Okay, I'm completely new to this, but seeing as I've owned my Stargate for three months now, and I'm not sure when it was last cleaned by the previous owner, how exactly should I go about cleaning the playfield? I'm not sure I want to use novus 1 because I'm not sure there's wax on the playfield. Also, is it important I clean the entire playfield, or just where the ball travels? I don't want to tear the entire thing apart unless absolutely necessary. My playfield also has some bubbling mylar, but I'm not concerned about fixing that.

Basically, I just want to know what I need to use and how I need to use it. Thanks for any help!

I've already read most of this and I'm still not sure what to do. I guess I should start with Novus 1, but I don't want to end up with a planking playfield if it turns out there's no wax. So should I start with Naptha? I'm just still a little confused about it...

The main thing I need to clean is dirt off the playfield, mainly in the well traveled areas. I actually did do a quick dusting and vacuum a little while ago, but that's it. Here are some pics:
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A lot of these spots actually aren't covered by the mylar (or only half covered in the case of the inlanes) though so I'm not sure what to do. I also really want to clean the edges of the mylar as that has a good amount of dirt built up as well. The playfield feels smooth enough, nothing sticky or anything.

I also feel like I'm seeing some new wear spots forming so I really want to wax the playfield before things get worse.

Where are you guys finding One Grand Blitz Wax? It seems to be out of stock everywhere...

Alright, so I plan on cleaning today, but I still have one more question... Should I remove everything from the playfield before I get started? I don't want to if I don't have to, because it seems like a pretty daunting task, but I'm wondering how I'm going to wax areas like the loops and inlanes/outlanes without doing so. Is it as hard to break down the playfield as it looks?

Okay, one more question before I really begin. I realized I'm going to have to take the playfield in my garage, else my room will smell like naphtha for the rest of eternity. I just went outside though and it seems a little humid. Is it okay for me to work on the playfield in the garage? Or is it okay to use naphtha in my room?

Oh, also, I ended up tearing the playfield down!

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...Hopefully I can put it all back together.

Got it in the garage. Looks good to go, although I am wondering if there's a better way to set it up than this?

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Edit: Also, should I pour the naphtha directly on the playfield, or wet a towel with it and then wipe?

...Wow, I can't believe I didn't think of that! Oh well, I got it all clean anyways, now I just need to wax it. Should I avoid bringing it into the garage to wax while it's humid out, or would it be fine if I'm just taking it in for a few hours. (Or should I just wax it in my room? I don't want to make a mess in there.)

Finished cleaning my Stargate, thanks so much Vid! Everything turned out great, although I did have some problems with the wax caking in a few holes and stuff (And I used 1 Grand), but otherwise it looks and plays much better than before. Also ended up getting new rubbers and flipper plastics while I was at it!
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Quick question. Is it okay to use Naphtha to clean switch contacts? I wanted to clean up some EOS switches.

So I don't need to use any alcohol or anything? Just a dry businesses card? I tried that but it didn't look like much came up. They certainly look rough, though, so I guess I'll go at 'em with a file. These aren't gold, correct? (This is a Stargate, btw)

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*Another* quick question! Can I use Naphtha to clean the cabinet? There's nothing major on it (besides some scuffs and scratches), just a little bit of dirt.

Hmm, I'd assume Stargate has a decal'd cabinet, but don't know for sure. Really I just want to know if it's safe and then give it a shot, since I already have plenty of Naphtha. It's really just one spot on the front of the cabinet where it looks like some dirt got smeared on it.

I'm about ready to wax my Stargate playfield again, mainly because I have the ramps out to get them welded back together. I'm going to buy some Novus 1, but I did want to know, how can I tell if it's safe to use? I'm pretty sure the clearcoat is still intact (I can see *plenty* of ball swirls!) so does that mean I'm good to go? (I don't want use Naphtha because I don't want to remove the old wax and I'm not going to do nearly as deep a clean as I did the first time.)

Darn it... My mom did all my towels with everything else. And of course she used fabric softener.

Can I just run them through the wash without fabric softener before I use them to wax? Or should I buy new ones? Or, am I overreacting and is it okay to use them as they are?

I'm not going to be doing any clearcoat any time soon, just using a little bit of Novus #1 where necessary. So that's fine?

Okay, so I started waxing my playfield, but something weird is happening. I vacuumed and wiped over the playfield with a dry cloth, and used Novus 1 on a few really dirty spots. Now that I've started waxing however, there is a lot of dirt coming up onto the cloth I'm waxing with. I tried using Novus 1 in a nearby spot, but hardly anything comes up. The playfield also doesn't look dirty. I'm waxing with 1 Grand and a drop of water just like you instructed. Should I just continue waxing like this, or should I do something else before waxing?