TMNT Wico joysticks question

tmntfreak

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How do they come out of the CP? The ball doesn't seem to unscrew?

And is their a guide to clean and refurb them?

Thanks guys!
 
Remove the E clip on the bottom and it all comes apart.
Once apart, I just took the leafs off mine, pulled the grommet out and washed the base etc in soapy water...rinse and dry.
Wipe the grommet down by hand with a cloth, put everything back together.
 
Do you need to add grease in anywhere?

I got the knob off, cleaned the white plastic collar inside with some isopropyl alcohol, got it pretty darn back to all white.

Also, the stick has some rust on it, I'd like to polish that up to new. Balls also have some scratches and a bit of color fade. Is there a good way to get them to look like new? Polishing of some sort?

Lastly while I got ya here...where these sticks this stiff???
I don't remember them being so hard to move...and all four of my joystick are very tough to move around. Contacts on the inside are mint...as is the base.
 
The rust on the shaft can be polished out. I use a drill. I put the shaft in the drill so it is solid and start with 200 to 400 grit sandpaper depending on how bad it is. I gradually work my way up to 1000 grit wet dry paper (the final polishing I do wet). When complete and dry, I put a light coat of urathane clear coat to keep it from rusting again.

ken
 
The sticks should be somewhat stiff, you don't want em loose and sloppy, that would mean the grommet is worn out.
It shouldn't take that much movement to register a direction, if it does you need to adjust the leaf switches.

I adjust with a little pair of needle nose pliers right at the base of the switch, very small movement with little force until the contacts are very close to eachother.
 
The rust on the shaft can be polished out. I use a drill. I put the shaft in the drill so it is solid and start with 200 to 400 grit sandpaper depending on how bad it is. I gradually work my way up to 1000 grit wet dry paper (the final polishing I do wet). When complete and dry, I put a light coat of urathane clear coat to keep it from rusting again.

ken

Are the ball tops salvageable? Can I restore those in any way? There are some small surface scratches, nothing really major, but the colors are not as vibrant as I'd really like.
 
Anyone know how I'd restore the knobs?

They are pretty scratched up, can see the center seam, and some chips in a couple places.
 
You can try polishing them also.. a light sanding with 1000 grit sandpaper and polish them.. they sell plastic polish at Pepboys.. I use it on the headlights on my truck.. lightly sand then polish and they come out like new... It may work on your sticks

try a small area on one stick for testing purposes before tackling them all...
 
Thanks for the confidence!

I got some 800, 1000, 1500, and 2000 grit wet/dry paper. And some rubbing compound.

Started with the 800 (all wet btw) with the stick in my drill chuck, and worked my way up to the rubbing compound. Finished with some meguiars colorX....and boy oh boy is that stick BEAUTIFUL!
 
Here's a pic.

The proof however is in holding it. Compared to the other three, this one feels like it's made of glass. It came out amazing. No before pics unfortunately, but you can imagine what a 25 yr old ball top would feel like. LOL
 

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