easy way to polish pinballs

beerorkid

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Once I stumbled here I heard the good advice to get new pinballs. I looked at mine and they were scratched like crazy. I took them to the buffing wheel of my bench top grinder and polished them up good. )with plastic rosin)

I p;aced a big order with pinballlife and got new mirror finish pinballs and I could not tell the difference between the ordered ones and the ones I polished.

Just thought I would spread the word. Sure pinballs are cheap, but you can maintain yours if you have a buffing wheel.
 
Man I'd be scared those things would fly out of my fingers trying to polish them with a wheel.

+1 on just buying new ones without the divots and dings.
 
I recently purchased a Tumbler and shined up an old ball for the heck of it. It came out looking brand new.

Just be careful with balls that had rusted before. They come out clean but they are still abrasive to the playfield and will re-rust again.
 
Depends. I used a 24 grit Crushed Walnut media, and some novus 3 in the mix, for approx 2 hours and it came out perfect. Some people run them for 24 hours or more, but the parts I've tumbled so far have come out excellent and the longest I ran them for was about 4 hours.

Yep, they are a bit noisy. Just put it in the far corner of the garage and leave it alone for a while. :)
 
Depends. I used a 24 grit Crushed Walnut media, and some novus 3 in the mix, for approx 2 hours and it came out perfect. Some people run them for 24 hours or more, but the parts I've tumbled so far have come out excellent and the longest I ran them for was about 4 hours.

Yep, they are a bit noisy. Just put it in the far corner of the garage and leave it alone for a while. :)

is this the only media to use with good results? The novus 3 is a must? Or no? Apply it to the pinballs then put the pinballls in the rock tumbler? Or just pour in tumbler with other media? Thanks
 
is this the only media to use with good results? The novus 3 is a must? Or no? Apply it to the pinballs then put the pinballls in the rock tumbler? Or just pour in tumbler with other media? Thanks

I've heard of people using the Corn Cob media with great results too. I don't think the Novus 3 is a requirement at all. It was recommended to me by someone and it worked great when I tried it. I just poured in a little bit right into the media.
 
i use corn cob media and mill wax,works great and much cheaper to use,try it b4 you knock it
 
dude over at pinball life kicks donkey!! i met him about 10 mos ago, real nice guy...

now i live even closer to him, for a few bux i just get new balls.. its not worth it to me....

if your in northern il make the trip, cash makes parts magically cheaper lol
 
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