Playfield decal replacement question

[Coindork]

I bought some replacement decals for the lighted areas of the playfield on my Space Station.
The original ones are quite old and brittle/cracked, one or two is partially peeled off and missing (see photos). Can someone with experience removing the old decals give me some tips or pointers as to what works best to remove the old ones and prep to put new ones on. My biggest concern is damaging the plastic and/or playfield.
Looking forward to hearing what has worked for people.
Thanks in advance.
Kent

 

[dudah]

Read this - https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/vids-guide-to-ultimate-playfield-restoration

Basically, get a new (sharp) chisel, get a diamond sharpening plate. Hold the chisel vertically like a pencil and scrape off the old decal. Sharpen the chisel often.

 

[Sprout]

Honestly, if those pictures are what the inserts look like currently, I'd leave them be. That look is not uncommon for older inserts, and if you scrape away the old artwork it is tough to get the surface perfectly smooth, clean, and bubble free when you install the decal. You'd also need to trim the decal to make a perfect fit to avoid a raised edge along the borders.

For me, this would be one of those "better is the enemy of good" situations...

 

[hsapinball]

The original ones are quite old and brittle/cracked ... removing the old decals give me some tips or pointers as to what works best to remove the old ones and prep to put new ones on. Kent

The insert artwork is not a decal. Playfields are screen printed (silkscreens) using screen print inks (paint).

 

[Coindork]

The insert artwork is not a decal. Playfields are screen printed (silkscreens) using screen print inks (paint).

The art right above the plastics is not part of the playfield screen print though. They are definitely applied differently. You can see the circular outline on them.

Honestly, if those pictures are what the inserts look like currently, I'd leave them be. That look is not uncommon for older inserts, and if you scrape away the old artwork it is tough to get the surface perfectly smooth, clean, and bubble free when you install the decal. You'd also need to trim the decal to make a perfect fit to avoid a raised edge along the borders.

For me, this would be one of those "better is the enemy of good" situations...

If they all looked like the ones in the first picture, I probably would just leave them alone.
A few have peeled and delaminated/missing parts. One was even touched up with a sharpie (see photo). Thats the part that bothers me, so I figured I would replace them all while I'm at it.

 

[Sprout]

The "circular outline" is where the playfield insert is installed in the playfield; not uncommon to see some cracking in the artwork around the inserts as they age. Given how the artwork is often off slightly, any decals you get would typically need to be trimmed to match your original insert artwork. It's not as easy as just scraping it off and dropping a sticker down.

For ones in that condition, I can definitely understand why you'd want to clean them out and install a decal. It's still the original artwork that was printed across the entire playfield, and it'll need to be very carefully scraped off. I'd still leave the others alone.

As noted, key is having a good outline that you can then trim the decal to fit as closely as possible. If you're happy with the results of the ones that are significantly damaged as in the latest example, you can then proceed to do the others if you really want to, but at that point you may want to consider fully stripping the playfield and doing a full restoration and clearcoat. Again - my advice would be to leave the others alone. I've done this work (and clearcoating) on two playfields, and wouldn't recommend scraping off the insert artwork and replacing with a decal unless you really have to.

 

[Coindork]

The "circular outline" is where the playfield insert is installed in the playfield; not uncommon to see some cracking in the artwork around the inserts as they age. Given how the artwork is often off slightly, any decals you get would typically need to be trimmed to match your original insert artwork. It's not as easy as just scraping it off and dropping a sticker down.

For ones in that condition, I can definitely understand why you'd want to clean them out and install a decal. It's still the original artwork that was printed across the entire playfield, and it'll need to be very carefully scraped off. I'd still leave the others alone.

As noted, key is having a good outline that you can then trim the decal to fit as closely as possible. If you're happy with the results of the ones that are significantly damaged as in the latest example, you can then proceed to do the others if you really want to, but at that point you may want to consider fully stripping the playfield and doing a full restoration and clearcoat. Again - my advice would be to leave the others alone. I've done this work (and clearcoating) on two playfields, and wouldn't recommend scraping off the insert artwork and replacing with a decal unless you really have to.

This makes a lot a sense to me. I wonder if I can just use some tracing paper and trace the outline around that area, then lay it over the decal and cut it to the same dimension. I think I'm going to give that a shot and just do the one.
I really appreciate all the advise everyone has given.
Thanks.

 

[Sprout]

One last note - some decals can simply be installed onto the playfield and will handle normal ball travel over them, and some require that you clear-coat over them afterwards. All comes down to how they're printed.

If you have a source for the decals, verify which they are offering. If they're reverse-printed (ink on the sticky side), you could just put them down. If they are printed on the top side however, you'd experience wear from the ball, and those are typically meant to be clear-coated over.

 

[Coindork]

One last note - some decals can simply be installed onto the playfield and will handle normal ball travel over them, and some require that you clear-coat over them afterwards. All comes down to how they're printed.

If you have a source for the decals, verify which they are offering. If they're reverse-printed (ink on the sticky side), you could just put them down. If they are printed on the top side however, you'd experience wear from the ball, and those are typically meant to be clear-coated over.

Gotcha. I already have the decals so not sure yet. I think I'm just going to replace the one thats half missing and leave the rest. So I think ill try scratching at the paint on one I'm not going to use and see how they are printed.

 

[hsapinball]

Good luck with your playfield project.

SYS9 & SYS11 William playfields tend to have shattered / cracks in the inserts due to the shrinking of the lacquer clear that they used.

The Black Knight 2000 that I just fixed had the same issue:
http://www.hsapinball.com/HSA_PINBALL/hsa020617bk2ksetcc.html#0

I fixed it with all paint and then clear coated it. I hate using stickers or decals.
http://www.hsapinball.com/HSA_PINBALL/hsa020617bk2ksetcc.html#4