Noob question on pin maintenance

Fatsquatch

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Unlike the Freddy I just picked up, the Frankenpin I'll be getting this week has not been shopped. So...what kind of work should I be planning to do on it?

I'm guessing install a new rubber kit, clean and wax the playfield (need some real pointers on the proper way to do this), and replace the balls?

The machine is in full working condition, so thank Jeebus for that.
 
For your first pin I would not recommend trying to do a complete strip of your new MSF.

Just start easy by taking plastics off one or two at a time, windexing plastics, and replacing rubbers and then re-assemble, and on to the next section...

Starting out i could never imagine doing a full playfield strip / re-assemble.

Take some pics if you want to make it easier on yourself.

It's also normally pretty easy to remove ramps under the playfield and clean them because lots of dirt gets in there and can track all over your game that you otherwise just finished waxing....

just my .02
 
http://www.pinrepair.com/ is your best friend. lots of info and easy to understand.

as suggested, work in sections when disassymbling to clean/wax and replace rubber pieces. dont just clean what you can see, clean under everything. i clean the underside of plastics insert in the playfield as well.

replace the pinballs themselves, otherwise you likely have wasted your time cleaning.

when replacing screws, do not overtighten, you can strip out thier wholes in the playfield. make sure the right screws go back in the right places.

check the batteries. best to replace them.

i usually tear apart the flipper assymbly. more often than not, it will need rebuilt. if your first flipper rebuild, i suggest do it fully so you have an understanding of the parts and how they work together, that way when they act up, you have an idea of what to look for. flipper problems are the most common problems to arrise on pins.

the manual is your friend. download it if it is available. some machines have a step by step process to remove the layers of gadgets and ramps. the manual can help with this.

-Caligirl
 
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It really depends on what you want out of the game. The last 10% of the cleaning will be 90% of the work.

For your first game it's probably best to clean and wax the playfield removing as little as possible. Once you've done that you can play it for a while and eventually do a full strip down and cleaning.
 
Use Novus 2. Most pinball parts places have it, it is a great playfield cleaner.
 
Before waxing a playfield I will heavily buff the field out with Novus 2 and then wipe it down again with Novus 1. The Novus 2 should handle the dirt and dust, and the Novus 2 should clean up any remnants of the Novus 2 on the playfield. After that I just use regular old Turtle Wax.

On some playfields you might need 2-3 times with the Novus 2 depending on how dirty it is. If you see dirt remaining behind after your first pass, don't sit and scrub. You're best off cleaning multiple times than rubbing so hard that you start wearing down your playfield.
 
You can use Magic Eraser for really heavy ground in stuff but I wouldn't expect to need that very much on newer games. Be careful... you can do a lot of damage with Magic Eraser.
 
A complete strip of Frankenstein is actually pretty easy. The only tricky part is around the North Pole plastic (vertical metal upkick ramp.) Just make sure you take notes of what order you take everything off, and what size nuts go where.

The first thing you will want to do is open the back box and look at the GI power connector (upper left.) In about every DataEast/Sega Pin I've seen, this connector is burnt to a crisp. Another thing that is usually dead is the Monster Motor for Frankenstein's head. Turn's out that is the same motor used on some RC cars. I'll try to find the replacement number later if you need it. Also if you need new arms for when Frank throws the balls at you, Marco Specialties use to have replacement arms.

The ramps on mine were so dirty you couldn't even see through them. Novus 2 for about 15 min, and the ramps will look like new. Lots and lots of Novus. :) Good luck, and enjoy!
 
Currently, everything is working well on the Frank, but it's nice to know that there are replacements for the problematic pieces if need be. :)

Lots of good info in this thread. Thanks a bunch, guys!
 
My advice is to take LOTS of picture. I take pictures of everything, playfield, under the playfield, inside the cabinet, lots of close ups in the back box. This will help you out in more ways than one in the future,.

I clean with Mean Green and Novus 2.

Also I wax the playfield with "Carnauba wax" is more of a paste. I got it at cheap at Walmart.

Steve
 
Be careful with Mean Green though, it will take off inked artwork. On older SS games, even spit and elbow grease will take off apron artwork though!
 
What about Mill wax?

Is it worthy of using, or is it just a needless niche-branded product that doesn't really do anything special over common store-bought products?
 
Honestly, you can really get by with just Novus 2. I use a lot of Simple Green on plastics and metal parts, but not for the playfield. On the playfield, I keep to the Novus products and Turtle Wax and I've never had problems with EMs, early SS machines, or modern machines.

Novus has been shown to be 100% safe for pinball machines, so there's no reason really to experiment beyond that.
 
I've always praised Novus to no end for its uses on arcade machines (and portable devices like iPods and handheld game systems), so I'm not surprised it's very effective on pins as well.

It's really a tremendous product.
 
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