10 years in a wharehouse

dmoreland

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I just got a Timber that the seller tells me has been sitting in a wharehouse for 10 years. This is my first game purchased that could use some maintenance/repair and was hoping to get some tips. First off, the smell. It's not so bad I have to leave the game in the garage but it is annoying. I'm guessing my only options are to open it up and let it air out and use some air freshners but I'm open to other ideas. The other issue is rust/sticky parts. Coins don't slide through the mechanism very well and then the coin release gets stuck when you push it in. The joysticks work but are squeeky and don't work as well as I'd like. My first thought was to just get out a can of WD40 and go nuts but it seems I read on here somewhere that WD40 isn't very good for the joysticks.

Any tips on how to clean up/maintain a machine that has sat in a wharehouse for a long time is appreciated.
 
i got a game in a similar condition but mine didnt power up. As for everything you mentioned mine was the same. I had to rebuild the monitor first cause it wouldn't power up. Got it fixed (which is alot to learn) But i did find all my info from this site.

Joysticks normally need to be taken apart and cleaned etc. I'm sure someone familiar with your machine will be able to help more, but its kinda like getting an old car running. Everything needs to be looked at, and cleaned.

As for the smell i know some members take everything out of the cab and paint it, which is alot of work too. There is also some types of cleaners out there that can be used.

Just depends on how far you wanna take it.

Does it work at all?
 
Yes, everything seems to work. The kids have already played a bunch and I've gotten a couple of games in. I just want to make it shine and play good. It's probably a "C" right now and I'd like to make it an "A" or a "B".
 
As for the smell i know some members take everything out of the cab and paint it, which is alot of work too. There is also some types of cleaners out there that can be used.

Just taking everything out and cleaning it from top to bottom with pledge and windex will help. The trick is to get that old dust out of there.
 
Depending on how bad the smell is- for really bad odors, you will need to clean and paint the inside. For mild, annoying odors of yesteryear I blow everything out with compressed air. Then I make a bleach/water solution and wipe the inside of the cabinet making sure not to over wet any area. Compressed air again to quickly dry it. You might need to wipe it down a few different times. Then a few boxes on baking soda left inside should do the trick.
 
I would suggest vacuuming instead of blowing whatever crap is lying in there into the air. You never know what's been in there.
 
When I get a bad smelling game I usually just open it up as much as possible and run a box fan through it. If sitting it outside for a day is an option then do that because UV from the sun usually bakes out anything that is making the smells.
 
+1 on suggestions for getting rid of the smells. Airing it out and vacuuming usually works for me.

Good call on staying away from the WD40. It has mild lubricating properties, but it is petroleum based and it can damage plastics over time. Most joysticks and other moving parts are best lubricated with a high quality white lithium grease. You can get 1 oz tubes of it at most auto parts stores.

Coin return buttons may need to be cleaned and lubricated and the springs may need to be replaced before they work correctly. The same with the coin mechs. I usually pull the coin mechs and open them up and use a good all purpose cleaner (formula 409, lysol, etc). Spray them down good especially in the areas that coins go through and then dry them thoroughly. A little wl grease on some of the movig parts should bring them back. You can make sure by running quarters (or tokens) through them before you put them back in the door.

As for the rest, a good cleaner, a roll of paper towels and some elbow grease to make it shine.

ken
 
The solar quest cabinets I have I was told were sitting in a kalamazoo warehouse for longer than what yours has been. I had to strip, sand and repaint all the marquee brackets, coin door, control panel, inside monitor brackets, coin bucket, ect. I stripped everything out and cleaned and repainted. I took the harness out and cleaned that, no stone was left unturned, since I didn't know what was hiding in there. I had some mild mold on the inside particle board. I sprayed with liberal amounts of lysol and soaked the wood, wiped it clean, then let dry for a week, then sprayed clear coat over the top of that. No more smell or mold.

You can't be too careful when this crap that has been sitting in a warehouse is then sitting in your living room.
 
These are the only pictures I have right now. It doesn't really show anything I was asking about. They do show how the time in the warehouse has done a job to the stickers/decals on the front glass. I'll be in the market for a new one of those and a new marquee. There also isn't anything to put a new bulb into behind the marquee. I'll need to figure out a way to fix this as a light up top is important to me.

The smell isn't really that bad. It's not like I found this thing in an empty building where meth was being cooked:) I've opened it up and cleaned a bit and it already smells a lot better. I can tell the seller took some time cleaning this thing up and making sure everything worked. Just in case he reads this, I appreciate the work.

I'm a long ways from a perfectionist but I would like everything to work on my games including the locks and coin mechs. Thanks to everyone for their input and help.
 

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I got a Stargate cocktail that had a bit of a smell, wasn't too bad, but when I'd come down in the morning, there was a bit of an dampish woody odour in the air, so I took out the boards and transformer, gave the whole inside and metal plates a wipe down with a scented detergent cleaner (not too strong a smell), and then sanded any bare bits of wood I could get to, just enough to remove a film of the surface of the wood. Also cleaned the harness as good as possible without removing it, hoovered it out, allowed to dry for a day or so with the doors all open, and then put the boards back in. The outside was just wiped down with the same scented detergent.

I think the key was sanding any bare bits of wood on the inside, I feel it's likely to absorb or retain moisture/mould more so than the outer surfaces which are usually glossy and are usually fine after a wipe down, especially if after being stuck in a storage somewhere.
 
cabinet

Is it a mold / mildew smell from moisture or just an odor?

If it's mold / mildew I would carefully remove most of the electronics bring it into a heated space with lots of ventilation. Clean the inside gently with a damp (not wet) rag with 5% bleach solution or less OR use lysol to kill off the mold. Just don't get it too wet and dry it well. Keep it warm and ventilated with a small heater with a fan. Then perhaps use cedar chips in a open paper bag or moth balls to soak up the excess moisture and smell.
 
I bought one of those solar quests from kalamazoo too(very stinky, the roof was leaky and everything in there smelled). I still havent dont anything to mine except a cleaning on the outside.

one of these days i might get around to trying to fix it.
 
I bought one of those solar quests from kalamazoo too(very stinky, the roof was leaky and everything in there smelled). I still havent dont anything to mine except a cleaning on the outside.

one of these days i might get around to trying to fix it.
I got a few cabs out of that warehouse too. It was really cool to get a chance to see that place and I can only imagine what it looked like before it was already picked over.
 
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