Makrolon protector, chop out or leave alone?

[Durzel]

I've got a new Mirco playfield in my TAF, with a full Makrolon playfield protector. The guy who restored it was very proud to tell me that a ball "has never touched the playfield"

There's nothing wrong with the game, but I can't shake the feeling that it doesn't play as fast and it isn't as glossy as it should be. I mean at the end of the day it's a translucent plastic sheet - it's never going to look as good as paint.

Part of me is pondering if it's like those bonnet bras you can get for cars - basically preserving it for the next owner at the expense of making your own experience worse.

My TZ and Tron - being double waxed - play quite differently, and the playfield colours look deeper to the naked eye. On the flip side @Spadge went out of his way to fit one on his TAF, and he's a pretty good benchmark for quality.

The Mirco playfield is clear coated (I don't know how well relative to people that do it on here), so in theory should be resistant to ball wear, and I have a full set of Cliffys on it already to protect the edges.

The rub is that I'm not skilled enough (and frankly can't be bothered) to strip the entire playfield to remove this protector, if I was going to remove it I'd be looking to cut it out.

Just wondering what people's thoughts are really. If it ain't broke don't fix it? Or if you bought a pin with one fitted would you remove it?

 

[M4carp]

Got one on my BSD and it plays fine, you will lose the deep colour , high shine and it will get loads of fine scratches on it. Doesn’t bother me.
Problem with those new playfields is are they as hard wearing as the original? I recently bought a TZ that had a new playfield and only noticed when I got it home that it had some clear coat damage and insert ghosting. At least with the protector it’s not going to get damaged. Also depends how much it’s getting used.
I would leave it on.

 

[Durzel]

Thanks. Yeah, mine plays fine, just not as super fast as my TZ and Tron. Maybe that's not a bad thing though, I've noticed playing TZ at Tilt (and Tron when it was there) that it's much more forgiving.

And yes, there are scratches on the protector, I guess it's logical to presume they would be on the clearcoat otherwise.

Usage wise it's very lightly used (maybe 1 game on any pin every other week at the moment)

 

[Spandangler]

Personally I’d probably remove it. On a home use game with a clear coated playfield, it will take YEARS to start to wear.

They have a place imo, on older pre diamond plate games. I have one on fh which has some slightly uneven inserts and touch ups.

Also having seen the state of modern stern dimpling, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to install one on those from new.

 

[replicas]

Remove it and play pinball like it was meant to play. Machines in the home use environment are not going to damage a playfields on the same level as ones in the public domain.

 

[Sgt GrizZ]

As my learned colleagues above ^^^ say ..... no need in home use for modern games. Though the Stern dimpling is a valid point if such things really bothered you.

If you are gonna remove it though do it properly. Cutting it out would be ridiculous

 

[Durzel]

The effort involved in removing it properly would be disproportionate to the gain, I think. I'd have to strip almost the entire playfield I don't have any appetite to do that when the game is dialed in and working 100%, to be honest.

 

[astyy]

If you cut it will pull cleanly right out in pieces doesn't it? The only disadvantage I can think of being if you (unlikely) decided to reuse or sell the protector, so I agree with you not worth the hassle of having to strip the pf down to save the protector.

 

[Durzel]

From what I can see it would pull out in pieces if I cut it up. The only thing I might have to do is unscrew the ramps to lift the flaps off of it. Everywhere else, including the Cliffys, the guy has cut the protector just before the Cliffy so it's on the same level.

I don't really know how much used protectors would go for.. £50? Maybe less? Less than it would cost in stress terms removing 5 pop bumpers etc.

I'd probably remove the ramps if I did it since I've done it before, and it would allow me to clean & wax the rear orbit and pop bumper area at the same time as removing the protector.

 

[taz turbo]

I would echo the sentiments above. Not really required on a modern HU machine.

It’s akin to not using a Supercar due to worrying about mileage/depreciation and not getting jiggy with your GF/wife, you’re just keeping it fresh for the next owner!

Remove it, and enjoy it how it should be, and yes carefully cut it off as I can’t see a huge demand for a used protector, that as you say already has small scratches.

Chris.

 

[Moonraker]

Double wax it like TZ and Tron and it will play just as fast... Protector or no protector.

 

[Monkeyboypaul]

Got one on Congo, which eliminates any ball interference you might get where the centre Grey Gorilla window meets the playfield.

Also got one on TRON, just because I did a full clean, strip and rebuild on it. Probably doesn’t need it, but I can’t be ****d taking it off. Doubt they’re worth anything second hand.

If you like it, leave it, if you don’t just cut it out and throw it away.

 

[astyy]

I want to vote "carefully cut out" rather than "chop out"

 

[Durzel]

Double wax it like TZ and Tron and it will play just as fast... Protector or no protector.

Waxing it isn't an option. It could work, but the risk of getting wax underneath which would then be a nightmare to get rid of would make it a risky proposition.

Consensus seems to be to remove so far. Thanks all.