# How To Install A Hardtop For Black Knight Pinball Machine: Part 1 **Source:** Cary Hardy **Type:** video **Published:** 2018-11-02 **Duration:** 10m 7s **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecnJ_UN75AI --- ## Analysis Cary Hardy documents the first part of a Black Knight pinball machine hardtop installation project. The video covers the complete teardown of a 1980s Black Knight, including removal of all playfield obstacles, cleaning, sanding the playfield to bare wood (focusing on insert areas), and preparation with clear coat before the polycarbonate hardtop application in a future installment. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] Hardtops are 0.03 inch polycarbonate material with artwork applied in reverse on the back side for each playfield model — _Hardtop company owner explains the material and application process_ - [HIGH] The Black Knight playfield had not been properly maintained, with white rubbers turning black over time — _Visual inspection and commentary during teardown_ - [HIGH] The playfield had approximately 40 years of built-up grime, dust, and dirt since 1980 manufacture — _Cary Hardy's observation of the machine's condition_ - [HIGH] Sanding should focus on insert areas to remove existing ink, as the hardtop already has insert artwork — _Explanation of hardtop installation best practices_ - [HIGH] Black paint should be traced around inserts as insurance against misalignment of the hardtop — _Installation technique explanation_ - [HIGH] Clear coat must completely degas before hardtop application to avoid issues underneath — _Cary Hardy's explanation of curing requirements_ ### Notable Quotes > "Even though I think I'm coming down with the plague, I will try to do this." > — **Cary Hardy**, opening > _Sets the tone for the project despite personal health challenges_ > "what hard tops is is a polycarbonate 0.03 inch material with the artwork applied in reverse on the back side for each playfield that they plan on making these for" > — **Hardtop company owner**, early explanation > _Technical definition of the product being installed_ > "you don't want your slingshot mechanism sticking out of the top. Nothing like that. It needs to be completely vacant of every obstacle that will be in your way." > — **Cary Hardy**, teardown explanation > _Key requirement for hardtop installation_ > "A bare playfield. It hasn't looked like this since it came off the factory floor. Crazy!" > — **Cary Hardy**, after sanding > _Emotional reaction to the restoration progress_ > "So that is basically just to cover you. So whatever you apply your hard top, it's recommended to trace around the inserts with black just in case for some reason things don't line up exactly right." > — **Cary Hardy**, black paint explanation > _Best practice technique for installation_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Cary Hardy | person | Content creator and pinball restoration expert documenting hardtop installation process | | Jason | person | Owner of the Black Knight machine being modified with hardtop | | Black Knight | game | 1980s pinball machine being restored with hardtop installation; owned by Jason | | Novus One | product | Cleaning product used during playfield preparation | | Hardtop | product | Polycarbonate playfield replacement product with reverse-applied artwork | ### Topics - **Primary:** Hardtop installation process and methodology, Playfield restoration and cleaning techniques, Machine teardown and documentation - **Secondary:** Pinball maintenance and long-term wear, Clear coat application and curing ### Sentiment **Positive** (0.8) — Enthusiastic documentation of restoration project with appreciation for the improvement process. Excitement about the transformation evident despite health challenges. Collaborative tone between Cary and machine owner Jason. ### Signals - **[product_strategy]** Black Knight hardtop installation demonstrates post-market enhancement addressing playfield wear, damage, and aesthetic degradation issues common in aged machines (confidence: high) — Project specifically addressing 40-year-old playfield damage and discoloration through hardtop application - **[technology_signal]** Hardtop polycarbonate playfield replacement product represents emerging aftermarket technology for extending machine life and improving playfield condition without complete playfield replacement (confidence: high) — Entire video dedicated to hardtop installation as a restoration/modification technique --- ## Transcript I'm gonna try to do this. Even though I think I'm coming down with the plague, I will try to do this. This is Jason, everyone. He's playing his Black Knight for the last time. The last time until that is, it is a new machine. Because we are about to disassemble this thing and apply a hard top. now i know what some of you may be thinking what the hell is a hard top let's have the owner of a hard top company to explain what the hard tops are now what hard tops is is a polycarbonate 0.03 inch material with the artwork applied in reverse on the back side for each playfield that they plan on making these for. This is a look around the playfield just to give you an idea of why he is replacing the playfield with a hardtop. This is just showing you all the damage that is across the playfield, but this is going to be completely shined up and new by the time this project is over and done with. As you can even see, the rubbers on this thing are turning black and they're originally white. So that just gives you an idea of the lack of maintenance that this thing has occurred. on to the rotisserie in order to replace the playfield with a hard top you're going to need to get your playfield down to the bare bones you can't have anything on the playfield at all because this is going to be covering your entire playfield you don't want your slingshot mechanism sticking out of the top. Nothing like that. It needs to be completely vacant of every obstacle that will be in your way. While you doing this you want to make sure that you document this entire teardown You want to make sure that whatever you're taking off, you're going to be able to put it back in the same place as it used to be. Take plenty of pictures, videos, whatever you've got to do. Thank you. Here we are disassembling the flipper mechanisms to make it to where the flippers are no longer on the playfield. Man this thing is filthy. And here it is guys. Here is the playfield completely taken down. you a look at what it looks like with just the parts removed from the playfield machine. Now some of this playfield guys has not seen a lot of days since it was first made in 1980. So you're looking at almost 40 years worth of built up grime, dust, dirt, it's all in there. So everything we do from this point forward is going to be an improvement. Now here's Jason giving the play field a good wipe down getting all the excess dirt off the machine just to give it a better idea what the machine looks like whenever you remove all that dirt just to see if maybe that fixes everything Here your good over the top view of the playfield to give you an idea of the condition of this playfield The next part is not going to come easy and it didn come easy for him but the next portion is of course to sand the playfield down. Now, you don't have to sand the entire playfield down to the bare wood. It is only recommended that you sand the playfield around the inserts to remove the ink that is on the inserts already, because the hardtop has already got the insert artwork on it. so you don't want it to be dual layered of inserts on there because that may not match up just right. So you just need to sand the inserts. But we are going to be doing the entire playfield, so he is sanding all of the artwork down to the bare wood. now i highly recommend that when you're sanding your playfield you do it outdoors and you wear a air filter mask purifier whatever you need to but to protect your lungs uh we on the other hand did not do any of this because uh i i don't know why i think back now and i'm like we should have had some sort of protection on. Maybe that's why I'm sick now. As you can see, him lighting up the inserts from underneath to make sure that he's sanded off enough. He doesn't want to cause any more damage to the inserts than he already is. So he's lighting up the inserts from underneath just to make sure that he's able to scuff off the ink that is on the inserts. And here it is! A bare playfield. It hasn't looked like this since it came off the factory floor. Crazy! Right now we just kind of cleaning up the wood right here and getting it in better condition Spraying some Novus One on there giving it a good little wipe down just to get any other dirt and ground that might be on there and this is actually after we did a spray of clear over the inserts and i airbrushed the shooter lane so the shooter lane has been airbrushed and now all the inserts have been covered in a single thin layer of clear coat. The thing is, when we first sprayed this clear coat, he wasn't happy with the way it turned out. Let's just say that. So he actually ended up going back over it again, sanding it down some more, and then doing it again. Now, what we've done also has painted, we've painted all around the inserts black. So that is basically as insurance. So in case for some reason the hard top is not lined up perfectly, that we're not going to see bare wood. We're going to see black. So that is basically just to cover you. So whatever you apply your hard top, it's recommended to trace around the inserts with black just in case for some reason things don't line up exactly right. And that is the hard top, guys. That's what the hard top looks like. Look at that artwork. that is very very beautiful and we're going to apply this but that's going to be for the next video and there it is guys part one of probably a three-part series for this black knight hard top install so that just gives you an idea of how long this process takes if you want to do it basically the best that it can be done it would take longer it would take a it takes a while because when you clear coat you need that clear to completely degas and so that way you're not getting other issues underneath that hard top if you've liked this video guys give me that thumbs up and if you haven't already do not forget to hit that subscribe button until next time peace out Thank you. _(Acquisition: youtube_groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 7942af39-6acd-4184-9690-533389499363*