It's a greasy polish that can do more harm than good. I wouldn't use it.

-Wes

No, I believe the cleaner in it could be harmful and may yellow your playfield over time. You want Novus 2, I have heard that boating supply stores, plastic supply stores and motorcycle supply stores all possibly carry it. You can of course get it online.

If it is a clearcoat/diamondcoat I would, like mentioned, use Novus 2. This is to clean ith though. After I would use NXT from Meguiars. I use it on all my pins with great results. Again though...clearcoat finishes. I have no idea if it would work on Lacquer or mylar type surfaces and would not experiment.

Good luck!

Novus 2 is an abrasive, and according to Novus is the equivalent of 1200 grit sandpaper.

I use either ZEP Heavy Duty Citrus Cleaner or Simple Green. The former will also remove old wax and either should be available locally.

I think it might leave it a little too slippery. In a pinch, high test (91%) alcohol works fine for cleaning. I usually only use it for heavy cleaning, but it will work for light cleaning too. As you said, put in on the cloth first. Not preferred for long term though.

Seems like Victoria would have at least one plastics shop that sells Novus. Have you checked locally for Novus?

It's an extremely mild abrasive, at worst. It's also the only cleaner Stern recommends for their games.

Really? I'd like to see some evidence of that. Got a link?

While on this thread...does anyone know if Novus 1 has a shelf life? I bought a bottle from a local glass shop ( bottle was dusty, and could have been there for awhile), and left a film on my new plastic ramp ( TAF)prior to putting on the decals on the underside... Made for a bad day...thinking I should just use alcohol in the future?

There are numerous posts on the web where people have contacted Novus regarding the grit of Novus 2 and were informed it was equivalent to 1200 wet/dry sandpaper. I was writing an article on the Novus products a few years back and needed more authorative info so I contacted an engineer at Novus and confirmed that information myself.

Good enough?

Not my business but it can't be equivalent to wet/dry sandpaper right? Only wet sandpaper since Novus 2 is in liquid form (wet).

Novis is for sale all over. I have seen it at walmart and at car care stores.

Terryb - did you dig up anything on shelf life when you contacted Novus?

I won't call you a liar, but not really. I use Novus 2 regularly on my location games. If I switched to using 1200 grit sandpaper instead, how long do you think it would take to remove the clearcoat and eventually paint? To me, it makes no sense at all. Sorry.

Novus isn't abrasive enough to noticeably remove clearcoat. As long as you don't clean with a buffer twice a week, no matter how often you clean, you will never clean down to the paint. Sandpaper, even 1200 grit, will remove clear every time you rub it across a playfield.

Doesn't matter what form Novus 2 is in, they are saying the abrasiveness is equivalent to wet/dry sandpaper. Why Novus specifically words it that way I couldn't tell you, just quoting what they said.

Never broached that subject. I've used Novus products for over 30 years on aircraft and industrial plastics and I've never seen a bottle of Novus 1 leave a film like that (and I'm sure the Army had it setting around for years). Shoot them an email, they have great customer service and can answer the question. If there's any doubt you'll probably get a new bottle for free.

Thanks Terry...will do

So first you lube the hell out of the mechs then you use novus 2 to sand away the clear coat. Cool. Got any games for sale?

Ok just giving you a hard time. But I agree with Terry here. Simple green works just as well and is totally safe for a playfield and plastics. Why use any rubbing compound? Plus many mistake novus 2 for a wax. It's not.

Novus 2 is great for first cleaning a playfield. Then, I hit it with a carnauba wax. Novus has been around for like 8 bazillion years. Its great for cleaning, and... 32 pins later, never an issue. Have fun~SpOoKy

Pledge will work short-term for ball speed but eventually leave a nasty Pledge build-up/yellowing.

Don't do it.

Instead, wait till you get some Novus 2 to clean with and then wax with Carnauba.

You can call Novus at 1-800-548-6872 and ask them yourself or just Google "Novus 2 grit," and you will find that others have received the same answer from Novus I did.

"Never let facts get in the way of a good opinion." -- Unknown

i hear these sorts of claims all the time (with polishes or ME foam or what not)- and they seldom pan out, i find them to be no where close to the cutting action of the grit they state, not many peopel have witnessed a fresh peice of sand paper on a block i guess? anyways i think the point is there just not some filling wax and there is some abrasive in them so use wisely...

im not being critical- im sure he was told what he was told- its just who ever informed him did not understand the cutting abilty of 1200 grt.

Nice post! Represents a fair view/opinion for both sides of the coin(discussion). More threads should be civil like this on the internet...cyber-life would be so much better

Hey lladnip, I could be wrong, but I presume the engineer's at Novus understand abrasives fairly well. That is why when I called I specifically talked to an engineer rather than a customer service rep.

Wood is a whole lot softer than a lacquered or clear-coated playfield. So you really can't compare the two. Use some 1200 grit sandpaper on wood and use it on stainless steel and you will find very different results. That doesn't mean the abrasive rating is wrong, just that you're using it on materials with different hardness ratings.

My original post was not intended to start an argument about how abrasive Novus is, but to remind people that it is abrasive, which most pinballers don't seem to understand. It is a polish, not a cleaner.

As markmon said better than I did, why use an abrasive when you don't need to.

Novus 2 is the only product Stern recommends for cleaning their games. Since day one. You're basically saying Stern has been wrong for more than 10 years now. If it's abrasive enough to do damage, I think you should offer some proof. I operate games and that has never been my experience. Scaring people here by posting that it's the equivalent of 1200 grit sandpaper isn't enough IMO. Show us why we should ignore the manufacturer.

What about Orange glo? How badly am I ruining my playfield?

Just putting it out there.., i cant speak for novous 2 but ME is probably equal to a 1500-2000 grit. Dont beleive me? Try it on a small section of playfield and look at it at an angle. You'll see where it dulled the finish.

Simple green will probably break down your clear coat also over time, i wouldnt use that either. I used to use simple green to clean my bike frame and it would remove paint. Granted i suspect the paint i was seeing on the rag was from high wear spots were the clear was worn through, but if it could break down paint that easy, i wouldnt trust it on clear coat.

Edit: I'm starting to a think that Plexus is the pinball cleaning buddy. It works great on plastics, works on rubber rings and target faces and was the recommend cleaner by lens manufactures of paintball goggle lenses to not degrade the integrity of the the lenses....you know..so a paintball flying at you doesn't shatter your lenses. If its this safe for plastics, and cleans so well, it very well may be a good choice to clean a playfield with.

in my personal exp- being wood fab, metal fab, glass work, or painting and clearingcoating surfaces sometimes automotive sometimes pinball playfeilds i can only state they dont have the same cutting action.
dont misunderstand me- i love novus products, 1 2 &3 have them in the shop and find there preformance to be very good, and tend to be fond of 3m for sandpappers for that matter and i tend to go to at least 3k to 5k befor i ever switch to rubbing compounds.

material removal process is fairly complicated for being so simple, and involves a few varibles such as substrait traits of whats being being cut, the cutters harness, size, angle or cutting work edge, matrix suportng this work angle, force being applied, and efficient removial of cut matreial to get it out of the way so you can get a fresh bite at new material......

anyways- im my opinion they are apples and coconuts, and i dont think should be stated it's
" x-it like useing x grit sandpaper" well because its not. its an over simplication. i dont care if its an engineer giving the advice- if i wantted my playfeild clearcoated and polished out i would not go to an engineer.

(boreing side note- at the nuke station ive done some work at it has been an ongoing proublem in the past where somebody changed protocal and voilated procedual use and damaged plant equiptment as just being told something, even by engineers- as such were under directive to stop work and the procedual must be offically admended befor we can mod an item)

everbody can be missinformed its ok its how we learn