Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure
Williams, 1993This has been one of my favorite threads to follow. Fantastic tips on restoration and expressive sayings...."I'd rather get kicked in the nuts"....
That exactly how I feel with ball guides as well, just could never put it into words like that. 
Quoted from notaflyingtoy:Hey Bryan, so what's the deal with not returning the spring steel to blue? I would think that would be something to do since correctness is a guiding factor in the restore. I understand it is more a cosmetic detail as opposed to something functional like the flipper plate.
Really appreciate all the information and insight. Thanks again.
Lawrence
I much prefer the look of the natural spring steal along side the "natural" look of the ramp protectors. Everything seems to blend in nicer. Lots better than the blue look, which seems to stick out. However, if all the repro ramps come with blue spring steal, that's what goes in. Six of one, half a dozen of the other. I've never had anyone complain one way or the other.
Originality is something that's kind of gone out the window these days. So many mods today, along with candy coated trim, lit star posts, clear ramps for TZ and TAF, plastic protectors, backboard decals, lit translucent backboards, cabinet side decals, target decals, etc., etc., etc., etc., etc.
I simply do whatever my customer wants me to do.
Quoted from Bryan_Kelly:Time to clean the three playfield wire harnesses. I wish I had some type of tub large enough to clean these in, but I don't, so they get done outside on the driveway. I'll clean each one individually. Lay on driveway, spray with hose, spray with Bleche Wite, scrub with paint brush, flip the whole thing over and repeat. I'll spend a good 10 minutes on each one making sure to clean every part and every inch.
Guessing this pro-cleaning technique for the harness should only be attempted by a hobbyist if they're willing to replace all the microswitches like you do (otherwise the microswitches should be removed first because of internal seepage/moisture retention from the hose)?
Great stuff Bryan; thanks for this amazing how-to!
Quoted from NM:Guessing this pro-cleaning technique for the harness should only be attempted by a hobbyist if they're willing to replace all the microswitches like you do (otherwise the microswitches should be removed first because of internal seepage/moisture retention from the hose)?
Great stuff Bryan; thanks for this amazing how-to!
No need to replace the micros, pre WPC 95 era micros are sealed real well. I've got games that are 5+ Years after cleaning and still work great.
Having said that, when going to this level, swapping all the micros doesn't take very long, and they aren't that expensive.
Thanks for the info on the harness and lamp sockets. Do you do anything to the insides of the lamp sockets? I was trying to figure out a decent way to clean dirt/corrosion out while I have everything taken apart that wouldn't also take 9000 hours.
Quoted from johnwartjr:Having said that, when going to this level, swapping all the micros doesn't take very long, and they aren't that expensive.
Exactly, John. It's easy to do when the harness is out and it guarantees reliability. So many of them are original and 20 years old. The last thing I need is to have one go bad that's mounted under a ton of stuff.
I just like starting out with them all new and my customer won't have any issues with them for a long time.
Quoted from CASTHOF:Bryan, How do you restore speaker panels, yellow dinged, lightly scratched speaker panels? Thanks
There's not a whole lot you can do with them. You can try a variety of plastic polishes but there's not much you can do with the yellowing or deeper scratches.
Quoted from radium:Thanks for the info on the harness and lamp sockets. Do you do anything to the insides of the lamp sockets? I was trying to figure out a decent way to clean dirt/corrosion out while I have everything taken apart that wouldn't also take 9000 hours.
Thankfully, I only restore WPC and WPC-95 games and I rarely ever run into socket issues. If I do, they're easily replaced with new.
Heya Bryan,
Quick question: How many uses do you get out of your walnut media, or do you use new media for every batch? I can get a 50lb bag of walnut media for $30, which seems decent, but I'd just like to know what you recommend.
Thanks in advance!
Cheers,
Greg
Quoted from Triumvirat73:Heya Bryan,
Quick question: How many uses do you get out of your walnut media, or do you use new media for every batch? I can get a 50lb bag of walnut media for $30, which seems decent, but I'd just like to know what you recommend.
Thanks in advance!
Cheers,
Greg
It greatly depends on how dirty you're parts are (I clean the larger parts first) but I'll get a good half dozen batches out of one load of shells. Maybe more.
As I've said before, if your shells turn greyish and your parts are clean but not shiny, toss the stuff and start over with new. Otherwise, I continue using it until it starts getting pretty dark. I'll toss it before it gets as dark as coffee grounds.
Quoted from notaflyingtoy:Alright Bryan, wtf is that covered up in the MM picture?
Newspaper machine?
Quoted from johnwartjr:Newspaper machine?
Yeah, looks like a Star Tribune newspaper vending machine.
Quoted from pinballYeti:Yeah, looks like a Star Tribune newspaper vending machine.
That would be correct. And it looks brand new.
Quoted from Bryan_Kelly:That would be correct. And it looks brand new.
How long after they put it out did you steal it?
Quoted from johnwartjr:How long after they put it out did you steal it?
Theft was not involved, John Boy. I've got "friends."
I've never seen a buffing work area that clean. I've got to stop using too much compound and cheap wheels that shed I guess.
Quoted from TopJimmyCooks:I've never seen a buffing work area that clean. I've got to stop using too much compound and cheap wheels that shed I guess.
The general rule of thumb in my home shop....make a mess, clean up the mess. Use a tool, put it back when done.
Also, when I finish one restoration, the shop gets cleaned before I start another one. Having said that, when I'm in the middle of one, I've got shit all over the place!
Quoted from Bryan_Kelly:For anyone interested, I found the "third hand" link.
http://www.wirthco.com/third-hand-p-8-l-en.html
thanks much brYan
now, is there any chance you can find a link for those plastic socket wrenches? 
(I may have to phone sozuhapp since I can't seem to find it on their site)
Quoted from j_m_:thanks much brYan
now, is there any chance you can find a link for those plastic socket wrenches? (I may have to phone sozuhapp since I can't seem to find it on their site)
You can also order it from RandyT @ GroovyGameGear here
http://groovygamegear.com/webstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=73&products_id=248
Quoted from Bryan_Kelly:For anyone interested, I found the "third hand" link.
http://www.wirthco.com/third-hand-p-8-l-en.html
btw, wirthco will not sell outright to the public. here is the appropriate link from mcmaster-carr.com which is one of their distributors for the 3rd hand
http://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/119/2569/=oy5cm7
Quoted from McCune:This looks similar and might work for cheaper .
Ebay link
Sold. Gonna use the hell out of this when I put my Haunted House back together next week.
Quoted from McCune:This looks similar and might work for cheaper
I bought one as well. It will come in handy for reassembling my Taxi playfield, including replacing microswitches.
Quoted from McCune:This looks similar and might work for cheaper .
Ebay link
got to love the description:
"Did you ever wish you had a third hand while grooming a dog or cat? Now you can with the Metro Groomers Third Arm."
I want a photo of someone using one of these to hold a dog or cat in place while grooming them. you might as well just use a nail gun to hold the animal down! LOL
(and yes, I realize that they mean that it's not meant to hold the animal, but rather your tools while grooming them, but the way that it's worded I wouldn't be surprised to see someone doing something pretty darn stupid with them)
and without attempting to de-rail bryan's thread any further, and going back to his 2nd post of this thread, I found these at harbor freight (a pack of 100 sell for $1.99) which are awesome for labeling all of your wiring harnesses when pulling everything off.
the ID tabs are 7/8"w x 1/4"h allowing you to easily label things for re-assembly
http://www.harborfreight.com/pack-of-100-4-inch-identification-cable-ties-99939.html
Quoted from McCune:This looks similar and might work for cheaper .
Ebay link
Argh! He won't ship to Canada!
Thanks for the fantastic thread Bryan, with all those great tips. I just re-decaled (dry) my MM after 50+ work on the cabinet and head box. I took a really deep breath and tried your technique for trimming the edges by running a blade at 45 degrees along the edge. It worked out beautifully so thanks heaps. I chickened out with the paint pen however and carefully masked the white decal edges with tape before applying the paint pen! Took a bit longer but ended up looking great.
Do you have any tips for putting new coil wrappers on the coils? Do they need to be wrapped tight or a little loose?
Quoted from planters49:Do you have any tips for putting new coil wrappers on the coils? Do they need to be wrapped tight or a little loose?
I wrap them tight. There's a bit of a trick to keep them straight, though.
Quoted from Bryan_Kelly:I wrap them tight. There's a bit of a trick to keep them straight, though.
Thanks!
Quoted from NickRocco:It looks like I can not purchase new wrappers for a Data East machine so I am going to print my own. Any idea what type of paper I should use? Should it be more of a vinyl or more of an actual paper?
I use Papilio vinyl Here is a link http://www.papilio.com/inkjet%20waterproof%20adhesive%20film%20media.html
Quoted from planters49:One more question - I have a back panel decal for my STTNG that I'm working on. What should I do to prepare the back panel for the decal? Sand and paint?
Yup. Start with 80 grit to remove the old paint, then 120 and finally 220. Really no need to prime. Just paint then sand with 320 to remove any "flecks."
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