From your blog: http://pinblog.rampantplatypus.com/getting-over-being-a-collector/

"Pinball machines are not princesses
But the biggest thing was getting over thinking of my pinball machines as special princesses to be treated delicately. When you route your pinball machines, people are going to beat on them. It’s what people do. You can’t stop it.

When I first put my pinball machines on route I remember sitting nearby having lunch and some children came up. They didn’t play, but they banged on the glass and left greasy smudges all over the glass. I could have gotten mad, or shooed them away, or worried about the game getting damaged.

But instead I just ignored it and enjoyed my lunch, happy that they got some free entertainment. After they left I cleaned the glass.

That’s how you have to be.

Young kids are going to button mash the flippers, bang on the glass, dry fire the plunger over and over again, and leave greasy smears behind. Adults will slam the plunger with their open palm, kick, lift, drop, and jerk the machine, leave food bits on the glass, spill beer, and everything else kids do too. It’s okay. They can take it. Pinball machines are built to withstand the rigors of daily public punishment. It’s baked into the design over decades and decades."