Just because Clay wrote something doesn't make it right.... the freeze method really is a terrible way to try and remove Mylar.. hairdryer isn't much better.. its possible to overheat and melt the paint work.
Why anyone would risk the artwork is beyond me
+1
Mylar removal needs to be taken in context. Factory "Mylar" can easily be removed from a DMD era game with ease. I've never lifted a pinhead of artwork using the freeze spray on a DMD game.
Mylar was first installed in early SYS80 games. It would be a bloody miracle to remove mylar from titles such as Haunted House and Spirit. I dread the day I have to do it !
"Contact" was installed prior to 1982. I know, because I was there watching the same stuff placed on school books installed in NIB machines. I watched the contact installed on my Paragon the day it was removed from it's box. THIRTY years later, I removed the contact using minimal heat and not one pinhead of artwork was lifted.
The problem most have with contact removal is that MANY games had contact OR mylar placed on the machine AFTER the game started to show wear. This is where the debate over what method is best. Once the contact is installed, then time decides which is stronger - The primer holding the paint to the wood, or the adhesive on the contact.
If the game already had wear and ball swirl, then NO method will remove mylar successfully.
If the game already had wear and ball swirl, then it is possible to remove contact successfully. This is where the discussion become "personal choice". I would NEVER use the pipette and any liquid "injected" under contact or mylar. This method DESTROYED a perfectly good Bally Star Trek machine. The goof off or goo gone dissolved into the paint making a colorful soup and the next day I had pieces of artwork stripped off the playfield. Never again !
But that's based on personal choice. I take each playfield on it's own merits, and from experience, I can look at a playfield and simply not even attempt the removal using any method.
With the restorers that post videos of their methods - They will only post the "success stories".. You seldom see trashed playfields as no one wants to see that happen !
