You did a great job on that Lucky Strike. I'm only 12 minutes away if i want to play that sensational player. I had a better chance at pulling one of your teeth rather than getting a trade for that beauty.

Sheesh my teeth fall out by themselves

The incredible story behind my new C37:

Gottlieb serial number 5540 was originally delivered to a home in Arkansas probably around 1977-78. Shortly after being set up brand new, the house was sold and this C37 was simply left behind with the house - essentially orphaned to whom ever the new home owner would be. 1980 the house sold to a family who moved it to the Chicago area and kept it from that day on. November 2017 I discovered through a coworker this C37 was actually owned by his inlaws - who thankfully really wanted to sell it

Almost inconceivably, the family owning this immaculate machine never converted it to free play, never lifted the playfield (not once!) and never removed the back box cover. The move to Chicago was done with the machine entirely intact, on its legs in the moving van. Not even a single light bulb was ever changed and when the first rubber failed, they replaced it with a heavy duty rubber band. The only interior access made to this C37 was through opening the coin door to recycle the quarters for the machine to be played. 32000 plays later the game became passe to the family and sat for the next 25 years until I discovered it and began the process of evaluating its condition.

When I explained how to lift the playfield for interior photographs, the original document folder was discovered underneath the main board. Inside was a complete set of documents, instruction cards, coin door inserts, 2 electrical schematics on Gottlieb green paper, original warranty card, spare parts order form and various other factory instructions. Also inside the cabinet were the original shipping instructions, wooden shipping block, contact file and grease tube inside a separate plastic bag. The family never knew these things were all inside the cabinet, waiting to be found! Here are a couple shots of the game as-found:

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Needless to say, this C37 cleaned up with only a simple clean and wax, polish to all the metal bits and a few minor electric related fixes. There were a couple scratches in the playfield that I carefully touched up (https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/playfield-repair-with-acrylic-and-lacquer-centigrade-37). The cabinet and BG are 99% immaculate. Its been converted to all LED now simply for longevity reasons and looks absolutely stunning. Game play is fantastic!!

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I'm speechless

Nice find, Bill. Funny how 32000 plays is hardly anything.

Might I suggest you pull the coin door to identify the original pink/purple color of that stencil for the game, match it, make stencils and paint over the mostly faded to pink. Your playfield touchup skills would truly bring this game back to its original glory

Hi Mike! Yeah I'm seriously considering doing that. The pink does appear to have some fade to it, but very little. Reworking those areas would no doubt give the whole machine more "pop" and color contrast than it has now.

What kind of paint was used originally used for cabinet work? Enamel?

Nice game and congrats.

Next time please don't use a water product like simple green to clean a playfield. Water and Wood don't mix unless it is a tree, and a live one at that. Use 91% or better rubbing alcohol as it evaporates quickly and will not plank the playfield from soaking in like water.

EM-Pinman,

Thanks for pointing that out. SG is approximately 85% water, according to SDS data. Just found Vid's guide to PF cleaning...

Cheers,
Bill.

I'm with you Sir Scott.

Oh gosh the pressure is building

Really guys, the LEDs are there simply because I don't want the heat.

Besides, its MINE.

Phenomenal game. Really cool to see one in that pristine condition. I dream of finding something like that...

I’d call that more than a little fade.

I'm not sure what the original paint was. Maybe others can chime in.

I had a Strange World where the purple faded to about the extent of your C37. I made stencils and found a close enough rattle can match and repainted just the purple and it was dramatic.

The below is factory original.

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Beautiful! Wow! Congrats on the fine addition to your collection.

Mike - wow that does make a huge difference. Great picture. I'll take off the coin door surround and see how it looks. It would be pretty easy to hand cut some stencils and re-do the "pink" areas.

Goldenboy and Spinal: thanks for the nice comments! Cheers!!

I agree about avoiding water based cleaners. The water can promote planking. I would also avoid alcohol unless you are keen to remove your lacquer. Naptha will dissolve wax and grime but not harm your paint or clear/lacquer.

Stunning find. Congratulations.

Great pick up

Quick thought.

If you redo the pink areas, your game will no longer have that magic of being totally original, not restored.

If I was in the market for a C37 and you were selling, would buy 100%. Redo the pink and no way would I be a buyer.

So, no way on earth would I do it myself, a little bit of fade is just fine Just my opinion!

C37 Beautiful, simply beautiful!

These are the finds we all love and enjoy.

Great story. The game looks fantastic.

I learned this the hard way. Did my first few pins using the 91% alcohol and melamine foam technique. It did an amazing job of removing ball swirl and deep dirt... at the expense of removing the top glossy lacquer finish and likely some of the paint layer.

Novus 2 and waxing afterward restored the shine... but it will forever be more delicate in this state and future swirl may not be removable (nothing left to remove!).

Nowadays I live with naphtha/Novus 2 for cleaning and only do alcohol/ME prior to clear coat... gotta lock it down after stripping it bare.

Have done well over 100 games with 91% and ME, some of those games went to location and have had 40000+ plays on them each since. Keep the game clean, new rubber, shine with Novus or Car-nu-be or whatever you choose and NEW BALLS in the game regularly and your game will be kept well and without damage. Also, and remember this kids, buff out the dry wax and don't leave residue behind. After buff, PF only natural hair brush with small shop vac to get all the dust off makes a HUGE difference in longevity. The dust/dirt/whatever turns into effectively sand paper, which with ball wear/scratches will damage your playfield on EMs more than anything else. Auto clear an EM PF is usually a poor choice, and really should be a last resort of all restoration techniques to a PF. Game will NOT play as it was designed to play, too fast, too quiet, too not original as designer had planned.

To the OP on this C37, congrats. Those games exist out there. Numerically there is an old pinball machine a single basement in nearly every single block of the US of A. Yes, 4+ million machines made, and they went somewhere. Usually sold back for change to the distributor in trade or cash, and then sold or given to family and friends, or auctioned. Even if 10% are left, and some argue its much more, sitting around waiting to be found... That is 400,000 games unclaimed in basements. So, ask around, get lucky by asking around, get to know your neighbors, and always ask who do they know that has a pinball machine in their basement or attic.

I haven't done a hundred games, but I won't be doing 91% and melamine unless it's just before a clearcoat anymore either. Too easy to try to get that last little bit of swirl/dirt out, and all of a sudden, it's too late, you hit the paint.

On another note, I'll take that C37, touched up cab it not. Beautiful, and what a find!! Congrats!

SDO, you need to play some auto-cleared EM’s at Texas Pinball Festival. They win consecutive awards every year, including this one.

Not meaning to derail the thread, but cupped inserts do not play as original either. Clear coat protects the surface, looks beautiful, levels inserts, and doesn’t require waxing... only occasional cleaning with Novus 2 is required. It’s a win-win-win-win situation, except for the initial effort involved.

Typically, the complaints about “not playing like original” come from waxing on top of clear which makes the ball skid and slide around weirdly. I don’t like that either... so why do more work?

Anyway... back to the C37-ness. I’d clear it!

So fix them? I'm not a fan of automotive clear on EMs either.

Wax or no, it's not the same thing. Similarly, I do not use LEDs. Just not my thing. Much easier to bring it back to incandescent after an LED job than to remove clear!

Fine if you enjoy it, but not all of us do. But, as I say frequently, to each their own.

That C37 is amazing! Great game and glad to see it being enjoyed! Great find.

So what was a brand new play-field like in say 1962? It was cleared with Acrylic Lacquer, it was level and was probably waxed. So I am with Nic on this. I have 50’s games and I leave the wear and no clear needed however come the sixties and I have had to remove the lacquer, fix inserts and other wear? The best clear is auto clear and it should be exactly the same as new Acrylic Lacquer right?

I am old enough to have played EMs new. They were shiny. They were also harder and faster than any unrestored original "survivors" you might luck into today. You could reclear with acrylic lacquer to be "authentic" but the reality is that the manufacturers just used the most effective and economical clear that was available at the time. No matter how you slice it, acrylic lacquer (the automotive clearcoat of that era) sucks. It is dimensionally unstable, yellows slowly but steadily and gradually deteriorates until it's basically not there anymore. That leaves you with a minimally protected playfield lacking its original color saturation. Do your games a favor and have the playfields professionally clearcoated. If you insist on maintaining the dulled patina of the 40+year old deteriorated surface (which is not the original look) dull it ever so slightly with 1500 grit. But honestly, clearing a playfield is like painting a house that hadn't been painted in 50 years. You'll be surprised how good it looks (and plays) - much like it did was when it was first built.

Seems we've entered clear/LED/repaint/Dremel debate territory... hee hee. It happens. I'm just glad we are all so passionate about our hobby in ways most people would think impossibly nitpicky and weird.

Before I had my first clear done, I replaced the inserts on a Doozie and leveled them out. It played much better but still wasn't absolute-perfect flat due to the tiny ridges between playfield and plastic. Seems the only time inserts are truly flush with the playfield is during the initial manufacturing process when the wood and inserts get sanded together in one pass. Which is obviously impossible to do again after the final silkscreening.

Without a time machine, there is no way to get back to original without compromises. Perhaps the closest one can get to that today is swapping in a Wade Krause playfield. Silkscreened and lacquered like the old days. I'd love to play a game on one and see how it compares to a cleared PF.

My guess is that they'd feel more alike than not.

One thing I didn’t mention is that ALL of the inserts on this C37 are cupped. It does affect game play.

There isn’t currently any remedy to this issue I’m aware of - sans clear coating the entire PF or filling/sanding or replacing all the inserts. None of which I’m excited about. (With due deference to PinheadPierre’s comments and noting NicoVolta and others have pointed out)

They say necessity is the mother of invention. I’m scheming on a couple ideas to work around this problem: ways to possibly re-level cupped inserts without removal, filling or replacement. Hopefully. Fingers crossed ...

Cupped inserts suck. Hope you figure out a way to fix it.

More C37 motivational pictures.

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My two cents,I would replace cupped inserts.they only get worse.and the time in it to work around the problem won't bring desired results.been there done that.lightly sand new inserts if it takes all day.trust me,you will be happier with finished results.

Ahhhh C37 ... alcohol ... melamine ...

Such memories - I learnt the hard way !

Nice centigrade - be careful and take care of her lol

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/my-c37-disaster-confessions-of-a-magic-eraser-junkie

zaccaria and sonic used an avanced type of clear at the time that was 2 part like auto clear of today. and those pf's always look like new today and
i never hear people complain about the game play ever. i have seen the debate about EM clear vs NO clear. or 2PAC vs 1 part. i am sure it will not be the last.
i personally like a game to play well and cupped inserts mess that up. so if a game needs it done so be it if it doesn't then i don't do it.
i have a few games that are 2pac with a simi gloss shine. almost no one ever knows they are cleared. they normally say the playfield looks great.
i have seen NOS pf's with cupped inserts so bulb heat was only part of the problem. the real issue was they shrunk due time, because how they were made and what they are made of. replacing inserts with new is never easy. due to art on them or breakage.
clear is a matter of personal taste, and how much time and money one wants to put into a title.

Very nice Mike - thanks for posting!

Damn nice C37 you have there Mike!

my 2 cents
Cupped inserts are just part of the game
man vs machine
just a bit of a handicap

Now if the insert is missing
that is too much of a handicap

Creates misdirection, just part of the game.

There is "Good wear" and not so good. Good wear machines play friendly, fun, intriguing. Bad wear machines and the ball hops, drains straight down or the ball settles in the insert.

Agree with above comments. Of course I would always pick a time-travelled, factory mint original over a beat up EM, but I've come to appreciate the 'personality' that a few cupped inserts can add. Small spots of randomness added here and there. Heck, new games today (like JJP POTC) go out of their way to *add* more randomness to gameplay (spinning discs).

There is nothing worse than on a potential high score when the ball sticks on a cupped insert and you tilt the game getting it off. 'Personality' possibly if it is very minor cupping but it's really an excuse not to fix the game. The worst game for cupped inserts is my C37 and its out of the line up until it's fixed.

No excuse nowadays to have games with play fields that perform much worse than when new.

My observation regarding the cupped inserts discussion is the game gets played more and has a noticeable better game play after the inserts are filled.

My wife and kids are casual players who play friendly games and accept what they see and the results they get. They have seen the old beaters show up, get cleaned and made playable. Played them accepting the weirdness of the deflections caused by the cupped inserts and still enjoyed themselves.
After I filled the inserts they played the games again, looked at me and asked "What did you do? It's so much more real." For them its like the difference of a new game vs used. Now they have a better understanding of how the game was designed to be played. They are playing more and are more interested in the work I am doing to restore these fine machines.

“If it’s not smooth, it’s rough.
Tilts are too tight, it’s tough.
If it’s not cupped, it’s flat.
Gotta be this or that...”

Just choose door #3. A Wade Krause playfield. That's if you really intend on keeping the machine in your collection.

if only that was possible for every title. i would do it.

What's your technique for filling cupped inserts?

I prefer games with a smooth flat playfield, but i am not too bothered if there is some slight cupping
but mostly i am too lazy to do anything about it, unless it is severe enough to be a big detriment to gameplay.

Yes, this discussion depends on the amount of cupping. If it's deep enough to stop the ball then something should be done - mild cupping is OK with me. Laziness is also a factor which I'll admit too when it comes to mild cupping. Mine don't have too much and I'm OK with them as they are for now.