Playfield rebuild

The beginning and the end

Here are some shots of the playfield repair. This was achieved with a combination of handpainted acrylics, airbrushing, and pigment based (best for colour fastness) inkjet using waterslip decal paper

• Acrylics are simple to use , can be wiped away with warm water if you mess up. but one big downside, the colour changes as they dry.
• Airbrush paints are great, they need to be heat cured , but once cured are very hard to remove, you also need to practice alot first, just so you can use the gun
• Waterslip decals are brilliant. You have to clear spray acrylic over the top to seal the inks. Also the colour does change a little when you clear it, Alway make 3 versions , one light, normal and darker and then choose the best. I also use pigment inks in my inkject.

An example of trying to match the colours on the decal paper. Wasted so much decal paper trying to get it right, usually had to blend it out using airbrush or hand painted acrylic paints

Once completed we are ready for the clear coating

• Wipe down playfield with clear spirits like shellite
• I use 2k clear , have to use full suit and chemical mask, this stuff air dries at room temperature over night
• one very light wetting coat, followed by three or 4 heavier coats
• Wet Sand the playfield and fill any low points with some paint and then resand
• One note , the 2k did seem to shrink ever so slightly around the inserts , if I had more time I would have waited a week before the last sand
• Finish sanding , all wet sanding and go from say 800 , 1200, 1500, and 2000
• Then use low speed buffer and several different buffing compounds to finish
• I achieved a low sheen finish, which I prefer on this playfield. With more polishing I could have achieved a higher sheen

Just after spraying. The finish look like glass

After sanding and polishing, more of a matt finish. I could have sprayed one light clear and polished the clear like glass or just polished more

Finished , all back together.

Some close ups