How do i flatten-out plastics????

[Marty Machine]

Has anyone managed to successfully flatten out old warped and droppy plastics?

I have a few plastics on various machines which have buckled or drooped due to heat from the globes?
or maybe heat form being in a sunny shop window??

Are their cures for this? other than "buy replacement plastics"

Thanx in advance,
MM.

[millsy]

Grab a heat gun and 2 heavy books
Place the plastic on level surface -heat till flattens out -then place heavy book on plastic till cools

[Marty Machine]

I thought of that, but my concern was for the plastic to become soft enough, means the artwork-ink will have peeled off at that stage..

[millsy]

I did this on all the plastics on my Bally Bazaar -did not affect the ink at all, I was a bit worried that I would destroy them.Not sure if you can do any damage on the later machines,I followed the demonstration on Shaggy & Norms This Old Pinball DVD.

[Strangeways]

Wotto used to have a great guide on his website.

I've used the "oven method" many times without any issues

[63wizz]

yea i have used the oven method as well worked fine for me, then i had some plastics on my HH that would not fit in the oven
so i cooked them on the back window ledge of the car sitting in the sun, but no good this time of year not enough heat in it, but
they flattened out beautifully.

[ktm450]

Heat gun and two pieces of glass.
Heat up till soft, the plastic will warp more then settle down flat.
Then sandwich between two sheets of glass or perspex with some weight (books etc.)
Use a medium setting on the heat gun and dont go overboard or your plastic can get small heat bubbles in it.

[ddstoys]

Yeah i was amazed with the two sheets of glass on the back window but it works. Also use the oven method when its cold

[pinnies4me]

heat gun for me. Done it on plastics from the 1970's through to DMD ones, never had an artwork issue. But if you live further north, use the sun!

[ajlaird]

heat gun for me. Done it on plastics from the 1970's through to DMD ones, never had an artwork issue. But if you live further north, use the sun!

Will a hair dryer do the job, or is more heat required?

[Astroboy]

Perhaps.
Heatgun worked for me also on 74 Skylab plastics. Take it slow with heatgun held plenty away from the plastic.

[pinnies4me]

Will a hair dryer do the job, or is more heat required?

Never tried, but if its a decent unit I suspect it will, but will take a little longer for the plastics to heat up enough.

As mentioned, don't panic if they start to warp worse - that's what happens. They curl a little more, then suddenly flatten. Once virtually flat under their own weight, drop on a book for half an hour while they cool.

[pict]

I had to flatten all my plastics of my pinball only a few months ago which were very warped.

I bought a heatgun from Bunnings which was probably less then $20. Used the low settings and started well away from the plastic. I was suprised how little heat it needed to bend and I was careful not to overheat as I did not want to do any damage to the artwork (which was on the bottom).

Once it was starting to bent I clamped it in to position. And let it stand for say 30 mins. Some of the badly warped pieces I had to repeat this process a couple of times. Each time it got better and better.

Anyway, no damage was made to any of the plastics and they looked 100x better.

Thanks Mark

[ajlaird]

When I get around to doing something for Mousin' Around I will definitely try the heat-gun, then. Looks like a good option.

[Marty Machine]

Wow! i'm still amazed the heatgun (although low-heat and distant) just doesnt fry the ink off at all, nice one.

I have more confidence now to flatten a few plastics here.
I'll start on the ones that i KNOW i can buy if i screwup

Thanx guys.
MM.