Freshening a pin up just sucks

Deadly

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The Funhouse I just got needed new rubbers so I ordered a kit from Marco and they showed up yesterday. I started at 9:00 last night and stopped working on it right before 10:45. Grant it I also installed Cliffy protectors but man who would've thought it'd be such a pain replacing every chunk of rubber?
Seriously - I'm amazed on how much hardware you have to remove to simply replace the bumpers. Possible I'm lazy which doesn't help either ;)

I was amazed and appauled by some of the rubbers actually being stuck to the posts .... yeah those had been on there for awhile heh. And I tripped at the finish line and burgered a topside bolt thread .... grrrrrr. Literally the last damn thing I had to do.

Consensus seems to say to change the bumpers every year. How often do you peeps do it?
 
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Do a REALLY good shop job/cleaning right off the bat. Otherwise your rubbers will tend to get dirty very fast again. That's the trick.

Working on my Skateball was so much nicer. No ramps, easy access, I did all the lights and rubbers in literally 10-20 minutes tops haha.
 
You should try a playfield swap.

If replacing a few rubbers seems like a lot of work pinball might not be the hobby for you ;)
 
You should try a playfield swap.

If replacing a few rubbers seems like a lot of work pinball might not be the hobby for you ;)

LOL - yeah I hear ya sceaming. Playfield swap - ya know since you bring it up I'm seriously thinking of paying someone to do it if/when I get there.

Tomdotcom - ,.|.. :eek: ..|.,
 
I'd love to try a playfield swap on my Skateball. But then I'd have to restencil/paint the cab as well so it ALL looks good, and fix some dings as well. That's way too much damn work for me haha. I found a NOS playfield awhile back for a good price too...maybe I'll try it on a better game someday...I'd never be able to sell it though after putting so much labor into it. :p
 
I find shopping out a machine to be very relaxing and I love doing it. Repairs are a bit more taxing on my nerves if they're difficult, but shopping out a machine with a pair of earphones in and some tunes going is nothing but a great time in my mind.
 
I find shopping out a machine to be very relaxing and I love doing it. Repairs are a bit more taxing on my nerves if they're difficult, but shopping out a machine with a pair of earphones in and some tunes going is nothing but a great time in my mind.

Amen, brother. I even like repairing them and working on boards. Last night I fixed a Williams sound board and it was a hell of a lot more fun to me than watch American Idol or something.
 
American Idol - doh. Being castrated with a butter knife would be a better time heh heh
I normally enjoy working on things as well - hell I even had the stereo playing some 80's butt rock. It's just irritating having to remove so many things just to replace a couple rubber bands ;)

I had bumpers I had to literally take a razor blade and cut off the posts. I think I used the phrase, "You gotta be shittin me" about 20 times last night.

The good news is - having to remove a few things allowed me access to normally restricted areas which I was able to give attention to.
 
American Idol - doh. Being castrated with a butter knife would be a better time heh heh
I normally enjoy working on things as well - hell I even had the stereo playing some 80's butt rock. It's just irritating having to remove so many things just to replace a couple rubber bands ;)

I had bumpers I had to literally take a razor blade and cut off the posts. I think I used the phrase, "You gotta be shittin me" about 20 times last night.

The good news is - having to remove a few things allowed me access to normally restricted areas which I was able to give attention to.

I hear ya... it can definitely be daunting at first.
 
I think cleaning / repair all goes with the territory when you buy a pinball. I enjoy messing around with stuff, cleaning the table, putting rubbers on etc. Sometimes it is frustrating, like when you have to dismantle 5 things to replace one lamp.
 
Swapping rubbers is a joy, a complete shop job will take 40-80 hours typically:
http://usergallery.myhomegameroom.com/gallery/Whitewater

It's gotta be a labor of love, cause it sure as heck ain't worth it as a money making venture. Unless of course you like getting paid $10/hr.

The good news is it's very satisfying if you enjoy it, and if you clean a game REALLY well, it really never needs it again. Just a very occasional wipe down with Novus 1 and new rubbers every few years.

Wade
 
Playfield swaps are always a pain in the ass. The first one I did was a KISS, and did it on my living room floor over 2 days.

As for tearing playfields down and cleaning them and replacing rubbers, I would normally spend 2-3 hours to do a Funhouse properly...
 
Swapping rubbers is a joy, a complete shop job will take 40-80 hours typically:
http://usergallery.myhomegameroom.com/gallery/Whitewater

It's gotta be a labor of love, cause it sure as heck ain't worth it as a money making venture. Unless of course you like getting paid $10/hr.

The good news is it's very satisfying if you enjoy it, and if you clean a game REALLY well, it really never needs it again. Just a very occasional wipe down with Novus 1 and new rubbers every few years.

Wade
Getting paid $10/hr to do something you absolutely love and can do at your leisure > getting paid 3x as much for doing something 10 hours a day that you despise.

In this hobby, I've spent several hours to make $3-$4 more than once. I take from it valuable learning experience...and my $3. :D
 
I find shopping one to be relaxing. Restoring one is a different story, just finished a haunted house that was a warehouse victim for the last 20 years. It was a total POS, but I enjoy playing it now that it's finished.
 
Shopping pins is well worth the time invested IMO. After cleaning, rubbering and waxing you put it all back together fire it up and have a pin that looks and plays like it should.

Thats when I smile crack a beer and rip out a high score :D
 
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