What's new
By:
Pinball info

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Mylar removal

stoptap

stoptap

Registered
10 Years
Joined
Jul 21, 2011
Messages
4,087
Location
Leeds
Just removed the dull, lifting Mylar on my Vector. Found it surprisingly easy to do. Used component freeze spray and it lifted off real easy. I had practically no paint lift too.
Used the alcohol/flour method for removing the glue. Time consuming but painless enough.

Just thinking of putting multiple layers of wax on to protect it. Will that be enough ?

Anybody else done it ?
 
Tried freeze spray to remove the Mylar on my TAF and it did bot all. Hairdryer brought it straight off although it took a lot of elbow grease to get the adhesive off after
 
jonathan said:
Tried freeze spray to remove the Mylar on my TAF and it did bot all. Hairdryer brought it straight off although it took a lot of elbow grease to get the adhesive off after
Click to expand...
Did you use actual freeze spray or an upside down air duster can ?
I got bleeding frost bite on my finger from this can as I didn't have a tube for it.
 
I used an upside down air duster can on the TOTAN playfield I'm restoring. I'm no expert, just trying stuff, but I just used it until almost-freezing liquid came out for a few seconds onto to the plastic. That froze the plastic (you can see that it is frozen when it happens), which was then easy to lift off, but it left a lot of glue behind to clean up. As ever, as soon as you start doing this stuff you also risk damaging the paintwork too, so take it steady. And like @jonathan says, this is not guaranteed to work all the time.
 
My general approach is freeze spray (upside down canned air) on more modern playfields (anything diamond plate or similar) and the hairdryer on the older stuff. Always use the flour method for getting the glue off :thumbs:
 
After using a hairdryer we use this it's cool and effortless...just check it on a part of the playfield not seen first. ( as you leave it for 5 minutes and it dissolves the adhesive completely and you just wipe it clean off with a cloth) We have never had a problem but just in case.
image.jpeg
 
old thread but i’ve got a mylar covered playfield to sort out.

So what is the flour method please?

Freeze spray or hairdryer method?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
@AlanJ I normally go freeze spray for diamond plate and newer and hairdryer for the old stuff :thumbs: Last time I did the flour method, I covered the glue residue in Goo Gone, left it for a bit and then sprinkled flour over that. Picked a starting point on the playfield and dumped a small mound of flour down and then using my fingers, rubbed the flour mound into the rest and it turns to a sort of dough as it pulls the glue up. I haven't done one for a while so techniques may have moved on since then and it does make a proper f*cking mess :D
 
ok this is old non diamond plate. fire ball II. so what’s the hairdryer method? just heat it up???


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
ok this is old non diamond plate. fire ball II. so what’s the hairdryer method? just heat it up???
Click to expand...
Spooky!!! the last game I did a full mylar pull on was a Fireball 2 :eek: Yeah, get a corner up and then heat it up with the hairdryer and pull very gently. When it's going well I found I didn't really need to even pull the mylar that much, just kept it under tension and as the heat worked it kind of pulled away itself. Start somewhere non obvious until you get feel for it :thumbs:
 
I did the flour method on Hurricane the other week.

I warmed the mylar with a hair dryer, got under it with scalpel and started to lift it.

with 91% alcohol I gently dabbed at the edge I was lifting to keep it lubricated

lifted it off

then put a little flour on the surface and rubbed around with my finger over the top of the sticky stuff

then I used a cotton cloth soaked in 91% alcohol and rubbed flour and glue mixture off.

worked perfectly for me. But I get the sense it’s luck on the lift!

Attached some before and after pics in case it's useful.

The 91% alcohol is what does the trick really, but the flour helps gunk it up a bit for removal.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20201104_095412.jpg
    IMG_20201104_095412.jpg
    144.9 KB · Views: 22
  • IMG_20201106_202423.jpg
    IMG_20201106_202423.jpg
    145.4 KB · Views: 26
  • IMG_20201028_190644.jpg
    IMG_20201028_190644.jpg
    118.3 KB · Views: 20
  • IMG_20201028_190758.jpg
    IMG_20201028_190758.jpg
    117.2 KB · Views: 18
  • IMG_20201025_101433.jpg
    IMG_20201025_101433.jpg
    106.4 KB · Views: 16
  • IMG_20201025_100054.jpg
    IMG_20201025_100054.jpg
    113.3 KB · Views: 13
  • IMG_20201025_093132.jpg
    IMG_20201025_093132.jpg
    109.9 KB · Views: 13
  • IMG_20201025_091952.jpg
    IMG_20201025_091952.jpg
    120.5 KB · Views: 14
  • IMG_20201025_091619.jpg
    IMG_20201025_091619.jpg
    131.3 KB · Views: 22
Everyone thank you so much. I will let you know how I get on - may start a shop log for Fireball II as it has a really bad cabinet, so needs a full repair and restencil too, plus lots of other playfield stuff to sort out.
 
Small hijack Alan, where do the stencils come from? I don't want to decal Hurricane but I would like to tidy the paint up with a stencil. The sides have lost their red.
 
Small hijack Alan, where do the stencils come from?
Click to expand...
Pinball Pimp is the US is the best place to get stencils from but they're only for older games really. They've got Cyclone but not Hurricane so if you're not wanting to re-decal then the other option would be to cut a paint mask yourself using frisket and then airbrush the red back in. A few people have done that for other games (Baywatch springs to mind) but it can be quite fiddly and you need to have thr right kit.
 
As mentioned above, Pinball Pimp sadly doesn't do Hurricane. He also mentioned that he thought it was not painted on to the cab for that machine, but rather it was a decal.

I'll go back and have a closer look, but I couldn't see a decal on there, or at least I thought not.
 
I'll go back and have a closer look, but I couldn't see a decal on there, or at least I thought not.
Click to expand...
Probably a silk screened cabinet back then rather than a decal but too complex for a stencil so for restoration purposes you'd be looking at re-decalling :thumbs: Unless you're thinking it's your favourite game and a keeper I wouldn't bother, you don't play the cab :D
 
ronsplooter said:
Probably a silk screened cabinet back then rather than a decal but too complex for a stencil so for restoration purposes you'd be looking at re-decalling :thumbs: Unless you're thinking it's your favourite game and a keeper I wouldn't bother, you don't play the cab :D
Click to expand...

Yup, I'm happy with it just the way it is I think. I'm building a Williams Defender cab at the moment, so I think I'll satisfy my craving for stencils on that instead! :)

But now I know a bit more about stencils and decals and historical elements of pinball painting! :-)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom