How the heck did you get in a beach bar before it opened? I never had that kind of luck.

I'm a huge fan of Gel-Gloss for cleaning a playfield. I first wipe the playfield with a lightly dampened terrycloth rag, then I apply the Gel-Gloss. I follow that with two coats of Mother's California Gold Brazilian Carnauba Cleaner Wax. I learned about Gel-Gloss through an article I read on Phil Hooper's web site:

http://bingo.cdyn.com/techno/overhaul/playfield/

Gel-Gloss has major cleaning power with minimal risk of cutting through the inks. It's good on the lacquered wood parts as well as the paints. I deviate from the author's approach by applying Gel-Gloss to a terrycloth rag (rather than directly to the playfield) and then working it in a circular motion while it's still wet. That way I can tell when I've got the level of clean I'm after.

For metal parts I use Mother's Mag and Aluminum Polish, sometimes applied with a felt tip on my Dremel tool. When I tumble metal parts, I use crushed walnut media with the Flitz additive. I usually finish with a hand applied coat of Mother's when I use the Dremel; it just gives a smoother, more even shine.

Evaporust is an essential rust remover and frequently the second stop for my metal parts - the first stop usually is the heated ultrasonic cleaner that Harbor Freight sells.

For playfield plastics I use Novus #2 followed up by #1. It really makes the colors pop.

I'd like to hear about your experience removing and cleaning the playfield light post springs. I've always been too chicken to try removing any playfield object that isn't held down by a screw or held on by friction, such as the light posts. I know other guys do it, but I've never tried.