(Topic ID: 155541)

What to do with this Pinbot playfield?

By cosmokramer

8 years ago


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#1 8 years ago

I am restoring the cabinet for my pinbot (https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/first-attempt-at-cabinet-restoration-lets-see-how-it-turns-out) and was just going to slide this playfield in it but the cab and components are looking so good I hate to put in this playfield without trying to fix it up. It isn't in too bad of shape but the biggest issue is air bubbles under the mylar (whole playfield is mylared)...there is a bit of playfield wear at the eyes and solar value kick out I would like to address as well...should I just leave it as is, clean and wax it and just install it...or should I attempt mylar removal and paint/waterslide touch up?
what about polishing the mylar? in the photos it looks cloudier and more scratched than it really is...
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#2 8 years ago

Are your multiplier inserts raised? Mine is also mylared and the first thing I did was to reseat them buy using an extra deep c-clamp and some wood blocks. Once lowered I reglued them in place from the bottom. It reduced the air bubble and made a huge difference.

#3 8 years ago

You also might take a stick pin and make a tiny hole in the bubble to let the air out and press the Mylar down again.

-scott

#4 8 years ago
Quoted from Daniml:

Are your multiplier inserts raised? Mine is also mylared and the first thing I did was to reseat them buy using an extra deep c-clamp and some wood blocks. Once lowered I reglued them in place from the bottom. It reduced the air bubble and made a huge difference.

yes, 4x and 5x are the worst

Quoted from drscottsmith:

You also might take a stick pin and make a tiny hole in the bubble to let the air out and press the Mylar down again.
-scott

That might work at the multiplier inserts, but there are so many bubbles on the chest inserts its very noticable.

#5 8 years ago
Quoted from cosmokramer:

yes, 4x and 5x are the worst

That might work at the multiplier inserts, but there are so many bubbles on the chest inserts its very noticable.

You can always do the full restore ... and to that point you also can't unrestore a playfield naturally. So unless your willing to go all out, or risk making mistakes (like my Black Rose effort ... Thanks for the kind words over on that thread by the way) I'd say stick with the the Mylar. No pun intended. The learning experience was great ... I'm certainly not intending to discourage you from giving it a go.

The air bubbles can be eliminated or drastically reduced with a small pinhole, then a heat gun. Experiment with the lowest heat needed to get it to flex a bit and stay down.

And Mylar can be polished up pretty nice. Add a coat of carnauba and it'll play fast too.

#6 8 years ago
Quoted from pinster68:

The air bubbles can be eliminated or drastically reduced with a small pinhole, then a heat gun. Experiment with the lowest heat needed to get it to flex a bit and stay down.
And Mylar can be polished up pretty nice. Add a coat of carnauba and it'll play fast too.

this is the route I will attempt first, after leveling the inserts...right now I am rebuilding all the under playfield mechs, then I will strip playfield and attempt to re flatten the mylar...thanks for the tips guys...

#7 8 years ago

So what's the opinion on removing the mylar from this field?
...I mean after all it seems like it wants to jump off the playfield in some areas,,,
I have it on the rotisserie so now would be the time...

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#8 8 years ago

Com on Cosmo!!! You have gone this far!!! Dont put that playfield back in the way it is. If you remove the mylar carefully that playfield will look like new in a lot of areas. Dont be afraid, based on your cabinet work, your up to the task!. Ok... first remove the mylar with freeze spray. (lots of posts describing this process). Then if needed , carefully warm up inserted from underneath the playfield with a heat gun to level. (look up threads to show how to do this). Very easy. Then you need to level and touch up the worn areas with acrylic paint. Honestly shouldnt be that hard based on the areas you are showing. Look into vids playfield restoration thread. If you lose some insert decals when removing the mylar you can buy new decals to apply before clearing the playfield. Then just go with a varathane water based rattle can clear to finish using at least 8 or 9 coats lightly sanding in betwwen coats. Its not hard. I restored my space shuttle like this and it looks amazing and im not overly handy at this stuff. If you put that playfield as is back into your new cabinet i promise you will be supreemly pissed ! . Hope this helps.

#9 8 years ago
Quoted from SUPERBEE:

Then just go with a varathane water based rattle can clear to finish using at least 8 or 9 coats lightly sanding in betwwen coats.

what product did you use? Thinking of doing this with a playfield.

#10 8 years ago

This....

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#11 8 years ago

Works amazing and almost idiot proof !

#12 8 years ago
Quoted from SUPERBEE:

Works amazing and almost idiot proof !

That is exactly what I need - something idiot proof. What grit sandpaper?

#13 8 years ago
Quoted from Renouart:

That is exactly what I need - something idiot proof. What grit sandpaper?

I think i was using around 400 grit between coats and got finer and finer towards the end coats. I think i used like 1200 grit to finish polishing the last coat. All hand sanding though. Dont use a power sander.

2 weeks later
#14 7 years ago

Well I made the mistake of adding up how much $ I have already invested in this resto....

Sooooooo now I have gone with a good cleaning, polishing out the existing mylar, and a few coats of wax....it is starting to look so much better...I leveled all the inserts and have started to re populate the field...

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#15 7 years ago
Quoted from cosmokramer:

Well I made the mistake of adding up how much $ I have already invested in this resto....
Sooooooo now I have gone with a good cleaning, polishing out the existing mylar, and a few coats of wax....it is starting to look so much better...I leveled all the inserts and have started to re populate the field...
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what did you use to polish the mylar? I have been using a headlight restore kit and the results have been pretty good.

#16 7 years ago
Quoted from Insane:

what did you use to polish the mylar? I have been using a headlight restore kit and the results have been pretty good.

I was going to ask the same question.

Besides a headlight kit, has anyone else had good luck with other "off the shelf" kits?

#17 7 years ago
Quoted from Insane:

what did you use to polish the mylar? I have been using a headlight restore kit and the results have been pretty good.

I only used novus 2...I considered the headlight kit but was afraid to try it... you have used it with success?

#18 7 years ago
Quoted from cosmokramer:

I only used novus 2

I usually stick to novus 2 as well, however, I can never get enough grit to really polish up the mylar enough to get it looking good. I've thought about using a buffing bit on a drill, but like you, I've always been too nervous to dive into it.

#19 7 years ago
Quoted from mbaumle:

I usually stick to novus 2 as well, however, I can never get enough grit to really polish up the mylar enough to get it looking good. I've thought about using a buffing bit on a drill, but like you, I've always been too nervous to dive into it.

I did use a drill with a buffing bit, it was much better than trying it by hand....just went slow and careful at first, then got more confident with it and went to town. I may try the headlight kit to see if I can get more clarity.

#20 7 years ago

Nice work.

#21 7 years ago

I bought the headlight kit at Harbor Freight, then also bought some Meguirs Plastx cleaner and polish there as well. Seemed to work pretty good. The line on the mylar between where the ball hit and where the ball never hit isn't as defined as it was before.

1 week later
#22 7 years ago

My big guns had the raised inserts just like yours. All I have done was the C-clamp/wood blocks method. Thank heavens for Harbor Freight and that "Deep Throat" C clamp! After I popped the inserts back in I was pretty happy and just left it at that for fear of making things worse. Like a doctor, "Do no harm!"

-bdPinball

2 weeks later
#23 7 years ago

I tried an inexpensive headlight restorer, it did nothing...
Ended up rubbing the hell out of it with novus, then waxed...
Starting to repopulate...

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#24 7 years ago

Pretty much done...

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