My other question is, has any One clear coated an entire cab? What do people think of that idea?
They were not cleared in the factory. In fact, when my Father visited the Gottlieb Factory in the USA (in the seventies), he recalled that they hold up a brass stencil and spray directly on to the cabinet. The process took seconds for one color. The same brass stencil was used until the production run was finished.
I don't (and won't) clear my games. If you use automotive acrylics, do prep work properly and apply the paint properly and in the right conditions, you won't have any issues. My Jacks Open was repainted 6 years ago, and still looks like it was painted yesterday.
I recently saw the best cabinet repaint I've ever seen, and it had a clear. It looked bloody perfect. Almost "too perfect"
It's a personal decision - I see the merits in protecting the paintwork, but the original paintwork has lasted 30 years on some games. These games have been moved around and still survived.
