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.

So is auto polish... yet we use "liquid sandpaper" all the time on our cars that cost multiples more than our pins and way thinner clear coats.

To worry about removing finish with novus on a modern game... you better have a long time and an overly aggressive powered tool. Rags and novus2 are not going to remove a whole finish.

Well... zero clear actually More like varnish. In the decades prior to pinside... I never came across anyone who took paint off with Novus on a playfield. The concerns have been "oh crap, n3 sure is more gritty than I thought!", and "magic eraser went too far...".

We've had to be worried about water based products planking playfields far far more than anyone has had to be worried about Novus2 being too aggressive for playfield finishes.

This whole thing is just a tempest in a teapot because some people have been preaching extremes. Truth is "use the least aggressive method necessary, and move up if your prior effort didn't cut it". Some instead try to talk in binary... and that is great if you want to incite contrary responses.. or troll forums

As does EVERY type of polish - that's how they work. Knocking down edges - not removing material like backhoes.

Compounds = aggressive cut
Swirl Removers = medium cut
Polishes = fine cut
Glaze = filler
Waxes = Protective top coat