(Topic ID: 199621)

PSA: Come on people... Down with Napatha, up with Novus 2!

By Otaku

6 years ago


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    There are 138 posts in this topic. You are on page 1 of 3.
    -27
    #1 6 years ago

    So tired of seeing age-old recommendations for Napatha. It sucks. It just really, genuinely, honestly sucks.

    Official photo of Napatha from the national congress library:
    tenor (1).giftenor (1).gif

    It doesn't take any real dirt off (I kind of giggle when I read people saying it does) except maybe if you dropped potting soil in your game. Nothing says "Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy" like your playfield looking like a half-ton Miracle-Gro disaster. I've tried it on several different games and it literally did nothing. I restore games. They are dirty, real dirt. I can only assume people who use Napatha to remove "dirt" (light dirt that clearly isn't ground-in as per usual) are already doing it to a playfield that was properly cleaned by somebody else before they bought it.

    giphy (12).gifgiphy (12).gif

    It smells godawful. It's super bad for you. You have to wear gloves to use it and wear a gas mask to be around it. One time I spilled it on my hands and tasted it for two days. It doesn't come in a metal tin for cosmetic reasons...

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    Don't light a match and make sure your buddy isn't playing an EM next to you or the extremely harsh vapors in the air will combust. The last guy who did it thankfully had a camera rolling: (This is a jokingly-said statement but this and the health risks are serious concerns)

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    Unfortunately, there's a no convincing a lot of the older die-hards around here that this nuclear waste is a "waste" of time.

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    But for the newbies with an open mind this could be a good tip.

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    Now let's take a look at this pretty lil' lady:

    NOVUS 2 (Can be bought online or in any The Container Store - I drive 20-40 minutes for mine "locally" because I'm impatient):
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    ConsiderateGenuineDorking-small.gifConsiderateGenuineDorking-small.gif

    Looks good, right? Well, it works good. Cleans real dirt. As it SHOULD.

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    Pretty cheap. I think I pay a few bucks per bottle and it's generally less than I remember for paying for Napatha tins. Comes in tiny sample bottles, medium bottles (the standard ones), and BIG bottles mostly for refills of lesser sizes, presumably the medium size.

    200 (2).gif200 (2).gif

    It won't make your veins glow bright green at night...

    tenor (2).giftenor (2).gif

    annnnnd, it won't burn your house down when your heater comes on or when your buddy lights up a smoke.

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    So, next time you're thinking of cleaning your pinball machine, do it right.

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    #2 6 years ago

    Also, I have never ruined a playfield using Novus and there were times where I seriously scrubbed it with the most intense muscle I could given for a semi-long period of time, right on EM playfields.

    The worst I have done was try way too hard and I ended up removing the clearcoat on two older (late 1960's-the year 1970) Gottlieb games in one little spot. It still didn't eat the paint, but it left a light spot as the clear coats over the years all yellow a little bit. So it was different shades of blue if you looked really closely and in good lighting. But that's it. And that took some SCRUBBING. I did even harder and longer scrubbing on a game that came out a few years later (1974) with 100% no ill-effects so by then you're probably extra safe, must have changed their formula.

    I have used this game from 60's to 2016 and have never ruined a playfield. Literally have used it on many EMs, and also on a Metallica and Tron. Both did fantastic! What a great product!

    #3 6 years ago

    And if you're going for the full Otaku treatment use Mother's Pure Carnauba wax afterwards applied with a microfiber cloth.

    I've tested many formulas and found this to be the best! And many customers also agree! Plays like a dream and shines like a clearcoat, honestly!

    (Make sure you don't get the CLEANER wax by the same company as that is abrasive and very harmful to machines.)

    57
    #4 6 years ago

    Each particular cleaning product has a specific purpose. It sounds like you are not using them correctly.

    #5 6 years ago
    Quoted from ForceFlow:

    Each particular cleaning product has a specific purpose. It sounds like you are not using them correctly.

    I'm not sure if you're coming from the "Novus is only meant for plastics!" club or the "You're not using Napatha right" direction.

    I've only ever had extreme success with Novus (as has the rest of the community), and lack thereof with Napatha.

    It's funny, I bet the pinball community outbuys the majority of Novus for use on wood compared to people actually looking to use it to clean plastic containers like it is intended to be used. Anyways, the proof is in the pudding - lots of satisfied pinballers 'round these parts use Novus to clean their wooden playfields. It's a dream to use on playfields, regardless of what it is "intended" for.

    #6 6 years ago

    Naptha is pretty great for cleaning up rubber. I'd think it's overkill (or underkill?) for the playfield.

    #7 6 years ago

    Novus is a mild abrasive that gets into the micro cracks dirt settles into and displaces it. Naptha is more for cleaning residue from the PF stuff like Novus would leave behind, to prep it for touch up or clearcoat.

    23
    #8 6 years ago

    Naptha and novus are both important in different scenarios...one is never a direct replacement for another....I would like to see your results from using novus to wipe down cab between coats of clear...

    #9 6 years ago

    No offense. I use Novus 2 as well. But to say Novus 2 is not bad for you is just plain wrong.

    https://www.acplasticsinc.com/media/documents/MSDS_NovusPolish2.pdf

    MSDS contains Cystalline Silica - known to cause cancer by inhalation

    Oh yeah, it even says it on the back of the bottle

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    30
    #10 6 years ago

    I'm pretty sure that more than five GIFs a day is bad for your health.

    #11 6 years ago

    I really don't use naphtha for serious dirt removal, I use it to remove old wax and coil dust before applying a fresh coat of wax.

    #12 6 years ago

    Naptha isnt nuclear waste. Its a hydrocarbon distillate similar to kerosene and blended to make jet fuel. I make naptha. Ya its bad for you like any cleaning chemical, but not nuclear. Ive never used it on a playfield though, usually novous and a lot of elbow grease. (By the way, i figured you were joking about the nuclear part). And it is quite flammable, i wouldnt use it indoors!

    #13 6 years ago

    Who in the hell uses naptha to clean a playfield? never heard of that.
    Naptha is used to loosen and remove glue after mylar removal.
    It also works WAY better than anything else at removing the black crud on Blue Nubs of Death and blue pads on ramps.

    #14 6 years ago

    Don't you just use naptha to remove the old wax?

    #15 6 years ago

    Naptha is not for cleaning a dirty playfield. It removes oil and wax and other residue, but not dirt so much. Use Novus, THEN NAPTHA!!!!

    #16 6 years ago

    Naphtha is one of my favorite pinball cleaners. It does an excellent job cleaning rubber, plastic targets, metal (wireforms, balls, guides, mechs, trim, etc), and removing residue leftover from tape/stickers/mylar. I actually don't mind the smell and have never worn gloves. A little goes a long way and normally I just pour a quarter size circle on a rag. It evaporates very quickly without leaving residue behind. I never used it on playfields so that might be your problem.

    #17 6 years ago
    Quoted from cosmokramer:

    ..I would like to see your results from using novus to wipe down cab between coats of clear...

    Exactly.

    #19 6 years ago

    I always use naptha to clean my new playfields before going for sealing coats of varethane, & for cleaning old playfields before spraying. I never use gloves, & just wash my hands after. I would be more concerned with Novus residue before spraying.

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    #20 6 years ago

    Different products for different purposes! I would not recommend wiping down a pf before clear coating it with novas! As I am sure the op knows this!

    Quoted from cosmokramer:

    Naptha and novus are both important in different scenarios...one is never a direct replacement for another....I would like to see your results from using novus to wipe down cab between coats of clear...

    Cosmo is just kindding here folks!

    #21 6 years ago
    Quoted from Otaku:

    It's funny, I bet the pinball community outbuys the majority of Novus for use on wood compared to people actually looking to use it to clean plastic containers like it is intended to be used. Anyways, the proof is in the pudding - lots of satisfied pinballers 'round these parts use Novus to clean their wooden playfields.

    No one here is using it on wood. We're using it on lacquer or polyurethane, aka plastic. The fact that there's wood underneath is incidental. Try some Novus 2 on the bare wood bottom of your playfield. I don't think you'll like the results.

    #22 6 years ago

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    #23 6 years ago

    Actually, a pinhead friend gave me some Plexus for my plastics and I really like it.

    #24 6 years ago

    I am looking forward to vid1900 response should be educational as always when these debates come up.

    25
    #25 6 years ago

    Naptha isn't readily available where I live so I use alcohol.

    A little alcohol for the machine, a little alcohol for o-din, a little more alcohol for the machine, a little more for o-din....

    10
    #26 6 years ago
    Quoted from o-din:

    Naptha isn't readily available where I live so I use alcohol.
    A little alcohol for the machine, a little alcohol for o-din, a little more alcohol for the machine, a little more for o-din....

    Sometimes I run out of alcohol and have some naptha and coke

    #27 6 years ago
    Quoted from o-din:

    A little alcohol for the machine, a little alcohol for o-din, a little more alcohol for the machine, a little more for o-din....

    I am starting to like o-din more and more!

    #28 6 years ago
    Quoted from heni1977:

    I am starting to like o-din more and more!

    Hes aging like fine Brandy, with his pins!


    This has done amazing work, and time savings, along with non flammable, from Pinball Life!

    I use all of the above, and more!

    Novus 2 is too harsh an abrasive for me to start with...imo.

    pasted_image (resized).pngpasted_image (resized).png

    #29 6 years ago
    Quoted from heni1977:

    I am starting to like o-din more and more!

    He's like a fine wine that gets better with age

    Edit: beat me too it oldpinguy

    #30 6 years ago

    You just have to remember which bottle of alcohol is the one you are drinking from and which you are cleaning with.

    #31 6 years ago

    I use Wildcat on everything. I just dump it on and let it evaporate while I take deep breaths. Then I squirt Novus 2 all over everything and take a beach towel to it. Great results.

    #32 6 years ago
    Quoted from heni1977:

    Different products for different purposes!

    Here is an interesting educational video

    #33 6 years ago

    It absolutely breaks my heart to read such terrible advice.

    Novus is an ABRASIVE that wears away the protective finish of a playfield. It's meant only for plastics like ramps, posts and the tops of light shields. You may not see damage now, but check the key lines around the inserts after a few treatments.

    As was mentioned above, Naphtha is good for cleaning rubber and removing wax, but shouldn't be used as a general cleaner.

    Light application of a degreasing cleaner and quick removal with a clean cotton cloth is enough to clean a play field. Then apply a coating of carnuba paste wax.

    #34 6 years ago

    Last one I did took a whole bottle of 92% alcohol and 10 sheets of magic eraser to get down to the original topcoat, and that was after I broke out the power sander.

    I'm working my skills at repainting the artwork that came off as speak.

    #35 6 years ago
    Quoted from TopMoose:

    It absolutely breaks my heart to read such terrible advice.
    Novus is an ABRASIVE that wears away the protective finish of a playfield. It's meant only for plastics like ramps, posts and the tops of light shields. You may not see damage now, but check the key lines around the inserts after a few treatments.
    As was mentioned above, Naphtha is good for cleaning rubber and removing wax, but shouldn't be used as a general cleaner.
    Light application of a degreasing cleaner and quick removal with a clean cotton cloth is enough to clean a play field. Then apply a coating of carnuba paste wax.

    I hear yah! Novus 2 is an abrasive PERIOD! albeit a very fine abrasive as its primary intended task is the REMOVE larger scratches (than its abrasive) and fogging of plastics like acrylic etc. It does this with ABRASIVE. Just saying it works for me and its not causing any damage is wrong, you just are not seeing the fine removal of your clearcoat or laquer. For crying out loud, it supposed to fix CLEAR PLASTIC like a boat winshield which I have done with amazing effect.

    Novus 2 is a polishing scratch remover, it does this NOT by filling the scratch as they CLEARLY STATE on their web site:

    "Removes fine scratches, haziness and abrasions from most plastics. With repeated use, NOVUS No. 2 restores faded and discolored plastics."

    "Removes the damage instead of filling it in"
    "Buffs out quickly"
    "After restoring, seals with a coat of polish"

    https://www.novuspolish.com/fine_scratch_remover.html

    Sheesh how come its that hard for people to see what the product is?

    ITS NOT A CLEANER!

    #36 6 years ago

    Naptha isn't a cleaner to scrub out dirt - It's a solvent used to break down oils and leave a residue free finish. The lack of residual is why it's mentioned so much as a 'cleaner' inbetween processes.

    If you are trying to clean ball swirls or grooves - you aren't going to use Naptha. If you do, you're wasting your time and materials.

    If you want to wipe down the game and disolve any loose grime and leave no residue - Naptha will work.. but is kind of a waste of material.

    If you are trying to scrub stuff - you use something with an abrassive - that's when we use Novus2. Novus is solvant AND grit = why it works well as a cleaner of ground in dirt.

    #37 6 years ago

    Off topic but Would novus 2 work to make black car plastics look black again from wax? The area is under the doors.

    #38 6 years ago
    Quoted from Vdrums:

    Off topic but Would novus 2 work to make black car plastics look black again from wax? The area is under the doors.

    Wouldn't recommend it if it has any texture to the surface. Getting the residue off would be next to impossible.
    However you could always try a test spot.

    #39 6 years ago

    So I'm using Bondo to clean the cabinets, Super Glue as a clearcoat, Triple Thick as a glass cleaner, Evaporust on the Boards and Super Lube in the Eject Hole?

    In all seriousness, I just cleaned a EM pin with a vac, then Micro Cloth, then Micro Cloth Naptha, then Novus 2 with a Micro Cloth and some Magic Eraser and now I'm ready to wax.

    I just used the Naptha for some sort of liquid since you can't use Alcohol or Simple Green on these old PF's for fear of planking the wood or dissolving the Plasti Kote

    #40 6 years ago

    What about Bona?
    It says it's "Swedish"

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    #41 6 years ago
    Quoted from Aladdin:

    dissolving the Plasti Kote

    If you are dealing with a Williams EM, the only company that used Plasti Kote, you might find alcohol works very well without dissolving it, as this is what I have found.

    I can't say the same for other companies that used a lessor topcoat though.

    #42 6 years ago

    So Ill be starting on a 59 Gottlieb. Caked on dirt, whats the recipe for this game?

    #43 6 years ago
    Quoted from Otaku:

    So tired of seeing age-old recommendations for Napatha. It sucks. It just really, genuinely, honestly sucks.

    Lord help him he just isn't isn't too bright.

    #44 6 years ago

    Not including my post, only 2 people have spelled naphtha correctly in this thread.

    #45 6 years ago
    Quoted from snakesnsparklers:

    Not including my post, only 2 people have spelled naphtha correctly in this thread.

    They are probably dying from the side effects just from typing it

    #46 6 years ago
    Quoted from OLDPINGUY:

    So Ill be starting on a 59 Gottlieb. Caked on dirt, whats the recipe for this game?

    I take each machine on a game by game basis, and believe it or not the first layer of dirt usually comes off pretty well with an ammonia based cleaner like Windex and paper towels.

    Bring on the pitchforks!

    #47 6 years ago
    Quoted from OLDPINGUY:

    So Ill be starting on a 59 Gottlieb. Caked on dirt, whats the recipe for this game?

    Wipe off as much as you can before you use any chemicals or cleaners, and see where that gets you.

    #48 6 years ago

    Old Gottliebs are hit and miss with the alcohol treatment so it is best to test it out in an area that won't be seen like under one of the plastics to see if it reacts with the topcoat.

    What is a real bitch is when somebody added another layer of topcoat that yellowed over time and thus was my need to break out the sander on my latest project. It was just too much work scrubbing thru an 1/8 inch layer of that crap.

    #49 6 years ago

    Novus 2 is good for plastics and ramps and I will admit that I probably use it more than I should and in places I probably shouldn't for initial hardcore cleaning of a filthy game. My go-to for most general cleaning is tech grade isopropyl (less H2O) For cleaning, it's non abrasive. I just don't use naptha enough to comment on it, except from what I have read it's primary use is to strip wax before clear coating.

    #50 6 years ago

    OP, you're not related to the Black Knight are you?

    There are 138 posts in this topic. You are on page 1 of 3.

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