Which answer do you like better?
A) I tried it once but it warped my playfield.
B) I was going to but I couldn't fit the playfield in the dishwasher.

He said posts, not the whole playfield

Have you seen the size of his dishwasher?

Seriously, yes, do it all the time for plastic posts. Small parts holder, top rack, gentle cycle, air dry.

Be prepared to manually brush some anyway as sometime wax/polish gets caught in some of the ridges and will only come out with brushing.

viperrwk

I have. I clean almost everything I can fit in the dishwasher. I got an Ultrasonic cleaner from Harbor freight and I use that now for smaller parts like posts. Similar results to the dishwasher, just easier. After they are run I use a toothbrush on them for 2 seconds and dry them off they look brand new I'd say 75% of the time. If it takes more time then that I buy new, they are cheap. Good luck!

I've seen the guys from This Old Pinball throw plastic ramps in there and they were fine, even had the switches still on them!

I put my TZ subway in the wash years ago with no heat on and somehow it melted it anyway. I must have done something wrong but it's not worth the risk to me for plastics.

It depends upon the dishwasher. For example, does the dishwasher have an exposed heating element or not. This can easily cause a hot spot to melt plastic that comes close to the element. Is the gentle mode NSF compliant? Your typical hot water runs at 120 degrees F. This is just within the working temperature of polycabonate (128F-138F.) But NSF requires a final rinse to be 150F (NSF/ANSI 84) to 180F (NSF/ANSI 3.) The heat deflection temperature of polycarbonate is 140F and the melting temp is 155F. So if you put a polycarbonate ramp in a NSF dishwasher with no heat dry, it will still likely deform.

Only solutions are to turn off the sanitizer, take it out before the rinse cycle or don't put it in the dishwasher in the first place.

viperrwk

Ahhh there you have it. Way too scared to ever do it again. Must have been on "hot wash" or some crap. Live and learn.

I do my ramps in the dishwasher on highest heat setting. They come out like they have been flame polished. Posts as well, no probs. Works a treat.

And just for the record, if you're talking butyrates, it has a slightly higher deflection temperature than polycarbonate. And modern plastics such as PETG has a melting temperature of 400F-500F degrees depending upon grade.

viperrwk

I clean PF posts and plastic lane guides in the dishwasher all the time. I clean them before hand with a bit of extra scrubbing to get the wax build up off. I put them in a baby bottle cap washer basket on the top rack works like a charm. I don't put plastics in the dishwasher...some are more delicate than others, I generally just use Novus 1 on them and wipe them down.

Phoebe

Plastic posts, wire harnesses and circuit boards all go in the dishwasher. I try to pull them out before the drying cycle but usually forget.

Wow.....the cosmic link between dishwasher knowledge and clean playfields!!!

Nope, good old hand washing with soap and water works wonders...

image.jpg image.jpg

How about this for cleaning a game! Scroll to the September 2012 video.
http://www.coos.net/bingo_e/

If its just posts and rails I have a tumbler used for polishing brass bullet cartridges. It's noisy, but it does a pretty good job. I've done the dishwasher too and the results are about the same. but you risk heat.

Dishwasher would be fine but I wouldn't bother with old white posts as you never get the yellow out and just need to buy them new if you are doing a restoration.

Ken

Only if I want my wife to murder me.

Ummmm....... probably not.

Im going to try this on a set of old yellowed posts and see what happens

http://retr0bright.wikispaces.com/

--Jeff