I’m in the middle of cleaning the mech board of a Strato Flite and I want to do the score motor stacks justice.
I cleaned and polished each switch of the index. It took forever…
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Now I want the whole stack to have that golden mirror with each blade but I’d like to finish it before the world ends.
Anyone have any tips or suggestions? Not sure if there’s something I should soak them in or if it’s just a pain staking task that has no short cut
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Hybrid EM and PM.

1976 Brunswick Pro Block A Shot

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That game is so cool. Perfect example of simple yet fun.

I've seen people practically die laughing while playing that machine.
Even before buzzin'!

It really is. I’m close to finishing the restore besides painting the cabinet. I’ll probably post the info here. I have a thread on KLOV now with all the info/pics.

Yes it really gets people excited. My son and I get really loud while playing.

I had a similar question while trying to polish the score reel mechs and plates on my Ice Revue resto ( https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/total-restore-of-an-ice-revue ) the answer I got back was: "Try soaking these parts in CLR for about 1/2 hour, then follow up with hot water and a soap pad. After they're dry, a little Mother's Polish, had they look like new. Works for me. "

So I have some Calcium Lime and Rust remover on order. It looks promising!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00U0GIKQU

Ha! That’s exactly what I did. Never dabbled with CLR with pin stuff so maybe I’ll let it soak a little longer. Alright thanks I’ll just chisel through it one stack a day for a while.

Your backglass looks great! This game always seems to have major flaking.

Hey, I have one of these down in Brattleboro! There’s one at pastime in Manchester as well. Funny, seems like a relatively rare game and yet there’s at-least three of them here in VT.

The game is such a laugh. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone play it without laughing their ass off.

I’d love it if you made a repair thread. I’m going to have to do some work on my score reels. Burnt traces.. It’d be cool to see what work you did.

Yes, the original glass had paint loss. Quite a few years back, I made a good size package trading deal
with a fellow collector involving multiple machines with part of the deal giving him a project Flying Turns,
Flipper Parade, and a couple other machines that he highly wanted, so giving up the the new repro Trade
Winds glass with the machine was no problem for him. I remember 2 of the machines that I got was Ringer
and a better Majorettes. We were both happy with the trading deal..

Right on. Well that’s good enough reason for me to do the thread. Mine was in pretty rough shape when I got it. And besides the cabinet needing a paint job on the sides I’ve got it back in pretty good shape. Played probably 3x dozen games on it without any issue.

I agree it really is a hoot for people when they take the time to play.

Cleaning up this Team One sample game. AX relay was being a fussy bastard but I'll dial that in once I get it put back together.

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Looks super clean!

Finally got my Gottlieb Bronco back together and I knew my luck couldn't last forever. Game played fine when I brought it home. Today when I powered on for the first time, all that came on was the TILT light and coindoor lights. I added a ball to the trough and all the GI lights came on. I dropped a quarter in the right slot and an additional credit registered (already had a few previous credits on the reel). I dropped a quarter into the left slot and the motor began spinning and won't stop.

Game was/is extremely clean and well-kept so I'd think that all switches/reels/etc. are good to begin with, likely it's something I moved or did while cleaning it up. Just no idea where to even start as I'm an EM idiot. All score reels were already at 00000 if that matters. Should I leave this here or start a new topic?

Working on this Ship Ahoy. Playfield is all stripped and inserts are being glued down.

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Getting closer…

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At first glance it thought those banks of stand ups were banks of drops, and I almost dropped my phone.

Would be nice if they were, and I could do it… but probably shouldn’t.

Probably.

Zaccaria games are so gorgeous. Supersonic is #1 on my dream list.

Alberto

Me too. Also would like a Nautilus and a Ski Jump.

The playfield on Queens Castle is phenomenal. The backglass wins the ugly woman award.

Nah. This does! Gottlieb "Dancing Lady".

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Working on a Williams Triple Action and I need three of these:

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This. All of these late EM era Gottlieb games (especially the multi players!) were just packed with relays, steppers, target banks and anything else they could stuff under the hood!

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If you crop that it looks like someone walking by her with a bag over their head in shock of her hideousness. Jim Varney, Eric Roberts and Reverend Jim from Taxi with a Lloyd Christmas hairdo in a dress. Yikes.

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Started tearing into the Wagon Train I picked up last spring after getting it working pretty well. I’ve got the roto target stickers and stuff coming from PBL. Now to take it apart, clean it up and re-assemble in time for the MGC. The biggest battle will be trying to remove the awful tan cabinet paint job that the previous owner though was a good idea!
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OMG! You win!!!

1976 Brunswick Pro Block A Shot

For those who were interested. Restoration thread - https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/brunswick-pro-block-a-shot

T.W. all gone through and playing fine.
A few trial games, then she'll be going
in the line up..
It'll be the last machine I'll be working on for a
while. Time to do a little freshening up on some
of the other machines, and then straightening
out the game room(s)..

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Does that mean you didn't actually achieve that score with the glass on?

Haha, the glass was off, but being a pinball player from way back, I am talented
enough to do that pretty much every time even with the glass on. I manually activate
the score relays in the back box..
Now doing it with both the glass and back door on. That I have not yet achieved..

I am going to try and restore a 1969 Spin-A Card. I have a ton to learn. Going to start slow. First up, the coin door. How do I restore this? Buff? Sand? Re-Plate?, Wax after sanding? Any guidance appreciated.

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It doesn't look too bad. Take lots of pictures of the components on the inside of the door, then remove everything. Soak the door in a product called "EvapoRust", if you can find it.
Use a large enough container, and enough product to totally submerge the door. Leave it in for several hours, using a small brush to check the rust removal.
The door should come out rust free. Then, rinse it with hot water, and use a soap pad to polish the metal. Go horizontally only on the front (with the grain).
You can reuse the EvapoRust, so get a funnel, and return it to the bottle. If you can't find EvapoRust, you can try CLR, but it might take a little longer to remove the rust.

There's a little trick to reassembling the door to the hinge if you remove the hinge (four button-head Allen screws). Let me know when you reassemble the door, and I'll clue you in.

Oh, and be sure to THOROUGHLY dry the door after cleaning it, or it will quickly start to rust again.
I use compressed air, then heat it well with a heat gun or blow dryer. Then use a good metal polish on it like Mother's Mag and Aluminum polish. Polish every surface you can reach. You can spray some WD-40 on the inner part of the door to prevent future rusting.

Thx for the info. One question. The soap pads. Are they the steel wool ones like SOS or Brillo?

There's a guy on here, from Minnesota (can't remember his name) who showed in a thread how to use white paint and push it back into the gottlieb logo with toothpicks and make it look new.

I purchased new ones for my machines, but that is pricey!

The Evapo-rust route will work, and sooner or later you'll be submerging a lot of metal in it, to get it free of rust. Some folks put it in PVC pipes with legs, and they come out rather fresh. Also, after evaporated-rust, get a small tumbler with walnut shells and spin those small bits in there for a few days! They come out sparkling and lots of rust and dirt is scraped off.

The hinge is a beast--there's a metal bar INSIDE the door and the hinge on the outside. You have to line those up with tender care and put the Allen screws through both. I did 3 doors and became proficient by the last.

Watch out for the coin flap. If you disassemble all that, make sure it can still swing when you re-assemble, or you will be taking it apart again and again.

Since 'we' are turning this thread into an advice column. My two cents. Leave the door in the evapo overnight! The hinge trick is simply put one allen head button on one end-without the door to hold the backer bracket in place. Line up the other end with the door, get one fastener started on the opposite end from the first. Rotate the door so you can remove the first one. Then line up the rest. Not magic, but a neat trick.

Do not interpret soap pads to mean 3M scrub pads. 3M scrub pads are abrasive and will scratch the door. Mothers with a blue paper towel will get you polished about as much as you can get. Or a buffing pad with Mothers will also work.

Yes. It's amazing what Brillo and very hot water can do. I've made some pretty crusty looking legs look almost new with just a soap pad and hot water. Again, thoroughly dry (use heat) and polish immediately to ward off any incipient rust.

I like to keep an eye on the progress of parts left in EvapoRust or CLR. If left too long, unplated parts will start to develop a black-ox type of coating which becomes more difficult to remove with the soap pad and water as it gets heavier. EvapoRust makes short work of lightly rusted parts. I really like CLR for
the brass plated stuff and the parts which get that "white fuzz" on them. Sometimes only 20-30 minutes or so in CLR makes these parts look great again.

You have to know the trick to is as stashyboy described above. This makes reassembling the hinge easy. Also, when reinstalling the door, leave the four button head allen screws only just snug. Then, after screwing the hinge back into the cabinet, close the door, and gently pound the edges with the side of your fist so as to make the door sit flat in the opening. Then, carefully open the door and tighten down the button head screws. Recheck the fit after tightening and repeat the process if needed.

Thx all. Is this the appropriate thread to ask restoration questions? After the coin door, will be asking questions about cleaning leaf springs, steppers, etc.

Leaf springs?

Am I the only one who gets a game working before spending time on cosmetics and getting the coin door functional?

great comment underdog. I told you I was a novice

Agree that unlike metals will produce that black coating. Since he only mentions the all chrome coin door, my comment stands. Would do the same for only chrome plated legs in the pvc tube. I feel like anyone who has multiple questions *should* start a separate thread, just as I would not want this discussion in for sale threads etc. Yes, EM guys are pretty relaxed, but.....

That would be a pretty easy cabinet repaint with just masking tape.

Yes, you are.

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