Step-by-step installation guides, care tips, and quick tips for the most common pinball machines. Every guide is also available as a downloadable PDF.
This guide walks you through fitting a Playfield Protector to a Stern Stranger Things pinball machine. Plan roughly 60–90 minutes. You remove flippers, slingshots, ramps and the backboard, lay the protector on the playfield, then reinstall every part and re-level the drop target bank.
A relatively quick install — most of the work is removing flippers, plastics and bumper caps. After laying the protector you adjust the turntable and the drop target banks to the new playfield height.
The most complex install in our catalogue — plan two hours. You remove flippers, slingshots, several ramps, the Jeep, the raptor plastic, the T-Rex ramp and the backboard before the protector goes on. Take photos as you go.
Use this guide as background reading when there is no machine-specific guide for your pinball. It covers the universal steps: preparation, laying the protector, adjusting drop target banks and other mechanisms, and finishing touches.
A Playfield Protector is maintained like the playfield itself. Use Mill Wax or Novus 2 with a soft cloth — microfibre can cause microscratches. New machines occasionally produce evaporations under the protector; blow them out with a compressor or a cool hair dryer.
Service Protectors keep your mirror or art blades safe while you lift and lower the playfield. They take under a minute to install, fit nearly any modern cabinet from Bally / Williams WPC onwards, and leave no residue.
Speaker Grill Covers replace the foam material behind the backbox speakers with 3 mm glossy black plexiglass. Colour rings are laid in alongside the cover. Reversible — no glue, no drilling.
Those "wet spots" you see between your playfield and protector are evaporations of the fresh clear coat. They are harmless and easy to remove: lift the protector slightly and blow the moisture out. They may come back until the clear coat is fully cured.
Short visual reference for installing a Playfield Protector on Bally / Williams Medieval Madness. Lay the protector with the upper protective foil still in place, reinstall the parts, then peel the foil and re-level the target banks.
After installing the Playfield Protector on Attack from Mars, the target bank sits a fraction below the new playfield surface and must be raised. Use the marked adjustment screws.
A short visual reference for installing the Playfield Protector on PIN·BOT and lifting the target bank to match the new playfield height.
