To those who have clearcoated before:

Did you remove the GI or did you just plug the sockets so the CC wouldn't get in there??

Mike

If you think that you can do your final prepping without them interfering and you can paint without the clearcoat bonding your tape to the playfield then leave them in... If not, then take them out.
I know it's a real PITA but after coming so far why take the chance?... and yes I know that soldering will be involved, that's why I said it would be a PITA.

Disclamer:
1. I have not clearcoated a playfield but I have helped to prep/paint some cars, trucks, motorcycles, houses, funiture, road signs, road center lines, toys, machinery, and toes... (please don't ask about the last one  ).  
2. I am a complete fuss-a** when it comes to stuff like this, so I tend err on the side of overkill.

Adam

Definitely remove the GI ....
Remove EVERYTHING!

(Gives you a chance to nicely clean, maybe even sand-down the bottom of the PF
while you are at it)

Trying to remove tiny pieces of rag, or whatever, from holes after a heavy coat CC is
a nasty job ... can even lift soft edges of CC, or crack hardened edges in the process

If you have gone this far ....go all the way ... it's worth it.

D'OH!

Ok..  I'll post pics soon..

Mike

Quoted from ToMMy

(Gives you a chance to nicely clean, maybe even sand-down the bottom of the PF
while you are at it)

Sorry ToMMy but I've got to disagree here. if you were to ship your PF to Bill, then ok to remove everything but if you're going to do it yourself, there's no need for that.

You do not need to remove the gi sockets. Plug little bits of tape in them.
Don't wait for the clear to be dry to remove them and that's it.

I stripped, clean, touched up, prep, cleared, put back and PLAYED a machine in a week!

I remove everything from ABOVE the playfield but I leave as much as possible from below.

Trusts me, I've done both (including removing _everything_ and sanding the bottom) and it's just not worth the extra time. You've got to ask yourself one question: How long do you want this restoration to last ? The big PLUS of car clear is the TIME.

Good luck !

It's a matter of personal preference ..no doubt about that,
and just how far you want to go in the restoration process.
The first few clears I did (no auto clear, just varathane spray),
I did not remove the GI, etc .... turned out not too bad, but found
it a bit tough to rub out after, with all the sockets on the bottom getting
squashed & stuff.

Now that I have done several auto clears, I just go all the way in the restoration.
Heck of a lot easier to shoot, sand & rub-out with the pf sitting flat on the table.

One thing I did learn from the pro's though ... is let it sit for at least 30 days
before playing .... and more than 60 days before touching it with wax.

I mean sure, you can start re-assembly the next day for that matter, but I
sure would not want a steel ball pounding away on a green CC .. days after
laying it down. Too much work getting it this far & just not worth the risk IMHO.

So define what mean when you say:  sand & rub-out the pf.

This is my first one so I was going to take it to an auto body shop, and have them put a few layers of clear on it.  

Soooo..  What am I sanding or rubbing out??  Won't sanding take the shine out of the cc??

Mike

Quoted from MrMikeman

Soooo..  What am I sanding or rubbing out??  Won't sanding take the shine out of the cc??

Any imperfections that may be in the final coat of clear, ie 'orange peel', 'fish eyes', dust, lint or dead bugs, cat fur, cracker crumbs.

The sandpaper, if required, would be of a super fine grit but yes it would take the shine out. To get the shine back you would have to buff the surface with rubbing compounds, 'cut wax', and polish.

However, if the CC is being applied by a reputable body shop, I do not think that you will have to sand or 'rub out'.

Adam

ToMMy knows what he's talking about.  The 30 / 60 day rule should DEFINATELY be adheared to, the only recomendation I can add to this is begin re-assembling the top of the PF a day or so after the final coat is completed (including sand/buff).  This will minimize any CC cracking when tightening topside hardware like posts etc.

The biggest problem with this rule is..... once the PF is all together the temptation to play gets very hard to resist, BUT DON'T DO IT!!!!

Doug

BTW: How's the F-14 holding up ToMMy?  I'm guessing it's killer fast with the CC! (the way it was meant to be!!!!)

Quoted from Menace

ToMMy knows what he's talking about.  The 30 / 60 day rule should DEFINATELY be adheared to, the only recomendation I can add to this is begin re-assembling the top of the PF a day or so after the final coat is completed (including sand/buff).  This will minimize any CC cracking when tightening topside hardware like posts etc.

With Varathane, YES.
With 3 coats of auto clear, NO.

Do you wait 30 days to drive around after you get your car painted?
Seriously, this thing dries HARD !

Well..  Yes you CAN drive your car but you can't wash it or wax it for a while..  AND you're not bouncing a big a$$ ball bearing on the paint job either  

I'll stick to the 30 days.  

Mike

Quoted from MrMikeman

Well..  Yes you CAN drive your car but you can't wash it or wax it for a while..  AND you're not bouncing a big a$$ ball bearing on the paint job either  

I'll stick to the 30 days.  

Mike

So you pray is doesn't rain for a month ?  

Quoted Text

With Varathane, YES.
With 3 coats of auto clear, NO.

Do you wait 30 days to drive around after you get your car painted?
Seriously, this thing dries HARD !

I don't agree with this statement 100%.  If the autoclear method dried as hard as you claim why do the pro clearcoat guys (PR, Bill D. & Chris H.) all wait 2 weeks between shooting the initial "touch-up" clear and the "final finish" clear?  It dries hard enough but it still takes 3-6 months for total cure time, hence the reason you shouldn't wax an auto CC's PF for 3-6 months too as the wax traps in the vapour and usually causes hazing.  I've had plenty of paint work done on cars over the last 5 years and all shops stress not washing a freshly painted/CC'd car for AT LEAST a week.  (They also say the longer the better)  Now the only difference between CC'ing a car and a PF is the car CC hardens quicker becasue it's out in the sun all day.  How many people here would leave a freshly CC'd (and precious) PF laying out in the sun for a few weeks let alone a few minutes?

So I stick by my original post that you should start re-assembly of a CC'd PF not long after the final clear is complete (1-2 wks).  This way you're less likely to create any cracks or hazing in the clear when tightening posts etc.  Once finished don't play on it for 90 days and don't wax for another few months.

Doug

- because PR and Bill shot way too much clear. ( 6-8 coats )

boys, I understand your point and I'm sure (well... I hope!) your understand mine. search google for endless reading on this same subject ...

Either way, if you're thinking about trying to clearcoat your pf, don't be intimidated and just do it ! it's easy and it's worth every effort you put in it.