I really hate to part out a pinball. but I really may have to do it for this one.

The story of this pinball is that it was actually purchased by the Playboy Club in McAfee NJ. It was either bought for, or donated to the Fire Department in McAfee (the Playboy Club did buy a new fire truck for them, so a pinball machine maybe was included!)

Anyway, this machine was at the firehouse when it had a fire sometime in the 1990s. The machine didn't get burned, but was heavily covered in soot - inside and out.
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The soot does not come off easily. To make this machine look respectable, the cabinet would have to be repainted, and every piece would need to be cleaned with whatever works best to dissolve soot...

I'm thinking it's not worth the effort. But I would like to hear you guys weigh in.

Yes, that's correct. I think the irony is lost on no one.

The solenoid board I had actually borrowed in my Mr.&Mrs. Pacman. The MPU - I don't know. Looks pretty roached around the battery

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The cabinet is in very similar condition, just a bit buried in the garage.

Okay - the cheering section prevails... I will fix it!

I found some pics from the day I picked it up
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I've also been reading up on the fire-damaged resto projects out there. I guess the first thing I will try is Mean Green. I'll keep you posted...

Okay... So I have been at it all day.
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Undiluted Simple Green does wonders for all this soot. But first things first. One piece of the head had to be glued together.

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Glue should be dry by tomorrow.

As for the Simple Green
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Before and After on the display boards
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As for the backglass... it's hosed. Literally and Figuratively. The more I try to get the soot off, the more it dissolves
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I've been looking at this backglass, and after a lot of thought, I've come to the conclusion that the blonde is a few seconds away from disaster...
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So the backglass will just have to wait.

The shooter rod, and a bunch of other metal parts have gone into the parts cleaner
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And... the top of the playfield is mostly stripped.
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One thing I hadn't really noticed was the bottom of the playfield is in fairly decent shape. I took out the drop targets and soaked them in Simple Green. They came out really nice.

More later...

So... this has been going a bit more slowly than I had hoped. But there has been progress.

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Several magic erasers and quite a bit of Isopropyl alcohol later.

I'm not sure if I should try to touch up the playfield, or not. I'll make that decision tomorrow.

I also have most of the head back together. I had removed the wiring harness to wash the soot off it. The displays and wiring harness are all back together.

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Most of the boards are back in.

I have ordered new flippers and pop bumper skirts. As for touching up the playfield, I may try a few discreet places before committing to any extensive work

For those of you still watching - The Playboy restore project is coming along. Funny, I seem to remember the pieces came apart a lot faster than they are coming together...

the boards are all back together and the wiring is all hooked back up. Plugged it in and... well, we have GI.

A little disappointed that it didn't boot up. I've checked the power output voltages, and the circuit that powers the MPU seems a bit low. It's supposed to read 12V, but I'm getting a reading of around 9V. I don't know if this is problem or not, but I figure rebuilding the PS board is where to start.

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Hi Vid - Thanks for the tip! I'll have to read the rest of your posts. It might take a while...

I thought I did pretty well cleaning the pins with a fiberglass pen. Of course it's no help if the connectors are suspect....

I'll order parts this week. It will give me some time away from that game