Hi,

I am trying to find a way to clean a 1930's Genco playfield without destroying it. I asked around at different sites and had many responses. Mostly saying to use a polish/cleaner such as Millwax. Others say to use Naptha. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I have posted on here at the Genco area before asking about this but I never received any cleaning information.

The game is a Genco Double Track and the glass was missing when I bought it. The playfield is not filthy but it will need a good cleaning. I read a few post on cleaning and as I said before they were all over the place. The paint, on the playfield, had some areas where it looks like old varnish is lifting. The paint is still intact. In the past I have used a slightly dampened paper towel with diluted Simple Green on it and that cleaned up my Bally Fleet and Bally Streamline without damaging the wood. I was told by many that any liquid other than Naptha will raise the grain of the wood. I am worried that Naptha would dissolve the varnish or paint. Again, I would appreciate any advice given.

So the main question is what is a safe cleaner to use on 1930's pinballs?

Thanks,

Larry.

genco Double Track 1938 (resized).jpg

It is uncommon thats why im skittish on ruining it. Not that I think its OK to ruin a common game. I take it to heart anytime I screw something up, but it especially hurts when they are rarer.

I saw a flyer for this and you can either play one player or two. Im not sure how the one player would work? It would be boring if the other horse just sat there.

Ive been trying to knock out a few projects before I took this one on. I just finished a Seeburg 200c-1 library console home phongraph/jukebox and a CC Sky Rider pinball. The Sky Rider was a balloon themed pinball that my sons fraternity was throwing out. The playfield is rough. A lot of paint loss, missing switches, broken wires, damaged boards, etc. I was able to fix it up but I cant do anything with that playfield. It plays nice and is fun to play. I tried to give it back but they don't want it. Anyway, the theme of this story is my projects are done so now I will have to man up and face this one. It will be a challenge. A lot of broken wires. Any schematics out there, lol. ?

I was teasing. I figured there would be no schematic to look at. On the bright side, if both games are wired the same, then hopefully what is broken on one side, isn't broken on the other.

Thanks for all the advice. What's ME?

Yes it is the same game and the same picture. I bought it from a guy locally and the guy I bought it from asked me if it was O.K. for him to allow IPDB to put the images on the internet. I told him that I really didn't mind what he did, he still owned it at the time, but that was nice of him to ask. It was on Ebay last year.

I always wanted a horse pinball and thought I would take the chance on this game. I told my wife it was either the smartest thing I bought or the dumbest. It all depends on the outcome.

I was originally looking for a Nags or a CC Derby, but this was more affordable.

Everything seems to be there except for a spring and one of the other style of springs on the playfield. It looks like a piece of coiled spring steel. I am looking for that part if anyone has any Genco parts, I would be interested in one. Odds are I'll probably have to make one.

Oh yeah, the one side has a chunk of wood missing from it too.

Thanks for the advice. I was able to take some random shots of the playfield. It is dirtier than I remember. When I bought it, I just moved it to the basement. I couldn't get to the whole game. I just reached in and took three random shots. I'll pull it out next week and take it apart. I'll probably try to get it to work before I attempt to clean it. The paint looks pretty good. You can see a line which is probably a split in the wood/paint in two of the shots.

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IMG_3187 (1) (resized).JPG

I was able to take the playfield out and I did notice some areas where varnish is lifting. Paint is still intact. Actually, it would look nice with no varnish. What a difference in color. The flash washes it out. You can see where a few pieces lifted off of the guys cheek and fell off.

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