My dad has a Gottlieb Barnacle Bill that we are going to freshen up. I offered to do the work for him, as I have done a few other machines.
It really doesn't need much just a good cleaning, new rubber, balls and a flipper job.
He seems to feel that he can finish the playfield with tongue oil. I have heard nothing about doing this, and don't really think it's a good idea.
Has anyone done this or had experience with using it (tongue oil), good or bad, on a playfield?
Thanks, Eric
It is designed to soak into and penetrate woodgrain. I would NOT recommend this. Tung oil is for bare wood to bring out the grain. Give him a tub of carnuba wax and tell him 10K pinsiders cant be wrong.
NO. Oil is not wax, it never really dries. Oil attracts and holds dirt. Tung oil is awesome for finishing wood but it is not for a painted playfield. The pinball will just get covered with oil and spread it all over the place. It might make the playfield shiny but forget about actually playing a game if you use it. You might as well just spray WD-40 all over the playfield instead.
that would be horrible. and if anyone ever tries to clearcoat and restore that playfield, it would be impossible. It would get ruined. Plus, do you really want all that oil going on the ball, and sowing everything else up? Can you imagine how white rubber would look with oil smeared all over? Horrible all around.
Quoted from electricsquirrel:He seems to feel that he can finish the playfield with tongue oil. I have heard nothing about doing this, and don't really think it's a good idea.
DO NOT PUT TONGUE OIL ON A PLAYFIELD.
Yes, I was shouting.
Thanks all!
I have enough ammunition now to talk him out of it.
I told him I didn't think it was a good idea, but just figured I'd get some backing here. Thanks again.
E
Oh, you're talking about Tung oil. I thought the thread was about tongue oil. Tung, tongue, dung... NO, don't put oil on a playfield!!!
If he's like my dad? He will just get loud and say something like. " It's mine and I've used it on everything for 200000 years! I'm not putting canoe wax on it!" While his hearing aid is screeching from across the room, and he can't hear the high pitch noise. Or he would dig out the rusty tin can of turtle wax that is all dried out and was probably left over from my grandfathers garage. or..30 year old armorall! And has already soaked half of the machine down with WD40 or Kerosene and a brush. Also touching everything up with 20 or 30 year(or more) old cans of spray paint swearing because it's still a full can and it won't spray, so pounds a nail in the can to dump the paint in a baby food jar after dumping the used straightened rusty nails out of it, and the 20 rolls of tape that he still saves, and when you go to peel it? It comes off in torn shreds because the glue is so dried out, he swears because it won't stick. Has some hardware store name that hasn't been around for years etc...
Probably making his own rubber bumpers out of an old dry rotted bicycle inner tube, or something similar...Maybe even moms old panty hose stretched tight, while explaining the time they had to use it as a fan belt, for the millionth time, and that it actually works in a emergency.
Sry, was just thinking what would happen if my dad was working on a pinball! lol I love my dad, but it does get comical! That's going to be me one day! 
Ohhh, and when he was done? You could actually play the thing! It might not be perfect, but it would work!
Quoted from Joker2415:If he's like my dad? He will just get loud and say something like. " It's mine and I've used it on everything for 200000 years! I'm not putting canoe wax on it!" While his hearing aid is screeching from across the room, and he can't hear the high pitch noise. Or he would dig out the rusty tin can of turtle wax that is all dried out and was probably left over from my grandfathers garage. or..30 year old armorall! And has already soaked half of the machine down with WD40 or Kerosene and a brush. Also touching everything up with 20 or 30 year(or more) old cans of spray paint swearing because it's still a full can and it won't spray, so pounds a nail in the can to dump the paint in a baby food jar after dumping the used straightened rusty nails out of it, and the 20 rolls of tape that he still saves, and when you go to peel it? It comes off in torn shreds because the glue is so dried out, he swears because it won't stick. Has some hardware store name that hasn't been around for years etc...
Probably making his own rubber bumpers out of an old dry rotted bicycle inner tube, or something similar...Maybe even moms old panty hose stretched tight, while explaining the time they had to use it as a fan belt, for the millionth time, and that it actually works in a emergency.
Sry, was just thinking what would happen if my dad was working on a pinball! lol I love my dad, but it does get comical! That's going to be me one day! Ohhh, and when he was done? You could actually play the thing! It might not be perfect, but it would work!
Bravo..,im sure we all have somebosy like this in our family, or at the very least, know somebody like this....and you hit the nail on the head....lol.....has my vote for oost of the year! 
Quoted from Joker2415:If he's like my dad? He will just get loud and say something like. " It's mine and I've used it on everything for 200000 years! I'm not putting canoe wax on it!" While his hearing aid is screeching from across the room, and he can't hear the high pitch noise. Or he would dig out the rusty tin can of turtle wax that is all dried out and was probably left over from my grandfathers garage. or..30 year old armorall! And has already soaked half of the machine down with WD40 or Kerosene and a brush. Also touching everything up with 20 or 30 year(or more) old cans of spray paint swearing because it's still a full can and it won't spray, so pounds a nail in the can to dump the paint in a baby food jar after dumping the used straightened rusty nails out of it, and the 20 rolls of tape that he still saves, and when you go to peel it? It comes off in torn shreds because the glue is so dried out, he swears because it won't stick. Has some hardware store name that hasn't been around for years etc...
Probably making his own rubber bumpers out of an old dry rotted bicycle inner tube, or something similar...Maybe even moms old panty hose stretched tight, while explaining the time they had to use it as a fan belt, for the millionth time, and that it actually works in a emergency.
Sry, was just thinking what would happen if my dad was working on a pinball! lol I love my dad, but it does get comical! That's going to be me one day! Ohhh, and when he was done? You could actually play the thing! It might not be perfect, but it would work!
No, my dad is nothing like that. He bought that machine in the early sixties and fixed it all up, long before Marco or Pinside!
Actually we had two others that he fixed up too. I cannot remember their names, they were sold a long time ago.
Funny thing, he is downplaying his enthusiasm for this project. I think he is actually getting excited to start working on it.
He and Mom are driving to Poughkeepsie NY next weekend to buy a new back glass for it.
He also discovered Pinside and has been reading all of this
E
Quoted from electricsquirrel:No, my dad is nothing like that. He bought that machine in the early sixties and fixed it all up, long before Marco or Pinside!
Actually we had two others that he fixed up too. I cannot remember their names, they were sold a long time ago.
Funny thing, he is downplaying his enthusiasm for this project. I think he is actually getting excited to start working on it.
He and Mom are driving to Poughkeepsie NY next weekend to buy a new back glass for it.
He also discovered Pinside and has been reading all of this
E
Ya, I exaggerated a little! lol It will be funny when he stumbles across this thread though! He reads Pinside occasionally also.
We had a pinball as a kid called "volley" it was tennis themed. I do remember rubbing wax on the playfield that was left over from canning. It was just a chunk of paraffin wax. I don't remember if it made it slick or not, I just remember us doing it, then warming it with a hairdryer. I was pretty young all I knew is it worked and we played it for hours. Every once in a while, you would have to reach in the back and push on some relay to reset it or something, to get it to play. It would run through some kind of cycle or something. I haven't messed with an EM since to see what we were actually doing to make it work.
Quoted from Joker2415:If he's like my dad? He will just get loud and say something like. " It's mine and I've used it on everything for 200000 years! I'm not putting canoe wax on it!" While his hearing aid is screeching from across the room, and he can't hear the high pitch noise. Or he would dig out the rusty tin can of turtle wax that is all dried out and was probably left over from my grandfathers garage. or..30 year old armorall! And has already soaked half of the machine down with WD40 or Kerosene and a brush. Also touching everything up with 20 or 30 year(or more) old cans of spray paint swearing because it's still a full can and it won't spray, so pounds a nail in the can to dump the paint in a baby food jar after dumping the used straightened rusty nails out of it, and the 20 rolls of tape that he still saves, and when you go to peel it? It comes off in torn shreds because the glue is so dried out, he swears because it won't stick. Has some hardware store name that hasn't been around for years etc...
Probably making his own rubber bumpers out of an old dry rotted bicycle inner tube, or something similar...Maybe even moms old panty hose stretched tight, while explaining the time they had to use it as a fan belt, for the millionth time, and that it actually works in a emergency.
Sry, was just thinking what would happen if my dad was working on a pinball! lol I love my dad, but it does get comical! That's going to be me one day! Ohhh, and when he was done? You could actually play the thing! It might not be perfect, but it would work!
wonder if he could jerry rig some new foam bumpers for my spinners on orbitor 1.
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Walnutport, PA
Sana'a