Pinball playfield restoration idea.

GrndMstr

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Hello all. I just picked up a TMNT pinball a week ago. The playfield has some wear from use and lack of waxing. It has taken all of the paint off by the pop ups and a few other heavily traveled areas. I had an idea. I was thinking of striping the playfield down and taking it to a local artist and having him/her "repaint" the damaged areas. There are plenty of good pics on the internet that show the damaged area's original graphics in detail. I figured that the artist could repaint the damaged areas from the photos and line everything up with the graphics that are still intact. Has anyone done anything like this? Also, what kind of paint and clear coat sealer should I use? I would like to hear your thoughts on this idea.

Chris
 
some/few paint colors react weirdly with automotive clear when sprayed on them. they "ghost" or "wisp" into the clear
but dont let that stop you
on the one hand the playfield is already ruined
on the other hand, a lot more "life" can be had with a touched up playfield with some diamond plate clear sprayed on

someday, if they dont already exist, someone will reproduce new TMNT playfields for those that enjoy swapping them out
 
I agree with splattergatz, you are better off having someone touch it up and clear it. Good restoration artists can blend/match what is there, especially if they are good at airbrushing. There is no reason to strip and recreate the artwork.

There are plenty of people who do playfield restoration. Brian at HSA Pinball is one and he is active on this forum.
 
That is good advise, thank you. This website is great. Just when I think I have a good idea the collective think tank comes up with a better plan of attack. I also have some areas where the clear coat looks a bit funny but the graphics are intact. It is always fun to get a project machine because you get to learn things as you fix it. I am checking out HSA Pinball website right now. Thanks again!
 
Guys - Be careful on Data East playfields. Some TMNT playfields are actually a large sticker overlay just applied to the plywood. Data East did this on early run games. I found this out several years ago.

As far as reproducing TMNT playfields, no. No company will spend the time and money to make a run of TMNT playfields. The game does not get much love and most people don't want to spend $600+ on a new TMNT playfield to restore a game that is only worth $800-$1200.
 
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