Looks too easy! I'll give it a try when I get around to shopping my Cyclone. Thanks B_R.

Nice work! I think I may be a little too gunshy to try this on my pins

I have seen results that look stunning though! Congrats!

Chris

Great video!! I saw STP almost two years ago at northerly island in Chicago standing room only venue, they are without a doubt one of the best shows I've ever been to!!

Cool vid BR. Good work

Dave.

I can see how that can get addictive!

i had to vote on the third option.. lol since your videos rock!

as for the flame crappin the ramps.. the video is very helpfull and i will try it some day

That is freaking bannannas!

You make it look too easy BR and thanks for sharing.

B_R makes it look so easy, that I'm going to head down, take apart all my pins, and turn my ramps into globs of melted plastic!

Thanks for the vid, B_R..

very nice B_R i can tell it's not your first time came out like new.

now all i need is a pin with clear ramp so i can melt it

I am partial to Hank's methods.

Awesome footage b_r, thanx

No where to run too no where to hide, sing the song of people inside.

Core is one of the best albums of the 90's... Hands DOWN.

Crackerman is a good as where the river goes of the songs that got no radio love.

Looks good, BR. Makes me think of the first time I put some warped plastics in the oven to flatten them out. Made me a little nervous, but it worked like a champ. I will definitely give this a whirl the next time I do a full shop out on a game with plastic ramps. It always helps to see how it's done, before trying it yourself.

Right on, glad you got these posted separately!

Just remember people, if you are gunshy go real slow. Start one on end and go to the other if you feel it is getting too hot.

p.s - if you don't mess it up too bad you can use like a 2000 grit sandpaper to smooth it out and re-poplish

Anybody know (or has tried) if this technique could fix the notorious bubbling on the entrance to the SS Boney Beast ramp?

Great video B_R, but man that ending was SCARY!

I was so inspired I ran out and bought one of these during Amazon's Cyber-Monday sale -

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000VML7KO/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00

$37.00

I keep meaning to try flame polishing but just have not done it. Until watching this video that is. I had an old brass torch much like the one in the video. It was my father's and quite old. I turned it on and lit it a couple of times in the past with no problems. I practiced on a junk ramp and it went well. Very well. I cleaned and polished my JP ramp then went to the garage to flame polish it. I lit the torch and in two seconds it burst into a fire ball. I set the ramp down and quickly rolled the torch to the center of the garage. It lay there with a 1 1/2 foot ball of fire around it for 20 min. Tank and all was engulfed. Nothing was hurt or burnt. Not even the ramp. Scared the crap out of me for a second though. I'll be going to Lowe's today for a new one. Anyone want to buy a torch?lol

Wow! close call there....that could have been REALLY bad.

Wow Nice BR...have to give a try on a couple of old broken ones before the real thing..

Lol, I'm in the market, but I think I'll pass on that one!

I'm going to have to give this a try on my DM.

Thanks for the video. Looks like the important thing is to keep the torch moving.

I was thinking about this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Blazer-GB4001-02-Stingray-Butane-Torch/dp/B002PEVGPC/ref=pd_sbs_indust_1

Sing that song B#tch
Freaking hillarious

Went to lowes today and picked up a new torch. I'm back at it. JP ramps look great. I have a question though. Can I polish a terd? How bad can the ramp be and still be brought back to life. If I flame polish it 100 times does it keep getting better and better? Or do you get to a point where it just isn't effective anymore. Hope that make sense.

AFAIK, you can't flame polish out ball trials if you have them down the middle of the ramp. So don't go too hard at it, or you'll have a nice ball of goo.

Thanks BR, Any problem that you are aware of with flame polishing colored ramps? I was considering doing this to my red RBION ramps when I shop it in the next few weeks. Thanks.

I agree. I made some serious ball tracks disappear last night.

Only opened the link to see what BR was using the torch on now .... =-)

Man they look sweet when done.

Hey BR any issues with the decals delaminating or plastic from the ramps weakening?

Overall very cool technique and makes them look very close to new when done.

thanks for sharin

I've also made a vid a few months ago:

Really amazing what a difference it makes. Nice job guys.

i have heard of this method, but i have always been curious of what it was excatly..thanks for sharing.

Those CoinTaker flashers must be flameproof!

Has anyone tried?? I would love to know...mine has that bubble...I don't want to have to buy a new ramp.
Please let me know!!!! If you could post before and after pics, It would be appreciated!

Kyle

If you are referring to bubbles in the plastic, flame polishing will not take them out. In fact, flame polishing may make them worse. Adding excessive heat to plastic does exactly that...causes bubbles. My process for flame polishing is here:

http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/flame-polishing-my-procedure

I did this to my SS ramps and it worked out great. Makes them look new again. I did make one mistake at first. I tried using a heat gun, though it worked it was very unforgiving and I warped slightly the spider hole entrance so on the boney beast ramp, every so often a ball gets stuck there now (so I'm most likely going to replace it). Well after having the struggle there I picked up a creme brulee torch and that worked like a champ. You can get very precise with it. I recently did my STTNG ramps and it worked perfect.

BTW, I noticed a huge improvement in ball speed flowing across those ramps.

The main thing to avoid, besides overheating the plastic and causing it to bubble(bad!)/warp/droop/burst into flames is failure to remove all dirt from the surface of the ramp before flame polishing. They have to be squeaky-clean for best results.

You are using the flame to melt the very top surface of the plastic only, and this makes it smooth and clear when it re-hardens after a second or two. If there is any dirt or residue on the ramp surface it will melt permanently into the plastic.

Practice on a crap ramp helps a lot.

RM

You can get a basic micro torch at Harbor Freight for $2.99 and you can one that is a little more full featured with it's own ignition and different tips for $8.99. Both are fueled with butane.

here is a guess from a newbie but not new to the smaller torches some have listed here: the flame these smaller torches put out are very thin. I would think it would be much more difficult to get the same result as the larger torches for the simple fact that the flame will need to be in the area for a longer time. with that, more likely to overheat and wind up looking like the one in "hanks tips" than in the one BR has done so well. B R do you agree?

I've flame polished POTC and IM ramps without an issue. Why do you say Stern ramps can't be polished?

Geese if I had of know you would have made it that nice I def would have had you send it up here to Canada. Looks great!!!