Took the parts from my Iron Maiden Pro to a local powdercoater. This place had references for others who they had done pinball parts for, so I didn't think it was their first rodeo. Everything came back looking great, but now the shooter rod does not move smoothly through the housing, which makes me think some powder got in there and needs to be removed.

Anyone ever faced a similar experience and have a good technique to clean the inside of the housing? I would think that the usual alcohol cleaning would not be sufficient to remove whatever paint may be in there. I was thinking that maybe a gun cleaning brush might do the trick? I'm open for any suggestions!

Thanks for those that offered suggestions. As usual, I was on the wrong path myself to solve this problem.

I was able to get the shooter rod sliding very smoothly by just making a tube of some 320 grit sandpaper and working it back and forth in the shooter rod housing, and then using a small screwdriver to help apply pressure and getting the last of the powdercoat residue out of the tube.

I will know better next time!

There wasn't one in there when I took the assembly out to get powdercoated... it seems to have permanent "brass" ones at either end of the housing, but not the nylon sleeve ones I've seen in other games in the past.