That's Awesome! Ordered.

I have had such good luck using vid's guides. I'm about to try my first playfield that needs the inserts replaced. For insert art I have been using thermal transfer printing on 1 mil mylar and it's sharp, dense and opaque. And it can print in white! If anyone else wants to try some, PM me with a link to your artwork or look locally for a sign shop that has a Gerber Edge printer.

http://www.gspinc.com/edge-fx

For masking I have used Oracal 810s. It's a paint mask specifically made for this type of application. Some films will result in fuzzy edges because the solvents in the paint attack the acrylic adhesive.

http://www.orafol.com/gp/americas/en/products/search-result-gpam-product-details/items/oramask-810s-stencil-film

I think it's more a confusion of how the term is applied than lying. 100% Carnauba wax merely means that Carnauba is the only type of wax that is used in the product. Lots of waxes will include waxes other than Carnauba, such as paraffin wax.

"The very best carnauba-based car wax is only about 1/3 natural carnauba. It’s probably for the best since the price gets higher and higher as the concentration of carnauba rises. When a product advertises “pure carnauba car wax” or “100% carnauba car wax”, they are referring to the purity of the carnauba that is in the product, not the product as a whole".

http://www.autogeek.net/qude101.html

I agree. It should have very little if any impact on increasing the price.

The perception of value, perhaps?

Great find. Thanks a lot.

Exactly.

Respectfully disagree. I've been using Novus 2 exclusively for over 15 years on some of my first WPC games, and haven't had any issues with wear from its use. The playfields are glossy, smooth and look even better now than they did back then. Based on this experience, I think the abrasiveness of Novus 2 is a bit overstated. Once you get to your third pic (polished clearcoat), I don't think there's any additional, appreciable polishing/material removal going on. Sure, maybe it'll wear through in 50 years of cleaning, but it won't be my problem then.. Note that this is on diamondplated playfields in good condition... playfields with worn diamondplate, planking/graining or other imperfections might be damaged by repeated use.

Now Novus 3... that's another animal. I used it successfully to remove a scratch from a CRT, but haven't found much use in pinball (although it did shine up a set of crappy legs once when I ran out of metal polish)

I'm with Vid on the use of Novus 2. If you keep your playfield clean and waxed, what good will Novus 2 do you? You're just unnecessarily using abrasives on your playfield - that's a fact, no matter how little abrasiveness you think it has.

I clean with the novus. Any cleaner is either going to have water, alcohol, petroleum products, or abrasives (or a combination of some), none of which are great for playfields, but something has to loosen the dirt. From my experience, the abrasives in Novus 2 are very mild when used for basic cleaning (not rubbing hard over and over, or using a high speed polisher). Use what you want on your own games for sure, but Novus works great for me.

Kickstarter, include a limited edition $50 T-shirt, people go nuts for that crap.

At work I have no choice. And I will say it is a far superior product than that TKO crap one of my bosses liked. It said it contained plastic scrubbing particles and ripped my hands to shreds. Gojo FTW!

Ok,

Just to clarify:

1. Simply sweep the machine if it is clean and waxed already.
2. Use Novus #1 to clean dirt/grime and then wax as needed if no scratches. (Please specify which wax is best - I saw the list of what not to use.)
3. Use Novus #3 for deep scratches, then Novus #2, then wax.
4. Use Novus #2 for light scratches or ball trails then wax.

I understand the idea here. I am a car/aircraft dealer and we only grind on the paint if it needs it. Some cars need wet sanded, then polished, waxed, everything. Some just need washed. The least amount of abrasion is the best for longevity of the clear coat. Same goes for windows in airplanes. If they are dirty you simply use non-Ammonia "Spray Away" cleaner for $1.50 a can. If they have small scratches you use Novus #2 and then cleaner. If they are really bad you use Novus # 3 but you have to be careful.

So where does Gemini Technologies CP-100 Playfield cleaner (the blue stuff) fall in the scheme of things? It seems to work well on rubbers but I always keep it away from Plastic Ramps, posts and Mylar.

This is a great guide since everyone will be cleaning their game (hopefully) at one time or another. Can I also suggest a future topic: a guide to cabinet cleaning (I know you already have cabinet restoration), thanks.

CP100 is the best stuff out there. I have gallons of it lol!
Doesn't leave that white gunk behind when people don't wipe it all off (pasty novus)
PAPA in Pennsylvania uses CP100 as well..... Makes the ball roll really fast and smooth!

Hmm I don't think it does, but I know it doesn't contain water.
We have been using it for over 15 years on all eras of machines with zero issues

Or potassium benzoate. (That's bad.)

Haha!!! The sprinkles!!!

How about cleaning dirty,filthy white rubber?

I do like Blitz but that screw on plastic cap can be a real bitch. Maybe that's why my buddy puts his in a mason jar.

I use this with good results, lasts a while too. No residue, easy on and off.

image.jpg

That's funny... The cool looking sparkly bottle of mill wax isn't good for our playfields that Marco sells, I have a huge bottle of it, I love how it leaves a glorious glob of crap in hard to reach places, and if the bottle gets bumped just right it blurps out a rocket of puke that takes me 5 minutes to locate, oh crap, it just landed on the blue mesh of my new running shoes.

Rats, Cannot get Blitz wax sent to Australia, not available here. I have the white residue from Millers Wax on many of my star posts - now I know why. Rats.

Don't sweat it too much, after you use it once, you can't get the lid off, lol

I'm with odin, I'm guessing I need to warm it up and put it in another container, or just throw away the lid and put the container in a ziplock bag, or Tupperware

So, you mentioned pure carnuba being harder. Would it be worth seeking out a harder compound that needs to be heated up a bit in order to apply to the playfield?

My Brother while in the navy was tought to polish shine his dress shoes... A method he shared with me was to use the polish and heat it up on the shoe with a lighter, my first impression of flame polishing

So with this in mind, maybe we could use low heat on the wax after applying it with maybe a hair dryer. Vid what do you think?

Edit:
Damnit vid, I just type too slow

That is true. I have had 2 jars of the stuff.
The first I had was hard but easy to apply. The second one I got was very oily, soft and clumpy. Don't know if I would buy it again.

RTBB used to stock it, but it's not on their website at the moment. Maybe contact Nino about it and let me know how you go.

I am convinced that the poster "Vid1900 is actually a consortium of veteran pinheads who post as a collective. Too much wisdom, experience, and resourcefulness to be just one man.

Pinball Borg, the pinhead collective

Now Vid, tell us if all hand cleaners are equal? I've heard that hand cleaners are great for cleaning a playfield. Does that include Goop, Gojo, Lava (without the sand), Fast Orange?

Resistance is futile.

I don't see any problem at all with "cleaner waxes". As long as you don't bear down with them and use a soft applicator, you're not taking any clear off of any measurable amount in hundreds of uses (years and years).

You are over-exaggerating some products abilities to wear down top coats or damage finishes. If that were the case, there would be many. many, MANY more cars with ruined finishes from these products, as cars' finishes are in an infinitely more destructive environment and are much more aggressively polished at every use. You see classic cars all the time with original finishes that have been shined with cleaner waxes hundreds of times with like-showroom finishes still gleaming. How can that be if these products are so destructive? Answer: they aren't.

That's my opinion on cleaner waxes.

I think the main point against cleaner wax is that they contain silicone. Silicone is deadly if you ever need to recoat your playfield, you'll have fish eye everywhere.

Yes, and because your machine isn't exposed to elements like a car, it also means it doesn't need to be "cleaned up" in the same way. As long as you keep your machine regularly maintained, you shouldn't need to use those cleaners, just like you don't get your car repainted after every time it rains.

My general rule, start with the least harsh cleaner and if that doesn't work, work your way up until you find one that does.