Phantom of the Opera Restoration Part 1-Mylar Removal

[wingtipvortex]

let me know the diameter of that burnt insert - I may have a NOS one that will fit.

any little bit I can do to help out.

Cheers
Jacob

Hey , that would great! It is 6.8cm in diameter,  5.1mm thickness on the edge.
Thank mate.

[wingtipvortex]

At this point you have a playfield with mylar removed.

The next result is a vibrant and colorful playfield with missing art on the inserts and some paint lift

Trying to be as positive as I can - You just need to find pictures, or a scan of a good playfield and then produce your own decals. You can then look at clearcoating the playfield, or laying fresh mylar.

All is not lost !

You could even contact the producers of current decals sets - they may have enough numbers to reproduce a set ?

I agree, all is not lost at this stage. Treasurecove have some really nice pics of a playfield i can use as a reference. Bigdaddy has also told me he has some of a poto restoration he did as well.  All good news.

Where would i get decals made? This could be an option for me.
Cheers,
Andy.

[Strangeways]

At this point you have a playfield with mylar removed.

The next result is a vibrant and colorful playfield with missing art on the inserts and some paint lift

Trying to be as positive as I can - You just need to find pictures, or a scan of a good playfield and then produce your own decals. You can then look at clearcoating the playfield, or laying fresh mylar.

All is not lost !

You could even contact the producers of current decals sets - they may have enough numbers to reproduce a set ?

I agree, all is not lost at this stage. Treasurecove have some really nice pics of a playfield i can use as a reference. Bigdaddy has also told me he has some of a poto restoration he did as well.  All good news.

Where would i get decals made? This could be an option for me.
Cheers,
Andy.

You could simply print them on a sheet of transparent sticker paper. I found some years ago and I used it to make Target Decals.

I'm sure there is a more "professional" method 

[MartyJ]

At this point you have a playfield with mylar removed.

The next result is a vibrant and colorful playfield with missing art on the inserts and some paint lift

Trying to be as positive as I can - You just need to find pictures, or a scan of a good playfield and then produce your own decals. You can then look at clearcoating the playfield, or laying fresh mylar.

All is not lost !

You could even contact the producers of current decals sets - they may have enough numbers to reproduce a set ?

I agree, all is not lost at this stage. Treasurecove have some really nice pics of a playfield i can use as a reference. Bigdaddy has also told me he has some of a poto restoration he did as well.  All good news.

Where would i get decals made? This could be an option for me.
Cheers,
Andy.

Andy,

I don't know the machine at all (never played), on the inserts in question is there any white colour at all?  If not then you're in luck.  If there is, this is the hardest thing to overcome as printers (home ones at least) don't print white.

[wingtipvortex]

As far as i can tell, there is no white at all, mostly just black numerals and text.
Have a look at the pics from the Treasurecove poto, very fine example, and gives a very clear indication as to what has lifted.
www.treasure-cove.net/Phantom%20ofthe%20Opera.htm

[MartyJ]

OK, then if worst case you need to make your own back is easy to print.  Not sure about the gold though?

Maybe shoot Jeff at Classic-Arcades an email to see if their planning on making them.

For me - mylar removal is an absolute last resort if there is serious wear or peeling etc...I've had success on two playfields with mylar (PoliceForce and Op Thunder) which had very dull mylar and I brought out a great shine from cleaning & polishing. (Treasure-cove kit).

With clear over decals - I've read that its been done without issues.  On my T2 (Pete's now) and Police Force aprons - both times clear has gone down over decal and not been any issues what so ever.

[wingtipvortex]

Thanks Martyj, have sent Jeff an email.  In hindsight, i probably could have polished it with novus an achived a decent shine , there was nothing wrong with the mylar, 1 or 2 small bubbles over some inserts. Playfield had no lifted edges at all.

But its a journey, and theres no turning back now. Great learning curve for me.

Ill keep thread updated, we will see how it turns out.
Once again, thanks guys for your help!

[Pinball Fixers]

Sorry to hear about the bad news Andy.

Still, on a positive note, the guys here seem to have already pointed you in the right directions to get it all fixed up!

I wish I had something to add, but they seem to have covered everything for the time being...

[illawarra_steelers]

Have removed 3 mylars and have regretted everyone of them

[MartyJ]

I've never had great success with mylar and novus - although will clean a pf very well.  I bought the TC kit mostly for diamond plate games which it does very well, however it works on mylar quite well too.  I spent about 25 min - about 5 passes in total and I think it came up well.  BUT it does make a huge mess - so ideal to remove the playfield out of game and all playfield parts too.

[Pinball Fixers]

I've never had great success with mylar and novus - although will clean a pf very well.  I bought the TC kit mostly for diamond plate games which it does very well, however it works on mylar quite well too.  I spent about 25 min - about 5 passes in total and I think it came up well.  BUT it does make a huge mess - so ideal to remove the playfield out of game and all playfield parts too.

WOW! That's quite a difference Marty!

[MartyJ]

It works well.. I would always spend the time giving it a go with the TC kit first - before mylar removal.

[Pinball Fixers]

It works well.. I would always spend the time giving it a go with the TC kit first - before mylar removal.

I've never used the TC kit, but have heard great things about it.

After seeing your pics, I think I'll order it in and see how it goes.

[wingtipvortex]

That came up extremely well!  Im impressed!  TC kit looks to be well worth it.

[pinball god]

I've never had great success with mylar and novus - although will clean a pf very well.  I bought the TC kit mostly for diamond plate games which it does very well, however it works on mylar quite well too.  I spent about 25 min - about 5 passes in total and I think it came up well.  BUT it does make a huge mess - so ideal to remove the playfield out of game and all playfield parts too.

Which one's the before shot Marty??? Just joking, I've got the TC kit but haven't tried it yet. Have you heard of anyone using it on a non diamond coat PF?