Favorited! This is a great topic. Thanks Vid.

Vid,

What do you use to clean and polish metal side rails and lock bars?

Bruce

Will give it a try. Thanks CNKay.

Bruce

This is what Vid advised me to get. Had to order it online because they don't allow the local sale of it here in Utah. I'm going to use it to clean an old woodrail playfield.

Bruce

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There was some discussion of which "naphtha" products to use and links to buy it in this topic which may help ease the confusion.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/40s-united-pinball-machine-cleaning-question

Be careful which one you get. Vid provides some excellent advice on using it in that topic.

Bruce

What would you use to clean this ball shooter cover? You can see it's dirty around the screws. It's from a 1949 United Mfg. pinball machine.

Bruce

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Is it a good idea to remove the old wax if it's a different brand from the one you're planning to apply?

For example: Remove the old Mother's wax and replace it with Blitz or is it OK to apply Blitz on top of the Mother's?

Bruce

Any idea what this stuff is on the PF posts and how to clean it off? It doesn't look like wax.

Bruce

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I've tried Novus 2 and ISO 91% and peeling/scraping it off. Is this the plastic on the post itself?

Maybe I should try sanding it off with fine sandpaper then polish it with Novus 2?

Bruce

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These are red, yellow and purple posts from a 1964 Williams Palooka. Where would be the best place to get new ones? I looked at PBR but they don't quite seem to match.

Thanks,
Bruce

I'll call PBR tomorrow and I've posted to EM seeking parts thread too.

Btw, I thought maybe the swirl was a marbled pattern.

Thanks guys,
Bruce

I see that. The mauve ones have what looks like a marbled pattern.

Thanks again Vid,
Bruce

I was thinking the same thing but don't have a lathe. Maybe someday.

Bruce

What would you use to clean and polish this badly stained dirty metal backbox door (and the guide shown in picture too)? It's from a 1968 Paul Bunyan and seems to be made of some copper or something.

I tried a little Brasso with microfiber cloth in a spot but I think it would be easier to buy some kind of buffing wheel to put on my drill? If so, which buffer wheel would be good for this?

Thanks,
Bruce

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Stopped by Lowe's but they didn't have any buffering or sanding wheels to use with my drill.

I'm going to try Harbor Freight or maybe use fine steel wool to clean/polish this metal backbox door.

Bruce

Thanks vid,

HF didn't have buffing wheels for my drill at the store that I could find. Will look online for them.

Bruce

Found it and looks like green compound is what I need.

Thanks again vid,
Bruce

I don't think this question was answered but is Naphtha the best solution for cleaning the outside cabinet walls or do you recommend something else?

Exactly what I was thinking with my old woodrail which has cracks revealing bare wood.

Does the smell go away with fan and open window? A smelly game wouldn't be good.

I want to clean the normal dirt off and possibly polish the cabinet, legs and beehive shooter, would a wood polish work for this?

The backbox top in the last photo is the part I was thinking about using naphtha to clean off the crud because of the exposed wood. (It was in a basement for many years)

Bruce

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I remember when I tried ME and 91% alcohol on a JITB cabinet. The paint looked brighter and newer which I know was from taking off the top paint layer.

Would ME and ISO work on this cabinet for the areas where bare wood isn't showing? Maybe ME and something non waterbased?

Ok I'll do that. Thanks.

Pieces of dried melted rubber on playfield. Best way to clean/remove them?

I know pulling one of the pieces up will pull the paint up with it. Can I carefully crush them into powder then clean them off? Is there something that dissolves them without harming the paint?

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I don't think Naptha dissolves the dried hardened melted rubber pieces. I did try it before posting here.

Naphtha and Novus 2 aren't making a dent in the melted rubber stuck to the playfield even after many applications of both cleaners.

Dropped the idea of "crushing them into powder". I think these melted pieces are too hard and may make dents in the paint if I try to do this.

I didn't know about plastic razor blades until you mentioned it but it's an idea. Will I be able to use it without scratching the paint?

Surely this is a fairly common issue with old games that others here have had to deal with that can share what they did?

This is preventing me from finishing cleaning the PF so I can move on to waxing it with Blitz.

I plan to leave it where the ball doesn't go but there are bumps from the rubber pieces where the ball does go. Maybe the ball will flatten them out while playing the game?

I'll look into trying that. It does need to be smoothed down or flattened somehow. I may try the plastic razor first. Are you able to slide the plastic razor across the playfield without scratching the paint?

Is the goo gone safe for the playfield paint?

I ordered the orange Scraperite plastic razor blades ebay.com link: itm

I had an idea to try using the heat from a hair dryer to soften the rubber bits before cleaning them up. I was using my ultrasonic cleaner yesterday to clean the 65 year old posts (from the same game) that had rubber stuck to them and it softened the rubber pieces to where I could peel them off.

These 65 year old posts look like new after the ultrasonic and I haven't even polished them with Novus!

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