Theatre of Magic playfield issue. Can this be fixed?

[nickbuol]

Ive been loving my ToM pinball ever since I got it back in 2000.  It has been great to play, and rarely has any issues, however....

Something has been bothering me ever since I got the machine some 12 years ago. 

On the playfield, there is the word M A G I C that basically consists of plastic cylenders that go into holes in the wood playfield, have lights underneath, and then the appropriate letter up top...
Here is what is *SHOULD* look like...



On mine, however, the "A" is physically above the rest of the playfield, not enough to notice the ball hitting it, but over time that tiny bit that it isn't flush has cause the "A" to chip away more and more.

How can this be fixed?  Obviously, the cylinder piece needs to get flush, but how can I do that?  Then what about the "A"?  Years ago, I picked up an "authentic" decal set that included the playfield decals, including the "A", but I am not sure if that is a legit way to fix it because then it still would need to be covered in something to match the rest of the playfield (clear coat?)

Any ideas?

[nickbuol]

Thanks. 

That realy sucks about the damage, but I figured it would be difficult to do.  Seems like it totally trashes the value of the machine should I ever decide to sell it, but I am sure that it is just me over reacting to it.

[Mysterioii]

Haha, no candy-coating from PBJ!   

Is it really that hard to repair though, if he has the decal?  (Just an honest question, I'm not a pinball person).  $500 is significant, might be worth the effort to try to restore it if that's the case.

[nickbuol]

I can't imagine the process of stripping the playfield and sending off to a restoration place.  I shudder just thinking about all of that wiring.

I think that one of the biggest tricks would be to get the clear coat to match.  If not applied correctly, it will never blend in both appearance and feel.

I remember years ago when I had an opportunity to get a NOS playfield for $700.  Now, they are around $1500+ Everything is getting expensive if I want to restore this thing ever.  I managed to buy all of the plastics, decals, etc from when they still were original NOS and just left them off since I didn't want to rear them out.  Figured that whenever the day came to sell it that I would offer the buyer to have me put them all on and have it look new (minus the "A" problem), or leave them off and let them play with the beat up trunk and reproduction pieces so that they too could hang on to perfect originals.

The "A" just bugs the snot out of me.

[Mysterioii]

I can't imagine the process of stripping the playfield and sending off to a restoration place.  I shudder just thinking about all of that wiring.

I think that one of the biggest tricks would be to get the clear coat to match.  If not applied correctly, it will never blend in both appearance and feel.

Would you have to strip off the whole playfield and send it off?  Again, please don't rip me too bad, this isn't my forte and I'm just curious.  But if you can get the top glass off couldn't you mask around that "A" (or have one of the vinyl label making guys here laser cut you a vinyl mask with the exact perfect size circle) then do your work just on the "A", remove the old clear coat and label and reapply, let it dry then remove your masking?  Or would that look like crap or just not be authentic enough?  Or if you're able to get that insert out of there maybe you could repair it separately then reinsert it.  There would be a seam in the clear coat but maybe if it perfectly matches the insert circle it wouldn't be so noticeable?

[nickbuol]

Maybe I will knock it even and let it go.  I will take a photo of the area tonight when I am home so people can see it.

I ran across some older posts (2011 & 2012) for used ToM playfields and most of them are in horrible shape.  Mine is in really great shape compared to those, minus this "A" problem.

I like the word "patina".  Makes me think of Pawn Stars where someone comes in with a rusted up revolver and hears that it is worth thousands, then another guy comes in with a "cleaned up" revolver, it it is worth crap because he destroyed the metal and desirable patina in the process.
 Not that any patina is desirable in a pinball.

[nickbuol]

OK. Here are some pictures.  First up, the damaged "A"


Second up, the "licensed" decal set I've been hanging on to.  The blue seems to "dark" to match the rest of the letters, and not that the "I" decal doesn't have the red on it, just the yellow...

[ChadTower]

I'd go with option 2.  If it's bothering him this much option 1 won't be enough.  Option 3 is touching parts that are not damaged with the risk of causing damage. 

[Mysterioii]

PBJ you had mentioned putting a cutout section of an iphone screen protector on there just to keep the damage from getting worse...  Assuming he wants to keep his decal sheet, what about scanning the "A" and seeing if someone could print it onto clear vinyl with low adhesive or of the "static cling" variety?  Not as a real restoration but just to protect it and be a little easier on the eye.  Maybe someone around here that prints cabinet artwork or labels would be able to do something like that.

[nickbuol]

I need to find an artist with a steadier hand than mine and who can color match some paint...

[ChadTower]

If that were mine, and it's not affecting the path of the ball, I would just leave it alone.  In home use it's not going to deteriorate any worse.  It will affect value a bit but not nearly as much as a botched repair.

[nickbuol]

I think that the first thing will be to heat up from under the table and then knock it flush with the top of the playfield. 

[ChadTower]

Not so sure about that.   If the insert is sticking out, it could get further worn down until its completely level... which would mean that the paint would vanish completely. 

Could, yeah, but it took tens of thousands of plays to become how it is.  It's not going to be damaged by the 500 plays it will get in his basement.