That is heat damage from the flasher bulb(s) for that insert. Back the bulb away from the insert not to make it worse and / or replace it with a LED. Fixing that is a advance repair. I would just make sure it doesn't get worse and leave it alone.

Question about cleaning the playfield as this is my first diamond plate playfield. For my other machine I use Naphtha to clean the playfield and get the dirt off, then Novus 2 if needed and then a carnauba wax as the final step. The Party Zone manual says to use carnauba wax or polish sparingly. Then I read in the WMS Service Bulletin Book, 1992, there was an update on playfield cleaning for diamond plate playfields where they said not to use normal playfield polishes and that you should use Novus #1 followed by Novus #2. I thought you were supposed to use Novus in the opposite order of this.

How are people cleaning their playfields? Do you follow the Service Bulletin? Also what's best for getting out ground in dirt - I've got a couple of places where there's a dirt trail and I lightly used some Naphtha which got a bit of it out but then after looking into how to clean diamond plate playfield's stopped and thought I'd post here to get some other owners opinions

There is Mylar (protective adhesive plastic) over that area. That is what is bubbled/ separated from playfield. Your artwork is probably fine.

You can search on here for the various ways to remove it. You may also try poking a pin through the bubble to expel air and see if it can be pressed back down.

Naphtha and a rag which gets 90% of loose dirt and debris. Novus 2 (which is abrasive- just be aware of what your doing) to get out ground in dirt. Don’t do anymore than what’s needed to get it out. If it’s too deep, you could go through the diamond plate layer and into the artwork.

Clean off the residue with a rag and use a pure carnauba wax. This is what I do for all my games and virtually is the accepted consensus.

OK so that's what I do on my other machine. Just wanted to make sure that it wasn't different for diamond plate. Thanks.

I've got most items fixed on my Party Zone and now only a couple items left. One of them is getting the mouth working. When I started looking at the mechanism I noticed two wires that where not connected and where taped up (see at bottom of attached pic). These wires are purple with orange stripes and purple with yellow stripes. Where should these be attached?

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The solenoid that moves the mouth up and down

So that's the solenoid circled in the attached pic correct? What wire goes on what lug?

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We’ll your in luck. Looks like a small piece of wire is still attached t the right lug. Looks like the right lug is violet orange from your photo.

Ah ok, I thought that was some other wire. Didn't even think that it was these wires. Thanks!

Ok not as easy as connecting the wires. I hear a buzzing noise now when the mouth is supposed to move but no movement.

The mouth mechanism seems stuck. If I manually move the solenoid rod up and down the mouth will move so the mechanism is all linked up. However when power goes to the solenoid it can't move the rod. If I pull the rod to the lowest position then do the DJ mouth solenoid test I can see the solenoid rod move up a tiny bit every "pulse" to the solenoid. However when it gets to the top it never moves down on a pulse.

Is there a way to remove this solenoid to clean it and put a new sleeve in without having to disassemble the whole thing and removing the DJ head?

I don’t recall. I think you need to take the whole mech out. Does the plunger move freely in the coil sleeve?
This post has a nice photo of the mechanisms. See anything odd before ripping the whole thing out?
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/partyzone-1/page/15#post-6201471

Not really. I need to really push and pull it to get the plunger to move in the coil sleeve. It will move up and down but with quite a bit of force. I'll give it a go tomorrow and try to remove the whole mech.

Seems like the plunger is stuck in the sleeve. The fact that the solenoid is buzzing means you got proper power and all. It may just be a mechanical issue.

Yup took out the mech and the metal wire that moves the mouth was bent and rubbing against the back metal. Straightened it out and now it works!

I picked up a Party Zone with a partially disassembled PF. The seller gave me all the hardware (supposedly) to re-assemble it. I can't figure out what screws attach the pop bumper caps. I do not have 6 identical screws nor do any I have thread in. Does anyone know the correct size screw?

The manual has breakdown of the pop bumper assemblies, including screws.

Thank you, I should of looked!

Has anyone put art blades on their Party Zone? I've seen 2 different ones on Retro Refurbs. I've attached the images. Does anyone have these installed (or any other ones) and can post pics so I can decide what to get. Thanks!

the-party-zone-crowd-pinball-sideblades-inside-decals-sideboard-art-pin-blades-500x320 (resized).jpg

the-party-zone-pinball-sideblades-inside-decals-sideboard-art-pin-blades-500x320 (resized).jpg

Party Zone for sale:

https://pinside.com/pinball/market/classifieds/ad/134628

I guess no one has art blades on their Party Zone

How about mirror blades? Anyone have those? Thoughts on art blades or mirror blades on a Party Zone?

Personally I prefer the bottom set. Mirror blades are always cool.

Do you have room to install them? My Party Zone is tight. It scrapes the sides when lifting or lowering the playfield.

I think so. It's tight but there's a bit of room on each side but I'm not 100% sure. That is one of the reasons I asked if anyone has done it to see if it fits and how it looks.

For that reason, I would never consider it on my game. They would be damaged in a heartbeat.

I'm in the middle of restoring my Party Zone.
I'm currently waiting on the playfield clear to cure.
But....I did install these side blades.

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I like those. Is the robotic comic a photoshopped real photo or cartoon rendering?

Jeffreyjonesbsme Nice! Once your playfield is cured can you post a pic with the playfield in? Would love to see how the side blades look with the playfield.

Also I see you have a beefy speaker versus the stock crappy one. Did it make a big difference to the sound? What speaker did you put in?

I believe it’s a cartoon drawing.

I’ve used these before.
They honestly don’t improve the sound much.
Pinsound System is the only system I’ve been truly impressed with.

I'm very new to pinball and PZ. I read through the thread and saw this UV mod which is awesome. The AC relay schematic diagram is a bit over my head and I'm not sure how do this. I also think I want a different effect.

Could the UV strips simply be tied (soldered) to a flasher? I'd like these to only flash when the Ozone shot is made so I just tried tying it to the flasher behind the hole. Seemed to work but I don't know what I may be missing or potentially causing a problem somewhere. Any basic help would be appreciated.

Any video?

If you got 12v led strips they can be tied directly to a flasher yes.

We would have to see how much current two strips of leds would pull though. Not sure if it’s too much for a single flasher circuit.

Yes, the UV led strips are 12v. I’m not sure how to figure the load for two strips of them. I just have one rigged up as a test for now. I’ll send video tonight when I get home.

Quick video of my UV light test. Just laid in there for now. I'm planning to mount them with some plastic side rails.

I really want to get a Fast Pinball CPU / Classic board and do a PZ 2.0 (home brew, I'd call it something else ) It would be fun to update this game with something new. This game has all the basic features that could make for a great "sandbox" to explore FAST Pinball.

Went to FAST Pinball's site and they are out of stock..

For now just Cleaning my game and getting it 100% functional.

So fast does not interface with existing boards I don’t think. Proc does.

I’ve been wanting to do this as well. Physical ball locks for eat drink and be merry multiball. So many possibilities.

We’ll I guess they are advertising the retro controller. Yes that’s the best way but they are not commercially available.

I wish I knew how to get ahold of FAST -- If PROC is the way then I'll jump on that..

With Supply chain might be a minute

Aaron from fast is on here frequently. Check out the funhouse 2.0 thread

Shoot me an email at [email protected] we have been slammed getting ready for the NW Pinball Show. We have a list going for FAST Retro Controllers and I can get you on it.

Aaron
FAST Pinball

Do you by chance have a list of the LED bulbs you used? I like the look.

Thanks!

I made a list only to place the order, and I think I tossed it. I'll root around, and see if I still have it.

From what I remember:

For the GI I used frosted 2smd Sunlight White, and 2smd frosted Red.
For the backbox I used 1smd Sunlight white. I didn't want them too bright.

For the inserts I simply matched the bulb color to the insert color, and used non-ghosting 1smd bulbs. Some were flex head bulbs, some were clear, and some were frosted, but they were all 1smd. Generally speaking if the insert socket was laid flat I used a flex-head bulb.

On the white inserts I used cool white. For the Bonus Booster multiplier I deviated from the white, and used pink bulbs simply to make it pop a bit, and match the artwork.

For the flashers I tend to use incandescent bulbs just because in most places LED flashers are just too intense for my liking. I believe I used 2 LED flashers in this game. One red one for the rocket, and another red for the VUK behind the back board of the playfield.

You can make your own list too. When I made my list I made 3 different charts... One for GI/Backbox, one for flashers, and one for inserts. Each chart had rows for the colors, and columns for the base style, flex and other. Then I methodically went socket by socket, and made a tick mark on the chart of what I wanted to use. When I was completed I totaled up each different bulb I needed, and placed an order.

After I received the order I made some changes from my left over stash on a few spots to tweak it a bit.

A lot went into bulb selection, and after some tweaking we're very happy with the result. Everyone has different tastes, and may prefer something different, and that's why I recommend making a list to make it yours.

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Hope this helps!

-Paul

Has anyone ever had a issue with the comic freezing up and not awarding anything? Then just returns to normal play but keeps the comic screen on the display?

Joined the club and in da house.
Just need to do my usual bling protectors up-rate to ColourDMD and fix Capt’n Jaw.

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Looking for 2 ball deflectors. Part number 01-10375. #24 in the pic. Any help appreciated. Balls always bounce out of the ramp.

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Just joined the club! Loving the game so far. I can’t stop playing it. The GI is having issues so the playfield is really dark. The previous owner installed LEDs in the inserts but they’re super dim, so I’m gonna replace them with 2SMDs. Do you guys recommend warm white or cool white? I would imagine warm since the playfield is yellow/orange.

Regarding the GI, which fuses should I check?

I would be looking for burnt GI connectors. Usually yellow wires. Take a good pic of the boards and post if you would.

I prefer cool white over the warm white. For GI and the inserts (and the backbox for that matter). I colour matched some of the inserts, but also realized some insert colours (yellow ones in particular) seem to look better with white under them than yellow bulbs.

Don't forget on Party Zone that one of those big GI strings is to run all red bulbs. It gives the multiball effect of all red. You can select which GI string you want to light up one at a time in the test settings in the menus. This photo was posted on here a while back which really helps see which bulbs were meant to be red and which ones were not.

Some of the best colours in all of pinball on this game, in my opinion

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Red GI string (resized).JPG