I got a TZ as my first pin and it is pretty dirty. The previous owner said he had it for 8 years and didn't seem to know much about pins(he didn't know how to get into the backboard); not that I know much either but I am learning fast... Anyways, I am pretty sure he only used novus2 on the main playfield areas to clean it and not much else.

I am being pretty brave and taking everything apart to clean/inspect thoroughly. Now the question is how far do I go in the clean-up:

Should I take everything off or just enough to clean the playfield?

There are two pieces of mylar on the playfield, in the bumper section and near the rocket. The playfield is in pretty good shape paint wise, no fading really; do I dare attempt to remove the mylar even though its not bubbling as far as I can tell and its still pretty clear.

Should I shell out the money for cliffys? If I did do that, aside from the obvious suggested areas do I order more protectors for the other switch slots?

So far some issues I have seen with the machine that I am hoping to get resolved before I am done:

The main ramp plastic is broken on the right side near the diverter, it doesn't look like it will affect gameplay. Is there a way to fix this without shelling out the $140 to get a new one with decals?

The gumball loader is pretty weak, hoping that when I am finished cleaning everything up (including this coil) that it will be better.

The DMD has a hum to it. It is especially noticeable if I run the DMD tests and whenever the screen is entirely lit it is even louder. No idea what is causing this or how I can fix it?

Thanks for the links, those will definitely come in handy.

Sorry for not knowing the right terminology here, but I have two coils with arms on them, I noticed that these arms rest against the playfield. So when the coil de-activates these arms slam back against the playfield, this does not seem right to me, can anyone confirm?

I will take pictures tonight, unfortunately I can't remember what they were.

I have decided I will definitely buy some cliffy protectors, thanks to Cliffy for not trying to sell me more than I needed, says a lot about your character . What is the best way to buy those? I could either order directly from Cliffy's website (only saw an email me link to buy, guessing no credit cards) or I can buy from a distributor and split shipping costs when I buy some plastic protectors or other miscellaneous items I need.

As for removing the powerfield, well I already almost have everything off the playfield (minus the posts/bumpers). I am not understating when I say this machine was filthy, it needed it.

One of the pieces that rests against the wood is the rocket kicker. It has already left a little divot in the wood, is this supposed to be resting against it?

I took apart the gumball popper tonight and the coil sleeve is cracked; is it safe to assume this is the reason it takes multiple attempts to get the ball up the chute? I don't have a replacement already, I know where to order one online, I was wondering if any regular stores would carry these sleeves?

I realize now that my wording might have been confusing as I was talking about the underside of the PF, sorry for the confusion.

The first picture is of the arm resting against the underside of the PF in the default position.

The second picture is the arm lifted up and you can see the dent that it has caused on the underside PF.

WP_000301.jpg WP_000299.jpg

Yes sorry for the confusion, I didn't realize until the last post after re-reading some of the comments.

The mechanism is solidly on there, the kickers are situated correctly on the upper PF and functioning. But then again as I said earlier this is my first pin so I am not really sure if its on correctly.