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» [Update] Termites chewed up the Meteor... VILE pics included

(Topic ID: 251336)

[Update] Termites chewed up the Meteor... VILE pics included

By Isochronic_Frost

4 years ago

Topic Heartbeat

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37 posts
20 Pinsiders participating
Latest reply 4 years ago by slochar
Topic is favorited by 1 Pinsider

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Linked Games

Blackout Williams, 1980
Meteor Stern Electronics, 1979

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657259c6eff2f7dfff8a27297fcf9e77 (resized).jpg

#1 4 years ago

LXL

Isochronic_Frost

Saratoga Silverball

7y 219K 9,373 108 1 1

I bought two project games from an estate and was mislead by the seller. Upon pickup, my guy sent the most heart stopping text I’ve received in this hobby, “Did you know about the termites??”
No. No, I did not.

These games looked pretty good from the 2 dim photos I received. And nothing was indicated as amiss. These is virtually no wear on these games. Is there any possible way to save these? I won’t know how bad the damage is until I inspect them in person but I believe Meteor is a lost cause. Blackout shows minor termite damage and seems to be salvageable. Please help!
The games have so far been left out in the sun for 2 days and nothing has emerged, so this leads us to believe this is an old colony which is dead.

If anyone has strategies or techniques to fix or fill these holes in the playfield let me know. If nothing more they will be wall hangers, but I was hoping to have a nice Meteor to play...
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Post last edited 4 years ago.

#2 4 years ago

SBS

o-din

Pinside+ Addict

11y 158K 58,757

New cabinets and new playfields and you're good to go.

Dump the old stuff on the other side of town.

#3 4 years ago

LXL

Isochronic_Frost

Saratoga Silverball

7y 219K 9,373 108 1 1

Quoted from o-din:
New cabinets and new playfields and you're good to go.
Dump the old stuff on the other side of town.

New cabinets I’m comfortable with, new playfields I was hoping to avoid. At least for Blackout. I don’t see any evidence of termites on it but again, we will see when it gets here. It’s not coming home, that’s for sure. Just to be safe. I have a workshop with limited wood. Mostly concrete and metal.

#4 4 years ago

SBS

o-din

Pinside+ Addict

11y 158K 58,757

Seriously I've seen some termite damage, but they usually stick with the cabinet and leave the playfield alone. Must have been some tasty topcoat on that Meteor.

#5 4 years ago

WFC

Billc479

Pinside+ Frequent

Pleasant Plains, IL

9y 79,800 3,127 15

How big are those holes? They look more like carpenter bee holes.

#6 4 years ago

LKD

Luckydogg420

Pinside member

Kitchener, ON

11y 115K 5,859 14

Just fill the holes with epoxy resin (like you see on those "river table" videos) and you're good to go.

#7 4 years ago

JEC

bluespin

Pinside+ Frequent

Johns Creek, GA

7y 141K 9,112

Quoted from o-din:
New cabinets and new playfields and you're good to go.

The problem is that these are $1,000-1,500 games fully working and in nice cosmetic condition. Building/buying a new cabinet and sourcing playfields is expensive

#8 4 years ago

JEC

bluespin

Pinside+ Frequent

Johns Creek, GA

7y 141K 9,112

Quoted from Billc479:
How big are those holes? They look more like carpenter bee holes.

Hopefully these are Carpenter bee holes and can be repaired. I’ve heard that they are working on a Blackout hardtop, but that could just be wishful thinking.

#9 4 years ago

COS

cosmokramer

Pinside member

11y 120K 8,443

Quoted from o-din:
Seriously I've seen some termite damage, but they usually stick with the cabinet and leave the playfield alone. Must have been some tasty topcoat on that Meteor.

20190912_200644 (resized).jpg

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20190912_200701 (resized).jpg

#10 4 years ago

MBW

mbwalker

Pinside+ Frequent

7y 135K 5,321 9

How's the backside of the PF?

#11 4 years ago

SBS

o-din

Pinside+ Addict

11y 158K 58,757

Quoted from cosmokramer:
[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]

Those must be those nasty inland empire termites I've heard so much about.

#12 4 years ago

---

ForceFlow

Pinside Moderator

9y 236K 31,315 268 14

I would absolutely not bring those games indoors without treating them.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/pain-in-the-frass-termites

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/playfield-eaten-by-termites-it-is-fixable

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/would-you-ever-buy-a-game-that-had-previous-termite-damage

#13 4 years ago

LXL

Isochronic_Frost

Saratoga Silverball

7y 219K 9,373 108 1 1

Quoted from bluespin:
Hopefully these are Carpenter bee holes and can be repaired. I’ve heard that they are working on a Blackout hardtop, but that could just be wishful thinking.

The blackout has a beautiful playfield aside from the light powder mold. I’m hoping the damage isn’t nearly as bad as Meteor. I’m told there is only one visible hole on Blackout.

Quoted from Billc479:
How big are those holes? They look more like carpenter bee holes.

The holes are incredibly small, I questioned whether it was termites as well. There is no visible entry at the bottom, however there is a telltale “sand trail” on Meteor. If it’s another wood boring monster rather than termites that would probably make me feel better.

Just to clarify. There games are still down with my shipper, I will not be seeing them in person for a week or so.
Trying to have a game plan now so I can work fast if the cabinets need to be bonfired or not.

#14 4 years ago

RWH

Pinside member

Norwood, OH

13y 132K 9,919 2 10

Worst case scenario, the holes could be caused by powder post beetles rather than termites. Haven't seen a confirmed case on a playfield but I have seen a lot of the damage they can do on other wood and it isn't pretty and they are extremely difficult to get rid of if it is beetles.

#15 4 years ago

bladerunner

Pinside member

12y 109K 957 141

Is it really worth the risk to bring them inside even after treatment? Absolutely no!
A loss you should take and move on my friend!
Ask Yoda.

#16 4 years ago

RWH

Pinside member

Norwood, OH

13y 132K 9,919 2 10

Here's a pic of some of the damage beetles do.

powder post (resized).jpg

th (resized).jpg

#17 4 years ago

BOB

bobukcat

Pinside member

9y 99,550 5,460

Fill the holes with Ramen noodles and you should be good to go.

pasted_image (resized).png

#18 4 years ago

LXL

Isochronic_Frost

Saratoga Silverball

7y 219K 9,373 108 1 1

Quoted from bobukcat:
Fill the holes with Ramen noodles and you should be good to go. [quoted image]

But what am I supposed to eat?! I’ve still gotta live!

#19 4 years ago

LEV

CrazyLevi

Crazy Levi's Pinball

New York, NY

10y 148K 33,497

Is all that white stuff on the blackout PF termite shit?

#20 4 years ago

LRR

whizz

Pinside member

Lucasville, OH

6y 40,800 123 29

I will sell you my Meteor for $850.New CPR backglass,Very decent playfield and cabinet.Shopped about a year ago.Needs Mpu,I took it out and put it in a Flight 2000 I sold.Just haven't replaced it.No termites or bugs.

#21 4 years ago

LXL

Isochronic_Frost

Saratoga Silverball

7y 219K 9,373 108 1 1

Just confirmed, it is actually a woodworm infestation. Meteor just broke apart mid transit and tons of larva fell out.
A moment of silence for a fallen machine.

#22 4 years ago

JEC

bluespin

Pinside+ Frequent

Johns Creek, GA

7y 141K 9,112

OP
Quoted from Isochronic_Frost:
Just confirmed, it is actually a woodwork infestation. Meteor just broke apart mid transit and tons of larva fell out.
A moment of silence for a fallen machine.

Hopefully the parts can be combined with your friends part machine to make a complete game.

#23 4 years ago

WFC

Billc479

Pinside+ Frequent

Pleasant Plains, IL

9y 79,800 3,127 15

Just morbid curiosity - were they termites or powder beetles? I swear the big holes in the cabinet were caused by carpenter bees but I wasn’t sure about the tiny holes in the play fields.

Sorry about your loss.

#24 4 years ago

LXL

Isochronic_Frost

Saratoga Silverball

7y 219K 9,373 108 1 1

Quoted from Billc479:
Just morbid curiosity - were they termites or powder beetles? I swear the big holes in the cabinet were caused by carpenter bees but I wasn’t sure about the tiny holes in the play fields.
Sorry about your loss.

Still possible the bigger holes were carpenter bees, but Meteor is definitely loaded with Woodworms which I believe is the powderpost larva. Some type of wood-eating beetle larva

#25 4 years ago

MPD

MD_Pinball_Dude

Inactive member

Silver Spring, MD

4y 30,800 215 1

Sorry for the loss.....

657259c6eff2f7dfff8a27297fcf9e77 (resized).jpg

#26 4 years ago

---

ForceFlow

Pinside Moderator

9y 236K 31,315 268 14

OP
Quoted from Isochronic_Frost:
Meteor just broke apart mid transit and tons of larva fell out.

pasted_image (resized).png

#27 4 years ago

ACE

Tbpilot78

Inactive member

Canton, IL

5y 31,550 157 11

That sucks man,never really thought about termites but will from now on

#28 4 years ago

MDF

frenchmarky

Pinside member

Moreno Valley, CA

5y 79,800 3,108 7 30

Before I cut down a dead tree in my yard I pulled a big piece of bark off and a ton of termites were scurrying around, talk about making your skin crawl!

#29 4 years ago

JEF

yellowghost

Pinside member

Winnipeg, MB

7y 44,550 1,059 7

The sellar told you about the termites AFTER you bought them? Hope you got your money back

#30 4 years ago

LEV

CrazyLevi

Crazy Levi's Pinball

New York, NY

10y 148K 33,497

OP
Quoted from Isochronic_Frost:
Just confirmed, it is actually a woodworm infestation. Meteor just broke apart mid transit and tons of larva fell out.
A moment of silence for a fallen machine.

You have any pics of the machine post-falling apart? Morbid curiosity.

Hopefully your car is not now infested with larva? So disgusting and vile. Thank goodness I've been able to avoid this for 20 years, at least now I know what to look for (tons of tiny holes and lots of termite shit).

1 month later

#31 4 years ago

LXL

Isochronic_Frost

Saratoga Silverball

7y 219K 9,373 108 1 1

Quoted from CrazyLevi:
You have any pics of the machine post-falling apart? Morbid curiosity.
Hopefully your car is not now infested with larva? So disgusting and vile. Thank goodness I've been able to avoid this for 20 years, at least now I know what to look for (tons of tiny holes and lots of termite shit).

They are disgusting and these are only a few of the huge friggin’ spiders that crawled out of this game. I was not a happy camper.
Thankfully the termite/woodworms are dead. I never found a single living wood-eating pest.

47FC8208-A7FF-431F-B6D7-C92B18788FFD.jpeg

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614BF5E6-9200-49DE-B5B1-C3B736D2CEC7.jpeg

8668B8FD-B916-4BF6-B3AB-2AA6C645CC61.jpeg

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2 weeks later

#32 4 years ago

DGM

DGMartin

Pinside apprentice

Leamington, ON

5y 16,900 71 3

If the head and playfield are ok, it's not that big of a deal to build a new cabinet. 3/4 plywood isn't that much money.

#33 4 years ago

JEV

yaksplat

Pinside member

Lancaster, NY

8y 85,300 2,099 8 6

wow... where were these machines coming from?

#34 4 years ago

LXL

Isochronic_Frost

Saratoga Silverball

7y 219K 9,373 108 1 1

Quoted from DGMartin:
If the head and playfield are ok, it's not that big of a deal to build a new cabinet. 3/4 plywood isn't that much money.

No they were both destroyed and eaten through. That’s why it had to be torn down. They ate through the playfield, it has pretty big holes in it.

These nasty games came from Florida, the Blackout I’m debating on restoring it or not. Need to get a System 6 MPU to figure out how bad it is

#35 4 years ago

DGM

DGMartin

Pinside apprentice

Leamington, ON

5y 16,900 71 3

Well, if you got your money back, at least you have lots of spare parts.

#36 4 years ago

LXL

Isochronic_Frost

Saratoga Silverball

7y 219K 9,373 108 1 1

Quoted from DGMartin:
Well, if you got your money back, at least you have lots of spare parts.

Eh not yet, still trying to sell parts. I thought the 6-bank would be worth $100 since nobody sells one but I guess that’s way too step since no one else has offered

#37 4 years ago

237

slochar

Pinside member

7y 86,550 6,850

If the 6 bank was used in one of the games that people are building from scratch, you'd have no issue getting that.

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