It all depends on what your time is worth. I certainly wouldn't strip down a TZ for only $300. That's not worth all the effort.

For $300, I'd probably just do a wipe down and wax, and rebuild the flippers, and maybe a couple other minor things.

Most playfields I see haven't been serviced in years. It's not going to be a quick 10 minute cleaning.

I think you're vastly underestimating the amount of time a decent cleaning takes, especially on a packed playfield like TZ.

I did a cleaning on one a few years ago, and it probably took a solid 4 hours to make everything presentable (everything had a layer of black dust on it), fix some minor issues, replace some optos, replace some easily accessible rubbers, do some troubleshooting, and rebuild the flippers. Then also present a list of things that needed to be repaired/replaced.

Most home games I've seen tend to be in this neglected state and haven't seen regular service.

So, while cleaning doesn't take up the whole block of time, there are a lot of other things that come into play as you're going through a game (even when not doing a full tear-down).

I can do a full tear down (including board repairs) of an early solid state game in about two weeks of evenings and weekends if I really rush it. Basically anywhere between 3-6 hours each day.

I do cut some corners with polishing to arrive at a middle ground (to cut out tumbling) when time is an issue. I'll hand polish some of the larger visible pieces, and then use a drill (with various sanding/polishing attachments) for screw heads, and drill and bench polisher for large pieces like guides, lockbars, legs.

Advanced shop job or refurb, maybe? It's not really to the degree of a full restore. I still tear everything apart, clean, rebuild, and replace broken/worn parts, sleeves, posts, plastics, guides, pop caps, etc. Replacing all that stuff makes a game look good and play well. I'll also touch up some of the black keylines and add mylar in high wear spots.

For the most part, that middle ground is for when I have multiple show games to prep. The main thing I don't do is polish every single part, especially if it's not visible to the player. So, for instance, a drop target cage wouldn't be polished, but it would be clean and functional.

For a full treatment, I'd put just about everything through a tumbler and polish every part. But that depends on how much time I have, and if the game is worth putting that time into. I'm probably not going to put that much time & effort into a $600 game.

As for playfield artwork or cabinet restoration, generally I don't do much there. I don't have the shop space, I don't do clear coating, nor am I very good at color matching. But--I will create decals to patch small worn areas.