Author Topic: Advice for playfield wear  (Read 443 times)

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Offline felixthadog

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Advice for playfield wear
« on: July 08, 2013, 02:22:52 PM »
Hi all,

My World Cup Soccer '94 pinball machine has considerable wear above the RHS flipper (see pics), I don't want it to get any worse so I am looking for options to protect (and hopefully repair or improve) the playfield around the worn area. I have some Stealth Protectors and a small sheet of Mylar, however I am concerned about using mylar. If I plan to remove it down the track I am worried the artwork underneath will be removed with it. I have also thought about applying a decal, however I have not been able to find a suitable one and I don't have the skill to make one myself. I would really appreciate some input from AP members, the more options I have the better.

Please excuse the state of the playfield in the 2nd & 3rd pics, the photo was taken before I removed all the ramps etc.





Cheers,
Matthew
« Last Edit: July 08, 2013, 02:27:57 PM by felixthadog »

Offline pinball god

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Re: Advice for playfield wear
« Reply #1 on: July 08, 2013, 04:05:08 PM »
I reckon some kind of decal/overlay as its impossible to paint that dotted look. Maybe someone else has perfected touch-ups for that kind of graphic?
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Offline felixthadog

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Re: Advice for playfield wear
« Reply #2 on: July 08, 2013, 06:40:14 PM »
I reckon some kind of decal/overlay as its impossible to paint that dotted look. Maybe someone else has perfected touch-ups for that kind of graphic?

I would be happy to apply a decal/overlay but I do not have the skills to make it. Can anybody help me out?  %$%

Cheers,
Matthew

Offline Retropin

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Re: Advice for playfield wear
« Reply #3 on: July 08, 2013, 08:07:36 PM »
It is possible to get a frisket for the " pop art" dot shading but you would be making a small silk screen.
I had the same issue with Amazing Spiderman and in the end I airbrushed the base on and then "hand dotted" the graduation through.
Its impossible to tell in most areas I did..




Offline Crashramp

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Re: Advice for playfield wear
« Reply #4 on: July 08, 2013, 08:55:11 PM »
It is possible to get a frisket for the " pop art" dot shading but you would be making a small silk screen.
I had the same issue with Amazing Spiderman and in the end I airbrushed the base on and then "hand dotted" the graduation through.
Its impossible to tell in most areas I did..





That's damn nice. Is it your game or did you do it for someone else?

Offline Retropin

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Re: Advice for playfield wear
« Reply #5 on: July 08, 2013, 10:02:24 PM »
Yes.. its mine.. haven't done the cabinet yet and need to source a backglass as mines faaaaaded!

Offline skywalker

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Re: Advice for playfield wear
« Reply #6 on: July 08, 2013, 10:11:01 PM »
It is possible to get a frisket for the " pop art" dot shading but you would be making a small silk screen.
I had the same issue with Amazing Spiderman and in the end I airbrushed the base on and then "hand dotted" the graduation through.
Its impossible to tell in most areas I did..



looks brand new to me  ^^^

Offline pinball god

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Re: Advice for playfield wear
« Reply #7 on: July 08, 2013, 11:23:16 PM »
Yeah but how steady is your hand Gav? You did a nice job. I tried with great success doing the first 5 or so dots and started getting shaky and losing the feel.
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Offline Retropin

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Re: Advice for playfield wear
« Reply #8 on: July 08, 2013, 11:29:54 PM »
Yeah but how steady is your hand Gav? You did a nice job. I tried with great success doing the first 5 or so dots and started getting shaky and losing the feel.

Aye.. and that's when you stop.. pull back a bit, stretch and carry on.
Soon youll be doing 6 dots..LOL

..Never said it was fast.. just said it was possible

Offline pinball god

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Re: Advice for playfield wear
« Reply #9 on: July 09, 2013, 01:08:57 AM »
Yeah but how steady is your hand Gav? You did a nice job. I tried with great success doing the first 5 or so dots and started getting shaky and losing the feel.

Aye.. and that's when you stop.. pull back a bit, stretch and carry on.
Soon youll be doing 6 dots..LOL

..Never said it was fast.. just said it was possible
knew you'd say this, I do follow this philosophy as I found when getting tired you tend to want to rush. Doing the si game I could spend 30 mins and all I've done is a few small dots here and there.
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Offline felixthadog

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Re: Advice for playfield wear
« Reply #10 on: July 09, 2013, 12:17:56 PM »
It is possible to get a frisket for the " pop art" dot shading but you would be making a small silk screen.
I had the same issue with Amazing Spiderman and in the end I airbrushed the base on and then "hand dotted" the graduation through.
Its impossible to tell in most areas I did..





Wow, I can't even see where the repair was made! There is no chance of me being able to touch-up the wear on my playfield, I think a decal is the best option.

Cheers,
Matthew

Offline pinball god

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Re: Advice for playfield wear
« Reply #11 on: July 09, 2013, 08:08:02 PM »
One thing to keep in mind Matthew is you don't necessarily have to do a perfect job. For this application a decal I reckon is the go, but I have done some touch ups where I try to blend in with the scenery than try to get the exact line width or even colour. I find I can fool the eye from an acceptable distance and at the very least from the playing distance, that's good for me. My work can look a bit ordinary if I stick my nose hard up against the playfield surface but that's not how I normally look at a playfield. The pros like Gav will probably disagree but on a busy pf like space invaders I found it hard to find some of my work just because your eyes just don't focus on specifics a lot of the time. I think on plainer artwork you have to be more careful. So don't be necessarily put off with the dots as near enough may be good enough from the normal viewing angle.
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Offline Retropin

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Re: Advice for playfield wear
« Reply #12 on: July 09, 2013, 08:26:03 PM »
One thing to keep in mind Matthew is you don't necessarily have to do a perfect job. For this application a decal I reckon is the go, but I have done some touch ups where I try to blend in with the scenery than try to get the exact line width or even colour. I find I can fool the eye from an acceptable distance and at the very least from the playing distance, that's good for me. My work can look a bit ordinary if I stick my nose hard up against the playfield surface but that's not how I normally look at a playfield. The pros like Gav will probably disagree but on a busy pf like space invaders I found it hard to find some of my work just because your eyes just don't focus on specifics a lot of the time. I think on plainer artwork you have to be more careful. So don't be necessarily put off with the dots as near enough may be good enough from the normal viewing angle.

Well said... in my pic I can see the repairs straight away.. I know where they are. No one else spots them because their eye is not directed straight to it. If done well enough, an observer will love your work whereas all you'll see are the imperfections... its the restorers curse but its also what keeps us striving for better and better work.

Offline felixthadog

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Re: Advice for playfield wear
« Reply #13 on: July 09, 2013, 11:02:23 PM »
One thing to keep in mind Matthew is you don't necessarily have to do a perfect job. For this application a decal I reckon is the go, but I have done some touch ups where I try to blend in with the scenery than try to get the exact line width or even colour. I find I can fool the eye from an acceptable distance and at the very least from the playing distance, that's good for me. My work can look a bit ordinary if I stick my nose hard up against the playfield surface but that's not how I normally look at a playfield. The pros like Gav will probably disagree but on a busy pf like space invaders I found it hard to find some of my work just because your eyes just don't focus on specifics a lot of the time. I think on plainer artwork you have to be more careful. So don't be necessarily put off with the dots as near enough may be good enough from the normal viewing angle.

Thanks very much for your reply  ^^^

I am hoping somebody might be able to help me out with the decal ( @@^ ), but I would also consider trying to touch-up the worn area if I knew what kind of paint and brushes would be required to do it and where to buy the paint and brushes from?  !@#

Cheers,
Matthew

Offline pinball god

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Re: Advice for playfield wear
« Reply #14 on: July 10, 2013, 01:11:59 AM »
Paints I get from toy world or hobby shops. Brushes from art shops like riot art etc. Airbrush stuff I suppose online or auto accessory places. There's a few threads on Airbrush and compressor equipment on here. Most of your touch up would be airbrushed using frisket or the like to mask off the area and then hand paint the lighter blue dots. I think that's how I would take it, but I'm still a major novice at this.
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