Target Pool
Gottlieb, 1969I am ready to just buy all new posts...tried ultrasonic, scrubbing by hand...simple green, krud cutter. Seems like after I ran them through the ultrasonic it made this stuff worse(?). Is there any easy solution here? I have already spent way too much time trying to clean these. I have 20-30 in this condition. I can scrape it off with my fingernail but that seems a little absurd for the amount I have to clean.
that stuff is what remains after the oil is gone from the plastic. imho, they are done.
A small hole in the back yard with a tiny cross is in order.
others may have a solution, but I have not hurd of it.
I saw your post in the other thread. That looks like the cleaning agent etched (ate through) the glossy plastic surface.
Quoted from Skins:I saw your post in the other thread. That looks like the cleaning agent etched (ate through) the glossy plastic surface.
If you scrape it off, there is glossy surface under it, it's on the surface.
if you can scrape it off, and glossy still under, maybe try a stiff tooth brush and mild soap?
still lots of work, and no guarantee it will last. I would go with new ones at this point...if you can find them.
I think the ultrasonic baked this scum on there. It will scrape off with a fingernail, it buffs off with a really abrasive pad with some work, the toothbrush doesn't work, I'll soak one in some peroxide to see. I have 52 of them, so $26 worth of posts if I replace...going on a game that isn't collector condition so I was hoping for an easier DIY. $$ not a big deal, just seems like there should be some easier method here.
A really simple tool for getting old wax off jewel posts is a toothbrush. From my own personal experience, a toothbrush gets all the old wax off, and you don't even have to remove them from the game. Vacuum up the dust, and you're done.
Quoted from PNorth:A really simple tool for getting old wax off jewel posts is a toothbrush. From my own personal experience, a toothbrush gets all the old wax off, and you don't even have to remove them from the game. Vacuum up the dust, and you're done.
That ship has sailed...I think the ultrasonic baked it on. I like to take everything off the playfield to make it easier to clean/wax either way.
Forgot--I also ran them through a cycle of the dishwasher to see if that would loosen that stuff up.
That might have worked before the ultrasonic created some sort of molecular super bond...I toothbrushed the hell out of 1 and it didn't do jack. I don't have tire cleaner(?) but I did try simple green and Krud Cutter. That technique looks like the way to go in the future...since I had 52 posts I thought the ultrasonic would work great!
Quoted from vid1900:I'd just buy new ones (a hour of your time has to be worth $25), but if you are strapped, then hit them on the buffing wheel with some compound.
I'm more impatient 
At this point I've already wasted way too much time but I can't let these posts win. I have a list filled out for PBR either way--just seemed like there should be a reasonably easy way to clean them, instead I've made them worse!
Quoted from vid1900:then hit them on the buffing wheel with some compound.
I hit one with a buffing head on a dremel and it actually took away plastic before it cleaned this stuff. The only sure bet is my thumbnail so PBR will get an order I guess.
I don't think that stuff is old dried wax. And I've never had any luck with getting it off once the posts develop that plague. The plastic has leached something.
Quoted from Wickerman2:52 x C11561W posts Steve
Good. Now just add new plastics, pops, skirts, caps, flippers, bulbs and rings and you'll be all set.
Where do you get the new posts from? I looked at a few places and did not find the ones I needed.
Blue for EBD and there are two different sizes. Thanks
Quoted from DirtFlipper:Now just add new plastics, pops, skirts, caps, flippers, bulbs and rings and you'll be all set.
Noooo!!! This game is a beater which is why I was trying to save the posts...bulbs all good, plastics all good, pop is fine, flippers have a nice "patina"....and the playfield has a nice array of planking 
I have both Wesley Bleche-Wite and a slew of "infected" posts that I replaced on my Domino ('68). The posts were not previously cleaned; I just removed them from the playfield. I chose two posts that were nearly identical and soaked one in the Bleche-Wite for 20 minutes. I used a toothbrush and almost scalding water to clean the post. Here are the results.
The clean one is on the left. FYI.
Actually, I need to update that video. Nowadays I use Simple Green, hot water and an old ultrasonic toothbrush. The toothbrush and hot water do most of the work.
It's not just a question of cost. A brand-new post can look "off" in an old game, and sometimes it's impossible to match the color and style. I bought a bag of red finned posts a decade ago for Black Knight, but they were cherry red instead of dark red - looked totally wrong. I finally got to use those in Skateball, but Black Knight has its original dark red posts.
Quoted from Msch:They are like $0.30 each?
.50 each. Spanking new bright whites will look a little off on a 46 year old game, not a huge deal to me on this particular game though. I am ready to put it back together and now I have to wait another week to get the posts...that's more the issue with me
Try here. I'm sure somebody has a hoard of decent used ones.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-em-seeking-parts-thread/
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