Should I remove Mylar from playfield?

[David Peterborough]

Hi folks,

I recently purchased a Recel Icarus. The machine was built in 1977. As you will see from the attached photos, the mylar has separated from the playfield in a number or areas. Most areas are cosmetic, but in a couple of areas it has "bubbled" quite badly and had to be cut away or smoothed out with heat in order get the game to work properly. The one attached photo shows where I had to cut away a section of the mylar in order for the pop bumper to work properly. So the question is: Should I remove the mylar? The paint underneath is almost mint so I would hate to damage it! I have looked at a couple of online videos where people have removed the mylar using canned air or heat, but it appeared that they ended up removing at least some of the paint using these methods.

Thanks.
David

 

[luch]

looks like you will have to start removing it all , just go slow , and be careful

 

[David Peterborough]

looks like you will have to start removing it all , just go slow , and be careful

OK thanks Luch,

Would you recommend that I try heat to remove it or use canned air?

 

[luch]

I have never done it , so hopefully someone who has , can chime in . I might try heat but start somewhere if it does not work it will not show

 

[mwong168]

Here is what I did years ago for mylar removal on a spare playfield I had.

http://www.pinballrevolution.com/threads/removing-mylar-and-crappy-glue-the-easy-way.168/

 

[DRANO]

Canned air first. lots of it.
If the mylar separates from the glue easily, then you are all set to deal with the glue removal.

But, not all mylar seems to behave the same. Some are tougher than others and some seem to react better to heat instead of cold. You'll just have to try and see.

 

[Chris Bardon]

I did the upside-down canned air method on a JM, and it worked out OK as long as you go slow. Not sure about older playfields that might not have the same level of clear on them though.

 

[David Peterborough]

I did the upside-down canned air method on a JM, and it worked out OK as long as you go slow. Not sure about older playfields that might not have the same level of clear on them though.

Ok thanks Chris