ReWrite
Well-known member
Just picked up two machines, both fairly dirty. What's the best thing I can do for the playfield? Plastics? We're talking dirty dirty.
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Go to the drug store and get a big bottle of 91% Isopropyl Rubbing alcohol.
Get a bunch of clean soft cotton rags or shop towels.
Dampen the rag with Isopropyl and clean everything. There will be dirt everywhere, so a lot of disassembly is required to do it right. The Iso is generally safe for cleaning the playfield, plastics, and ramps.
Several passes may be required.
Don't forget to remove and clean any plastic subways under the playfield.
While you are doing this, replacing burnt out bulbs and cracked, dried out rubber is strongly recommended. I use white rubber for almost everything - bouncy and fresh.
Then, use Novus 2 plastic polish on the playfield to make it shine and get rid of the last of the dirt.
Then use a pure carnauba car paste wax of the playfield just like you'd wax a car.
Throw the old pinballs away and put in brand new ones.
RussMyers
Well, I can certainly do the first part today then! No bulbs, no rubber, no wax or Novus on hand, so that all waits. Thanks for the advice and at least I can do *something* to start today.
I usually just throw the plastics and ramps right into the dishwasher on a gentle cycle.
You can clean metal with super fine steel wool and mineral oil. Also gets the legs ultra shiny. Even nasty rusty legs.
Don't use spray waxes or cleaner waxes; they have polymers and silicone that ultimately attract dust and make cleaning even harder down the road. As an FYI, there is no 100% carnauba wax so don't go nuts trying to find some (carnauba wax in pure form is hard as a rock) but any carnauba paste will work fine. Many here use mothers, I have used 'kitts' carnauba paste for years with good luck.
Oh, and a small flexible screwdriver and a telescoping magnetic wand are lifesavers.
Oh and write down the order you take things off and the. Put everything back in reverse order!!
Have fun and give yourself about 5x the amount of time you think you need!
Taking pics before a during dis assembly is also recomended
Dear gawd man YES +1 on this. If you need to start disassembling stuff to clean, take as many pictures as possible. Some games seem simple at first glance, but wind up interlocking like a giant 3D puzzle.
I know that much, but unfortunately I wasn't able to take good pics when I took off the backbox as it was late night and raining. I posted another thread to hopefully get someone else's pics of their backbox insides. But I will be sure to take super detailed pictures and document my entire breakdown of the playfield when I get to that hopefully this week.
You took off the back box??? Why??
As for the dishwasher, soap yes, hot dry no. I put it on delicate cycle or short wash with no hot dry. They come out great. Be careful with stuff other than plastics though. I've gotten over zealous in the past and have out toys in only to have them come out completely stripped out paint.