Title says it all. Why are mylared playfields so reviled, and why are people so quick to try and pull mylar off of machines that they buy. Being happy to risk pulled insert decals or worse.

I recently bought a non-cc'd Whirlwind and the playfield looks bright and pristine under the mylar. It would definitely not look like that if it hadn't been mylared back in the day. Ball play feels more or less the same as my un-mylared Mousin' Around right next to it. Maybe a hair slower. However, I decided to clean and wax the mylar and damn, it was like playing on ice. I had to actually try and clean the wax off the mylared areas because it played too fast. I was getting saucer rejects and damaged plastics.

So yeah, I'd much prefer a mylared System 11 with a beautiful playfield than an un-mylared one that was all worn. A few inserts have slight cloudiness due to separation from the mylar. But you can't see it when the game/lights are on, and the mylar keeps the ball from getting hung up on the insert edges, so again worth the slight drawback to me.

Or is the main problem faded/dirty/lifting mylar? Some insight would be appreciated!

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Aren't playfield protectors basically the same thing? Just more easily removed without danger to the art? Plenty of people put those on new machines, but maybe they don't really need to? I guess they also cut down on dimpling too, right?