To keep non-conductive metal from re-rusting I often use a basic pinball wax to keep it from oxidizing again. Might help here as I imagine most of these parts won't still have protective plating.

I mean, you've already dragged it home instead of the dump so I don't really have anything to add

Seems like you are taking the right approach. Just clean everything. A lot.

Good news is there's a million CFs out there so shouldn't be hard to get some photos so you can compare yours when putting it back together.

Take 100 photos of the underside. Because you’ll forget what goes where instantly - we all do.

Your idea of the second ply is good .. just note where all the wires go.

If your aim is to remove everything from the playfield so you can clean the old one … maybe a good idea would be to remove *everything* now — loom and all — and switch it all over to the second plywood.

Then as you clean a part, you can solder it straight back in while the memory is fresh as to where the wires go.

^^ that’s how I do a playfield swap - and that’s essentially what you’re doing here. Albeit you’re moving all the parts back again eventually.

rd

Here's a nice example of perceived junk transformed into a masterpiece.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/terminator-2-restore#post-1605378

In the long run, this may have been a better deal but you kinda miss the experience.
https://pinside.com/pinball/market/classifieds/ad/153180

that looks great for $800........wish I was still in Mass

I wonder if he would be better off removing oxidation on plated parts with a dremel with some kind of brush? Looking at the before and after with the evapor-rust, I question if it isn’t the solvent that is eating off the plating? You are basically creating a battery in this process where you have two metals and a liquid and the plated material is acting as a sacrificial metal in the process.

That makes sense to me. I've seen evaporust take all the plating off my rusted parts before and didn't really think about why that was happening. Thinking out loud: once the plating is compromised by the rust I wonder how much protection the rest of the metal can enjoy and for how long.

Don’t worry if a rivet breaks, just use a zip tie man.

EM’s are actually the easiest pins to get back in operating condition. Because like you said, it’s all mechanical. Find the problem and fix it. No complicated, expensive boards to buy. Shine it up play your heart out!

I wouldn't, you may never get it back to normal. Just spray it down with your choice of cleaner..simple green or if really bad I have actually used foamy engine bright.
Let it soak for 15 mins and hose off.
-Mike

If you do, I've got new clear tubing to replace the old yellow stuff.

https://pinside.com/pinball/my-pinside/my-ads

Now that you have the actual score motor removed I would next remove the transformer.

Then just detach everything off of the old ply and put the entire wire harness with all the mechs and steppers all still attached in a smaller sized storage bin and submerse it all in evaporust for at least 2 or 3 days. It wont hurt any of the other materials like the plastic pieces or bakelight boards of the steppers.
Kind of like this, but you should leave everything together.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/handshake-in-space-space-mission-/page/3#post-7258227

Take a ton of pictures as you unscrew everything from the old board dont desolder anything more than the transformer at this point

When you take it out of the evaporust I would rinse it all off outside and immediately hit it with an air compressor everywhere with it laid out on concrete in the sun and just keep hitting it with air until youre certain its dry.

Especially in between all of those switch blades, dont give the oxidation a chance to come back by just letting it sit and air dry on its own.

Hah! I'm currently working on one of those myself.

EDF69255-3CF9-4987-AAB1-F93A71EE2B97_1_105_c (resized).jpeg

Here ya go.

I forgot the height of the cutout on the bottom. It's 1 3/8".

And it’s 1/2” thick.

4763E297-4ECD-47C1-8D5E-C58B1C315AAA_1_105_c (resized).jpeg

More than happy to help but this thing will be fully populated in the next couple of days.

Amazing score motor transformation. I saw the first photo in that post before reading the text. Assumed it was going to say, "so I threw this out..."

Just to be sure, you opened the cam motor gearbox by drilling out the rivets, cleaned and re-lubed, yes?

I usually rivet them. It’s a 1/8” hollow rivet. You can get a punch from Hanson. Steve at PBR has the rivets. I have a bunch but am down in Galveston.

Dang! I need to know. I'm in the same boat as you and another pinsider play_pinball shared your story.

So I can -
1. what can I get wet with purple power? (like did you soak all the solenoids?)
2. did you submerge the whole score reel? (looks like it has its own transformer)
3. did you just wipe down the transformer and then paint it?

Totally following your progress now! Nice work.

Here's what my Flip Flop looks like.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/flip-flops-falling-out-of-the-sky-first-pin-first-resto

I would not use purple power for anything on a pinball. It will turn the metal plating black if left too long. Use the zep citrus degreaser diluted as a good general cleaner.

And I use Purple Power on everything in a pinball. Also works best full strength.

It will, however, turn things black if you soak them in PP and leave them too long.

Look, I know everyone is obsessed with the abbreviations and acronyms in this hobby but do you really want to be a grown man telling your buds you soak parts in PP?

You're right.

I lost my head there for a moment.

Now that you mention it... would that work? Guys I just invented a product to rival LumaLegz.

Everything is looking good. This is a hobby so take your time. If you only have a few minutes here and there that fine.