AskJacob

Looking fantastic mate!

It's a great point and I thank you for making me think... I don't have new ones and haven't ordered anything yet. I will weigh it up - I might just get the existing ones nice and clean and see.

Been very busy getting the games room up to snuff, but have re-glued the right hand side of the head back on, someone apparently got too enthusiastic drilling out the glass lock bar and levered off the... I guess it's a wood trim/surround. It took a lot of climbing to convince it to sit flat where it belongs. This is probably the 1st time I got to use the big clamps that have been rattling around the workshop...

Mahna Mahna MultiBall

There is a race to the bottom with batteries - even "good brands" are tending to suck now. I currently use Varta batteries that I get from Bunnings in bulk - but I think even these have started declining in quality over the past few years. I imagine that Bunnings keep the pressure on for keeping the packs at a certain price, so something has to give. Alkalines WILL leak, but good ones should only really do this after being dead flat for a long time. Duracells currently will leak, even when NOT flat, and well within their printed "expiry" date. My current method is to have a remote battery, kept in the bottom of the head, and in a ziplock bag as well. That way any leak will mean replacing a $4 battery box.

Thanks @Grefla for the wonderful offer - I have found I have the caps already (and in similar condition 🙂 ) I did some playing about with the retrobrighting process today with some other caps to see if I can get them whiter again, and it was moderately successful, so with care I can get these looking a little better. @Pinoffski I agree. It can always be re-cleaned, but you can't "unclean" the paint back on... I am going to remember to look at it from a playing position, not with my nose on the playfield. I am in the middle of re-vamping my games room - something I have been "meaning" to do for a long time. It is getting me all revved up to get all the machines in there together - once I stop the renovations.

I was looking at my assorted brown bumper caps and was wondering if the retro-bright process would work on them. As I had some remaining after replacing them with new in my Dracula, I thought I'd give it a go. If it does not work or fails spectacularly, no loss as they are likely to sit in a bag for years and then get thrown out.. These are clean, but yellow/brown. As the one on the left is somewhat darker, I will use it as the test subject. I put it in a sealed bag with some 40vol (12%) hydrogen peroxide cream and left it in the sun for the day - a warm sunny day. I kneaded it often to ensure no air bubbles remain settled on it which can lead to "marbling". I have a UV exposure unit I will try in the future to be a little more dialed in on exposure times. So at the end of the day, a rinse with water and the results: It is MUCH brighter - but there are some issues with this process. The heat stamped image (skull) was not impacted. The red starburst that is spray painted on has been lightened and is soft - it can be scraped off with a fingernail. On the underside, the "spot" from the GI bulb is still brown, but I also didn't spend a lot of time with it upside down. The plastic itself looks fine, no texture change to it. It still sounds the same when tapped as an untreated one so it looks like the plastic was not harmed. I have access to a small vinyl cutter so can cut a stencil and re-spray - that is something I will try later but in no hurry. Summary: It can work, however paint will get damaged and most likely need to be re-done. It may be fine for simple re-work like these caps - or disastrous with something detailed. I hope this is of interest to someone else out there.

Very pretty build. I like the idea of re-purposing a phone for the display - a great idea there.

A safe-ish way to use IPA can be to put the PCB in a big ziploc baggie, add enough IPA to ensure it will be covered, squeeze out the air and then put the baggie in the cleaner with plain water in the tank. Of course this needs a cleaner with the size to do that. As to components getting damaged, basically you just can't chuck the boards in and leave them alone. For potentiometers for example, you want to keep an eye out that there isn't a thin stream of black coming out into solution, as it can be the carbon (not dirt!) being etched away. You can see a simple version of this with a lead pencil by poking the sharpened end into the tank - the lead starts to be eroded away. Of course the potentiometer carbon is harder and will take longer - just don't "set and forget" the clean cycle. Times and so on are really down to the tank volume, ultrasonic power rating and even if you have a basket or baggie in use. Shorter is better - you can always add time but not take it back!

crazy to think how much the PF must expand... explains why planking occurs over time on older PFs

My main concern is if it is a populated PCB, the ultrasonic action could get your cleaning fluid inside and past some "sealed" items like coils and even electrolytics. Probably rare to happen but just remember it is far more active than just soaking/brushing. It can also take carbon off any trimpots, so care is needed when using it. I use IPA when cleaning certain electronics as it can also take off some fluxes, and dries taking any moisture with it pretty quickly. Just be aware that warm IPA + electrical equipment could get VERY exciting very quickly.

Thanks! The playfield has 4 rollovers, but only 2 have the star present. I was thinking of replacing all 4 new as the plastic is unlikely to match in colour between the old and new ones.

Any recommendations on who in Aus to grab 4 white star rollovers from? I don't need the insert and star, just the star rollover. Also, what is the safest way to remove the star part from an insert? I don't want to damage the insert! Cheers

So consider this an assembly rather than a full restore. The goal is to get what is here looking as good as it can without going "full resto" and spending a lot - as I don't have much. What I do have is some time, so let's use that... Simple things first I guess. 1st round of clean-up, just tried a slightly damp cloth to get all the junk off as it was stored without glass (prior to me getting it!) Lots of swirl to deal with. Almost all the paint is in good nick, just yellowed and swirly in heavy traffic areas. There is a tiny bit of planking and 2 worn spots from the left flipper, but otherwise quite OK looking. I must say I really like the bare timber integrated into some of the art... very cool. Tonight I tried some windex and magic eraser, as well as IPA and eraser. Still not really making any progress with the swirl. I have a feeling the magic erasers I have are off brand and junk. Cleaner yes, but still swirly: I also removed 2 broken bulbs that proved to be annoying to remove. Most of the lamp sockets actually look ok, but until I try and use them... I won't know.. Also found the knocker solenoid is burnt out, and a few other solenoids still have metal sleeves. Is it still a thing to replace these or just do it when replacing worn stops too? Underneath looks rather clean which is good. Also looks pretty complete (the flipper assemblies are somewhere in the cab I am sure) I'll keep chipping away...

OK, I'll take a swing at putting it together. Worst case scenario if I move it on before finishing, the new owner will have less parts to drag away 😄