Direct ink playfield restoration : Now available!
We pioneered the restoration of pinball playfields using commercial inkjet technology in 2007, using a Colorspan 9840 UV printer. It has taken almost 4 years to perfect this time consuming process of taking a worn out playfield and restoring it to a high quality playfield.
The process begins by locating an artist willing to draw the playfield art, at a resolution of 300 DPI or higher. So far, there are a number of Sorcerer and Space Shuttle playfields restored since the onset of this project. The artist is compensated 1 - 2 restored playfields for their many hours of work.
Firstly, your donor playfield will have to be stripped; everything on the top & bottom removed, so that you are left with only intact light lenses & playfield wood. Your playfield should then be wrapped in cardboard and sent to us using USPS or Canada Post only (valued at $25, at your expense). Mark your package accordingly as a worn out pinball playfield and send it to us after confirming your playfield's status for restoration. Previously, some playfields were here for years during the developement of this service. We anticipate that our service can currently be completed within 60 - 120 days! No deposit is taken, payment is made only when the playfield is ready to be returned to you in restored condition.
Next, your playfield is sanded bare on the top and lightly on the bottom. Light lenses and rollovers are checked to see if they are well secured in the wood. If loose, they are removed and re-glued using epoxy. In the event that light lenses or rollovers need to be replaced with new ones; if available they will be replaced at an extra charge. Minor repairs to holes or damaged wood with epoxy will be done. Some holes will be sealed during the process, and will need to be re-drilled by the owner along with all the finish & regular clear coats.
Following this, your now 'bare' playfield gets wiped clean with Naptha to remove any oils or surface contamination. Two (2) coats of water based Varethane interior gloss is applied to seal the bare wood. Only 1 application per day is applied in my process, with no sanding between coats. The playfield then gets any light lenses, wood areas, switch lanes, (etc) masked with Oracal 810 mask which is cut on a cutter/plotter machine. Then the playfield is sprayed with auto acrylic gloss white; since the UV printer cannot do white. Another 2 coats of varethane are applied after removing the mask.
Your playfield is then mounted to 1/2" MDF (Medium Density Fibreboard) from the bottom using about 20 countersunk screws. This helps to re-flatten older playfields so that they can be properly printed. If they don't pass this test the playfield gets an overlay installed instead, after more clear coats & sanding. The owner has the option of releasing the playfield to us and we will recover our costs. So far the rejection rate is approximately 1 in 20 playfields. All acceptable playfields are printed after 1 - 2 pretests, to get close alignment with paper on top of the playfield. The paper is removed after calibration, and UV ink is applied to the playfield. If there is a problem, the process starts over.
After printing, the printed playfield has the MDF removed and cures for a further 7 - 14 days. Allowing this curing time results in a higher quality finished product with less chance of process failures. After this curing period for UV ink, the playfield gets 4 more coats of varethane over a period of days or weeks. Generally, there is a 1 week wait after the last coat of varethane before the playfield is sent out for finish clear coats. The playfield is lightly sanded by the contractor who does CPR's work. He then applies only 1 coat of finish per day; after 2 coats sanding and filling in any 'low' or problem areas. He then applies 1 final coat and does minor buffing to the clearcoat after it dries. The finished results are very impressive, especially considering the initial condition that your playfield may have been in.
Playfields usually cure for 7 days before shipping, and it is recommended that you do not install the playfield for 30 - 45 days after it arrives. Please remove the playfield from the packaging and let it cure during this time. Admire the results of this painfully slow & labour intensive restoration using my personal services, my printer, and finish clear coat contractor.
Contact us for more information regarding getting your playfield restored using our process.
Playfield titles currently offered for restoration :
Playfield titles not offered for restoration; or in testing :
The process begins by locating an artist willing to draw the playfield art, at a resolution of 300 DPI or higher. So far, there are a number of Sorcerer and Space Shuttle playfields restored since the onset of this project. The artist is compensated 1 - 2 restored playfields for their many hours of work.
Firstly, your donor playfield will have to be stripped; everything on the top & bottom removed, so that you are left with only intact light lenses & playfield wood. Your playfield should then be wrapped in cardboard and sent to us using USPS or Canada Post only (valued at $25, at your expense). Mark your package accordingly as a worn out pinball playfield and send it to us after confirming your playfield's status for restoration. Previously, some playfields were here for years during the developement of this service. We anticipate that our service can currently be completed within 60 - 120 days! No deposit is taken, payment is made only when the playfield is ready to be returned to you in restored condition.
Next, your playfield is sanded bare on the top and lightly on the bottom. Light lenses and rollovers are checked to see if they are well secured in the wood. If loose, they are removed and re-glued using epoxy. In the event that light lenses or rollovers need to be replaced with new ones; if available they will be replaced at an extra charge. Minor repairs to holes or damaged wood with epoxy will be done. Some holes will be sealed during the process, and will need to be re-drilled by the owner along with all the finish & regular clear coats.
Following this, your now 'bare' playfield gets wiped clean with Naptha to remove any oils or surface contamination. Two (2) coats of water based Varethane interior gloss is applied to seal the bare wood. Only 1 application per day is applied in my process, with no sanding between coats. The playfield then gets any light lenses, wood areas, switch lanes, (etc) masked with Oracal 810 mask which is cut on a cutter/plotter machine. Then the playfield is sprayed with auto acrylic gloss white; since the UV printer cannot do white. Another 2 coats of varethane are applied after removing the mask.
Your playfield is then mounted to 1/2" MDF (Medium Density Fibreboard) from the bottom using about 20 countersunk screws. This helps to re-flatten older playfields so that they can be properly printed. If they don't pass this test the playfield gets an overlay installed instead, after more clear coats & sanding. The owner has the option of releasing the playfield to us and we will recover our costs. So far the rejection rate is approximately 1 in 20 playfields. All acceptable playfields are printed after 1 - 2 pretests, to get close alignment with paper on top of the playfield. The paper is removed after calibration, and UV ink is applied to the playfield. If there is a problem, the process starts over.
After printing, the printed playfield has the MDF removed and cures for a further 7 - 14 days. Allowing this curing time results in a higher quality finished product with less chance of process failures. After this curing period for UV ink, the playfield gets 4 more coats of varethane over a period of days or weeks. Generally, there is a 1 week wait after the last coat of varethane before the playfield is sent out for finish clear coats. The playfield is lightly sanded by the contractor who does CPR's work. He then applies only 1 coat of finish per day; after 2 coats sanding and filling in any 'low' or problem areas. He then applies 1 final coat and does minor buffing to the clearcoat after it dries. The finished results are very impressive, especially considering the initial condition that your playfield may have been in.
Playfields usually cure for 7 days before shipping, and it is recommended that you do not install the playfield for 30 - 45 days after it arrives. Please remove the playfield from the packaging and let it cure during this time. Admire the results of this painfully slow & labour intensive restoration using my personal services, my printer, and finish clear coat contractor.
The cost of the service for available playfield titles is $600 USD + 7% GST Tax
+ return shipping to USA / Canada ($50 - $80).
View a few samples of our work below, or by visiting our gallery at our Photobucket Album+ return shipping to USA / Canada ($50 - $80).
Space Shuttle[click to enlarge]
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Space Shuttle[click to enlarge]
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Sorceror[click to enlarge]
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Sorceror[click to enlarge]
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Contact us for more information regarding getting your playfield restored using our process.
Playfield titles currently offered for restoration :
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