Pinball Up Keep.

[Visitor Q]

I am hearing a lot about Novus #1 and #2 but I am still confussed... What do I use for general up keep to the playfield? Novus #2 or something like Mother's Carnauba Cleaner Wax?

[ChadTower]

Go read marvin3m's guides to pinball maintenance.  It's all there.

[Visitor Q]

Go read marvin3m's guides to pinball maintenance.  It's all there.

Ok, thanks.

[Visitor Q]

Ok, I look over it and it talks about restoring the playfiled but nothing about general up keep.

[shardian]

Millwax is a cleaner/wax that has been around for a long time. Many collectors don't like it (me included), but you can always try it and see what you think.

Most just use Novus2 to clean the game. Really though, in a home environment you almost never have to clean a game after the initial shop job.

[Visitor Q]

I guess my thoughts are that I just want to get a good wax build up on there to prevent ball where.

[HaRuMaN]

pretty sure you can just use plain old Turtle wax (carnuba wax) for that...

[shardian]

You aren't gonna wear a home use pinball.

[Visitor Q]

Yeah, I understand and all... It's not like it is going to be in some bar with people beating on it but still, I want to protect it the very best I can. I am sure there has to be some sorta up keep. 

[shardian]

If you want to burden yourself with unnecessary upkeep, then get yourself some tack cloth and lightly wipe down the playfield once every 100 or so plays. There is no need to use chemicals unless there is obvious buildup.

If the game is properly cleaned/shopped at the beginning, there is nothing else to do.

[Visitor Q]

What pins do you own shardian?

[shardian]

A crappy one I have spent way too much time/money on. The only upside to it is I have gotten to try/learn every product/repair technique necessary for any pin.

[Visitor Q]

Fair Enough.

Any other opinions?

[Cakemeister]

I agree with Shardian. You don't need to do anything but maybe dust once in a while once the initial work is done. Just make sure your pinballs are new.

I have a Stargate with a brand-new playfield that I had clearcoated and that I installed myself.

[Visitor Q]

I thought about the clearcoat option... I don't know, I mean if the ball came crashing down could it not chip it?

[Cakemeister]

I put mylar on the ball drop areas where the ball drops out of the wireforms, and around the bumpers. The occasional airball won't hurt the clearcoat.

[Visitor Q]

Cool...

Just wondering is all, thought crossed my mind.

I think I am just going to wipe it down with Novus 2 when I get it and then go over it with Mother's wax.

[pinballwizard79]

http://www.treasure-cove.net/PolishingKit.htm

Its easy to tear those sponges FYI.

[pinballwizard79]

PM me if you get the polisher kit......you can gain some experience (its not a ton tho) from my expense 

[shardian]

PM me if you get the polisher kit......you can gain some experience (its not a ton tho) from my expense 

Is there really a difference between that polishing kit, and the rubbing compound/polish you can buy for $2-$3 at Walmart? I used rubbing compound, polish, and a buffer on my pin, and the results were excellent. You can buy small drill polishing wheels at Harbor Freight for next to nothing.

[SirPeale]

Ok, I look over it and it talks about restoring the playfiled but nothing about general up keep.

You got all that in five minutes?

[ChadTower]

Ok, I look over it and it talks about restoring the playfiled but nothing about general up keep.

You got all that in five minutes?

 

That's why I bowed out of the thread.

[shardian]

Ok, I look over it and it talks about restoring the playfiled but nothing about general up keep.

You got all that in five minutes?

Damn, I printed out Clay's guides in color and read them multiple times before knowing everything cover to cover. I guess I'm just a retard like the rest of you if it took me that long huh?

[ChadTower]

Heh.  I printed it all out and left it in my bathroom.  I think my whole family read through them 3-4 times before they were removed.

[pinballwizard79]

Is there really a difference between that polishing kit, and the rubbing compound/polish you can buy for $2-$3 at Walmart? I used rubbing compound, polish, and a buffer on my pin, and the results were excellent. You can buy small drill polishing wheels at Harbor Freight for next to nothing.

I know Alan uses off the shelf wax but I trust he knows what ratio of wax vs compound to mix together for the 3 stage process.

Trial & error, he has been through the resto of many machines so I trust his mixture.

There is enough wax in those 3 bottles to last a lifetime, unless you do what he does for a living 

 

[Xiaou2]

FYI - Polishing REMOVES layers of clearcoat.  (unless you are polishing mylar)
 Can actually remove paint if not careful.

 Its nice to get the things shining again... but its also taking life away from the
field as well.

 If you are going to polish.. then you might then consider clearcoating, or popping
on a complete mylar overlay.

 
 Personally, I dont like wax.  It gets filthy, and gets all over the place.  I really cant see
it being too much protection either.  As soon as the slightly scratched up ball zooms over it
with a serious spin... it will probably eat right thru it in a few passes anyways.

 I decided to try something else.   

 "Formula 2001 Protectant"   which uses  Urethane.   After a wipe down with this stuff,
the Ball will travel so fast you wont believe it.   (Just be careful to wipe wet excess off,
as sitting wet on rubbers will eventually eat them up)

 It not only shines the field like glass,  slickens the field much better than wax.. but it
also protects against UV rays.   So, wipe down the entire cabinet with it, to preserve the
artwork from fading.

 I bet that it protects much better than wax.   Urethane is much more resistive to being
scraped away.  Its incredible slick quality will keep the ball from really digging into the
field as harshly.  Urathane itself, is used on such things as skateboard and rollercoaster
wheels because of its slippery nature, and extreme durability.

[ChadTower]

I'm pretty sure the UV levels in my basement are quite low.   

[Visitor Q]

Ok, I look over it and it talks about restoring the playfiled but nothing about general up keep.

You got all that in five minutes?

Its all indexed like a book. 

There are a number of ways to machine polish a playfield. One is using the Wen 4" orbital buffer as seen at Topoftheline.com here. This is a good fool-proof 4000 rpm buffer that will prevent burn-throughs. It has an orbital motion and if you press too hard, it will stop spinning, preventing burn-through. Yellow heavy cutting pads are available here, and orange medium cutting pads are available here, and black polishing pads are available here.

Wen 4" orbital polisher
from TopoftheLine.
 

Another method is using a drill/arbor based polisher. This will give faster polishing results because a drill system is not orbital, and it is also cheaper. The downside is it's much easier to burn-through the playfield finish if you are not careful. Again TopoftheLine.com sells a 3" drill/arbor system as seen here. Polishing pads in both yellow (for heavy and medium polish) and black (for fine and swirl removing) are available here. Wool pads are available here. TopoftheLine.com also sells a nice 2" drill/arbor buffing kit for around $20 available here. This works nice for polishing between pop bumpers and other tight areas.

Yellow 3" drill pad and arbor from TopoftheLine.
 

The for compounds there are a number of choices. Personally I don't really like the TopoftheLine compounds, but here's a list of what they offer as seen here:
Extreme cut, removes 600 grit sand scratches. Only use in extreme situations. here.
First pass compound heavy cut leveler, removes 1000 grit sand scratches. Levels orange peel really well. Pretty agressive. here.
Second pass medium cut, removes 1500 grit sand scratches. Not as agressive as Heavy cut, still works wells on orange peel. here.
Last pass compound light cut swirl remover, removes 2000 grit sand scratches. This is the last step, and leaves a good shine. here.
Personally I like the 3M brand compounds better, but that's me.

The 2" drill pad and arbor kit from TopoftheLine.
 

When polishing, if the pad is new or dry, dampen the pad surface by misting it with water. This will aid in compound/polish dispersion. Continue periodic misting throughout the task. I wash the pad in the washing machines after I am done to prevent the compound or polish from drying out or becoming caked on the pad. Do not machine dry foam pads as this will shorten the life of the pad (air-drying is best). Foam pads can become torn or out of balance. This not only shortens the useful life of the pad, but also produces uneven surface patterns requiring additional work. These pads are cheap so don't be afraid to throw a questionable pad out.
I usually start with a medium cut polish and a yellow foam pad. Have separate pads for each polish! That is use one pad for medium, another pad for fine, and another for the swirl remover. I use the yellow foam pad for heavy and medium compounds, and a black foam pad for fine compound and swirl remover. After you wash the pads they can be mixed up, but don't mix used pads. Do not apply too much pressure to the pad. Let it do the work. If you end with a quick and light pass using a dry (no compound) wool pad, this cleans the surface and brings out a nice shine.

What word did you get stuck on? 

[ChadTower]

If you actually read the other sections there is better knowledge in almost all of them within whatever the proper context is at the time.  It takes more than 5 minutes to properly review.

[Visitor Q]

If you actually read the other sections there is better knowledge in almost all of them within whatever the proper context is at the time.  It takes more than 5 minutes to properly review.

...and I play on reading all of that but for now, I thought I would get a general feel for things by asking other owners and reading the most obvious.

It’s a big investment, just looking to treat it properly.