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T A K I N G Y O U R
P L A Y F I E L D C L E A R C O A T T O
T H E U L T I M A T E L E V E L
CPR Playfields ship with a production-style glossy polyeurethane
clearcoat. While this is fine for ease of care, appearance,
fast playing surface, and enough durability for probably the life of the
machine . . . some people seek an ultimate perfection in
their clearcoat, beyond the norm. True gurus sometimes seek the
total elimination of any and all surface attributes that are
common with sprayed polyeurethane clearcoats. They seek a level of
extra perfection that takes the playing surface to
essentially a flawless sheet of glass. Hobbyist-offered clearcoat
services have been around for years, offering those extra-special
clearcoat finishes... those ultimate clearcoats that only come with
patience, time, money, and a ton of eyeballing.
The world of clearcoat perfection & services is vast and wide, but often
carry a common theme: Those kind of clearcoats
are almost always big bucks ($200 to $300). There is also a
component of time. Achieving absolute perfection only comes with
time.
It is well known that some of these services take your playfield away
for 1 to 2 years. Slowly and meticulously adding coats, and
allowing complete cures in between (30 to 60 days between coats!).
Seven coats can take 14 months sometimes, using these
methods! Different places use different procedures.
Regardless, CPR offers up our playfields with a stock clearcoat that is
done over the course of 3 weeks. It's obvious we can't get into
the special clearcoats arena - we'd barely get one playfield released
per year. The good news is - you CAN go further with your CPR
stock clearcoat. Thus the purpose of this page.
We would like to introduce you to a 3M buffing process, that with the
right tools and supplies, you can take your CPR playfield
to that "perfect glass" level - and you can do it yourself ! The
tricky part may be sourcing the 3M products we will reveal here.
However, depending on where you live and how many phone calls you make,
this stuff is not impossible to get your hands on.
T H E 3 M
P R O F E S S I O N A L B U F F I N G K I T
Let us start by saying this kit is miraculous. This is not Novus
1-2-3 ! Not even close. We noticed it is usually sold
as a complete
kit, usually for professional auto body shops. It is not cheap -
probably around $150 to $175 for the entire kit. BUT there is
enough
supply to probably do 50 playfields! So ganging up with
buddies and pooling to buy a kit to share is very economical.
This stuff is specifically designed to work sequentially, and if you
stick to the sequence, the results are amazing.
Each step is discrete - and best results are obtained (the perfect
results you are seeking) only if each step is completely
clear of the previous step (ie, no residue or trace of any previous
supplies being passed forward).
You may use the 3M process on any CPR playfield within 3 weeks of
receipt of your playfield.
With a few hours of patience and a lot of elbow grease, you can take
your existing CPR clearcoat to that ultimate level !
T H E 3 M
P E R F E C T - I T® P R O C E S S
BEFORE YOU START:
- With a little piece of 800-grit sandpaper on your finger, wet-sand
(yes, with some water) any tiny bumps or spots you want gone.
Just go as far as eliminating what you want to eliminate. Don't go
any deeper. Go slowly.
- With an old cotton t-shirt, dry & clean those areas of all residue.
You should leave behind dulled spots where you worked.
- Orbital or D/A wet-sand the ENTIRE playfield surface with 3M 1500-grit
sanding disc (included in kit)
- With an old cotton t-shirt, dry & clean the entire surface of all
residue. You should leave behind an evenly dulled surface.
There should be no trace of where you did the 800-grit touchup work.
- Orbital or D/A wet-sand the ENTIRE playfield surface with 3M 3000-grit
foam disc (included in kit)
- With an old cotton t-shirt, dry & clean the entire surface of all
residue. Now you are ready for the 3M buffing process...
If you've done it right, you'll end up with that perfectly flat
auto-show shine you're looking for - free of any specks, flecks, pin
dots, etc.
It will work the polyeurethane surface into a sheet of glass with all
surface relief of any kind gone.
The 3M PERFECT-IT may come in various or updated forms!
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE CURRENT BROCHURE FROM
3M (6.61 MB)
GOOD LUCK - PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT !
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