(Topic ID: 265291)

Hazardous materials on pinballs

By Islote

3 years ago


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#1 3 years ago

Hi

I'm currently restoring my TZ and I wanted to know what materials or parts I should work with with protection. I know there is lead almost everywhere, in the paint, in the solder, the brass anodized metals have been done with lead, etc.
But is there any other kind of hazardous substance I should take care of like asbestos or something?
Thanks

-2
#2 3 years ago
Quoted from Islote:

Hi
I'm currently restoring my TZ and I wanted to know what materials or parts I should work with with protection. I know there is lead almost everywhere, in the paint, in the solder, the brass anodized metals have been done with lead, etc.
But is there any other kind of hazardous substance I should take care of like asbestos or something?
Thanks

Paint wasn't lead in the 90's
Only the old EM's from the 70's had lead paint.
Solder is partially lead but you should be fine. Just don't be melting solder and breathing the black smoke directly.

#3 3 years ago
Quoted from Isochronic_Frost:

Paint wasn't lead in the 90's
Only the old EM's from the 70's had lead paint.

Incorrect. Lead paint was still being used in commercial applications into the early 2000s. So yes, 90s pins still had lead paint.

Normally, it's not dangerous unless you're sanding the paint and end up inhaling the dust. In the unlikely event that you need to sand the paint, you should use a mask and eye protection.

Quoted from Isochronic_Frost:

Solder is partially lead but you should be fine. Just don't be melting solder and breathing the black smoke directly.

Lead is not really absorbed through the skin, but it can be transferred from your hands to your face, eyes, nose, or mouth. I generally use gloves when handling solder just as a precaution (and for a little bit of protection against splashes of hot solder and flux).

The fumes from the rosin in solder are toxic. Only solder in a well ventilated area and/or with a fume extractor.

Quoted from Islote:

But is there any other kind of hazardous substance I should take care of like asbestos or something?

There is no asbestos.

Quoted from Islote:

the brass anodized metals have been done with lead, etc.

Parts are made of steel, aluminum, zinc, nickel, and brass. Brass is seldom used, and is typically just for the tilt bob ring and some screws. Anything that is plated is usually nickel, unless it's an aftermarket mod (and in that case, sometimes it's chrome or brass). Sometimes the tilt bob is graphite. As long as you don't try to lick anything, you should be fine.

If you are putting metal parts in a tumbler, you should use a mask and gloves. There will be a lot of very fine metal powder produced as a result of polishing parts in a tumbler.

#4 3 years ago
Quoted from ForceFlow:

Incorrect. Lead paint was still being used in commercial applications into the early 2000s. So yes, 90s pins still had lead paint.
Normally, it's not dangerous unless you're sanding the paint and end up inhaling the dust. In the unlikely event that you need to sand the paint, you should use a mask and eye protection.

Are you sure that they were still painting cabinets and playfields with lead paint into the 2000's? I would have assumed that by nature of these amusement machines being in public areas commonly with kids that they would have faced stricter regulations about using lead products like that on the cabinets were anyone can touch them.
My best experience was that in the 80's the office my grandmother worked in had to be completely remodeled due to the lead paint, and I would have though that an office building is pretty commercial.

#5 3 years ago
Quoted from Isochronic_Frost:

Are you sure that they were still painting cabinets and playfields with lead paint into the 2000's? I would have assumed that by nature of these amusement machines being in public areas commonly with kids that they would have faced stricter regulations about using lead products like that on the cabinets were anyone can touch them.
My best experience was that in the 80's the office my grandmother worked in had to be completely remodeled due to the lead paint, and I would have though that an office building is pretty commercial.

Pretty sure. I think someone did lead strip tests on some pins from various eras a few years ago and confirmed that they had leaded paint.

Pins were commercial devices, so it was still allowed.

Lead paint is really only harmful when inhaled or ingested.

I couldn't comment on your recollections of that office--there could have been other factors at play. Mold or asbestos, for instance. Or possibly a misunderstanding of the law that recently went into effect. Who knows.

#6 3 years ago

Another thing to watch for is the cleaning products that most of us use. They are highly toxic.

#7 3 years ago
Quoted from Methos:

Another thing to watch for is the cleaning products that most of us use. They are highly toxic.

Isopropyl alcohol and naphtha are the main ones that have harmful fumes. Paint thinner, mineral spirits, and acetone, as well, but I rarely use those.

Pretty much with all chemicals, I use gloves when handling them, and also make sure there's air flow.

#8 3 years ago

Some vintage games use Mercury switches in the Tilt circuit.

#9 3 years ago
Quoted from Darcy:

Some vintage games use Mercury switches in the Tilt circuit.

From my research, I believe that may have been a Gottlieb invention and it appears only a few of their games from the 60’s had them. I’ve had a hard time finding info on them. Talk about over-engineering!

#10 3 years ago

Keep your tetanus shot up to date. Lots of sharp metal in a game to cut you.

LTG : )

#11 3 years ago
Quoted from Isochronic_Frost:

Are you sure that they were still painting cabinets and playfields with lead paint into the 2000's? I would have assumed that by nature of these amusement machines being in public areas commonly with kids that they would have faced stricter regulations about using lead products like that on the cabinets were anyone can touch them.
My best experience was that in the 80's the office my grandmother worked in had to be completely remodeled due to the lead paint, and I would have though that an office building is pretty commercial.

Yes. Commercial industries were exempt from the Lead paint regulations - it (I'm oversimplifying) essentially only applied to house paints.

#12 3 years ago

Termination of lead paint usage in household paints was effective 1978. The household ban was mainly because lead tastes sweet and children would eat the chips.

ForceFlow is right, commercial paints (including pins) did indeed have lead paint for much longer, and even today, there are products that still have it and numerous product recalls for exceeding lead limits in children's toys, furniture and other items (frequently but not always manufactured in China).

In terms of color, yellow and white paints are two colors that tend to have a higher lead content (two colors found in abundance on pins).

Oh, it is still found in a lot of water supply systems. Always best to let the water run a little bit before taking a drink, especially when in an older building

#13 3 years ago

I might be chiming in late, but I tested the paint on my Space Invaders and in my Jurassic Park and neither of them had any lead. Both of them had the cabinet and head scraped and tested before I did any sanding. I did both the little lead paint stick to see if it turned certain colors and I had a chemical Engineer friend test a paint chip\scratch from each.
Can't say for any other games, but that was my result for an 80's game and a 90's game.
Do solder work with a fume extractor and don't lick anything and you'll be fine.

#14 3 years ago
Quoted from Isochronic_Frost:

From my research, I believe that may have been a Gottlieb invention and it appears only a few of their games from the 60’s had them. I’ve had a hard time finding info on them. Talk about over-engineering!

My 1965 Bally 50/50 had one. Not unlike the ones found in the 60's round Honeywell room thermostats. They are quite robust though.

#15 3 years ago
Quoted from ForceFlow:

There is no asbestos.

Not even in plastics, PCBs, electronic parts, insulation paper like the one on the transformer or the one under the mini-playfield? I want to be completely sure before I do anything I shouldn't.
I've done some research and apparently asbestos was still used in plastics by then. Here in Spain, despite being totally banned, you can see the asbestos sign hanging from parts of trains (that's the easiest place to see asbestos signs here) built in the late 1990s, early 2000s.

Edit.
I've seen that it does have what might be bakelite in some assemblies like the pop bumpers. Does it contain asbestos?

#16 3 years ago
Quoted from Islote:

Not even in plastics, PCBs, electronic parts, insulation paper like the one on the transformer or the one under the mini-playfield? I want to be completely sure before I do anything I shouldn't.
I've done some research and apparently asbestos was still used in plastics by then. Here in Spain, despite being totally banned, you can see the asbestos sign hanging from parts of trains (that's the easiest place to see asbestos signs here) built in the late 1990s, early 2000s.
Edit.
I've seen that it does have what might be bakelite in some assemblies like the pop bumpers. Does it contain asbestos?

Definitely no asbestos in pinball machines. Asbestos was used for its thermal insulation properties. Also Bakelite is formaldehyde-based. I really can’t imagine any use they could have had for pinball.

#17 3 years ago
Quoted from Islote:

Does it contain asbestos?

No, pins have never contained asbestos.

Quoted from Islote:

bakelite in some assemblies

There was some bakelite use in the early EM era, but certainly not in the electronics era. By that point, better plastics were invented.

#18 3 years ago

In that case, what's the plastic in between the metal sheets of leaf switches, the fibre yoke of the pop bumpers and the outhole kicker link?

#19 3 years ago

Besides the toxins, watch out for the high voltage under the playfield, the fossil fuel consumption from power, the weight of the machine should it fall on you, and the depletion of your bank account in this hobby. Other than that no worries.

#20 3 years ago
Quoted from Islote:

In that case, what's the plastic in between the metal sheets of leaf switches, the fibre yoke of the pop bumpers and the outhole kicker link?

Not sure exactly, but it's not bakelite.

#21 3 years ago

Alot of people I know use oxalic acid to clean ramps and rusted parts. Really nasty stuff as it can absorb into your bloidstream and strip iron from it. We use it at work.

I personally would never use it.

#22 3 years ago

Isn't NOVUS pretty bad to breathe in?

#23 3 years ago

Watch out for splinters they can be deadly.

#24 3 years ago
Quoted from Pahuffman:

Isn't NOVUS pretty bad to breathe in?

It doesn't give off fumes.

#25 3 years ago
Quoted from Islote:

In that case, what's the plastic in between the metal sheets of leaf switches, the fibre yoke of the pop bumpers and the outhole kicker link?

Between leaf blades on switches is a kind of fiberboard, same with the non metal part of a pop bumper yoke. Links to plungers is a kind of plastic.

Nothing hazardous about those parts.

LTG : )

#26 3 years ago

From what i understand Novus is only hazardous if polished with a high speed buffer. Then it makes particles airborne. Using a rag should be safe.

3 years later
#27 17 days ago

I know thus thread is old. But I just wanted to post I found an Asbestos pad under the score motor on my 1951 Williams shoo shoo. I sprayed it with water and removed it. It might have been factory. Or put there by an operator at some point.
I guess someone thought just in case the motor locked on and burned up.

#28 17 days ago

Don’t be worried about it by the late 80’s and 90’s there were regulations on which paint they could use or hazardous stuff mainly only EM games have stuff like that!

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