Maybe it started with the "imamaculate conception". After all what's the harm of adding a letter to a word as long as everyone gets it?

Crash -

That's the picture I was thinking of when I made my comment. I didn't have time to search for it. Glad you found it. If I remember the source, they were unhappy with everyone telling them they should not clean a playfield that way. They said they cleaned lots of them that way and never had any problems.

It may have been in the old RGP threads.

I did show up at a guy's house to cheaply purchase ALL the guts of a CC EM...
Turned out it was a still VERY nice game he bought at an auction then gutted the goddamn thing to make a virtual pin in cabinet

Anyway....he had the cabinet completely soaked sitting verticle in drive when I showed up...basically giving it a total hose job....and I mean SOAKED.

To top it off....he told me, as I was handed parts from him, that he went ahead and cut some wires to take it apart.

Shit you not- game destroyed, cabinet soaked, and harnesses to everything hacked off. Not even cleanly. Plus, like right at Jones plugs so GFL splicing etc

Now then.....off to buy a shit ton of used speaker wire on ebay, and cheapest wire nuts I can find. Or maybe I'll go get some high quality electrical tape from the dollar store

Liquid Paper is great for touch ups. You can use a Sharpie to color match over it.

If you get a lot of airballs that slam into the playfield glass, you should remove the glass... you don't want it to break.

in a pinch, you can use 6V led bulbs for the 12V flashers If you smell something burn, just spray it with some contact cleaner or WD-40 to ensure a good connection

To see if saucer kick outs are working properly push down switch with index finger.

Instead of using a Cliffy to protect a hole, use the force. Luke Skywalker did that when he blew up the Death Star. If you notice just before it exploded, the proton torpedoes did not add any wear to the thermal exhaust port.

I actually have 6v leds installed in the flashers on my sst. The old owner did this to color match without being to bright. Been like this for years still works great.

HA! I'm admittedly super guilty of the "why doesn't the pop fire all the time..." *push skirt* *push skirt* *push skirt* POP "DAMNIT!"

Just hope you don't lose a transistor... or you could be smelling some burned plastic

when tearing down a playfield, there's no reason to take any notes or photos. we all know that the brain is like a steel trap elephant and never forgets

also, when replacing the #6 screws on the playfield underside, there's no need to use those pretty gold colored ones. just use the longer (1/2") ones everywhere

Tighten until snug does not work with plastic star posts. You have to really lay into those or they will spin freely.

To polish ramp flaps, use a rotary wire brush in a handheld drill using high RPMs. First apply a thick coat of metal polish, or carnauba wax, or even toothpaste. Go back and forth with a scrubbing motion, but make sure that drill is revved up high. You want that flap to feel hot to the touch. If it just feels warm, give it a few passes with a propane torch. The excessive heat is what gives it its shine. while you have the torch out, you can use the opportunity to flame polish the ramp if its made out of plastic. Hold the flame close, that way none of the heat is wasted. After all, they don't give those tanks away.

If your ramp flap has no rivets, no problem. Put the ramp and the flap in place. Drill corresponding holes in the playfield. Get some dental floss. The good waxed kind. Cut off a length and place one end of the dental floss through one of the holes. Place the other end through the other hole. Lift the playfield and grab both ends of the floss with vise grips. Pull tight. Tie a knot to secure everything to the playfield. To assure that the knot does not come undone, make a golf ball size wad of 2 part epoxy putty and encase the knot in it. Wait for it to set. The waxed floss will help the ball glide over the repair smoothly. Sit back and admire a job well done.

If you want key less entry for a coin door, strategically placed velcro works wonders. Or you can use a self closing spring for a gate, found in most hardware stores mounted behind the coin door.

Another possibility is running a piece threaded rod the length of the cabinet, fasten it in the back of the game, with the front going through a small hole in the coin door. Use an appropriate sized nut tightened finger tight to keep the door closed. To open it, reverse the direction of the nut that you turned it when you were placing it on the rod. Take the nut off and place it on the cabinet speaker magnet so you don't lose it. Do what you have to in the machine, and when you are done replace the nut.

This method is open to modification. If its an Iron Man pinball machine, you could super glue an Iron Man toy head to the nut. If its a Baywatch machine you could use an alien head. If its a Wizard of Oz machine, you could fasten the nut to a yellow brick. If its a Supreme machine, you could fasten the nut to a Supreme brick. If you use this method on a Black Rose machine, DO NOT fasten the nut to a 32lb. cannonball. I tried this and the weight bent the door and I had to remove the door and run over it a few times in my car to straighten it out.

I am glad that I got at least on thumbs up for my last post.

Maintenance tip! Always rotate your balls and never let them sit for long periods of time or they can go out of round.

6-pcs-magnetics-rattlesnake (resized).jpg

Don't have the right switch arm to fix a switch? The old arm wasn't the hinged type and the new switch has a short arm. CA glue the old arm onto the new switch arm!

Yes, I just did this and it works great!

Rob

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Put heat shrink tubing on it, it will never come apart.

LTG : )

If you take your backglass out to seal it - go ahead and leave it laying around half on a container.

Also - when moving machines downstairs - just use one ratchet strap on your dolley to save time and effort. Securing the head is for pussies.

shattered (resized).jpg

Ouch...

don't worry though... you can replace that glass with saran wrap.

edit: Just saw that your swords of fury landed on another backglass..... double ouch.

Wait... what?

Straps? Dollies? Just pull off the legs (easy with only 1 bolt per leg) and slide that puppy down the stairs.

If you set cardboard on stairs and use those little skate wheels under feet, you don't even have to take legs off.

Ouch! What backglass was it? Were you able to get another?

If anything significant goes wrong with your game it's toast. Nothing is ever worth repairing.
Just part it out. Cut the wire thingies holding everything together and sell the parts at your next garage sale. Except the computer lookin' stuff. That's all junk, just throw it away.
Make a nifty coffee table out of most of it. Sell that on Craigslist. Be sure to put in your ad that it's rare.

Perfect! fits that slogan, "Re-use, Re-cycle, Reduce"

Screw those Long winded ViD guides. To much reading. Use Hank's pinball repair guides and don't look back! He did several videos that just make repairs a breeze, and all the information is nicely compressed into a few minute video.

Here is a sample of playflied swapping.

If the free play button you installed quits working make sure the wires didn't get pinched. If they did just use a little electrical tape.

IMG_4519 (resized).JPG

If your game doesn't have a security bar across the coindoor, you're just begging thieves to try to pry the door open to get at all those precious quarters in your coinbox. Don't let this happen to you! Deter would-be thieves by drilling and installing a heavy-duty hasp and lock setup....or better yet, two or three! More security = safer coinbox. This is especially true of games in minty mint condition, which thieves know attract more players and more quarters.

double post

Doubling up on posts IS a really shitty repair!!

Makes talking with Steve Young (Pinball Resource) even more interesting

It's OK to adjust the pop bumper spoon contacts on a system 1, with the power on.

You probably won't smoke the CPU or driver board if you're real careful.

E

and when talking with steve, remember to insist that you're correct and he's not (and that he doesn't know what he's talking about

If you have a DMD that has a line out, or the image is garbled, just whack it with a hammer or a wrench like you do to the starter in your car.

I've been reading through this and I gotta say, McClad, dude, you have some HILARIOUS posts. Job well done sir.

Save your electricity and batteries and work by candlelight.

You can place them inside the cabinet if you ever need to do repairs under the playfield.

The more candles you have, the brighter the light!

Used diapers for shop towels will fit in with this shi**thread.

LTG : )

I am trying.

Stores jack up the price on solder marketed for 'electronics repair'. You can get the same thing much cheaper in the plumbing section of your local big-box hardware store.

No need to pull the cup off. I have been thrown 8' or more reaching in a Space Invaders and a Pac Man from the muscle spasm from getting hit with the full seCONdary from the flyback. Once in a bowling alley and once in a bar.

I hear you...
Pull galaga out from wall, take back door off, start wiggling some connectors around to try to figure out why red going on and off, get side of hand across wrong thing, repair hole hand left in pool hall's drywall behind game...

With that said. Best shitty repair tip would be go ahead and leave that suction cup laying on PC motherboard while working on that RFM powered up.

Always sit your bong down on the playfield when doing any repairs!

If your machine has a damage due to damp, pour some fuel over it and set it on fire.

When applying cabinet decals on a prepped surface run hot glue in a w pattern on the cabinet first for better adhesion of the decals.