Replacement leaf for asteroids deluxe

breathhold

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Hi,
I am trying to find replacement leaves for my asteroids deluxe. One of them is in bad shape and despite my attempt to clean and tune, I can't get get it to work reliably in the heat of battle. Do you know where I can buy a replacement that would fit? I see a few places sell leaves, but not sure which one I need. Thank you!
Screenshot 2025-04-22 at 1.24.22 PM.png
 
What have you done to try to clean it?

Note that you have the 'crossbar' type of leaf switches. Those have small metal bar contacts, instead of the larger brass button type. The crossbar type are designed to be self-cleaning, because the perpendicular contact rub against each other when they make contact.

There isn't much to these switches. You can clean the contact point with a Qtip dipped in some acetone or Goof Off, to break up any grime. These can be dirty, as all of these games were operated in smoky bars and restaurants, which covered everything in nicotine.

But you shouldn't need to replace the leafs here. If you are having issues, it may be something else in the wiring, or even the game board.

Best thing to do is swap that switch with another one on the control panel, and see if the problem follows the switch. If it doesn't, then it isn't a switch problem.
 
What have you done to try to clean it?

Note that you have the 'crossbar' type of leaf switches. Those have small metal bar contacts, instead of the larger brass button type. The crossbar type are designed to be self-cleaning, because the perpendicular contact rub against each other when they make contact.

There isn't much to these switches. You can clean the contact point with a Qtip dipped in some acetone or Goof Off, to break up any grime. These can be dirty, as all of these games were operated in smoky bars and restaurants, which covered everything in nicotine.

But you shouldn't need to replace the leafs here. If you are having issues, it may be something else in the wiring, or even the game board.

Best thing to do is swap that switch with another one on the control panel, and see if the problem follows the switch. If it doesn't, then it isn't a switch problem.
Thanks. I'll try swapping tomorrow. The leafs on the one button are terribly corroded. I tried cleaning them with the usual ways I see suggested. The metal is in pretty bad shape.
 
Thanks. I'll try swapping tomorrow. The leafs on the one button are terribly corroded. I tried cleaning them with the usual ways I see suggested. The metal is in pretty bad shape.

The trick to dissolving corrosion is to just soak the whole switch in white vinegar for a couple of hours. (This works for lots of arcade parts.)

Sometimes soda and other crap got spilled into these games, and stuff can be grimey under the CP. Krud Kutter dissolves nicotine and other sticky stuff, and white vinegar will dissolve any rust or green corrosion.
 
The trick to dissolving corrosion is to just soak the whole switch in white vinegar for a couple of hours. (This works for lots of arcade parts.)

Sometimes soda and other crap got spilled into these games, and stuff can be grimey under the CP. Krud Kutter dissolves nicotine and other sticky stuff, and white vinegar will dissolve any rust or green corrosion.
What is the follow up to white vinegar? I soaked a ton of coin door parts in white vinegar for two weeks, removed everything and it is now just one gigantic pile of brown rust.
 
What is the follow up to white vinegar? I soaked a ton of coin door parts in white vinegar for two weeks, removed everything and it is now just one gigantic pile of brown rust.

Two weeks is too long. You may have eaten some of the pot metal parts. Any parts made of cheaper metals can dissolve (or start to dissolve), with enough time, then re-deposit on the other types of steels.

Soak it again in fresh vinegar, but only for a couple of hours. Then hit larger pieces with a stainless brush to remove any surface rust. Wash with any spray cleaner, rinse with HOT water, and immediately get in front of a fan to dry. Getting larger pieces dry fast is the key to minimizing surface rust. But some is ok, for anything you want to paint. (You can clean those parts with acetone before painting.)

I run small parts through the tumbler. Details on that are in this thread. See post #6:


Others here would say put everything in Evaporust. That will probably work too. But you're going to spend $40 on a gallon of it, and probably won't be able to soak everything at the same time, unless you buy a couple of gallons.
 
Two weeks is too long. You may have eaten some of the pot metal parts. Any parts made of cheaper metals can dissolve (or start to dissolve), with enough time, then re-deposit on the other types of steels.

Soak it again in fresh vinegar, but only for a couple of hours. Then hit larger pieces with a stainless brush to remove any surface rust. Wash with any spray cleaner, rinse with HOT water, and immediately get in front of a fan to dry. Getting larger pieces dry fast is the key to minimizing surface rust. But some is ok, for anything you want to paint. (You can clean those parts with acetone before painting.)

I run small parts through the tumbler. Details on that are in this thread. See post #6:


Others here would say put everything in Evaporust. That will probably work too. But you're going to spend $40 on a gallon of it, and probably won't be able to soak everything at the same time, unless you buy a couple of gallons.
Yeah, these are coin door parts that need the brass finish. To be honest with you I put them in the vinegar and forgot about them for two weeks. Pulled them out. They looked pretty decent. Rinsed them off with hot water set them aside and a week later everything was completely corroded. Now a year later they're unrecognizable. Everything's just a pile of brown rust
 
Yeah, these are coin door parts that need the brass finish. To be honest with you I put them in the vinegar and forgot about them for two weeks. Pulled them out. They looked pretty decent. Rinsed them off with hot water set them aside and a week later everything was completely corroded. Now a year later they're unrecognizable. Everything's just a pile of brown rust

They can be saved.

If it's all small stuff, see the tumbling post I linked above. Invest in a Lortone rotary rock tumbler. (Or they have cheaper knockoffs at Harbor Freight now.) But you want the sealed type, not the vibratory type.

The key is to soak in vinegar for 24 hours, wet tumble in the vinegar for about 30 minutes to knock all the crap off, rinse in HOT water, then stick in front of a fan to get dry as fast as possible.

Then dry tumble for 24 hours in crushed walnut shells, with a dab of Simichrome polish. Everything will come out shiny and new.

If you want, box the parts up and send them to me. I'll do it for you and make a thread.
 
They can be saved.

If it's all small stuff, see the tumbling post I linked above. Invest in a Lortone rotary rock tumbler. (Or they have cheaper knockoffs at Harbor Freight now.) But you want the sealed type, not the vibratory type.

The key is to soak in vinegar for 24 hours, wet tumble in the vinegar for about 30 minutes to knock all the crap off, rinse in HOT water, then stick in front of a fan to get dry as fast as possible.

Then dry tumble for 24 hours in crushed walnut shells, with a dab of Simichrome polish. Everything will come out shiny and new.

If you want, box the parts up and send them to me. I'll do it for you and make a thread.
Yeah, I'm pulling the boards this weekend for the shark attack so maybe I'll just send you a whole shipping container full of crap.
 
Wow, only $70 too. I might have to pull the trigger on this one.


I can't vouch for them personally. But I did handle one in person at a HF, and they do seem pretty well made, similar to my two Lortones. There isn't much to them, so I don't see how they could be that bad.

And if you're going to get one, you definitely want a dual-barrel one. I have two separate single-barrel ones, but only because I got them cheap at yard sales. A double-barrel one lets you tumble one batch wet and another batch dry, so you can run two batches at the same time.
 
The trick to dissolving corrosion is to just soak the whole switch in white vinegar for a couple of hours. (This works for lots of arcade parts.)

Sometimes soda and other crap got spilled into these games, and stuff can be grimey under the CP. Krud Kutter dissolves nicotine and other sticky stuff, and white vinegar will dissolve any rust or green corrosion.
Hi Thank you to everyone that replied. I soaked it in white vinegar for 2 hours and then scrubbed it with a toothbrush and it cleaned up nicely. It was super nasty! Put it back in and it seems to be working great now. Previously, it would seem to miss once about every 8 times when I hit the fire button quickly. All good now, but I need a new excuse for my low scores.
 
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Awesome!

Always good to preserve the original parts when you can, vs replacing them. (Usually with some cheap part from China, which isn't as nice as the original part).
 
Yeah, these are coin door parts that need the brass finish. To be honest with you I put them in the vinegar and forgot about them for two weeks. Pulled them out. They looked pretty decent. Rinsed them off with hot water set them aside and a week later everything was completely corroded. Now a year later they're unrecognizable. Everything's just a pile of brown rust
Got a picture of the parts in question:

IMG_1828.jpeg
 
Got a picture of the parts in question:

View attachment 815180
They had a layer of what was probably galvanization on them. The vinegar removed that. Then they were exposed to moist air and you got flash corrosion.

For these, you would have needed to hit them with that galvanization spray, or paint, after they were cleaned and dried.

Sorry for your rust. Unfortunately, I've learned about corrosion through a NACE class, and I've seen this and worse.
 
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