restore or not to restore this playfield

[pinball god]

This will be my first serious attempt at restoring a pf so I'm looking for advise as to is it worth the trouble here. Maybe I should clean it up a bit and hang it on a wall, what are your thoughts. I don't know if this is classed as a playfield too far gone??

The pictures I hope will give you an idea to make an informed judgement.

1. There is wear and then there is wear with depressions where the balls drop as well.
2. The 250K decal I damaged when removing the mylar and I don't really want to buy a complete set of replacement for just this one.
3. One area has some paint loss on artwork "enter here"
4. there is obvious planking showing in the areas normally covered by plastics
5. there seems to be planking on the areas that were covered by mylar but no dirt in the cracks
6. Built up dirt and ball trails in areas and difference in colour shades due to those covered by mylar and those not

I'm planning on clear coating it and know the restore will be very time consuming, but will that time and money be well worth the effort on such a pf?


Opinions please

[Retropin]

VERY simple restore... go for it

[pinball god]

more pictures and notice the cracks/planking in some

[pinball god]

one last pic

[pinball god]

VERY simple restore... go for it

crickey that was quick I didn't even get to load all the pictures. Thanks for the comment

My major concern is using magic eraser to try and clean those dirty areas where no mylar was. Especially knowing when to realize that its as clean as you'll get it and stop before the paint comes off. When is that time??

[Retropin]

LOl- takes quite a bit of rubbing to start removing paint.. the clear protective coat comes off first anyway on these games. If you feel a lot of friction as you rub.. pull up, dry off and take a look. With the planking... this can be made invisible with a very light spray of the same colour.. i mean very light, but to get the dirt out, use the eraser in line with the planking.. it will lift quicker and with less work.
Also, most people just get eraser.. add some meths etc or whatever is being used and start rubbing... this is nonsense as you then have to rub before the dirt has had time to dissolve!
After all if the meths etc hasnt reached the dirt then no amount of magic anything is going to lift it out.
Apply meths ( sometimes i use neat Sugar Soap) to the area on the PF and let sit for a few minutes... it has time to penetrate then and begin to dissolves the grease etc... THEN start with Magic eraser and it will lift so so much quicker

[pinball god]

Thanks mate for the tip. I have an old cleopatra pf I think I'll test my technique on.

[ktm450]

Have a crack mate, those areas are very small you can do them by hand, if you are like me and dont have airbrush skills.
Takes a long time to mix colours correctly, but as you are only touching up small areas if you can't get them perfect they are usually not noticable.
See what it comes up like after the magic eraser and make your mind up from there

[Mr Pinbologist]

VERY simple restore... go for it

+1, definitely restorable 

[Strangeways]

Have a crack mate, those areas are very small you can do them by hand, if you are like me and dont have airbrush skills.
Takes a long time to mix colours correctly, but as you are only touching up small areas if you can't get them perfect they are usually not noticable.
See what it comes up like after the magic eraser and make your mind up from there

absolutely - this is the only way to learn. You have nothing to lose - Have a Crack !!

[bleargh]

Totally looks like a do-able restore, go for it!

W.r.t. the lettering on the light inserts, before you clean them off you might want to read these instructions on creating waterslide decals and take some photos of it with a grid overlaid around it.  Instructions help you take a photo and get the perspective and sizing corrected so that you can re-print the artwork on water-slide decals.

I used that technique to repair the lettering on my Space Odyssey last year and it worked great.  Only gotcha is that if you use water-slide decals then you have to clear coat the playfield when you're done (I used "Varathane", but others use automotive clears).