That sail and flag have really seen the battle front during the years!

Looking at the wider image you have shown for the BG, it really is a matter of fortune that the affected areas are more straight forward to touch up.  Colour matching is still very important of course (and the result is stunning).  But you can imagine if the affected areas were say the pirate's faces, or the intricate details on the distant ship.  I would imagine that touching these up takes on a whole new level.  Keenly following this, as I mentioned, I have a few BG's to do in the near future.

Is this a case of simply brushing on the paint (thin layers at a time)?  You have mentioned the paint that you have used (Jo Sonja), but what types of paints can be used, or should also be avoided?

Playfield - again, stunning.  I now am beginning to know how you guys feel who have done restorations.  They seem to take forever!!  But the patience and effort is worth it.  I'm doing 6 machines at the same time (first time doing it) - a little bit here and there.  Man, it just eats up the hours.  Yes, resto threads will appear sometime in the (hopefully near) future.

Nino, wonderful stuff, keep it up, the pain is worth it!