My Playfield has cancer!! Help

[Wetworks]

When I bought this pin it had a couple of chips near the playfield lamps!! Now the chips are getting worse.Some of them are very deep! I looked around and found one method of applying two pac epoxy resin and then wet and drying it back ..Is this the only way Here are some pics of the playfield!

[ChadTower]

your inserts are breaking down... dude, when was the last time you waxed that playfield?

[DarkBubble]

 

ACK!  What are you doing to that defenseless Terminator 2 table?

[Wetworks]

your inserts are breaking down... dude, when was the last time you waxed that playfield?

Yes they sure are and getting worse! I used  wildcat playfield cleaner and polish no.125 a few years ago to give it a clean. (Because it was filthy) did this cause it? There were  chips then. Since then I have been using Novus 2 and Novus 1. I have also used Turtle Wax ( Carnauba enriched) on other playfields which is recommended.
So is there anyway of fixing this?
Some of the inserts are actually discolouring (fading) is this due to the cleaner getting underneath?
Will I have to dismantle playfield and Diamond Varathane the whole playfield ?
What wax do you guys use on Diamond Plate playfields?
What are the chances of finding a new playfield? (my guess is about zero)

Here is the link to a description I found to fix this.
Link
Has anyone tried this and is the finish good?
Thanks for any help

[ChadTower]

So, you haven't waxed the thing in years?  It should be waxed every 3-6 months depending on amount of use, and 2-3 coats each time.

When was the last time you replaced the balls?  Those should be replaced every waxing too but you can get away with every other waxing.

You could find a new playfield but the swap is NOT easy and I'm guessing well above your skill level at this time.

The time to fix/limit this problem was when you got it.  Now it is mostly too late.

[grantspain]

we had a couple of playfields go the same way,it was down to manufacturing error with the diamond coat finish not any cleaning problems-now i did see here on this forum not too long ago a guy posted that he had his playfield restored(i think they put a new varnish on it) and it looked great,but i cant find the post at the moment,it had the company details of who did the job.worth a gander to see if you can find it.

[ChadTower]

Obviously a clearcoat isn't going to fix that.  He needs new inserts.

[grantspain]

all those cleaning products you are using are fine,gotta do something quick though or your playfield is gonna get alot worse,maybe some of that playfield clear film will give your table a bit more life,its a real shame that table was the first i ever worked on,a real classic-i think it was one of the first to have the larger dot matrix-i remember it well "get out" in an arnie accent.

[Wetworks]

Yes it is a great game! when i bought it the half the GI wasn't working and sourced the problem to burnt molex connectors on the WPC board. Someone before had jumped the fuses etc and soldered directly to the board (yuck) so I found the broken traces fixed them and replaced the molex connector with a new one.

quote"You could find a new playfield but the swap is NOT easy and I'm guessing well above your skill level at this time."
end quote

I stripped the playfield on my F14 tomcat when I sourced some new plastics and completely disassembled the playfield and rebuilt it. it was a big job and only slightly bent one switch in the process. Would this give me enough skill level to complete this ( the f14 seems more complicated than the T2)
I am thinking clearcoating the playfield with Varathane after building up the chipped inserts is the only way to go.
Thanks for the help guys!

[TheOtherBob]

You could get the top#4 video.  It shows you how to fix this type of damage with water-thin superglue.  I highly recommend the video for a dmd-era pin owner.

http://www.marvin3m.com/top/

It's only $8 shipped too which is a great price.  If you're in MN you can borrow mine.

Good luck!

ps- Small pieces of mylar work too.  Won't look as nice but it'll keep the damage from getting worse.  Just put a coat of wax down before you mylar it.  It'll make the mylar come off easier when you want it too.  Good mylar should still stick just fine.  Search r.g.p. for that info.

[ChadTower]

The water thin superglue isn't going to fill quarter inch gaps like he has.

And dude, if you can do all the work you say you've done, why TF did you let this one get this far?

[TheOtherBob]

It probably could.  That insert on the Indy in top#4 wasn't in great shape either.  Definitely in better shape than Wetworks' tho.  The idea here would be to put down the superglue in very light coats.  The one thing that is tricky is that some of the artwork is missing a bit.  That'd need fixing before the glue went down.

Check out top#4 sometime if you ever get the chance.

[ChadTower]

Hrm... hard to tell, I was looking at those pics thinking that there were actual HOLES in the inserts.

[TheOtherBob]

Oh and one more thing, Classic-Arcades sells an insert decal set for T2.

Link

Not sure what your thoughts on decals are but it is an alternative.  I'd guess you'd need to flatten the inserts or else the decal would probably look funny sitting on a partially worn insert.

[ChadTower]

If it's not a full restore/clearcoat, then $60 is probably way too much for the decals.  Once he got the inserts flattened up and repaired he could probably use a thin tipped Sharpie to fix the artwork.

[Wetworks]

Thanks for the response! I will have to order the video as mentioned, I would borrow yours but I live in Tasmania. I have also checked out the decals as mentioned before and wondered how to get the PF level before applying them ( do you just stick them on the playfield like Mylar or do you clear coat them ?) I couldn't find any good documentation on applying these. The link I posted earlier talks about Superglue and two part epoxy. Anyone have used two part epoxy on a PF? The worst insert is the 5000,000 advance insert. It could be a couple of mm deep. These large red inserts and the centre CPU ones are the only ones that are doing it. I have attached more photo's to see if that helps determine a solution.

Thanks again I really appreciate it as mentioned I had better do something fast!

I'll be Back!

[Wetworks]

Video mode activated

one more pic

[ChadTower]

The concept is that you would apply the super glue as a filler to even out the surface.  Since you can't just slop on glue in thickness, you would apply it in layers, until it is slightly above the surface, and then probably wetsand it even.  Then you would redo the artwork with either paint or decal and cover with mylar.

[TheOtherBob]

Yup.  If you painted your touchups then you would probably want to put them down first and seal them in with the superglue.  Careful with the sharpie though, they can bleed.  I've never had good luck with sharpies on the playfield.  Everytime I wax my rag turns black and the sharpie is almost half removed.  Also sharpies aren't very opaque so light will shine thru them on inserts.  Maybe the Industrial version of the sharpie is better?  Or try a black paint pen like: http://www.pinrestore.com/PaintPens.html

Upon closer inspection of your pics it would appear your inserts are raised (slightly higher than the playfield).  This would cause wear on the edges as the ball slightly impacts it.  Do some searches on r.g.p. on how to level the inserts.  I had a slightly raised insert on an old Hurricane I once had and heating the insert up from underneath with a hairdryer and then pressing down on the insert leveled it a bit for me.  The hairdryer loosens the glue a bit, just don't use a heatgun or else you'll probably melt the insert which would be way worse than what you have now.

With such nice pics you've taken if I were you I'd put a post onto r.g.p. and provide links to the pictures.  There are some really talented people there that can probably steer you in the right direction.

[Wetworks]

Well decided to have a good think about this before I rushed in and made a meal out of it. Spent some time on my EM fixing the bonus unit and coin door. Working great!
I might try the superglue method ( just sounds so cheap ) just getting the nerve up to pour the glue on my playfield   

Will try to adjust some of the inserts too!
Thanks for the help!

[ChadTower]

You're not going to pour glue on your playfield.  You're going to put glue on something else like a paint brush and swab it on very carefully.