I would of done a full restoration, but I only have a certain amount of money I can put into it. I can do everything except airbrushing and clear coating. I was debating about decals, touching-up, and/or mylar, but in the end I left the playfield as is. This pin spent the first half of its life in an arcade or on a route. I picked it up in 2003 and haven't done anything to it except change bulbs, clean the playfield (what is exposed), and other routine maintenance. There is wear around the inserts, and a couple chipped paint spots, but considering this is 22 years old, all original, and was routed, the playfield is in excellent shape given those factors. I decided to add some mods and do a complete tear down of the top side of the playfield and clean everything I could get my hands on. Others have documented how to tear down so I'll skip that. I would suggest tons of pics, though. And when you think you have enough, take some more, you can never have too many. I would also suggest taking pics after you remove one layer or stage so you can see how it goes back together underneath the top layers. It took me @ 8 hours (at a leisurely pace) to disassemble the top-side. Here's a pic of what the playfield looked like.
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Pretty darn filthy. It's also nice to have a nice large area to put all the pieces on. I put my pool table cover on and used that.
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Anyone whose done this can tell you the jet bumpers are a pain to remove. Photograph the underside and mark where each jet bumper came from, and tag or identify which side the diode is connected to. That's because there is plastic sleeves around certain leads that get routed through or near metal pieces. Take note and picture how they're routed.
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I pulled one end (when I could) or the whole staple out that holds the leads to the underside. Save them, and try to re-use them (a pain, but can be done. Unless of course you disassemble the underside too, then you can get a staple gun in there). Unfortunately some of staples are underneath the solder joints, so you have to melt the solder then pull the staple (a fun trick). You would think they could of used insulated wire instead of bare metal leads for the sockets in the jet bumpers.
I also removed from the underside the chair assembly, the swamp assembly, thing assembly, vault assembly, and the subway. I wanted to clean wherever the ball travels, plus most of this needs to come out anyway to completely clear the top side. I used a heat gun to remove the old pieces of mylar. Mine is adjustable, I set it to the level of a hair dryer (roughly) and used back and forth strokes (don't heat one spot too much). I used a plastic putty knife to lift the mylar, slowly and gently, and separate it from the playfield. I used Goo-gone to clean the rest of the adhesive off (thanks to vid, see his post on how to). Once everything was removed I cleaned the initial thick layer of grunge with Pledge multi-purpose wipes. They're safe on a multitude of surfaces, and no harsh ingredients. The only downside is if you wipe any of the rough, unsanded parts of the cabinet, it pulls at and leaves tiny bits of the wipe behind. Can be removed, just a nuisance. Any stuck on filth, like the shooting lane and where the ball travels in the back, I used a magic eraser (don't scrub too hard). Once the majority of the filth was gone I used Novus 1 to complete the cleaning. Then Novus 3 to fill in the heavy scratches, then Novus 2 for the small, fine scratches. I completed with a layer of Meguire's wax and buffed. Here's how it looks all clean and shiny.
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_{Post edited by vilant : spelling}

I probably spent another 20+ hours cleaning all the other parts. I used CLR on all the metal parts they came out looking great. Poured a little in the bottom of a bucket and let all the posts, screws, and any other small metal parts soak for 15 min., rinse, then dry. For the larger pieces, like ramps, and any really dirty surfaces or rust, I scrubbed the part with very fine steel wool and the CLR. Again rinse then dry. After that I polished all the metal parts. What a difference I didn't want to soak the nylon lock nuts, so I bought new 8/32" and 6/32" nylon lock nuts from Sears hardware, they're like 10 cents each.
I also used a magic eraser for hard to remove dirt or grease, like the black line of oil or grease on the Thing. And cleaned all the plastic parts.
I bought four flipper rebuild kits and rebuilt all of them. I added light mods to the swamp, vault, chair, cloud topper, and bookcase. Also installed fuses on the magnets for "The Power" underneath. Bought this on eBay from Lee as a package, well worth it

You're right. It's amazing what just a really good cleaning will do.

I also changed all the bulbs that where out, all new rubber, Thing box decals, new bumper caps, and added decals to the bookcase. When disassembling the bookcase I'm sure most just unsolder the opto board. Although I can solder, I don't like soldering when the solder is real close to another joint, like on the opto board. So I cut the wires and crimped on female connectors to one side and male connectors on the other. They wilI fit inside the bookcase, but just barely. I used 1/4" but should of used something smaller or a flat 5-pin (if you can find one) instead. The up side is you just disconnect the wires instead of soldering when you need to replace your bookcase again(mine will need to be replaced, but is good for now).
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I also found an alligator for the swamp. Looks right at home, Here's a pic of where I'm at now.
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I'm still waiting for my back wall decal before I finish re-assembling the back side of the pin.

_{Post edited by vilant : added content}

Somethings I will need to do but can't afford now are; replace the main ramp (it's cracked but I glued it), new apron decals, a new Gomez piece (corner broke off, just glued back on for now), a new ball shooter (functionally fine just looks old and used), and possibly a full LED package. I'll post final pics when I get the rest of my parts.

Yea, I thought about that, but I already spent $500 and funds were definitely a factor. You would be surprised how well the CLR worked though. Next best thing to tumbling. If I ever restore another one though, a tumbler will be on my list, among other things

Thanks for kind words fellas. If anyone does do the connector in the bookcase let me know how the molex connectors work out. I was thinking of 3- 2 pin molex, but wasn't sure if they would fit. If you go with the male and female insulated connectors try to use something smaller than 1/4" and be sure to put the connectors a little further back away from the opto board than I did. I didn't leave enough wire to make the bend, so I had to trim the top of the connectors with a pair of angled wire cutters.

So I finally finished everything. What an ordeal. Had a bunch of gremlins attack the underside. First, the left side GI circuit had a dead short. After 2 hours of removing all 14 sockets and testing, turns out while soldering other parts under the playfield, (while it was in the upright position), solder dripped onto then somehow got inside the socket and shorted it, what a PIA. Then my flipper control board crapped the bed (cause I accidentally crossed one of the coil leads). Tried to replace the transistors and diodes but I hacked it, so I ordered a new board. I also noticed the ball kept getting stuck in the swamp, had to flip flop the piece in between the subway and the swamp cause I but them back in the wrong order. If anyone one decides to use connectors for the bookcase find the 3/16" insulated connectors or do what Phil did http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/question-on-taf-bookcase-wiring-mod
But even though there was some bumps in the road, it's back to 100%. Looks better than it ever did and I couldn't be happier Here's pics of it finished.
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Now that I have my first shop of a pin under my belt, time for my second