bubble/void under mylar over insert - how to get rid of?

Malice95

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bubble/void under mylar over insert - how to get rid of?

So under the mylar on a couple of the inserts on my space station..
the mylar seems to have developed a void or bubble. The inserts have
sunken in the middle over time due to heat I guess. Anyone have a
solution to fix this?

Removing all the mylar is not an option right now. What if I used a needle
and syringe and made a tiny hole in the mylar and injected something in?

Anyone figured out a way to fix this?
 
As far as I know the answer is to just ignore it. Probably half the inserts on my Pinbot in the square grid are like this, but it's not noticable at all during gameplay. YMMV, I've chosen to ignore mine...there's also ball swirls and paint wear under the mylar.....that is FAR harder for me to ignore, but know full well that if you pull up mylar on a system 11, you're risking completely destroying the playfield from everything I've heard.
 
As far as I know the answer is to just ignore it. Probably half the inserts on my Pinbot in the square grid are like this, but it's not noticable at all during gameplay. YMMV, I've chosen to ignore mine...there's also ball swirls and paint wear under the mylar.....that is FAR harder for me to ignore, but know full well that if you pull up mylar on a system 11, you're risking completely destroying the playfield from everything I've heard.

Yea I'm not interested in pulling up the mylar now, Maybe some day. To many other projects to take one a new one. I just want to get the game back together and play it for a while. Guess ignoring it is the way to go.
 
SYS9 & SYS11 Williams playfields: Basically either live with it or remove the mylar. I do not recommend removing the mylar since you risk major insert damage when pulling it up. If you have the balls and try to remove it use the heat method and not the freeze spray method.

Quick fix: This sometime works but use a hair dryer and heat up the mylar bubble area and try to flatten it out. Sometimes the mylar will re-stick to the playfield once heated up. If it does work most likely it will be a temp fix.
 
SYS9 & SYS11 Williams playfields: Basically either live with it or remove the mylar. I do not recommend removing the mylar since you risk major insert damage when pulling it up. If you have the balls and try to remove it use the heat method and not the freeze spray method.

Quick fix: This sometime works but use a hair dryer and heat up the mylar bubble area and try to flatten it out. Sometimes the mylar will re-stick to the playfield once heated up. If it does work most likely it will be a temp fix.

Yep.. tried to warm it up.. nada. I guess I will have to live with it. Thanks for the advice.
 
I have never heard of a repair that actually worked or looked better than the bubble. Just pull it.

I have pulled two full mylars off of Sys11 games (HS and Pinbot) using the freeze method with great results. Only lost very tiny amount of paint around a couple inserts, easy black touch-ups. I just can't stand how mylar looks or feels. I want to play pinball on the playfield, not on a sheet of cheap, bubbly plastic.

The risk is there, but in my book it's way overstated. Always use the freeze method. Use more freeze spray than you think you really need. Go slow, do not pull. Once you get it started it should almost come off by itself with you guiding it. Mylar will be off in 5 minutes tops. The glue is the hard part. Use Goo Gone or preferably Orange Power from Pinrestore and some of those blue plastic "razor blades", or an old credit card. Be careful, let the Orange Power do its thing, but it will still take a good amount of work to get it all off. Take your time and it's a piece of cake.

There is always a risk, and I've seen the results of a mylar removal gone bad, but I'd rather take a small risk of playfield damage over a 100% certainty of having to look at and play on a crappy mylar playfield forever.
 
I have never heard of a repair that actually worked or looked better than the bubble. Just pull it.

I have pulled two full mylars off of Sys11 games (HS and Pinbot) using the freeze method with great results........

SYS9 and SYS11 playfields are very temperamental. Some come out fine and others are just a total mess. It does not matter if the playfield is an used one or a NOS one. I pulled off mylar on an used BK2K and it was fine but removing mylar on a NOS BK2K was a total disaster. Lots of damage happened and it was NOS.

I have restored/clear coated over 1000 playfields and I did my share of sys9/11 ones. I know what I am doing and sys9/sys11 playfields are still a problem. I personally have better luck using the heat method to remove mylar on sys11 playfields.

Also it's not just a mylar problem on sys11 playfields it's what to do after you removed the mylar. Removing the mylar glue can also be an issue and if everything does come out fine what do you do to protect the un-mylar playfield once the mylar is removed? Clear coat it? Clearing a sys9 or sys11 playfield is a problem. These playfields have inserts that do not like to be clear coated. While some do clear fine, most of them do not. The ones that do not have adhesion issues on the plastic inserts.
 
SYS9 and SYS11 playfields are very temperamental. Some come out fine and others are just a total mess. It does not matter if the playfield is an used one or a NOS one. I pulled off mylar on an used BK2K and it was fine but removing mylar on a NOS BK2K was a total disaster. Lots of damage happened and it was NOS.

I have restored/clear coated over 1000 playfields and I did my share of sys9/11 ones. I know what I am doing and sys9/sys11 playfields are still a problem. I personally have better luck using the heat method to remove mylar on sys11 playfields.

Also it's not just a mylar problem on sys11 playfields it's what to do after you removed the mylar. Removing the mylar glue can also be an issue and if everything does come out fine what do you do to protect the un-mylar playfield once the mylar is removed? Clear coat it? Clearing a sys9 or sys11 playfield is a problem. These playfields have inserts that do not like to be clear coated. While some do clear fine, most of them do not. The ones that do not have adhesion issues on the plastic inserts.

I think the real answer is to just repro the damn thing. This is why I signed up for CPR's pinbot playfield. =\ I figure if/when the clear on that starts getting thin or too worn, then I can always re-clear it, but friggin mylar is a bitch and I can't risk my playfield on it. :|
 
SYS9 and SYS11 playfields are very temperamental. Some come out fine and others are just a total mess. It does not matter if the playfield is an used one or a NOS one. I pulled off mylar on an used BK2K and it was fine but removing mylar on a NOS BK2K was a total disaster. Lots of damage happened and it was NOS.

I have restored/clear coated over 1000 playfields and I did my share of sys9/11 ones. I know what I am doing and sys9/sys11 playfields are still a problem. I personally have better luck using the heat method to remove mylar on sys11 playfields.

Also it's not just a mylar problem on sys11 playfields it's what to do after you removed the mylar. Removing the mylar glue can also be an issue and if everything does come out fine what do you do to protect the un-mylar playfield once the mylar is removed? Clear coat it? Clearing a sys9 or sys11 playfield is a problem. These playfields have inserts that do not like to be clear coated. While some do clear fine, most of them do not. The ones that do not have adhesion issues on the plastic inserts.

I definitely respect your experience and opinion. I'm just stating my (much more limited) experience. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again. Like I said, either you take a chance, or you live with a mediocre look and feel forever.

As for what to do afterwards, no different than any other game. In home use nothing more is required than keeping it relatively clean and waxed. Mylar or clearcoat are overkill in a home environment as long as you maintain them.
 
Okay So lets assume I NEVER plan on removing the mylar on this playfield.

Would injecting superglue in the bubble work? to appease my OCD Or will it just become a cloudy mess over time?
 
Okay So lets assume I NEVER plan on removing the mylar on this playfield.

Would injecting superglue in the bubble work? to appease my OCD Or will it just become a cloudy mess over time?

I've heard of people trying that and having it not work. Not sure what the issue was though. You would probably need to poke two holes, one to inject the glue in and one to let air out. The air in the bubble needs to go somewhere. Honestly, I think there's a good chance that you would make a bad situation worse trying this. If you can't stick it back down by heating it up, and are not willing to pull it off altogether, I'd just leave it alone.

Before you do something like this, think of the next owner who will want to pull the mylar. You would be making his life miserable! :)
 
My Advice: Live with it. I have three system 11 games and it's the opposite of life - they look much better with the lights on.

All three are mylared with multiple inserts bubbled but they are only noticeable when the games are off. The PFs are in great shape otherwise. Until the mylar becomes a real issue, they are staying mylared and enjoyed.

Bill
 
I'd agree - leave it unless it gets really bad, and then be prepared to roll the dice if you go with mylar removal. I've done it twice, and in both cases had significant repainting and touch-ups to do, as well as multiple inserts to re-decal. Cleared both afterwards, and they came out well.

Not perfect - but much, much better than they were with the mylar on them, and they play SOO much better with that mylar removed. Both were ugly/dirty, with peeling mylar, so I honestly didn't have much choice.

If you're not comfortable doing it, leave it be, and don't poke holes in the mylar; just another spot for dirt/crud to get in. Think about how quickly superglue dries, and the odds of filling up the bubble quickly and sufficiently to truly make it look better than it does now...
 
super glue will more than likely fog the insert and/or mylar. *If* you have to fill it with something I personally would use clear nail polish - for the most part it has the same chemical makeup as most clear coats (I know some car guys that use it to repair stone chips in the clear coats on cars).
 
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