White paint on silkscreen marquees - what is it?

TheEvener

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I noticed this question was posted in one, maybe two threads, but there wasn't a direct answer, so I'm going to try my luck here. Sorry for the n00b question.

I noticed that on the back of original silkscreen marquees (and bezels) they have what looks like a white, chalky layer that covers the graphics underneath. It's not traditional paint (as far as I can tell). I suspect it helps protect the graphics, but also helps diffuse the light through the marquee when it's backlit.

I bought a used original marquee, and notice I can see a scratch through one of the letters when it's lit up. However, when I turn the game off, I don't see the scratch, but the proper color. On the back, I can see the scratch through the white layer.

Part of me wondered if I could "repair" the scratch with the correct kind of white material so the scratch would't be visible when lit. Is that possible?

On a related note, I had a marquee reproduced locally -- it's a transparent film adhesive on plexi. Would it make sense to cover the back of the plexi with the same white material? Not to protect anything, of course, but to act as a light diffuser. As it is, the color is a bit on the light side, and I wondered if the white material might make the colors a bit richer/darker.

Thanks,

Jason
 
I noticed this question was posted in one, maybe two threads, but there wasn't a direct answer, so I'm going to try my luck here. Sorry for the n00b question.

I noticed that on the back of original silkscreen marquees (and bezels) they have what looks like a white, chalky layer that covers the graphics underneath. It's not traditional paint (as far as I can tell). I suspect it helps protect the graphics, but also helps diffuse the light through the marquee when it's backlit.

I bought a used original marquee, and notice I can see a scratch through one of the letters when it's lit up. However, when I turn the game off, I don't see the scratch, but the proper color. On the back, I can see the scratch through the white layer.

Part of me wondered if I could "repair" the scratch with the correct kind of white material so the scratch would't be visible when lit. Is that possible?

On a related note, I had a marquee reproduced locally -- it's a transparent film adhesive on plexi. Would it make sense to cover the back of the plexi with the same white material? Not to protect anything, of course, but to act as a light diffuser. As it is, the color is a bit on the light side, and I wondered if the white material might make the colors a bit richer/darker.

Thanks,

Jason


To your second question, yes, you can add a white layer to help diffuse the light for repro marquees. Frosted window film works, and I am sure regular old adhesive backed white vinyl would as well. I used 2 pieces of plexi for min, one clear for the front, and one white for the back. It worked well:

DSC00971.jpg

DSC00975.jpg

DSC00981.jpg
 
Its a layer of white ink. The only way to fix holes or scratches is to very carefully and lightly hand paint the correct color, then hand paint over the exact area with white. Its tough though because the density is very hard to match.
 
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