Arcade Collecting > Pinball

Protecting your pin...

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Sinner:
I've just purchased my first pin...it's never been on a route before, and is in great shape.
I've seen leg, play field, cabinet, etc protectors.

1. Do they work and are they worth the money?

2. Are there any specific brands that are better than others?

3. Are there any areas where a protector shouldn't be put, as it will affect game play?

4. Are anti-glare coatings for the scoreboard OK?  Do they work?

Thanks for your help.

Matt

shardian:
You can make your own leg protectors. I have done it for two machines now, and it works great. Pinball Jim posted a template for it, but it isn't universal. It did give me the baseline to start though. Here's my tried/true method:
-Choose either craft foam or craft felt. Either can be found in 8.5x11 sheets at Wally World or your local craft store. buy 2 sheets for each pin you want to do. There are more color choices in craft foam than felt. Black is universal of course.

-Take a leg, and get a helper. You or your helper tuck the felt into the leg, with a slight overhang at the top and on the edge side. While one holds teh felt securely in the leg, the other will lightly trace the outline. Do this with the short edge parallel to the leg.

- Cut it out and dry fit it. Trim if necessary
- Cut/poke holes for the bolts.
- Use this one as a template for 3 more.
- Trim all to fit either the back leg or front leg. Some cabinets have all the same length leg and the mount higher on the back, while others have different length legs that all bolt at the bottom of the cabinet.

It is pretty darn easy, so go for it.

shardian:
As for glare coatings, a local pinhead had these neat plastic shields he had on his DMD games. He said he picked them up at a pin show recently. They went under the head, and then have a 45 degree chunk of plastic that blocks the DMD glare from the playfield glass. I'm sure they are sold somewhere online.

You might still have backglass glare depending on your gameroom lighting.

ChadTower:

I've seen the DMD glare guards in person - pretty nifty but you could make your own out of black posterboard for a couple bucks.

Really, other than things that are minor tweaks for your own preference, I don't see most of the pricey products as necessary in home use.  The only ones I might recommend would be to protect plastic ramps or vulnerable plastics.  You can get clear washers from a lot of pinball part vendors that work well for plastics commonly hit by balls.

Sinner:
Awesome.  Thanks for the info...I'll look at making something for the legs...
As for the backglas, I was thinking about some sort of anti-glare plexi or something that could be put over the front of the backglass.
The other option would be an adhisive, clear, anti-glare vinyl, cut on a plotter to fit the backglass exactly...the same material could be used for protecting the area around the button and things...

 

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