Leon Borre DIY Playfield Plastics

Creating your own plastics .

For pinball machines or juke-boxes.

How to do it:

Scanning.

First thing you need is a good scan of the plastic you need. There are scans available, look at this site (and upload yours) ........... (plastic scans have not been available on this site for some time)

Or you can borrow a plastic of someone who owns the right machine.

Scan this plastic with a regular scanner. This should give enough quality at a resolution of 600dpi. Because plastics often have a clear border, it is best to place a sheet of white paper behind the plastic.

Also try to change the colors a bit. When I scan a plastic I have the option to add "Brightness" 30% , this will make lighter colors (like yellow) better. This will depend on your type of scanner and plastic, but once you know what to change you can do it for everything you scan.

A scanner creates the image by reflecting light, one of the consequences is, that light colors become paler, and dark colors become more dark, therefore it is most of the time necessary to adjust "Brightness"

Printing:

Print the scan onto a sheet of clear, adhesive film specially for ink-jet printers. These sheets can be bought in a lot of shops which sell appliances or computer stuff, or in copy centers. An average ink-jet printer will give good results.

About the plastic;

What I use and gives very good results is acrylic 2mm; thickness. It's available in a lot of DIY shops,(here in Belgium) even small pieces are available. (50cm x 100cm) Every plastic has a liner on eatch side so it won't get scratched.

When you cut the plastic to size leave the liner on. Remove one side for glueing the printed plastic on, and the other when you are going to paint the back-side white.

Glue the printed image:

Let the printed image dry.. Then remove the liner from the piece of acrylic, press with a soft cloth. Don't rub so you won't mess up the image.

Cutting the image.

Once the image sticks, use a small saw to cut the plastic. You can leave a small border. I use an electric saw, so I only have to concentrate on following the figure.. Use sandpaper to make the borders smooth..

Painting the backside:

This is the real easy part! Use a spray can to paint the backside white. Doesn't matter if it's gloss or not. Be sure to put the plastic flat so the paint won't run, don't do it in a cold place.

Conclusion:

Whilst scanning you also have the holes into the image, so it's easy to drill holes at the right places.

Remark:

Some instruction cards for juke-boxes can be made the same way. They are being used between two pieces of glass, so you don't have to glue them on a piece of acrylic. The glass comes first, then the printed image, and leave the white foil on the back of the sheet, and than the second piece off glass.

A almost similar method,( explained in better English)

can be found at the site of Roc Agrwal............ (link is no longer valid)