I use 2k products. I worked in the auto refinishing business for many years and cellulose or acrylic 1 pack lacquers always faded any 'yellowed' over time whereas a 2k product remains completely clear for many years. Downside of the stuff is that it's highly toxic and you need to use adequate protection with it. I recently cleared an old scrap playfield with 2k clear just applying it with a brush (outdoors of course) and cross hatched it to avoid lines and it dried out well. Then I flatted it with some 1200 grit paper and polished it with some cutting compound. The results were pretty good and much easier than I thought it would be.

You can’t just spray the 2k on? What do you use as adequate protection? Thanks. I need to get work on my Playfield because I feel like I notice it getting worse each day.

It can be sprayed, yes. That is how it should be applied really. I only tried this method because it wanted to see if it was feasible.
Really, if you are spraying the stuff then an air-fed mask should be worn, full skin covering and good ventilation in wherever you are using the product. 2k products ( in the UK anyway) contain isocynate, which I believe is cyanide based, hence you need to protect yourself!

I forgot to add that 2k products gave a "pot life" of some 20 minutes on average, dependent on the air temps and if you use a fast or slow activator so dont mix it up until you are ready to apply it or you will get an awful cleaning job to do on your spray gun!

When you sprayed the Varathane, did you use the water based as its not suppose to yellow?

I've done a couple playfields with Varathane (water based) about 10-15 years ago (for a while it was 'all the rage' - I think Butterflygirl24 uses it as well) - there was a learning curve to it. Cliffy (passionforpinball) used to have a page talking about how best to clear PF's with the varathane - his advice was the best, because he recommended you follow what the can says to do!!

A lot of people at the time were spraying a coat, waiting 24 hours between coats, and spraying another. This is great advice.... if you like cloudy, milky, playfields!! I did a few that way before seeking out a better way. The most successful was when I followed the can - between 45 min-2 hours for more coats. I think I did 4 coats on a Countdown PF - while it's not 'perfect' - it played well and has held up for at least a decade fine. It looks nice, just as good as original clear (which is lacquer on most older PF's)

If you check on rec.games.pinball there's a LOT of discussion on results and how to do it. If I ever get back into clearing PF/or needing to clear I'll probably either get more varathane (I have some from 10 years ago, doubt it's any good....) or maybe buy all the safety equipment and shoot spraymax 2k. I no longer have a garage to work in though so I'll either have to shoot outside or use the shed (it's full of crap right now though).

Some people have been successful using varathane out of a regular paint can and foam brushes to clear PF's as well. If you have a scrap playfield around it's a good thing to practice on.

Found the cliffy link:
http://passionforpinball.com/jjresto.htm

I don't know what brand of clear you are using but most activated clear coats have a longer pot life. Usually most automotive clear coats have a pot life around 1.5-3 hours. Do you mean 'flash times'? The flash time of most clears are 5-15 minutes. You need to really look at the TDS sheet of the clear coat you are using. I use DC5335 and the pot life is 1.5-2 hours. The flash time is 5-10 min.

I've had good results with water based Varathane. I like it because I can use it to fill sunken inserts gradually with a brush then finish it off with a rattle can. It's relatively safe to use at home compared to some of the alternatives and has held up well to home use.

Beware though that you need to let it cure for probably longer than you think. My first attempt turned out fine but yellowed some I think because I waxed it too soon. The next time I let it dry for several weeks before waxing and it stayed clear.

/Mark

Generally, I use Glasurit or Max Meyer lacquer and a very fast activator as I'm air drying. In a low bake oven, I'd use a slower one to let it flow out before baking.
If spraying, yes, I'd allow a 10 minute or so flash too. But I have found using a fast activator for air dry work, 20 or 30 minutes on a warm day is about there or it starts to gel in the mixing pot. Maybe if its thinned it might well last a lot longer and give the times you describe, I dont know.

Check out the Spraymax 2K thread, TONS of good info on there. That's what I used on my Alladins Castle, came out great.

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2pac is the way to go. Others just aren’t as durable and lack the ability to bring out full color saturation to the degree that 2pac does. If it’s authenticity to the technology of the era you’re after, forget it. You can’t get whatever exact lacquer was used on your particular game and even if you could, you wouldn’t want to use it because it wouldn’t last as long and would yellow excessively over time.

I've used Minwax polycrylic water based for years and have not had durability issues, or any yellowing. Lots of people simply don't have the equipment to spray auto clear safely. You can spray polycrylic in the basement and there's basically no fumes at all.

The problem with the auto clear is the gloss. I guess you can sand it down some to knock the gloss out but EM playfield simply didn't shine like what you see quite often when people use auto clear. It's hard and durable, sure, but for a lot of us the problems just aren't worth it.

I also use 5335 clear on playfields also, this is BASF's high line glamour clear.

I add SM09 to the clear coat for em playfields; it's a flattening additive so the gloss will more resemble the original lacquer finish but with the durability of a 2k product.

As a side note for safety I'm spraying in an automotive heated down draft paint booth.

Minwax Ultimate (gloss) is very clear, doesn’t yellow and it’s water based. Get an Earlex Spray System for a great portable hvlp results, much better than the results you get with spray cans.

I use the same Autoclear i've been using for 14 years. Many customers send me EMs' and woodrails and love the results. No yellowing, and evens out the cupped inserts to the point where it plays like new.

Oil based varathane is not the one to use... Yellows as you noted. Use water based.

Wayinla, PM me your phone number and I'll reach out with some tips on playfiled clear coating. Been doing it for 25 plus years and 100 plus games.

I have to disagree with approaches that attempt to knock down the gloss for an EM. I remember what they looked like new. They were glossy and well saturated. The trouble is that the lacquer finishes held neither their clarity or gloss for very long. It is also important to consider the available technology at the time. They used industrial lacquer. Cars in the EM era were also painted with lacquer, albeit likely higher quality than was used for pins. I have done several EMs, one with lacquer and the rest with 2pac. The 2pac wins hands down in my book. Water based finishes are what they are: user friendly alternatives which offer less color saturation and somewhat lower gloss as a tradeoff.

exactly. They looked like fresh clearcoated playfields and nice and flat when they were new.

So do I and they didn't look like auto clear.

I've had games with auto clear and there is really no difference in color saturation. But your game do what you want.