Clear Coat PF's

Steelhorse

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Why do this if your machine is HUO? I called a few places around the Phoenix area and the first question the guy asked was "Am I a Collector" and is the game going on route, I said no just home use only. Told me not to worry about "clearing" keep it cleaned and waxed and you'll will never get PF wear. I already know about changing the balls often and every 3-4 months I toss some new ones in. I could buy another GOOD condition pinball at the price to touch-up and clear a PF. I will just live with the wear that is present, knowing it wont get worse in my home. I may pick-up a bit of "tester's model enamel paintand do touch-ups myself. Thoughts on this????
 
Clear coating can make the playfield beautiful, and basically preserve it is it sits. In most cases this is done for the extreme collector or for the purpose of touch ups. Once you touch it up and it looks perfect, you then seal it with clear. If you are a collector and want the machine to look perfect you may opt to do so. Some collectors want it in original condition thus not liking clear coat. I do not own any with this done, but I have seen it, and it can be very impressive. A huge undertaking. As far as touch ups with testors, i think I would just leave it myself, unless you are an excellent painter. Most touch ups are done with acrylic which can be easily wiped. However then that is where clear coat comes in.
 
Why do this if your machine is HUO? I called a few places around the Phoenix area and the first question the guy asked was "Am I a Collector" and is the game going on route, I said no just home use only. Told me not to worry about "clearing" keep it cleaned and waxed and you'll will never get PF wear. I already know about changing the balls often and every 3-4 months I toss some new ones in. I could buy another GOOD condition pinball at the price to touch-up and clear a PF. I will just live with the wear that is present, knowing it wont get worse in my home. I may pick-up a bit of "tester's model enamel paintand do touch-ups myself. Thoughts on this????

HUO doesn't alway mean the game is in good condition. I have seen better condition routed games compared to some HUO games.

HUO or not if the playfield is in nice shape I don't think it is typically worth it to get it clearcoated. Some of us want nice looking games and that is one of the reasons to get a playfield clearcoated.

Take my TZ for example, it had a lot of playfield wear issues:

http://www.metahugh.com/arcade/pinball/TZ/restoration/pf_before/index1.html

All of that has been fixed. Its my favorite game and that is why I decided to get the playfield done. I agree with Greg M it is a method of preserving a playfield. If the work is done correctly the game will play just as good as a non-clearcoated game.

The idea that if you keep it clean and it will never wear is sometimes true but not always. It's a good rule of thumb; keep the playfield clean and it won't wear. But even in home use you can develop significant wear if you don't pay attention to your playfield.

For example over time the heat from bulbs can cause playfield inserts to rise above the playfield surface. Hit the edge of the insert enough times with the pinball and there is wear. Don't pay attention to your flippers and they start to drag... more wear. Many people just bring games home and play them, not everyone strips them completely down and cleans them.

Also you do not need to replace the balls every 3-4 months. If your balls are wearing out that quickly then your playfield is not clean enough. Over time dirt can build up in hidden areas and if played enough the ball will wear because the dirt can act like sandpaper.

If you want to insure that your game will stay wear free there are a few things you can do:

1. Keep your games in a temperature controlled environment
2. Strip them completely down (topside) and clean EVERYTHING
3. Rebuild ALL flippers. In home use new flipper mechs will last a long time
4. Put new balls in after cleaning the game up
5. Change the inserts to LEDs

I don't typically recommend LEDs for inserts but in an environment where a game gets a lot of play and stays on for long periods of time LEDs are an excellent way to reduce heat under the inserts. Personally I am the only one that plays my games and when I do I typically only get to play an hour or two at a time so heat is not an issue for me.
 
Clear coating can make the playfield beautiful, and basically preserve it is it sits. In most cases this is done for the extreme collector or for the purpose of touch ups. Once you touch it up and it looks perfect, you then seal it with clear. If you are a collector and want the machine to look perfect you may opt to do so. Some collectors want it in original condition thus not liking clear coat. I do not own any with this done, but I have seen it, and it can be very impressive. A huge undertaking. As far as touch ups with testors, i think I would just leave it myself, unless you are an excellent painter. Most touch ups are done with acrylic which can be easily wiped. However then that is where clear coat comes in.

I used acrylic paint a bit to try and touch-up an area on the playfield and as soon as I put Novus #2 to clean PF the acrylic just wiped away, so I see why clear coating is a good idea. I also just play a few hours so heat is not issue but I put LED's in all inserts anyway as changing bulbs is not fun under the pf, I like thew colors pop on the inserts. I did do a flipper rebuild in early September and yes they are still strong as the day I put in the new mechanisms. I change the balls 3-4 months just because they are cheap and if I'am getting parts I'll get some balls for the game as well. I do notice after waxing a playfield that while playing residue from the wax is all over they pf, and have to apply Novus #1 to pick it up but it comes back (pieces of dry wax). Thanks fo your responses I do appreciate your time and input.
 
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