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2 Pac Clear Coat Warning!


Arcade King

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As promised like 4 months ago here are the pics of what happened to my STTNG machine after probably 2 or 3 months the clear was done.

I wasnt going to put this thread up until it was fixed but I've decided it will have to be recleared to get it back to something I'd be happy to keep.

 

I had taken the machine to woka's meet on the 26 of April and no issues at all. I hadn't turned it on for a few weeks after that because I had other projects, my daughter maybe played 1 or 2 games the night before I noticed it.

One morning I come down to lift the playfield up to check the flippers coils were all correct when I noticed this

 

IMG_1126.jpg

 

WHAT THE FUCK I said !

 

Naturally I made it worse by pressing around and generally being a dick head.

 

IMG_1133.jpg

 

Theory

 

Myself and Scott believe this was the caused by a combination of heat from the globes which heated up the insert which in turn moved as it cooled and pulled the decal that is glued to the top of the plastic insert away, Factor in the chilly Autumn mornings and you got a cocktail for insert disaster.

I've seen this on quite a few Diamond coated pins but nothing this bad, usually you may get a paper thin milky line around some bits of a insert but because this had 5 coats of clear there was no way the decal was going to move with the plastic insert.

 

Prevention

 

If you want to prevent these problem consider the following as mandatory.

 

1. Reglue all inserts before you clear! Use some super glue around the underside of the insert and don't skimp. Reseat any raised or lowered inserts using a heat gun on the underside. There are topics on the forum that cover this in more detail.

2. too many coats of clear may not be a good idea. If the playfield is already diamond plated then maybe just got with 2 coats. (shoot me down on this)

3. Use LED's under inserts where possible, this will take the heat factor to nil. They even have the large 906 bulbs in LED form which was probably the cause of the bulk of the damage in the shield area on STTNG. Remeber there is one flasher and 2 555's under each of the 3 shield inserts.

 

Repair

 

First off I'd like to thank Savage for taking the time to come over and do this.

These pic's is where Scott is cutting around the decal and removing it from the insert. He then sanded the glue off the top of it. The black line had to be repainted around the edge.

 

IMG_1159.jpg

 

Here Scott has brushed on some 2 pac to fill the hole. Unknown to us the 2 pac clear reacted with the insert plastic and some tiny cracks appeared on the surface of the insert. Scott decided to have another try and wiped the clear out then sanded the top to remove the cracks.

 

IMG_1163.jpg

 

Seemed to be ok at this point. :unsure Problem was it just looked too good so we decided to do the other 2.

 

IMG_1164.jpg

 

Well heres what it looked like with a fluro under it.

 

IMG_1168.jpg

 

Looks good huh? well it did. Was about 6 pm Scott just got in his car then fuck me dead all three inserts started getting surface cracks. Not really much we could do.

Actually didnt look that bad when the clear was hard but could still see the tiny cracks, guess will just have to live with it.

Lesson learned, you must cover the insert with something before clearing. I have no idea what the decal plastic/mylar or what ever was made of but it was very thin, hopefully somebody in the know can tell us.

 

Another problem I've run into is once its sanded down I'm left with some tiny imperfections like pitting specially around the edges (ill have to take a pic).

Scott has come out 3 times if a effort to fix it but I think I'm just going to get him to clear it again and just chalk it up to a learning experience.

 

I'm no expert by a long shot but I think its important to share your experiences with other to help them avoid any misfortune such as i had.

Again be interested to know what the decal is made of.

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Wow I hate to see some repairs, touch up etc then, I guess when it comes to arcade and pinball I don't really wonder outside of this forum...

You're not really getting up my nose Retro Pin, quite enjoy your opinion, you substantiate it, not just making cheap talk...

gees AK, look you you have stirred....

 

If the anyone can sort out the lifting, then I will be happy...

 

Hmm screen printed directly on, interesting to know!...

 

One thing I never thought of, because of the movement with these inserts, maybe some flex-aid added to the clear will help... I'll have to check this out, been years since I used it, not that it difficult, just was expensive at the time, and will have to check it's hardening properties, it's the stuff used on bumper bars of cars to stop cracking when hit, if you do see cracking then guarantee it was re-painted without the flex-aid additive..

 

He Micky Juice, how's the inserts holding up on your play field..

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One thing I never thought of, because of the movement with these inserts, maybe some flex-aid added to the clear will help... I'll have to check this out, been years since I used it, not that it difficult, just was expensive at the time, and will have to check it's hardening properties, it's the stuff used on bumper bars of cars to stop cracking when hit, if you do see cracking then guarantee it was re-painted without the flex-aid additive..

 

Now that sounds interesting.

 

Still sounds like there are so many options out there.

 

Cheers

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I really don't see any reasoning on how an "original" untouched POS container pin can be worth more then a reconditioned/shopped/restored machine.

 

If I had the choice between an original PF with small wear spots compared to an PF with extremely well done touch ups I know where my money would be heading.

 

If I put on a new plastic set does that mean the machine isn't original anymore? :unsure

 

If someone wishes to bullet proof there PF for the sake of possible future wear then I say "Good on you!". If anyone had the choice of buying a machine with a CC'd pf compared to one without would they look at it and say "I am going to go for the original" I highly doubt it.

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This thread wasnt intended to be anything other than a warning to other to take precautions before clear coating if thats the road you wish to go down.

I'm taking this as a learning experience and look forward to getting Funhouse done.

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i clear coated (using a brush pooling method) my top card last year and some images were submitted to the ipdb, they rejected the images noting that the playfield was clear coated....fair enough. But then when u look through some of the playfields and cabinets images on the site from contributors like vic campoletto their machines are so new it's a bit hard to believe they are in original untouched up condition. Look at some of his playfields....no amount of buffing could produce that. Maybe it can.

It is true that museum type pieces that aren't played should be unaltered but that wasn;t their purpose. i think positions (as has been noted )will shift considerably.

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He Micky Juice, how's the inserts holding up on your play field..

 

I just went and had a look after you asked...

 

The decals (about 3) I cleared over haven't moved since the original job.

 

I just had a close look at my inserts and it looks like the clock inserts (numbers) and some of the 'Gangway' inserts have a tiny ring around them where the clear has separated/moved. If you weren't looking for it, you wouldn't notice.

 

Note: I never re-glued any of these inserts as they were all flush with the PF. I'd expect the cause of this is the different expansion/contraction of the plastic vs the wood. .. and maybe not being 'exactly' level :unsure. It's been about 12 months since it was cleared.

 

http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/6848/insertsnv6.jpg

 

i clear coated (using a brush pooling method) my top card last year and some images were submitted to the ipdb, they rejected the images noting that the playfield was clear coated...

 

Yeah I reckon that's a bit harsh of them. They're not the Smithsonian! They may as well reject the low-res pics as well!

 

Problems like these, that showed up straight away, havn't go any worse:

 

http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/4316/76515680wo4.jpg

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