Hello Everyone!

I just picked up my first pin this weekend...one of my favorites...Cyclone. It is in absolutely desperate need of a good shop, so I have ordered all I need for that. the playfield as a whole is pretty great except for the very top where the pinball has crashed down a billion times. My plan is to clean it very well and wax it. I have noticed a German supplier that sells some sort of non-adhesive overlay for about $150 shipped. Looks like it would be worth it to prevent further wear and to protect the entire playfield once and for all. Any experience with this product? Other than that, I ordered a new belt for the Ferris Wheel to get it going again....motor seems to be fine...Mystery Wheel sometimes is inaccurate but works...a few lamps out...and the P1 display is faulty and...switch 36. Other than that I am just thrilled and blessed to have this machine in my house. I love it. Probably my favorite non-multiball Pin ever. Any suggestions regarding restoration are very welcome. Any advice on the playfield is really appreciated.

Peace!

Damagio

Thanks everyone for all the responses and the support! I feel very fortunate to get this machine. Ok...so...

Todd, now that I think about it, you are probably right about not getting the overlay. The playfield is in pretty good shape except for the one area, which I can certainly live with probably for years to come. I think if I take care of it from this point on it should be fine. When I get another machine or two, I won't feel bad taking it out of service for a while to do a complete restore...for now it's fine. Thanks for the tips on the mystery wheel and flippers too.

Jeff-Z...love your page. Definitely inspires me. You did a lot of nice work on your machine. I love the LED mod....defeintiely want to do that at some point. I have a cat that looks like your too.

Thanks pinbum....it is probably my favorite non-multiball machine ever.

DareDevyl...thanks for that link! Beautiful repros!

Thanks VacFink! It's working fairly well as is, but will be much better...I hope..in a few weeks This one came from an op in the Santa Maria, CA area.

Kporter Thanks! I agree this was always one of my favorites...everyone remembers the sound! I promise...pics will start coming in before...after and during. The cabinet for being unrestored is very solid...a few scratches here and there but for 28 years old...pretty awesome.

timtim...I am single, so there is always room for more. Thanks!

Love the forum...filled with a lot of great knowledge. I have been lurking for a while and really appreciate what you all do here. Hopefully I can be a useful contributor. I have done quite a bit on video arcade games, but pins are new...lots and lots and lots of parts and boards...a little intimidating, but fun. Before pics coming this weekend.

Mike

Todd...you sure got your money out of that one! I'll post pics this weekend. The playfield on mine looks very good. I think it will clean up nicely and you will call me crazy. Some of my parts arrived today, so I am excited. I have a couple of switches that seems to be out now...17 and 36 so I will have to look those up and see if they need replacing or just adjusting.

The really awesome thing is....and you hit the nail on the head...it's playable as is...anything I do to better it is just a plus.

Mike

Ok...I would like to say that these are before and afters, but they are before and durings. I have found a few more parts that needed to be replaced and this is my first shop so I have been trying to be patient and take my time. I will need to go through the machine again and replace nuts, bolts, plastics as I come across them, but for now I just want it back clean and playable. So far, I am really pleased. The machine was pretty solid to begin with but needed some heavy TLC. At this point I have done the following...
1) Cleaned the entire outside with Simple Green...amazing how much finger grease accumulates...
2) Stripped the playfield...cleaned with simple green, novus 2, novus 1 and waxed with Mothers Carnuba.
3) Cleaned all plastics with Novus 1. Cleaned all metals with Brasso. Cleaned ramps with Novus 2 then Novus 1.
4) Replaced Flippers, replaced all rubber.
5) Replaced Ferris Wheel Belt.
6) Replaced about 10 lights.

Before

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A few more before....

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During....coming along nicely....I didn't take a pic of the ramps yet, but they are so much better!

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Did a little more work tonight...got very lucky with the display P1 was very poor and P2 was readable but lousy. I checked the 100v output and it seemed ok, so when I re-seated the connector, P1 and P2 were almost perfect, probably some oxidation I have a Defender arcade game and every 6 months or so I need to re-seat the controller PCB connector and it works fine for 6 months. Hopefully the parts I ordered on Monday will be here by Thursday and I will be rocking and rolling on Friday. I must say...I am so looking forward to getting it back together cleaned and everything working!

One question....any way to get the scratches out of the top glass? I see a new one is only $80, which seems like a bargain compared to other parts...but if it can be saved that would be awesome...looks like someone keyed it...not horrible, but noticeable.

Thanks! Having fun and working on a log to share.

Keeping an eye out for a multi-ball already... I really enjoyed Tron Legacy, but it's really pricey...I remember liking Space Shuttle as a kid...any suggestions on something "reasonably priced" $2,500 or less.

Thanks!!!

Mike