So I've only played a handful of 6-7 games, a drop in the bucket compared to many of the people here. Still, the print on the outside of the movement dials is starting to come off. While this doesn't effect gameplay, it makes me wonder how these things will look after a year+ and dozens upon dozens of games.

I'm considering coating the outside of the dials in a protective sealant. Anyone else had this problem and tackled it in a similar way? Any recommendations on the kind of coating to use?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLYyuY94CZE&feature=youtube_gdata_player

This might help.

Cool! Thanks for pointing this out.

Ooh, good to know, thanks!

This should be stickied, very useful info for everyone to know as soon as possible when they start collecting.

Are there any tricks to taking maneuver dials apart for this procedure?  There become stuck together pretty tightly.

I am going to give this method a try in the next few days. I will post my findings on what seemed to work.

I went to Lowes and picked up several bags of 3/8" nylon washers.

They just fit in between the 2 cardboard top and bottom parts of the dial.  It keeps the cardboard from rubbing together and also makes the dials easier to turn.

http://i.tfcdn.com/img2/_b8-P00AYyq6fci4JD8_pzg-MS8lPiOxKKU8sSiVIaOkpMBKXz81uUIvMzcxPbVYNzE3sSo_Ty85P1cfIqLvqW9kaJwckpeRHhTgo5dVkA4A/fyVMtP8A

Here is links to photos of the washers that I bought.

http://www.flickr.com/x/t/0099009/photos/14212091@N05/8425212369/

wiles01 said:

greta idea……I'll be giving them a try

Thunder_Chicken said:

Take a small pair of pliers, grasp one of the post by the outer edges, then gently twist and pull out and away from the dial.  It worked beautifully for me, no damage to the dial or anything :-)

AncientAngel said:

Yeah, that is pretty much perfect. Thanks!

Thunder_Chicken said:

I used my pocket knife and went around the black disk on the back side of the dial a few times gently lifting it up. It took about 5 rotations on each dial before they finally seperated but I didn't damage the dials at all doing that.

I used a small flat head screwdriver with sort of rounded, blunt edges so not to damage anything.  I just lightly pryed up on the plastic.  There were no signs of damage and was a pretty successful endeavor.  Hoping to try some of the plastic washers soon.

AncientAngel said:

Wonderful Idea, I have some Dial too wasted and I do not play so much, Thanks for it, greettings.

AncientAngel said:

Great video… May the Force be with whoever made it and posted it!

Do you think it would be better to use a matte finish or gloss finish contact paper?  I tried some glossy and the reflection can interfere with reading the dial under bright light.  I haven't tried matte yet.