clearcoated playfield

splattergatz

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i highly recommend clearcoating playfields for any of you who might be thinking of doing it yourself. in my opinion its real easy and it looks real good and well worth the trouble and expense.
here's a ROLLER DISCO playfield i clearcoated a little bit ago.
except for the lint ball and a few plastics' nuts i robbed for another game, pictures came out pretty ok.
 

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Ha!! That was my first thought, too.

Clearcoat looks good. Did you polish it? I noticed that I can get a lot more shine out of it with a little Novus 3 and 2, and then wax.
 
Ha!! That was my first thought, too.

Clearcoat looks good. Did you polish it? I noticed that I can get a lot more shine out of it with a little Novus 3 and 2, and then wax.

LOL!

Yeah the clearcoat does look nice. Looks like you didn't lay it down too thick which is a great thing.
 
What did you use to clearcoat it with? Most recommend using an automotive type clearcoat or varathane. Both can be difficult for a novice like myself to use.

Tom M
 

got ripped off. the rubbers were cracked right out of the bag but not that bad!!!! didnt know they were that bad but holy mackerel they are !!! hehe good spot there.

on the clearcoat use a DUPONT automotive product. i dropped a pinball from a foot away and not even a dimple !
will get out to the garage later to look at what exactly it is and will report back.

its really very easy. what you really really really have to watch out for is the isocyanate gas that is produced when you drop the hardener into the clear to mix before spraying. use wrap around goggles for your eyes as that gas is wicked attracted to wet surfaces like your eyeballs. YOU DO NOT WANT THAT COLLECTING ON YOUR EYEBALLS. use a breathing mask with organic filters so you dont get that in your lungs and wear long sleve shirt to minimize skin exposure. dont let this deter you, just take the needed precautions and you will be ok. if you are thinking of doing a few playfields, go for it but if you are only going to do one you might want to think twice because of the cost.
practice on something first with regular paint and you will get the hang of it in no time and dont forget to use corks to block up the holes so you dont get drips into your sockets, switches and such. make custom covers for the oblong and rectangular holes and sand the playfield to give the clear something to grab onto with 1600. when you spray the clear it reacts with the surface and the sanding disappears magically, wonderfully and it will look like it came off the factory floor ! not sure if the verathane will react so im not sure if you have to sand before that application. PM me and ill send you my phone number if you want more info. id be happy to help. i think DUPONT makes a fast, medium and slow product. went with the medium. has to do with evaporation or hardening time cant remember.

try to stay away from playfields that need a lot of touch ups as the clear reacts funny to some/very few paint colors. also found the clear reacts real bad with the black sharpie pen so dont use that.
 
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Thanks for the reply. I have always wanted to explore clearcoating playfields, but lack the space and equipment. There are a few people out there that restore and clearcoat playfields and while they do a nice job, the cheapskate in me wants to save some money by self performing. But, again I lack the space and equipment.

Thanks again,

Tom M
 
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