly apart and allow the solvent to draw itself in then remove the jig. The mistake i made is you only get one run at it and i bonded the surface on the larger crack instantly without getting right in there. Also the applicator is very important. The syringe i used has a 45 degree cut on the end. OK to use but may have been easier with a flat clean cut style applicator so you don't have to worry about the angle as you run along the crack.

Hi all, Refurbishing a Sega Twister and I have found some delamination on a thinner, routed part of the playfield used house the magnet coil assembly located at the top of the orbit. I have usually used polyester resin to do structural repairs on the cab and found it to be very strong but for a playfield would this be a suitable way to repair this area? Fill, set and re-drill or would bondo be just as effective? I think the damage is a result of the old pin sitting proud of the playfield for years and constantly stressing the surrounding ply with every passing shot. Won't be the case any more with a new pin and adjustment but would like to fix this while she is apart. Thanks. Steve.

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I recently applied a playfield overlay that has now been cleared locally with 3 coats.

Can feel the printed lettering sitting proud of the insert areas and small valleys were there is no overlay ink on inserts. The ink on the overlay medium probably sits a bit higher than the original playfield paint I'm assuming so very hesitant to wet sand this flat and risk hitting the overlay. The playfield was prepped properly and all inserts flat and flush prior, PF cleared and sanded before applying the overlay.

After an 800 grit prep, would I get away with just building up insert areas with 2k by syringe, then sanding down? The overlay is now nicely trapped between clear coats, just very nervous to sand this down too much and rather just build up over the inserts.
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Understood. Thankyou both for the advice. Makes perfect sense I could leave it alone but the perfectionist in me won't let it go and I'll probably just look at those spots for years grumbling. So I'll give it a go. Cheers.

It seems with project pins becoming harder to find, playfields that would once be considered too far gone for artwork spot repair are being sanded back bare wood and going down the entire playfield overlay restoration route.

The majority of restoration principles outlined by Vid in this forum were a huge help but now i have done one, I did have a few questions specific to the overlay process as i didnt find much information on out there in forums.

For context, the basic process i followed;

Back to bare wood playfield sand 400, 800, insert repairs, Epoxy repairs to worn timber spots, prep etc.

Clear coat followed by 800 grit prep x 2 for a good flat surface

Whole playfield adhesive decal applied

Clear coat thereafter x 2

My understanding on Overlays is they are usually a clear substrate adhesive type with printing on top. That said, the reaction between a fresh coat of clear and the overlay adhesive is mostly unknown? Is it best to give the clear a week or two before sanding and applying the decal? I have seen some completes overlay restorations with a browning/darkening around inserts. I assumed a chemical reaction so waited for the clear to set.

Alao I'm assuming, aiming for a chemical bond between the clear below and above the decal is impossible as these types of whole playfield decals dont seem to be permeable?

Is there an ideal final grit for decal adhesion? I did not want to polish the inserts incase there was a reaction with the decal adhesive but this also results in slightly dull inserts. In hindsight, going to 1500 may have been better than 800? Perhaps even polished?

Thanks

I had a think about this, and the thickness of the decal adhesive used may play a small part . These calcs may be off but, 800 grit should give a surface with 25 microns variance, so 0.025mm surface abrasions. If the adhesive coat on the decal is thick enough to contour to these smaller ridges/valleys there is technically more surface area/bite.

Anyway I don't want to become any more of a thread hijacker than I already am. Also did want to reiterate I see overlays as a last resort measure. For many here I imagine it's a bit like sending DaVinci to Homedepot to get some wallpaper instead of picking up the brush...

Waiting for clear to fully harden after a full PF overlay. So had a fair few layers of clear applied. Been about 40 days but the temperature has been about 60-70F most days.. probably colder at night.

Still too soft to do anything

Made a cheap hot box that will keep it around a 110F steady temp while on the rotisserie.

From those in the know, is it waste of time or will it actually help the process over a month or so?

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Thankyou for that info. Very helpfull. It had been 40 or so days stuck in a cold garage (45-50F) while I was away but now after a week in an artificially warmer climate and some direct sunlight it's now alot harder. The main ingredient I was missing was paitence!