Greetings pinball lovers, ............ Q of D restoration...... Carrying on from where I left the playfield ...sanded. At this stage there was only very minor touchup required, as well as a couple of big scratch marks around the gobble hole red area. BUT ....the gobble holes. Somewhere down the line, a guy had taken out 3-4 mm circular section around the gobble holes, (to fit his oversized, home made plastics whose job was to cover the holes). ...but only through to about half thickness of the playfield. In other words, the size of the holes was still correct half way through the playfield. Hence the use of the 'eject hole rings'.
These I cut a section out of so there would be the natural space where the light globe from under the playfield gets the chance to light the hole. I ran a metal ruler over the holes to adjust the height of the metal rings. They were glued. I then did the filling of the space between the playfield surface going from the 'hackout' point to the metal ring. I used Pedigree bog, which Lee put me onto. Sets like a rock and sands like a dream... The bog was sanded and the playfield painted back on. ...black circles and a bit of red and yellow from memory. Tricky, but not impossible as the paintwork was relatively easy to put back....
By now, the playfield looked consistent and calm, as it had no shine on it at all, This playfield was clear coated with automotive clear. (All playfield art work was done with automotive paints.) This was a first for me. Lee uses them very well, but for me they are hard to work with, they dry from the brush to the playfield, and the fumes will kill you. Don't get me wrong. They did a great job, and if you're a better artist than myself, they may work just great, but I'm taking a different tack on my current playfield restoration. However, on Q of D I applyed a generous amount of clear....probably more than I normally would do, but what with the 'surgery' to the gobble holes, I thought it only wise.
I notice that there's a discussion about Clear Coat V's MYLAR on the site..... After doing both, there's a lot to say for both methods.... After weighing up the pros and cons I'd have to say that one sheet, quality mylar is probably less invasive to the machine, it keeps the machine in a pristine condition, and it doesn't 'pit' or mark the way ANY clear coat surface will eventually. My Sweethearts was done with Mylar maybe 15 years ago and it looks just as fantastic today as it did on the day it was done.... and I had it at my nephew's and neice's for quite a few years. ... But Mylar doesn't sound 'right' for 60's and 70's machines ... It's too quiet. In the end it's all a compromise somewhere. Clear coat surfaces sound better, and for home use, with regular waxing, a playfield should NEVER wear out.
In the end, every machine presents its own problems, and hopefully its own solutions. It's now a few years since I did Q of D and there's a few little 'chips' appearing around the gobble holes..... Solution.... next time I do the touchup, and add a bit more clear in these 'high wear' gobble holes, I'm going to do this .... cut myself three mylar 'rings' which I'll place around the gobble holes ...about 6-8mm wide should do the trick. This will give that added protection to this most problematic area of this great machine. ...only problematic since the hatchet job was done on the holes.
To finish, ..with a lot of sweat and some patience, we were able to get a butchered and tired looking playfield back to looking really fine and handsome. .... this was a hard one I must admit... To all out there, please don't carve, chop, drill, hack, or cut into a playfield. If you don't like the game, sell it and get another. ...or buy a white board and make a game you do like.
I hope some of this is interesting and helpful. If so I'd like to mention a few other things I do as I restore a machine......next time. Happy weekend. Mark
