Author Topic: Wanted - Tips and recommended products for mylar removal  (Read 2925 times)

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Offline swinks

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Wanted - Tips and recommended products for mylar removal
« on: April 13, 2011, 07:50:48 PM »
Hi guys

I purchased a pf (skateball) from Europe that has alot of mylar (in poor condition) and want to do my best to remove it.

Can those experienced please recommend any tips like the order to use certain products, and where those products can be found in Aus.

I have read various posts linked with pinball restores but it varies and is a little light with detailed info as it isn't the main focus but just part of the overall restore,

Your help would be much appreciated.
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Offline MartyJ

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I have done a few over the past few years.  I have only ever used a hairdryer (medium setting) and peel back very very very slow.  A lot of glue residue will remain and you can safely bank on about 5hrs or more to remove the glue.  To remove the glue I use both 'goo remover' on a rag and shellite.

There is a very high likelyhood of removing paint.  Just be aware and take this into consideration before starting.

Offline ddstoys

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I always use the hair dryer aswell and as Marty said the glue can be a pain.    I try several things as some products work better on different glue.     

 White spirit

 Shellite

 Metho

Are the ones I mainly use

 

Offline Retropin

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White spirit.

hairdryer can melt the paint also.

Start at the top of the PF while its still in the game and on an incline, put some white spirit under the lip of the mylar and pull back slightly.. it will just lift off with no effort. Then apply again etc all the way down the PF.
Plenty of residue will be left and will need elbow grease and a cloth to remove, but white spirit will seperate the glue from the plastic sheeting

Offline TSPP

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White spirit.

hairdryer can melt the paint also.

Start at the top of the PF while its still in the game and on an incline, put some white spirit under the lip of the mylar and pull back slightly.. it will just lift off with no effort. Then apply again etc all the way down the PF.
Plenty of residue will be left and will need elbow grease and a cloth to remove, but white spirit will seperate the glue from the plastic sheeting

To confirm this, you are just using white spirit and nothing else. No hairdryer as your worried it will melt the paint.
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Offline Strangeways

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Both Skateballs I've seen have factory mylar. I would be VERY hesitant to remove factory mylar on an 80's Bally. I'd like to see pictures of the playfield (if possible).

I've used the "hair dryer" trick with great success over the years. You will need shellite or white spirits to remove the residue. For more info and heaps of advice - Just do a search on "mylar" or "contact".
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Offline swinks

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Here are those photos and why I am leaning to removing the mylar. I feel if I don't the damage will accelerate and I would rather attempt to do a mylar removal and a restore followed by a automotive strong clear coat. Because of the bubbling and peeling and some cuts and scraps I don't think a decent touchup could be achieved as I think it will always be the weak point of the playfield in relation to future wear.

I do not know the history of this playfield but it suffered a little bit of abuse and I am very keen to restore and give this pinball some life and be played again as the theme means alot to me.

I am a novice but with some desire bring it back to life.
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Offline Retropin

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White spirit.

hairdryer can melt the paint also.

Start at the top of the PF while its still in the game and on an incline, put some white spirit under the lip of the mylar and pull back slightly.. it will just lift off with no effort. Then apply again etc all the way down the PF.
Plenty of residue will be left and will need elbow grease and a cloth to remove, but white spirit will seperate the glue from the plastic sheeting

To confirm this, you are just using white spirit and nothing else. No hairdryer as your worried it will melt the paint.


I use nothing but White Spirit and have lifted mylar from some very shakey paint with this method.
If you heat the mylar to the point that the glue goes soft then you are also heating the paint and hoping that the paint still adheres to the PF better than the heated mylar. I havent used a hair dryer for a long time

Offline deadlydave

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Hi
I've only removed Mylar once from an em gtb, used hairdryer method and had minimal paint loss. Cleaning up the residue was the hardest part, took hours with shellite and a Ton of rags.
I have heard good reports of putting playfield in sun for a few hours to heat whole area first, I will be giving this a go on my Gorgar when I get to it. Another couple of thoughts I have on this is to pull Mylar from top to bottom or visa versa, as opposed to side to side against the grain/planking, also pull Mylar back onto itself as opposed to pulling in a upward motion, this I feel would reduce the chances of paint lift. Anyways these are my untried thoughts on the matter, good luck with whatever you decide. Gav's method sounds good and would be worth a try first.
Cheers
Dave

Offline Caveoftreasures

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I agree with Gavin (Retropin). I would not use a hairdryer unless the spirit method only didnt work.

If i was wanting to know the biggest n best secrets of mylar removal, I would telephone Kenny Priest of the Pinball Warehouse in QLD. They remove all mylar from every pinball they sell, and are probably doing several machines a week, with excellent results. I dont know if Kenny will tell u to jump and keep his secret mylar removal tricks to himself, or if he will gladly divulge his methods.  !@# But he is probably the most experienced mylar man in the country. Otherwise, play it safe and only use the hairdryer if Gavins successful way doesnt work.

OR play it extra safe, get a quote from Gavin or El_Timbo to have the work done professionally. These guys are experienced with airbrushing and all things playfield.  ^^^

 
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Offline Retropin

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I agree with Gavin (Retropin). I would not use a hairdryer unless the spirit method only didnt work.

If i was wanting to know the biggest n best secrets of mylar removal, I would telephone Kenny Priest of the Pinball Warehouse in QLD. They remove all mylar from every pinball they sell, and are probably doing several machines a week, with excellent results. I dont know if Kenny will tell u to jump and keep his secret mylar removal tricks to himself, or if he will gladly divulge his methods.  !@# But he is probably the most experienced mylar man in the country. Otherwise, play it safe and only use the hairdryer if Gavins successful way doesnt work.

OR play it extra safe, get a quote from Gavin or El_Timbo to have the work done professionally. These guys are experienced with airbrushing and all things playfield.  ^^^

 


Not me mate.... once this Jacks Open is finally finished i wont be doing anymore restore work other than my own   ^^^

Offline Jango

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I used a hairdryer on my Space Invaders today to remove large areas of contact on the playfield.  I peeled it back over itself very very slowly and it was a relatively quick process with very very minimal paint removal.  I then used Shellite to remove the sticky residue.  All up took only about an hour and all done

Offline robm

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I did a Funhouse the other day and it was quite easy - put the machine in the sun for 1/2 hour, and just peeled it (extremely slowly) still in the sun - very slightly lifted two corners of clock numbers inserts and that was it.

Then took it straight inside and used De Solve It citrus spray and scraped the playfield with an old credit card to get the bulk of the residue off (needed to do this a few times), then shellite, novus etc

Offline m-rots

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Did anyone try freezing the mylar yet ???

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Offline Strangeways

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There are two different types of protective adhesive on pinball machines are they can be removed using several methods. The method you choose to use can depend on what type of protective adhesive is installed on the game. First, a bit of History ;

Contact is typically a 3M product that was used to cover school books in the 70's and 80's. The first time I saw contact on a machine was in the late 70's, on a Stern "Pinball" and "Memory Lane". Alll the playfield parts were removed, the contact was applied and then the parts re assembled. The contact covered the entire playfield and was usually cut around the posts. Sometimes, contact was applied is sections to high traffic areas. It was also retro fitted to EMs over time. Bally Solid States had factory mylar "half moons" packed in the game envelope around the time of Eight Ball. The operator installed these patches at their discretion. Contact can be bought and used on machines today, but now that mylar is readily available, no one should be using contact.

Mylar is thicker and stronger than contact. Adhesive is also much stronger. It appeared on factory games in the early 80's. The first game I saw it on was GTB Spirit. They are cut to fit each game and applied during production. DMD machines had factory sections applied in high traffic areas and around outholes and scoops. Mylar is available from many pinball parts suppliers either in the size of a full playfield, or in sections.

Removal - Based on my experiences

The most important step in removal is correctly identifying exactly what you are removing. If the game is an EM or early SS, then the chances are that it is Contact. It the game is a later SS or DMD, it would be mylar.

Mylar Removal - I've only used the hairdryer method on VERY deteriorated mylar and it came off very easily. I cleaned the residue with white spirits. I've never used the freeze spray method, mainly because I have not removed mylar from a DMD often.

Contact Removal - If you don't have patience, leave the contact alone. Keep the playfield clean and you should be fine ! Once you have committed to removing the contact, look for evidence of WHEN the contact was applied. Was it applied AFTER the game had substantial wear ? Can you see "ball swirls" or paint lifting UNDER the applied mylar ? Removing contact from an EM or SS with previous wear is risky as you may lift paint. If you use a liquid to "melt" the adhesive, it may seep into the cracks in the wood and lift the paint anyway. This is why I've NEVER used a  chemical to "soften" the adhesive since a Playboy playfield that I almost destroyed. Some contact shrinks over time. These are harder to remove. Some lifts with little effort as the adhesive has hardened over time. I removed contact on a Solar Ride in 20 minutes, as the adhesive was completely useless. I removed contact on a Genie which took me over 20 hours. The ONLY method I use to remove contact is a hair dryer. This method uses heat to separate the adhesive from the contact by melting it. The adhesive is almost always left on the playfield and is easily removed with white Spirit, Shellite, Goo Gone or Goof Off. I tried DeSolvit once and it was ineffective on the playfield I used it on. This could be because the contact was different in quality and it stuck harder. I'd much rather leave the adhesive on the playfield, than to lift paint. I've had great success on almost all playfields.

Examples

Solar Ride - http://aussiepinball.com/index.php?topic=1026.0

Fathom (Page 2) - http://aussiepinball.com/index.php?topic=6318.15

Buccaneer - http://aussiepinball.com/index.php?topic=6118.0

Strikes and Spares - I decided the risks were too high to remove the Contact - http://aussiepinball.com/index.php?topic=4878.0

Canada Dry - http://aussiepinball.com/index.php?topic=3836.0

Skateball - Factory MYLAR - Don't mess with it if it is in great condition - http://aussiepinball.com/index.php?topic=1987.0

Sinbad (Page 3) - http://aussiepinball.com/index.php?topic=225.30

Genie (one of three) - Contact was in great condition, so I trimmed it - http://aussiepinball.com/index.php?topic=2614.0

Galaxy - http://aussiepinball.com/index.php?topic=1256.0


All games that had the contact removed used the hair spray method. The only time I didn't used the hair dryer method, I stuffed it up completely and sent the playfield to Gavin for repair ;

Playboy (first picture only) - http://aussiepinball.com/index.php?topic=1103.0


My experience is with EMs and SS machines with contact applied. I only use the hair dryer method.








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