Hi folks,

I’m prepping the playfield to do the first clearcoat before I start using the airbrush. I haven’t removed the electronics from the underside of the playfield. It’s too tedious and I’m not confident I could put everything back where it belongs. I’ve plugged up the holes with cotton balls (see attached pic), however I’m starting to wonder if this is a bad idea. The purpose of this is to stop the clearcoat from damaging the electronics. I still have the old inserts. Perhaps that would be a better idea?

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I purchased new inserts but thought it would be best to put those in after the playfield has been painted and clear coated. Would there be an issue with using the old inserts during the clear coating and painting process? Or will they become stuck due to the clear coat and require removal?

Compared to some of the newer playfields out there - absolutely. The only thing I’ve used photoshop and the silhouette for is the large yellow centre image because i didn’t feel I could do a perfect job with an exacto knife

Also, do I need to do the 400, 800, 1000, 1200 grit wet sand between clear coats? People talk about doing this in order for the paint to adhere better. I was thinking of clearcoating then airbrushing (one colour at a time) then a light sand then clear coat. Is that the best approach?

new inserts or old?

I was going to leave the keylines until AFTER I had completed the major artwork. In terms of the keylines themselves, I'm not sure how to go about it. They're so fine, I cant imagine masking it up and doing it with an airbrush. How do people go about this?

Hi Everyone,

I managed to find a local legend who clear coated my entire playfield. My next move is to do the artwork (airbrush) before doing one more (final) clearcoat. I have a small issue with just one or two of the inserts: they are slightly raised. I've run a ball over them and it doesnt seem to be an issue. Would it be worth sanding back the raised edges? If so, how do you suggest I go about doing that? I'm assuming I would have to do this before airbrushing the artwork? Thanks for the input!

Josh

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Thanks Vid. Really appreciate your feedback here. Just a few (hopefully) quick questions:
1. What "rails on the back of the playfield" are you referring to? (stupid question, sorry)
2. I've used 600 grit to level some of the inserts that were raised slightly. I probably went a little too hard because now I've removed some of the paint (and a tiny bit of wood) around the insert itself (see pics)
3. Not sure if you can tell by the pictures, but the inserts now appear to be scratched up a little from the sanding. Just hoping these are scratches that can be 'buffed out' with something like Novus 2?? I noticed the inserts came up really nice and shiny after the clearcoat. Hoping what I have done here hasnt caused the dreaded "ghosting"
4. When I cut out the bits of frisket on the playfield, the clear was lifting off with it as well. Moving forward I made sure that I wasnt cutting in too deep and that seems to help. The areas where the clear lifted off, is that going to be much of an issue when it comes to applying the Createx paint?
5. The frisket itself is quite sticky underneath. When I peel it off the areas where I want to paint, it leaves a sticky residue that I need to clean off with Naptha or Methylated Spirits. This makes me concerned that when I have to apply a stencil over a painted area, it's going to lift the paint, unless I clearcoat before doing that (see last picture, plan was to do the yellow, wait for it to dry then do the orange using a stencil made from frisket)
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Finished artwork. Now for the clear and decals

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I’m really struggling with keylines at the moment. Does anyone have a good technique for doing these? I feel like they should be airbrushed

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Personally, I would use a vinyl cutting machine. Scan and import the images or whatever you want to reproduce into Photoshop. Then use the pen tool to create a vector. Then print on the vinyl cutter and effectively what you then have is a stencil you can airbrush onto the insert. Have a look at the above pictures of the playfield I just did. I used that exact method. Alternately, scan the images and send them to me. I’d be happy to do it. You’ll just need to pay for postage.

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

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.

Finished the playfield for Big Deal.
Not perfect but it was my first

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Thank you! Appreciate the kind words. I've spent far too much time on this. I think it's time to move on.

Hi All, I’ve recently acquired a couple of playfields in VERY ordinary shape. The Bobby Orr is particularly bad and I was thinking about attempting a ground up rebuild of this one but in order to do that I’ll require scans from someone who has a pristine playfield. Would appreciate any help I can get. I’ve done one PF restoration recently (Williams Big Deal) and that turned out quite well but these ones are in a different league. Starting with cleanin leg (Novus? naptha or Magic Eraser?), will then remove Mylar carefully (only on Pop Bumpers on CF), then clear coat then airbrush, 2 pac clear etc… Again, any advice and help would be appreciated.

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True but there is something “special” about a restoration that has been done with care using masking, airbrush etc… vs a printout which is just laid over the top. I’ll consider that as a last resort. Besides, at the very least I would need a decent scan of a playfield that’s in good condition. No one seems to have one.

Holy crap. That would work superbly for playfields

I could most definitely scan exisiting artwork and patch up in photoshop but IMO it would still be subpar compared to getting a scan of a NOS in good condition. I think I may have found someone with access to a NOS so will see how that goes. In the meantime, I’ll work with what I have. It’s very patchy in some areas

Hi Folks
I’d like to buy a compressor so that I can clear coat playfields and cabinets using a HVLP gun. I’m just wondering what type of compressor I should purchase. The one in the picture is a belt drive, 50 litre tank, 3HP. Would appreciate advice .
Thank you!
Josh

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Thanks Fandango. I like that particular Iwata. Not cheap but quality there. Is it ok to use the same gun for clear coat and say for Createx paints? Or is it best practice to have a separate gun for each? Not sure I can afford $1000 for two guns

Hi everyone
Does anyone know how I can repair this kind of damage? It’s very superficial (not deep at all) but would like to fix it

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You guys are so goddamn knowledgeable. Thank you. Now I have to Google “shellac flakes”

Is this what you’re referring to?

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Can’t even see the marks. That’s amazing. So you hand sanded with 150 grit then applied shellac?

I’m curious: how do you apply this stuff? (Which isn’t cheap btw)

I found the following instructions online.

Dissolve Shellac into pure methylated spirits (95%) at the following rate:

- 250gms Shellac in 1 litre of pure methylated spirits.

Pour the required amount of methylated spirits into a glass or plastic container (do not use tin or metal as this will result in the solution darkening).

Add the Shellac to the methylated spirits stirring constantly until the Shellac is fully dissolved. Make sure to filter the mixture to remove undissolved material.

Really stupid question mate: how do I know what direction the grain is running in?

Thanks so much for the advice here. I sanded with 240 then 400. Got the mark out but obviously I’ve created another issue with the sanded area appearing different from the rest of the playfield. Really hoping the shellac does it’s job here. Am still wondering what would happen if I just clear coated over the top without the shellac

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Hit it with Naptha and it looked ok (sanded area didn’t stand out from the rest). First layer of clear down. I went with Createx UVLS Gloss and not 2pac auto clear is that I’m just after a clear
coat to protect the existing artwork before I paint.
I will definitely use 2pac once all the painting / colours are done).

You can see the sanded area distinctly from the rest. It actually looks like the UVLS clear didn’t adhere to the sanded area as much as the other areas.

So, my options are now to either:
1. Leave it be and just start painting (not my preference)
2. Sand the entire area that is wooden and hit it again with 2pac when I’ve finished all the painting
3. Use shellac on wooden areas

What do you guys think?

Also, I was a bit disappointed in the Iwata LPH-80. It’s an awesome airbrush however the 1.2 needle didn’t provide a wide enough fan for applying clear. I lost count of the number of passes I had to do.
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It absolutely wasn’t set up right haha
I should have played with the fan pattern

I’ll hit in again tomorrow after playing with the airbrush settings. It took wayyy too long with a narrow fan pattern. Would you suggest sanding with 400-600 grit before laying down colour?

I do see it! So can I put the shellac directly over the clear? Or do I need to sand again then apply the shellac ?

Thanks everyone (and Vid!). So what I took from that was 1. Sand back the clear I applied yesterday with 300-400 2. Apply the polyurethane 3. Sand with 220 when dry 4. Clear with 2 pac.

Sanded all wooden areas and then brushed on Oil Based Clear Poly. I’m still seeing a distinction between the ball path and everywhere else. I’m not sure if this will resolve itself when I lay down 2 pac clear after all the artwork is done. Damn hope so

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Resanded…. 120, 240 then 320. Then reapplied the polyurethane

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I know mate, I feel like giving up haha

I tried the Naptha before I applied the poly and it looked fine

Added 50gm of this to 200-250ml methylated spirits (4 to 1 ratio). I stirred it, shaked it regularly and 24 hours later, most of it is still undesolved. Any ideas?

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Just had this gorgeous Future Spa delivered from US. Don’t want to mess with it but would like to clean the playfield a little. Suggestions? Magic eraser and isopropyl? Naptha?

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Thanks Vid

Hi restorers!

I’ve been working away at restoring my Captain Fantastic playfield. So far I have:

1. Sanded the wooded area (shooter lane right up to and included the ball arch)
2. Applied Polyurethane to the above wooded areas. Sanded with 220, 320 then applied another coat of Polyurethane
3. Created stencils for the piano, Elton’s clothes and other white areas.
4 Air brushed badly faded white areas with Createx White mixed with balancing clear 4030 and 4011 reducer
I’m using Photoshop, along with Illustrator and Silhouette Cameo software (designer edition). I normally create vectors using the pen tool (straight or curved) but today I used the Lasso tool to create a path and used that as my vector for Cameo software.

I’m wondering if there a better way of creating a path for vectors, particular for letters and numbers, text on the playfield (circled). I’ve used water slide decals for lettering previously because it just looks sharper but I would love to learn how to get an accurate vector of the playfield text as well as a technique for getting the finer detail like that circled in the attached image. If anyone can make any suggestions, I’d greatly appreciate it!

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Hi everyone, vid1900 I have a small issue. I’m in the process of cleaning up a Future spa playfield in prep for putting down a hardtop. Stupidly, I removed 80% of the inserts when I didn’t really need to. In the process of doing this I damaged the 4 arrows positioned at the top f the playfield. Unfortunately the ones I purchased off Marco are too large. A friend who recently completed a Future Spa overlay used a very thin piece of plastic from a coloured notepad - positioning it over the arrow before laying the hardtop over the top. It looks great but I’m concerned that it will ever so slightly raise the playfield in that spot, affecting game play. What are your thoughts? I still have the old arrows but they are damaged and probably not worth trying to re-install

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I know vid1900 Not great.

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Per vid’s post on doing an overlay for Future Spa, I’ve put new inserts into the playfield and coated with polyeurathane on the parts that will show through the overlay. I have just two questions vid1900
1. In your other thread you recommend using 220 for sanding the poly. Would using a slightly finer grit be better? Concerned that 220 will basically remove the poly
2. Between coats of clear, are we talking 800 grit or 120 —-> 240 about 24 hours after the first coat goes down. This is assuming a second coat is required

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Perfect, thanks Vid! Much appreciated

My only concern is that I went a little too hard on sanding the inserts flush. Unfortunately the new inserts today seem to sit a little higher than the old ones and despite my best efforts I couldn’t get them flush enough without having to go at it with 220 grit. The result of all this is potentially a playfield that isn’t perfectly flat

Hey vid1900 and pinheads

I’m restoring a playfield and wondering what is the best way of getting rid of or at least minimising these small cracks in the shooter lane
I’ve already sanded but want to be careful not to take away too much wood and ruin the shooter lane altogether
Im assuming some type of airbrushing will be required

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I think the cracks in the shooter lane present a more challenging issue than what is described by vid1900 in that post. But maybe I’m wrong
I’m thinking that filling and painting the shooter lane is the only way to fix this however I don’t know what created colours I would need to match the colour of the wood

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Great idea! How far up does yours go? I.e. up around the arch at the top

Great idea! How far up does yours go? I.e. up around the arch at the top

worse after wiping with naptha. cracks are more prominent

Also, what you’ve done works for 8 Ball. I have a Playboy. A painting in the shooter lane of an extra long d@&& perhaps?

I’m quite certain I know the answer to this but thought I’d ask just in case. I plan on restoring this playfield. It’s been cleaned with solvent and non solvent based cleaner. I clear coated it with two coats ten minutes apart last night however there are still small areas of the playfield where general wear and tear through play has resulted in some spots being lower than others. I thought the clear might have evened it out but it didn’t. I was planning on lightly sanding with 320 grit on the DA then shooting again

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Hi guys

Am stenciling a playfield, hoping to breathe some life into it. Unfortunately, CPR playfields have become prohibitively expensive

For text that is very small I plan on using decals, however for larger text like “25,000” and “Playboy” and “Same player shoots again”, I was thinking a stencil cut with my Silhouette. Issue is, the text is in white on a blue or black background. Was thinking about painting the background where then text is white then doing a reverse stencil if that makes sense

Would this be the best approach?

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Hey vid1900 , I’m restoring a playfield. Have stenciled and put down the white (Createx) but noticed a couple of areas that could do with a touch up. Am I better off laying down some more stencil material now provided it doesn’t lift the existing fresh white paint (dry of course) or should I clear coat what I have then sand with 600-800 and do my touch ups then?

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Hi All,

Just wanted to share a recent experience I had while restoring a Playboy playfield. I'm using Createx paints, masking film (not frisket.. probably better and cheaper by the length though), a razor blade and an Iwata LPH-80 and Iwata Eclipse.

1. The first colour to lay down was white. No dramas and it turned out quite well. Laid some automotive clear over that, waited 48 hours then sanded with 600 grit.
2. Orange was next. Put down a base colour of white, waited for that to dry then applied Wicked Orange straight out of the bottle. Unfortunately, the colour didn't match the original. I ended up just mixing yellow and red to produce the right shade.
3. Then came pink. I decided to mask off the pink area and spray white first as this would provide a nice base to put Wicked Pink onto. Once the white was down, I heated the surface with a heat gun for a minute or so before laying down Fluro Pink. After the pink went down, I used the heat gun again. Once I was confident the paint was dry, I peeled off the mask. All if not most of the pink just peeled off the white.

A little annoying. I didnt have this issue with the Orange so I'm not sure why it happened with pink. My strategy now is to clearcoat the entire playfield, sand with 600, respray the pink spots white, clear over that.. sand with 600 again, then apply pink. Yeah, it's a mess right now but I'm confident I can have this looking awesome by the time I'm done.

It also became apparent that the Cricut stencils for letting dont work all that well. They lack detail and sharp edges which looks poorly when painted. I'll therefore be going with decals.
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