Welcome from down South. Yep. Naptha evaporates quickly and shouldn't hurt to paint. Get it clean wax it and you should be good to go.

Naptha, a rag, and a RESPIRATOR!

NAHPTHA, corrected for the spelling police!

Guessing bad bulbs might be more likely than fuses re: the lights. I recently picked up an old Duotron game (my first) and needed to replace a lot of bulbs.

And a lot of times the socket itself is wonky and needs some attention.

Congrats on the new game!

A 1 inch foam brush and a shop vac does wonders as a first step before solvent cleaning,I use Coleman fuel.

For bulbs, the machine originally used #44’s. Most of us use #47’s as they run cooler, but are slightly less bright. All of the suppliers that you would get rubbers from will carry them.

If naptha doesn't get the dirt out, try novus 2. I've never seen naptha do much actual cleaning beyond surface dust and old wax

You probably know this but throw the old pinball directly in the trash. Buy a few new ones immediately.

The #555 flasher bulbs are only used in a couple of places on the backglass. The on/off is just to attract attention to the game. I no longer own the game, so can’t speak to how many the game uses. Not having them does not affect game play, they are just cosmetic/to attract attention.

Naphtha, naphtha, naphtha. Sorry, spelling police here. No one ever spells it right.
That being said, forget about that, and use 91% rubbing alcohol and gauze pads or
cheesecloth. If you have some really ground in dirt or swirl marks, use melamine foam
pads (like Magic Eraser) along with the alcohol. Rub gently, as excessive use can get through
the paint and into the wood. The fumes from the alcohol are not nearly as bad as those from
Naphtha, and it's probably cheaper as well. Keep wiping the playfield down with the alcohol, until
it's totally clean and free of dissolved wax residue. Then use Novus 2, followed by a good carnauba
wax, like Mother's (in the bright red tin). Your playfield will gleam.
"Hi-Lo Ace" is a fun game, but dirty, non-working and with a broken backglass, it's probably like a $150
game. Unfortunately, that backglass was not reproduced by any of the major players, but you could
go with a BG Resto copy (bgresto.com). I'm not sure if they have the art file for that glass, so you may
need to send them yours in order for them to make a repro.

I’ve had success using the 91% alcohol and a microfiber cloth. I made up for the lack of texture by rubbing harder, and it seemed to get a lot of the grime up. I also suggest using the alcohol alone first even if you plan to use a magic eraser. That way most of the surface grime is gone so the magic eraser doesn’t end up just pushing it around.

I gave up looking for decent Hi Lo Ace, couldn’t find one with a nice playfield. Do they exist?

Hi-Lo Ace uses #455 flasher lamps.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/cleaning-and-waxing-pinball-machines-vids-guide

I'd start here and work your way through a few more of Vid's guides (just search the pinside forum for "vids guides"). A lot of good info is in them (especially the changing the line cord one).

Welcome to the hobby especially on the EM side.

Get an inexpensive volt meter and watch a youtube video on how to test a fuse. The volt meter will come in handy to troubleshoot many things.

I've seen a couple of them for sale at shows. There was a pretty decent one that went dirt cheap at the one and only Ohio show I ever attended (the one in Niles a few years ago). There was a very nice one for free play and sale at the York show a couple of years ago.
Compare the playfield layout to Gottlieb's "Bank A Ball"/"Flipper Pool". There's a fourth bumper on "Hi-Lo Ace", but otherwise they're very similar.

You can see in the photo, the second fuse from the left is blown, and an automotive fuse was wired to it, and that fuse is blown too.

Omg Jenn has NEVER seen anything like that ever..Seems a little scary and time consuming...Those little circuit breakers work really well for troubleshooting and save a fortune on blown fuses.

Sorry, wrong thread. I was looking for ideas for an insurance job

That's a very sound strategy for a player's quality game that you want to clean up, and make presentable.
I can tell you have a healthy passion for this game, being your first EM. It won't be long before you bring in another, then another......

Beware: using alcohol with or without magic eraser will remove all or most of what remains of your clearcoat. Yes, it’ll be clean but the paint will be more vulnerable to wear. I usually don’t use any solvents other than naphtha on playfields (especially older ones like yours) unless I am planning on redoing the clear.

Why would alcohol affect the clear and not the colored layers below? If what you're saying is true, the clear is what's holding much of the dirt, being that it's the upper layer. If it's dirty, and likely compromised to begin with (I don't think it's very thick), it's probably better to remove it, and protect the remaining artwork with several coats of wax and a new ball. For home use, this should preserve the playing surface indefinitely, as long as it's waxed periodically.

I am not a chemist and can’t offer an explanation as to the why. All I can tell you is what other experienced pinheads have reported coupled with personal experience. For a relatively slow moving em, you might get away with stripping off the clear (likely lacquer) for awhile if you’re REALLY meticulous about cleaning and waxing regularly, but eventually it may catch up with you.

Case in point: I took the alcohol approach with my first pin years ago before I knew what I know now. I cleaned a really dirty Space Shuttle with 91% isopropyl alcohol. It cleaned up really well, but also dulled it slightly. I was meticulous over the years about regular cleaning, waxing and using only new balls which I would change fairly frequently. For the most part, the playfield survived in its post-cleaning condition with the notable exception of high repetition ball travel areas. After roughly 4 years of home use, the paint in the pop bumper area, rollover lane exits and targets had worn to wood. Similar games which I have cleaned only with naphtha have not suffered this type of accelerated wear.

I do think that so long as nobody has stripped the original clear that you have to be careful about choosing between cleanliness that is prone to potentially accelerated wear or a dirtier looking playfield that will survive longer due to the additional sacrificial layer of dirty, thin, aged clear.

Something to consider then. I would guess then, that using an abrasive such as a Magic Eraser with anything as a wetting agent would also remove any remaining clearcoat, correct?
I have used naphtha (Coleman fuel), and even charcoal lighter fluid to clean playfields, but it usually doesn't get the surface very clean.
I try to tailor my approach to the type of schmutz on the playfield, the condition of the surface, etc.
The least aggressive method is always the way to go, but as you've said, it all depends how clean you want it to be versus long term durability.

I think that’s exactly right. I’m told that wet magic eraser is somewhere in the neighborhood of 3000 grit sandpaper in terms of abrasion. Naphtha will dissolve wax but not paint. That’s what makes it a good first choice for getting rid of the dirty wax layer and as a general rag lubricant since it contains no water. Water is your enemy here since the paint and wood are no longer fully protected against moisture absorption and water makes wood swell. Even with 91% alcohol, that other 9% poses its own risk. That said, it usually takes abrasion to get rid of ground in dirt because of all those micro fissures that have happened in both the paint and clear from expansion/contraction of the wood, UV light degradation and general use. It’s always something to think about when approaching a really dirty example and a deep cleaning that you don’t intend to follow up with a restoration.

What php says here is very true...I'm silently shocked at the number of folks who seem to advocate using methods that clearly remove whatever CC remains, then don't replace the clearcoat with anything other than wax. But PHP's story is the first I've heard of someone only waxing and then experiencing accelerated wear afterword, so it's kind of vindication in a way.

I don't advocate following Vid's guides to the letter, read what other do and consider those options too, or a blend of all techniques that suits you. But there is a ton of great info in those guides presented very well...and specifically a great visual explanation of why alcohol and magic-erasers work so well at "cleaning" the PF - you are removing no only the surface dirt, but dirt that's embedded in micro cracks in the original CC by removing that old topcoat altogether. It's like, almost science man!! lol

You don't HAVE to use 2PAC auto-clear to CC your PF after removing the old topcoat...but you do need to protect it with something. I use Acrylic Lacquer in spray cans from Krylon...sure, it will probably yellow again someday, but all my games are old EMs with a patina that matches anyways. Other folks use equivalent products for various personal reasons, but most of those are less dangerous and more forgiving than the auto-clear, and to me, that's what binds these solutions together. I know you can get the 2PACs of the world to appear more like the original with the correct application, but this is a learning curve I personally don't feel I need...I'm happy with the results I'm already getting with my tried and true methods.

Enjoy! :0)

I'm with Stoomer. Once you've stripped everything off of the top of a playfield to thoroughly clean it, you're most of the way there. Might as well shoot it with a few coats of acrylic lacquer, especially if you've done any touch up.

I use Rust-Oleum Specialty Clear Gloss Lacquer Spray. 4 bucks a can.

Can you post some pics of the process using the lacquer, before and after?

Right out of the can how do you deal with the orange peel that results from this?

I've never experienced any orange peel. I don't really do anything special. I spray multiple light coats. One coat up/down, one coat left/right, one up/down, one left/right etc. 4 or 5 coats. It tends to get glossier as you add coats. I keep the can at least 12 inches away.

The only problem I've ever had is occasionally you may get the can too far away and end up with a finish that looks more satin than gloss, but it still looks nice. If you wanted more gloss you can get it by adding another coat.

You probably should remove the pop bumpers, it seems daunting at first but it's not too bad. You will be amazed how much dirt you'll find under that skirt when you lift it off.

You could mask each pop bumper off and spray around them. The problem is getting the paint to spray evenly as you go around the bumper. I would remove one pop bumper and see if you think it's worth the trouble to do all of them. It usually is.

You really don't have to remove much else.
For exposed lamp sockets, I put old burnt out bulbs in. For upright switches, I place Bic pen caps over them. Perfect fit.
I shove pieces of blue paper shop towels in the rollover slots to seal it and hold the rollover wire down.
For upright targets, I lean them back and tape them to their mounting bracket. Anything else I don't want to spray, I mask off with tape.