Williams Indiana Jones Playfield Decals

[Dave]

Have an IJ in pretty good condition with hardly any wear on the playfield except some of the mode decals have a little peeling on the bottom edge so am toying with the idea about replacing them. Playfield itself has no wear. It's just the decal itself that has peeled away a little. Not exactly sure what the process is so wondering if anyone have done this/has further info about how the original decals were installed and how one would go about replacing any of these mode decals the correct way.

Looks like I can buy them on line and the ones I have found advise "peel and stick" so am assuming these are sticker type replacements. Is this the way a decal should be replaced? When I run my hand over the mode decals they do feel slightly raised which suggests they are separately attached so potentially could be removed and replaced? Just trying to work out the best - and correct - way to do this if I decide to go ahead with it.

[Joseph 'Tony' Dziedzic]

Post by Dave
Have an IJ in pretty good condition with hardly any wear on the playfield except some of the mode decals have a little peeling on the bottom edge so am toying with the idea about replacing them. Playfield itself has no wear. It's just the decal itself that has peeled away a little. Not exactly sure what the process is so wondering if anyone have done this/has further info about how the original decals were installed and how one would go about replacing any of these mode decals the correct way.
Looks like I can buy them on line and the ones I have found advise "peel and stick" so am assuming these are sticker type replacements. Is this the way a decal should be replaced? When I run my hand over the mode decals they do feel slightly raised which suggests they are separately attached so potentially could be removed and replaced? Just trying to work out the best - and correct - way to do this if I decide to go ahead with it.

There are no "decals" on pinball playfields when produced by the factory: the artwork is silk-screened directly to the playfield and the inserts (or in the case of the modern "direct-print" process, the artwork is "printed" via an ink-deposition printer). It is possible someone *may* have applied one or more decals to a playfield to address wear, but that's somewhat unlikely.

The real problem is over time the inserts can shift and the edges can raise slightly above the playfield; every time a ball rolls over that raised edge it causes more and more wear.

You *can* scrape off the old artwork and apply a peel-and-stick decal on top of the bare insert - OR just apply the decal over the insert, trying your best to align it to the existing artwork. That's not the best repair over the long term, but the alternative of having an experienced playfield restore person fix the issues (reset and reglue the inserts, touch up the damaged artwork, apply a protective coating over the repairs) that's probably the best you'll be able to do.

Joseph "Tony" Dziedzic

[Dave]

Post by Dave
Have an IJ in pretty good condition with hardly any wear on the playfield except some of the mode decals have a little peeling on the bottom edge so am toying with the idea about replacing them. Playfield itself has no wear. It's just the decal itself that has peeled away a little. Not exactly sure what the process is so wondering if anyone have done this/has further info about how the original decals were installed and how one would go about replacing any of these mode decals the correct way.
Looks like I can buy them on line and the ones I have found advise "peel and stick" so am assuming these are sticker type replacements. Is this the way a decal should be replaced? When I run my hand over the mode decals they do feel slightly raised which suggests they are separately attached so potentially could be removed and replaced? Just trying to work out the best - and correct - way to do this if I decide to go ahead with it.

There are no "decals" on pinball playfields when produced by the factory: the artwork is silk-screened directly to the playfield and the inserts (or in the case of the modern "direct-print" process, the artwork is "printed" via an ink-deposition printer). It is possible someone *may* have applied one or more decals to a playfield to address wear, but that's somewhat unlikely.
The real problem is over time the inserts can shift and the edges can raise slightly above the playfield; every time a ball rolls over that raised edge it causes more and more wear.
You *can* scrape off the old artwork and apply a peel-and-stick decal on top of the bare insert - OR just apply the decal over the insert, trying your best to align it to the existing artwork. That's not the best repair over the long term, but the alternative of having an experienced playfield restore person fix the issues (reset and reglue the inserts, touch up the damaged artwork, apply a protective coating over the repairs) that's probably the best you'll be able to do.
Joseph "Tony" Dziedzic

Thanks for the info. Your point about the inserts raising slightly appears to be exactly what has happened. If I run my hand over the entire area where the mode inserts are it is quite smooth. But I do feel over the inserts they appear to be ever so slightly higher then the rest of the playfield in that area. It's also the bottom edge of 3 or 4 of the insert artwork that has worn away a little. Makes sense given the trajectory and force of the ball from the flippers constantly hitting those bottom edges over time whereas the top edges all good. Have owned the machine since 1998 so can live with it. Except for these areas rest of the playfield is perfect. I do keep the playfield regularly polished to help reduce friction - and so to minimise further wear - so will continue doing this and keep on enjoying the pin.

Cheers, David.

[Riles]

Post by Dave

Post by Dave
Have an IJ in pretty good condition with hardly any wear on the playfield except some of the mode decals have a little peeling on the bottom edge so am toying with the idea about replacing them. Playfield itself has no wear. It's just the decal itself that has peeled away a little. Not exactly sure what the process is so wondering if anyone have done this/has further info about how the original decals were installed and how one would go about replacing any of these mode decals the correct way.
Looks like I can buy them on line and the ones I have found advise "peel and stick" so am assuming these are sticker type replacements. Is this the way a decal should be replaced? When I run my hand over the mode decals they do feel slightly raised which suggests they are separately attached so potentially could be removed and replaced? Just trying to work out the best - and correct - way to do this if I decide to go ahead with it.

There are no "decals" on pinball playfields when produced by the factory: the artwork is silk-screened directly to the playfield and the inserts (or in the case of the modern "direct-print" process, the artwork is "printed" via an ink-deposition printer). It is possible someone *may* have applied one or more decals to a playfield to address wear, but that's somewhat unlikely.
The real problem is over time the inserts can shift and the edges can raise slightly above the playfield; every time a ball rolls over that raised edge it causes more and more wear.
You *can* scrape off the old artwork and apply a peel-and-stick decal on top of the bare insert - OR just apply the decal over the insert, trying your best to align it to the existing artwork. That's not the best repair over the long term, but the alternative of having an experienced playfield restore person fix the issues (reset and reglue the inserts, touch up the damaged artwork, apply a protective coating over the repairs) that's probably the best you'll be able to do.
Joseph "Tony" Dziedzic

Thanks for the info. Your point about the inserts raising slightly appears to be exactly what has happened. If I run my hand over the entire area where the mode inserts are it is quite smooth. But I do feel over the inserts they appear to be ever so slightly higher then the rest of the playfield in that area. It's also the bottom edge of 3 or 4 of the insert artwork that has worn away a little. Makes sense given the trajectory and force of the ball from the flippers constantly hitting those bottom edges over time whereas the top edges all good. Have owned the machine since 1998 so can live with it. Except for these areas rest of the playfield is perfect. I do keep the playfield regularly polished to help reduce friction - and so to minimise further wear - so will continue doing this and keep on enjoying the pin.
Cheers, David.

"Striving to better, oft we mar what's well" -Shakespeare