Quoted from SpookySpacey:Is there an easier way?
I'd try naptha and a plastic razorblade.
(Topic ID: 70838)
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Williams, 1986
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Ceres, CA
Quoted from Sparky:Is Naptha still available in some areas? It's been pulled in California for a few years now. I loved that stuff!
I think zippo lighter fluid is pretty much just naptha if you can find that.
Grimsby, ON
I started a thread about what are the correct test tones on the mpu.
The repair guide contradicts itself.
So I wanted owners to pool their info.
What is correct
1 tone after pushing sound test mpu button or two.
Guide says 1 tone ram error
2 tones rom error
2 tones gane working properly.
What does your pinbot do?
Link and poll
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/pinbot-correct-sound-tones-with-cpu-test#post-2296625
Quoted from zippydapinhead:I think zippo lighter fluid is pretty much just naptha if you can find that.
Yes. Zippo lighter fluid or Naptha and a plastic razor blade is the way to go.
AND not a real metal razor blade or lighter fluid (for charcoal)
Quoted from SpookySpacey:I've recently joined the club too! First pin, and I'm lovin' pinball ownership/fixing up the machine so far. I have a noob question: How do you best remove decals? The "100,000" on the vortex ramp sadly says "100". I've ordered a replacement decal for the ramp but I'm having a hard time tracking down a tried-and-true method to remove the old decals. Was considering doing what many have suggested for mylar removal: using canned air to lift the decal and Goo Gone for the left over residue. Is that an awful idea? Is there an easier way?
image1-1.JPG (Click image to enlarge)
There's a lot of info on mylar removal on Pinside, so if you want to get into it you'll have good advice a plenty. (Check out VID's guide to playfield restoration, for starters) But know going into it that pulling mylar WILL lift paint from your playfield inserts, and you will likely find lots of other little nasties that were concealed by the film. Is the mylar bubbling badly? If not, it may be smartest to simply leave it. In any event, I would advise anybody to leave or replace the mylar in the pop bumper area; it takes a LOT of action, and it already has the mini playfield over it.
Personally, unless the mylar looks bad, I'd be inclined to live with the game and enjoy it for a while before diving into restoration - a nice restore is a big commitment. If you do decide to go ahead with it, please post photos here - always nice to see those projects documented.
Quoted from sethbenjamin:But know going into it that pulling mylar WILL lift paint from your playfield inserts,
Nope, it might but in the 3 I've done I haven't had any paint loss from the PF or inserts. BoP and 2 pinbots.
Quoted from sethbenjamin:I'd be inclined to live with the game and enjoy it for a while before diving into restoration - a nice restore is a big commitment. If you do decide to go ahead with it, please post photos here - always nice to see those projects documented.
I've never done a full restore - but the mylar still must be removed, IMO. However, It's a good time to shop the game when you remove mylar because you are going to make a big mess anyway.
Quoted from calvin12:Nope, it might but in the 3 I've done I haven't had any paint loss from the PF or inserts. BoP and 2 pinbots.
I'll downgrade to "might". I've seen it come up on restoration threads, and my brother just pulled mylar from his Taxi playfield - many of his inserts lost printing, and he had to create new water slide decals. Not that it's this huge deal, but if we're talking to a new pin collector I figure it's nice to help them go into it with eyes open.
Quoted from wayout440:I've never done a full restore - but the mylar still must be removed, IMO. However, It's a good time to shop the game when you remove mylar because you are going to make a big mess anyway.
I'm always surprised by the mylar hate! I *wish* my PinBot had had mylar! My playfield isn't terrible, but it isn't restorable, either. I can see why people want to remove it, now that the game is safely in home-use only. But it seems to me that, unless you're willing and able to do a restore where you can properly clear coat the playfield, there are worse things than having mylar on your game. IMHO 
TOTALLY agree that a thorough shop job is in order if you pull the mylar. Pull the playfield, replace cracked or broken things, rebuild those flippers and pops (the flippers almost certainly could use it unless you know for certain that the previous owner did them recently), adjust your switches, put in LED GI lighting, wax the hell out of her. You will be rewarded with a game that plays fast and fun, like it's supposed to. 
Quoted from sethbenjamin:I'll downgrade to "might". I've seen it come up on restoration threads, and my brother just pulled mylar from his Taxi playfield - many of his inserts lost printing, and he had to create new water slide decals. Not that it's this huge deal, but if we're talking to a new pin collector I figure it's nice to help them go into it with eyes open.
I'm always surprised by the mylar hate! I *wish* my PinBot had had mylar! My playfield isn't terrible, but it isn't restorable, either. I can see why people want to remove it, now that the game is safely in home-use only. But it seems to me that, unless you're willing and able to do a restore where you can properly clear coat the playfield, there are worse things than having mylar on your game. IMHO
TOTALLY agree that a thorough shop job is in order if you pull the mylar. Pull the playfield, replace cracked or broken things, rebuild those flippers and pops (the flippers almost certainly could use it unless you know for certain that the previous owner did them recently), adjust your switches, put in LED GI lighting, wax the hell out of her. You will be rewarded with a game that plays fast and fun, like it's supposed to.
you can definatly lost art doing it, its just not always. its highly dependent on the method and even with the same method it depends on how fast you work, how hard you pull etc. If you freeze it, and you leave the glue behind, its not possible to lose art since it will still be under the glue. Then you just need to be really careful getting rid of the glue.
Quoted from calvin12:you can definatly lost art doing it, its just not always. its highly dependent on the method and even with the same method it depends on how fast you work, how hard you pull etc. If you freeze it, and you leave the glue behind, its not possible to lose art since it will still be under the glue. Then you just need to be really careful getting rid of the glue.
Not only these variables, but it can vary even from game to game. In many cases you are talking about games over 20, 30 or more years old. How was it stored over time? Exposed to what temperatures and humidity? When was the mylar put on, at the factory? In a shop much later?
My guess is even two people side by side performing the same technique could end up with differences in the result.
Quoted from sethbenjamin:I'm always surprised by the mylar hate! I *wish* my PinBot had had mylar! My playfield isn't terrible, but it isn't restorable, either. I can see why people want to remove it, now that the game is safely in home-use only. But it seems to me that, unless you're willing and able to do a restore where you can properly clear coat the playfield, there are worse things than having mylar on your game. IMHO
Personally, I don't like the look of the mylar, I think it sucks away some of the vibrance of the color, like it is never perfectly clear - I can see this looking at the edges of the mylar. I don't like the way the ball rolls on it...just something aesthetically different about the ball roll directly on the playfield. I keep them cleaned and waxed, and stocked with good new balls. I have no desire to clear coat and no worry about wear.
Quoted from sethbenjamin:I *wish* my PinBot had had mylar!
Same here. My unrestored cabinet is in amazing shape, translite and speaker grille just about perfect, under the playfield it looks brand new. But the only mylar installed was in front of the slingshots and around the pops, so there's a little wear on the grid and the eject holes. If they'd put the full sheet on when the game was new, the playfield would still look new.
Quoted from jibmums:If they'd put the full sheet on when the game was new, the playfield would still look new.
Meh. It all comes down to cleanliness and ball condition. My first game, Mata Hari, had wear right through the mylar and into the wood.
Quoted from wayout440:Meh. It all comes down to cleanliness and ball condition.
Indeed it does, and on this particular Pinbot, the mylar would have prevented the only real wear on the machine. It's still a nice pf, I'm torn between installing the CPR repop I picked up recently or doing a touchup and clear when I eventually get around to disassembling it.
Quoted from nerdygrrl:I hate the way mylar looks, but if it weren't for factory mylar the pf's in my Rollergames and Pin*Bot would have been destroyed. Mylar has saved a good many pf's from death.
I agree. But it's no longer necessary once the game gets into a hobbyist's possession. IMO, of course.
Quoted from jibmums:I'm torn between installing the CPR repop I picked up recently or doing a touchup and clear when I eventually get around to disassembling it.
Me too. If you don't end up using the CPR playfield drop me a PM.
Thanks to everyone who offered advice on decal removal. I ended up going with a Goo Gone product called Sticker Lifter -- comes in a 2 oz. bottle with a small plastic scraper. About $7. It did the trick painlessly and the ramp was clear of the flaking old decals and leftover residue in about 15 minutes. After cleaning up with some Novus and applying new decals, my vortex ramp looks almost like new.
IMG_0855.JPG
I still haven't broken the news to PinBot that he has a pretty myopic definition of "The Universe", seeing as we've only traversed our solar system...but he gets so excited, I've decided to just let it slide. 
2 weeks later
I dig the red left side/blue right side look, but to me the LEDs tend to wash out the playfield/plastic colors a bit too much. Has anyone here with a red/blue Pinbot tried colored #44's instead of LEDs? I'm thinking that might be the trick to add the red/blue lights without overpowering the rest of the colors on the game.
Quoted from jibmums:I dig the red left side/blue right side look, but to me the LEDs tend to wash out the playfield/plastic colors a bit too much. Has anyone here with a red/blue Pinbot tried colored #44's instead of LEDs? I'm thinking that might be the trick to add the red/blue lights without overpowering the rest of the colors on the game.
IMO, even with colored LEDs this game is pretty dark. I think the 44s will be even darker yet.
I'm in the process of putting mine back together. Below is a before pic. I've added blue/red XPin displays, backbox LED kit from cointaker + a color changing LED on one of the planets in the backbox because I happened to have one.
I have frosted LEDs for the GI on the playfield, but I'm doing mostly warm whites with only a few red/blue.
All posts, rubber rings, metal guides, standups, pops, have been re-installed, and I have a new plastic set, plastic protectors, and a new spiral ramp waiting to be installed.
Speaking of the spiral ramp replacement, it wouldn't sit flat on the playfield. The two metal guides underneath were rubbing the underside of the ramp and preventing it from sitting properly. I've been grinding a little in the areas where it rubs, and I think it will sit flush on the playfield now. Anyone else have this problem with the red spiral replacements?
When I was tearing down the Pinbot, I found the bracket pictured below when I removed the blue ramp. The bracket has two double-stick tape pads on the end. I tried to find dirty adhesive marks to figure out where it's supposed to go, but I can't figure it out. Anyone know where it goes, and what purpose does it serve?
Excuse me if this has already been addressed but I quickly scanned through the forum and didn't see anything specific to this issue. I've seen posts regarding LED's and flashers but nothing about GI's going out, 'cept for jmountjoy111. Just the other day I started to replace some GI's with LED's and half way through the left side of the GI's went out. Instead of trying to find out the cause I simply moved to the right side since all the plastics had already been removed. Half way through the right side the same thing happened. At that time I proceeded to check the fuse (removed) then checked the connection. All was well. Any idea what I may have blown?
Quoted from Daniml:At that time I proceeded to check the fuse (removed) then checked the connection. All was well. Any idea what I may have blown?
When you checked this fuse, did you check for the presence of GI voltage at the fuse tabs with a DMM after installing the fuse?
I had no problems installing my LEDs, you might have just had a bad (shorted) LED or pushed a lamp receptacle into something else.
Quoted from Daniml:Excuse me if this has already been addressed but I quickly scanned through the forum and didn't see anything specific to this issue. I've seen posts regarding LED's and flashers but nothing about GI's going out, 'cept for jmountjoy111. Just the other day I started to replace some GI's with LED's and half way through the left side of the GI's went out. Instead of trying to find out the cause I simply moved to the right side since all the plastics had already been removed. Half way through the right side the same thing happened. At that time I proceeded to check the fuse (removed) then checked the connection. All was well. Any idea what I may have blown?
Is there another fuse under the playfield someplace?
Quoted from Sparky:When I was tearing down the Pinbot, I found the bracket pictured below when I removed the blue ramp. The bracket has two double-stick tape pads on the end. I tried to find dirty adhesive marks to figure out where it's supposed to go, but I can't figure it out. Anyone know where it goes, and what purpose does it serve?
I just went through my teardown pictures and I don't see that anywhere. unless it is under the visor \ helmet, which I don't recall seeing it either and I have restored 2 Pinbots.
Quoted from Sparky:When I was tearing down the Pinbot, I found the bracket pictured below when I removed the blue ramp. The bracket has two double-stick tape pads on the end. I tried to find dirty adhesive marks to figure out where it's supposed to go, but I can't figure it out. Anyone know where it goes, and what purpose does it serve?
That goes over the ramp lift mechanism.
Ramp.jpgWow! It must have fallen back behind the visor and ramp at some point when it was folded up and on end. Based on where I found it, I wasn't thinking of any other possible area.
Thanks for the info! Not knowing was driving me crazy!
Definitely missing on my Pin*Bot. It could actually have two functions. Supporting that blue plastic, at its thinnest area. Also protecting the ramp lift mechanism from ball strikes. Any replacement plastics do not have that part installed.
This falls under the heading, "Learned something new today".
Missing on mine too, would you mind providing some measurements, maybe someone could make some replacements.
Hi Pinbot fans. I started a thread to document my new project. A Pinbot re-write with all new rules powered by a P-ROC. Would love to have you guys drop by. Currently I've got a couple modes that I haven't decided what the rules should be, so can always use creative feedback and assistance in any way. My project is open source, not for profit and just a labor of love.
Dan
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/annoucing-pinbot-20-p-roc-edition
Quoted from wayout440:This missing part could also explain why you see so many Pinbots with the tip broken off the giant left plastic!
It looks like it is just held on with double stick tape. Mine is missing the part as well but the tape pads are still partly there and there are not screw holes in the part or the plastic.
Quoted from wayout440:This missing part could also explain why you see so many Pinbots with the tip broken off the giant left plastic!
Missing on mine as well, with no indication it was ever there.
Are we sure this was a factory part?
Mine missing as well. There was some sticky pad left there before I shopped the game. I removed it and wondered why it was there. Learned something new. I have Plastic protectors under all my plastic so hopefully it does its job.
Quoted from rottenrobert1313:Mine missing as well. There was some sticky pad left there before I shopped the game. I removed it and wondered why it was there. Learned something new. I have Plastic protectors under all my plastic so hopefully it does its job.
I have Repro plastics on mine.....but no metal bar there. I do have the protectors for the plastics as well.
Quoted from RCA1:Missing on mine as well, with no indication it was ever there.
Are we sure this was a factory part?
I am thinking that the missing part is some kind of add on, maybe from the factory at some later date, or aftermarket. None of the flyer pictures or IPDB pictures show it.
IMO, nobody should "freak out" that there is a missing part, but consider it a nice add on, a modification to improve reliability of the game. As simple a part as it looks, someone making parts could crank some out for sale.
Quoted from Daniml:Any idea what I may have blown?
Rookie mistake ... all is well! Even though I checked the GI fuse on the PS board I "apparently" missed the left side, right side fuses under the PS board. That's what I get for working on pins past my bed time. I discovered it was a bad LED that blew both fuses. Definitely worth the effort of installing strategic reds, blues, and cool whites. Even though I've replaced inserts with LED's on other games doing so on PB really makes the game pop!
I wish I could say I own one, and while it's not 100% a lie, it's 90% there. 
It's one of my absolute favorite mid 80s tables ever. I've got through what I know to be the motions of ownership but not owning it persay. Pinball Greatest Hits on Wii, Pinball Arcade (various), Pinbot NES, and recently I acquired the Tiger LCD of it from the mid 90s. Anytime I ever see it I will play the game, and saddened me I didn't see it this year at Louisville Arcade Expo. It's a fantastic table with all the right fun elements, and the lights/sound with the theme just do it. I find it rewarding setting both those eyes up top when I can pull it off.
Were there any other versions of it I'm unaware of aside from the real deal?
I thought I was going to be able to finish putting Pinbot back together today, but I ran into a major hurdle with the reproduction Vortex ramp I purchased from Planetary.
The first two problems I encountered, I was able to take care of with a Dremel:
1) The ramp wouldn't sit flat on the playfield because it hit the metal guides underneath. I had to use the Dremel to grind down the area where it was hitting. Not that big of a deal.
2) The metal ramp flap was raised off the playfield where the ball enters the ramp. I was aware of this common problem as it's been well documented on Pinside and RGP for several years. I was able to use the Dremel to fix this problem, as well.
3) This is a problem I can't fix: The section of the ramp directly behind the top hole is too narrow, and the ball gets stuck. There is no way this ball can pass this area, no matter how hard it is plunged. Comparing it to the original ramp, it is at least an 1/8" narrower. The pics below show the ball stuck when launched, as well as an unfocused pic of the ball stuck with the ramp upside down, just to show how tight it is.
I sent an email to Planetary, along with the pics, so I hope they have another ramp without this problem.
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