Post the answer here to help everyone out!

My PF did the same thing as the one in the pics. Not as bad but Ill bet I don't have 200 plays on my game. I was pissed. I axed for a new PF and got it but what happens down the road when the new one does the same. I will be watching to se what the Hobbits do before I put my money down on Pats game.

Glad I could help.

Looked at my RRWOZ last night with a flashlight...my pops dont look too bad but my TNPLH looks pretty beat up. I lowered the coil strength and Im going to put mylar there AND use the template for the pops....

Still kicking myself for not getting the protector from the factory

"fit and finish." Can be improved.

Let me play Devils advocate here. Say we put on the full mylar sheet on the playfields known to have problems. When it comes time to remove it/ change it will it lift the clear and ink off the Playfield worse than just removing mylar?

my game is a July 24 '13 build and shows no signs of wear. I've used it in a couple tournaments and it gets played regularly with league play and just having friends over. Mine did have mylar at drops but none in the pops. I did add some in front of the winkie target and will add some to the pops.

I am just posting the date of build in case someone is trying to figure out if a certain run is more problematic than others.

I looked over the entire machine. No wear to speak of as of yet. With that said, adding the mylar in the pop bumper and TNPLH areas seems prudent. I was going to also knock down the coil strength on TNPLH anyway. It is a like a war zone in there when the ball drops in that area.

JJP protector

DESCRIPTION
This custom Playfield Protector is the perfect solution for protecting and limiting any additional wear on the entire playfield for your game!

It includes a protector for the main playfield and the two upper playfields as well as 8 Rollover Adapter Slices.

The solution is a thin layer of clear protective polycarbonate that will protect the playfield as well as give it a glossy finish. Better alternative to cutting and sticking mylar or more time intensive clearcoating of playfield. A perfect solution for games on location as well for easy maintenance and cleaning of the playfield.

.75mm Makrolon product
Custom fit to the game layout
Brilliant look finish
Fast installing
Long time protection
Easily removable without any problems

Wow, I just got lucky seeing this thread when I did!
I ordered my RRWOZ yesterday from an authorized distributor in eastern Canada and didn't order it with the playfield protector (just with the invisaglass). Well, I called them bright and early this morning and got that added to my order which was no problem, phew! Better to be safe than sorry when you're spending this kind of money of a machine. Can't wait for it to arrive!!! My first BNIB machine

How "easy" is this really? Has any one done it yet that can chime in. Im curious before I go sticking mylar down.

You should not need it though. The ink or paint should not be chipping off a PF that is not yet two years old. I have seen PF with thousands of plays with lots of wear but no paint CHIPPING off.

Agreed, Jack should be sending owners with affected playfields replacement Mirco playfields with the full protector installed.

Atleast a Pre cut Mylar set for the common areas, just to put peoples mind at ease,

At the TPF a few years back, the Austin Powers hole was chipping by Saturday afternoon. There are some places on a pin if the wood is cut just so and the ball angle is just so, the ink and clear simply aren't going to survive.

Pins are not intended to be indestructible.

That's crazy talk, everyone on Pinside knows that every pin bought NIB is supposed to last forever in perfect condition and be guaranteed for life!!

The slightest blemish, it's time for a complete playfield swap, if the game isn't perfect, it's not worth playing.

I just bought one of these for avatar. Sterns clear was not too good back then. I'm gonna install this weekend.

They are not intended to be indestructible, but if a manufacturer knows that there is an issue with a playfield, as Jack implied with his post about changing plafyield suppliers, then certainly the customer should be given some relief if that defect arises.

IMO the issues are more about the substrate not being properly prepped for the art. The clear chipping and taking the art with it certainly seems like more of a defect in the prep process than it does normal wear.

AND HE WAS. Buried somewhere on page three or four, the OP mentions casually that JJP sent him a new playfield 2k plays ago, but he hasn't bothered since it's on route.

Why did you use the sarcasm emoticon?

Oh, so this is a pro JJP thread? I'm sooo confused.

How many plays on yours TayTay?

I have to check but the inlaws are in the guest room so no pinball for me tonight?

I've worked in the auto paint industry for 35 years, and it looks to me like a 2 part urethane delamination issue. Do they use 2 part urethane clears? There is a time window for recoats, if window is missed, either to soon or to late delamination can and does occur. Or the playfield itself was contaminated with silicone or wax during clear and art work process. 2 part urethane also does not wick into bare unfinished wood as well either. Just my 2 cents.

I am an operator and I guarantee you my machines are better maintained better than some collectors machines I've played

all generalizations are bad mmkay

Mine were like this, ... back in the day.

This is a Stern problem, period. No way a modern game with that few plays should look like that, even with minimal maintenance.

I'm wondering what Alex Levy = (Grunman Guys) think of this:

"We can't make any guarantees = (We're NOT going to replace your defective playfield should this happen) We designed the LM (WOZ) to land on the moon = (home use only), not to fire the engine out there for course correction = (for the pin to be used on location.)

Houston...we have a problem = (Let's freaking hope The Hobbit doesn't have these issues).

I didn't know Stern made WOZ??

I think he means the ACDC issues too.

Good Lord - I wasn't slamming operators. My point was a "collector" should, would, or whatever catch a issue quicker than a typical operator. I'd imagine most collectors would stop playing a machine of theirs with a broken flipper bushing before the pf gets hit, but what's to stop someone from feeding a route machine quarters with the same issue? My point is route machines can't get as much attention - typically.

Just kind of reading, skimming over this thread and can not help to think what if the issue is as simple as a missing rubber on a post and or some other pf feature that nicks up the Ball. a couple nicks and its game over. Possibly just a poor quality or defective ball?

Just an update to this thread.
My game started to show chipping in the state balloon area. The art flaked off in an area about the size of a nickel.

I contacted JJP and after some back and forth they offered to sell
me a new one for $500.

For all the trouble and hassles you had with your early production and poorly engineered WOZ, I am glad they will take your problem machine back and give you a new one for $500.

Now that is customer service !

A whole new machine?

LOL.. A new playfield...

A new, unpopulated, playfield.

I've been trying to work with them while dealing with some family issues and vacations and $500 at the time it was offered seemed fine. Now that I'm on more stable footing I'm not sure how I feel about it.
My playfield is certainly not as bad as many I have seen, but I'll certainly taken a big hit if I ever try to sell it. Between the early board and playfield issues my game is certainly not a very desirable machine.

Spending 500.00 more for a defective PF is just another kick in the nuts . You had better call Jack direct and get to the bottom of this . Jack, usually is good to deal with .

That does not seem like a fair settlement.

Do you have any idea how many hours it will take to swap that playfield???

What if the same thing happens to the new playfield in a year??

I was told that Jack had seen the pics I sent and was aware of the situation. I'm not sure how a phone call from me would change anything. I'm not the begging type.

I've done numerous swaps before so know about the time involved.

I would certainly protect all areas that could be affected. Mylar from the factory probably would have helped and I'd certainly do it on any WOZ due to the thin layer of ink used.

I don't think it is right they should give you a new one at no cost at a minimum. There is no way a game in a HUO environment should look like that. I had a t2 on location for 5 months it had about 2k plays and the PF is still fine. No idea how many thousands of plays it had before that! There is clearly a problem with one of the PF batches/manufactureres and Jack needs to make it right. Sucks for him but it is the right thing to do.

So they sold you a defective product and offer to ship you a new one at price I consider to be not-so-friendly (more than what they paid for it)?
How long have you owned the pin?
At least you can do the PF swap yourself - imagine your feelings if you had to pay someone to do that for you!

I got my game in August-sep '13. It really didn't work properly until early 2014 due to board failures. The game has always been HUO, cleaned regularly, and I've changed balls at least 4 times. My Pops are factory or lower. I certainly feel like there was a manufacturing issue. Maybe it was the new process, prep, contaminate? I don't know.

I seem to be one of the few having a problem so it may be very isolated.

I've heard JJP sent out some playfield decals to someone with a paint chipped playfleld (around the drop target). If JJP have playfield decals, I'd say your not alone with this problem.

I'm not sure about that. As these games get played more, I'm guessing we'll see more and more playfield problems. My game is not one of the very early ones (it has 7.5V light boards), but the clearcoat is very brittle, and it shows chipping around screwholes, the castle VUK, the throne room, etc. I have a cliffy on the throne room, and I've still had chunks of clear coming off. Thankfully, no artwork yet. I also have mylar over the drop target and state fair areas, and the forest will be getting it soon. I might have 1000 plays on it max. I'm guessing closer to 500.

That may have been me

The clear on my playfield was very thin. Can you post a pic at playfield level?

call jack personally, if it is true of his customer service, he should make it right. I heard they stand behind their games. You should not have to pay anything for something that is not your fault.

THIS IS A DEFECT ON THE PLAYFIELD MANUFACTURER, whoever made it, there should be something printed on the side as to who printed it and it should be replaced during the warranty period or should be covered by product liability insurance.

Outside of warranty Ata discounted cost