Had just finished redecalling and shopping my afm last week.
was one of my keeper games but because of personal reasons I had to put it for sale..
my 7yo daughter really did not like that the game was going to be sold.. which she wrote onto the new cab this morning...
anway she now got whatvehe wants I found a way to keep it but she had to promise to never do this again
Oh hell to the no.......that would've been extremely ugly in my house. Maybe it helps that our kids are allowed to do whatever they want to their bedroom door. Stickers, markers, crayon....whatever. But if they so much as even look at a pin with "I JUST ATE THE WHOLE BOX OF HONEY NUT CHEERIOS, DAD!" hands or anything even resembling something that leaves indelible marks, it's on. 
My wife teases me all the time about a similar scenario with our 2 year old daughter - like one day I'll catch her coloring on one of the machines with crayons or something. Crazy that it became a reality for you. Man that's tough. Oh well, it's only pinball right? Still suck though.
Quoted from ryan1234:Having kids and having nice stuff never works out.
so true.
Good she can work till she is 14 buying the next set of decals.
That is a lot of lost allowance. 
1. Respect for self
2. Respect your things
3. Respect others and there things
Quoted from ryan1234:Having kids and having nice stuff never works out.
Wife and I waited 15 years to have our first. Just 18 months later and he's done more damage than we did in 15 years. When I chase after him he just laughs and runs around like a mini wrecking ball. Wouldn't trade it though.
Hopefully the marker that she used was water based and not alcohol based, which means that it will clean off easily without damaging the decals.
Quoted from Pinball-is-great:How about these classics?
Nice
Ballpoint pen, doesn't come off.
Didn't want to try with strong cleaning products as I was afraid the decal ink will get more damaged and it'll become more obvious. Now it's not too obvious, but it did ruin the ability to quickly sell the machine.
She wrote 'love this' and an arrow pointing to the afm logo.
Am divorcing now, with all stress involved for me and my daughter.
A lot of changes are happening and she really didn't want to see another pin go as she really loves pinball machines too.
I also didn't want to sell AFM after all the work I put into it to restore it, but some sacrifices have to be made.. So now I worked out a way with my ex so I can keep it.
So for me in the end it worked out fine too, I really don't mind not selling it.. even don't think I will buy new cabinet decals. I had this game for 10 years already, now I'll just keep it for another 10 years this way. Maybe I'll give it to my daughter on her 18th birthday 
I'm not upset with what she did and wouldn't punish her for it. Even didn't get mad.
Gave her a big hug and told her she should have spoken with me about it if selling it upset her so much, and not act this way. She now knows she shouldn't and won't do it again.
Told her it cost me a lot of money now. She went to get her piggybank and gave it to me.. she really felt bad for doing it. Explained her the piggy would not be enough and it doesn't matter as I will solve it, this is not something she should worry about.
After all, it's only pinball. My daughter and her happyness is more important.
Pick a little section and use magic eraser and rubbing alcohol, I've used this method to successfully clean the cabs of my pins then use novus 1 to buff to a shine.
I think you'll end up valuing the game more now WITH the writing. Especially after the story of the piggybank ! Love it. And you handled it wonderfully, in the face of adversity and stress and disappointment, your daughter came first ! Hats off to you. Stories like this will last a lifetime between the two of you now...
It happens. I have nice pins and young kids. I have had similar issues. Good thing you can have a little perspective and move on.
When my oldest (now married and in her 20's) was about 5, I took her to a friends house and she was playing with his little pure white fluffy dog named Yaz (he was a Red Sox fan) while I fixed his Mata Hari. He made the mistake of giving her magic markers to color with while I worked.
It got too quiet for a little too long. He went in the other room to check on my daughter and Yaz,,,, all I could hear was 'Oh no Yaz!'.... Yep, multicolor dog!!!
Poor guy spent about an hour scrubbing the dog in the tub before his wife got home. 
Quoted from Whysnow:This thread is better than a condom when it comes to birth control.
Not at all.....stuff is just stuff....but kids are beautiful.
Oh shit will happen like this and these are the times you get to teach them......just like the OP did.
Glad to hear all turned out well. Outside of pens it sounds like you have a great kid. Felt bad money involved offered to pay you back etc. This is really the best you could ask for out of the situation.
As long as she never does it again then lesson learned. 
For crying out lout, that is so small and so faint that should not affect the resale at all. And is likely removable some how (goo gone, magic eraser or something)
Good for you though on how to handle the problem. I've got 4 of my own and had been up to 7 foster at one time. If you only knew some of the damages around the house the teenagers had done, not limited to graffiti spray painted on my then $1500 new state of the art LCD TV, a hole kicked through the wall, a glass oven door that shattered in a bazillion pieces, and the son with a spiked belt buckle that slid down the hood of my car so it literally looked like someone dragged a rake across it.
A little faint writing on a pinball machine..please.
I really appreciate my toys and try my best to take care of them, but when my daughter hugs me and says "I love you, Daddy", everything else in the world can go to hell.
looks like pen. Take some Mean green diluted about 50%, put a dab on a paper towel, and it will come right off. Just be careful because you have to be quick as it can take off the ink too. Try a sample under the leg area first to get a feel for how much rubbing you can do.
My kid is 8 and she knows that the cabinet is valuable on my games. More valuable than any other part, so she would know better than to attempt this. Otherwise I wouldn't have a kid anymore, and would have another bedroom to convert to a gameroom. >
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High Bridge, NJ
Enfield, NS
