Twilight Zone Freshen Up

[robm]

My wife told me i could have a Twilight Zone for my 40th birthday, but luckily for me, Tony from The Pinball Shed came to the rescue and i got my 40th present 8 years early!!

I am by no means a professional restorer and will not go close to matching some of the workmanship that some of the guys on here have showed.  I really enjoy pulling these machines to pieces and my goal for this one was to clean the machine without rushing, and try to eliminate all sources of the evil black dust, so that it will stay in good nick for the longest possible time.  I also have to stick to a pretty lean budget, so at this stage purchasing new ramps/plastics is out of the equation.  Also, i plan to do a cabinet redecal sometime in the future - i guess its nice always to save a project for the future.

I have no time limit for this project and am happy to just poke along at my own pace - that said i might get all keen and hook right in as well.  (This has been going for about 3 weeks now, i've just been too lazy to post). I haven't got many before photos either, but here goes....

This is an example of the dirt and crud some of these machines come straight out of the container (i have had a couple of examples that are the opposite and almost spotless)


Here, most things have been stripped off the playfield, ready for a good clean



You can see, there is a fair bit of dirt, desperately needing to be removed


Finally, all the bits are off, and in a big pile on the pool table, awaiting cleaning

[robm]

Then it was time to tackle the underside.  I've not pulled a machine to pieces to this level before, and it always frustrated me that a few months after cleaning a machine, ball trails would start to appear - i reckon its all those nooks and crannies around pop bumper coils, leaf switches and such that i never had bothered to clean that spread this crud everywhere.

Also, there is plenty of dust on the PCBs under the playfield - these were all removed



Then the under playfield ramps were pulled off, i'm pretty sure these are not meant to be black....


Its pretty obvious where all the ramps were - and there was heaps of black dust engrained in the bottom of the playfield

[robm]

From there i started to clean things up - first was hook into the playfield with metho, then isocol and magic eraser for the stubborn marks - it came up pretty well.  After that i hit the playfield with the Treasure Cove polishing kit, and it really did an awesome job, with plenty of shine that is pretty hard to capture when you are a gumby photographer like me

Full playfield





mmmm shiny

[pinnies4me]

You can see, there is a fair bit of dirt, desperately needing to be removed

Yes, mostly from your hands!!   

Seriously, thanks for posting this - I love watching resto threads, clean ups - it all adds to the fun. I did exactly what you are doing to a TZ a couple of years ago - cleaned off that Euro Scum - fun stuff!

[robm]

I forgot to mention, some of the divots near the kickout holes i repaired with Knead It (a two part putty that you knead together and it sets really hard).  This worked really well, and i sanded it back to flush.  These areas will either be hidden from view, or covered by a cliffy.

Then i washed and cleaned (with mild detergent) the under playfield PCBs and left them in the sun to dry.  Hit the flipper assemblies with degreaser and cleaned the pop bumper assemblies



Previously i had designed a super bugdet, zero cost parts tumbler from a set of roller blades, a drink bottle, some fuel line and the oscillation motor of a pedestal fan.  Unfortunately after 3 hours i overheated the motor, so had to opt for the manual polish.



I gave the inside of the cabinet a really quick light sand to get the surface marks out, but didn't worry too much as i will do this properly some time in the future when i do the cabinet re-decal.

While i had the sandpaper out, i pulled all the coil assemblies off the underside of the playfield and hand sanded the playfield.  The difference was amazing - it went from heaps of black stains to a nice timber finish.  I could have gone to town and pulled everything off, but i reckon this has done 90% of the job (and got rid of all the ugly black crud).

Then i cleaned all the coils and sleeves (replaced where neccessary) with Nifti and a toothbrush, printed out new coil wrappers - again, with a great result.

[Strangeways]

Looking good Rob - You can lose half a day in removing the filth - but have a look at that SHINE !

It is an important job of cleaning the subway ramps. Often overlooked and the source of problems later on.

Great job - keep the updates coming !

[goodolddays]

Looking heaps better already 

[Wotto]

Nice quick progress.
Good effort so far.

LOVE the home made tumbler !
An old pair of rollerblades, fan parts, coke bottle and scrap timber – awesome effort

[FirePower]

Such a turn around, it looks great and must be very rewarding.

Also reckon your tumbler is brilliant 

[ktm450]

Your tumbler is , was, a pisser



Your photo screams out DANGER!, one of those ads for home fires or electrocution, caused by dodgy wiring    
I also cleaned up a TZ a while back, unfortunately no matter how well you clean, you eventually get ball trails back,  they are just easier to keep under control with regualar cleaning once tidyed up.

[markc]

Your tumbler is , was, a pisser



Your photo screams out DANGER!, one of those ads for home fires or electrocution, caused by dodgy wiring    
I also cleaned up a TZ a while back, unfortunately no matter how well you clean, you eventually get ball trails back,  they are just easier to keep under control with regualar cleaning once tidyed up.

sure Tim Didnt make this ......

[Caveoftreasures]

The best thing for anyone doing a resto, whether it be their first of 50th , is to always take ya time. And u have done a great job so far for sure.

The euro pins are so disgustingly filthy, ya have to go the full hog and pull everything to bits. Doing any euro pin half way is never going to get rid of the black filth.

Thanks for sharing, and i reckon its going to come up a treat. You picked a great pin to do a resto on.

Well done Rob,well done.  Love ya work, she is looking good. 


 

[ddstoys]

Your tumbler is , was, a pisser



Your photo screams out DANGER!, one of those ads for home fires or electrocution, caused by dodgy wiring    
I also cleaned up a TZ a while back, unfortunately no matter how well you clean, you eventually get ball trails back,  they are just easier to keep under control with regualar cleaning once tidyed up.

sure Tim Didnt make this ......

No way tim made this there would be blood on it some place if he did or even a crispy tim laying next to it

[robm]

A bit of progress.... There were 3 metal parts that had cracked welds, so i had some stainless steel rods and got a mate to tack these back together and they should last for another 15 years now


Since then i've installed the 3 cliffies (slot machine, ball drop and rocket) and started to put it all back together


I also was keen to make up a gumball flasher kit and light it up a bit more.  Mike (Homepin) made up a little board that has 2 white LEDs on the outside (connected to GI) and then 6 red LEDs in the centre section that flash with the load gumball lamps.  These are super bright and look really good just holding the gumball machine.  I will also play around with some blue LEDs or combos of red and blue and keep you posted.  Mikes kit is awesome as it connects above and below the playfield, making any further adjustments very simple.







Also, underneath the playfield looks really good with all new coil wrappers and washed PCBs installed.

I'm really enjoying this one as i'm not rushing it and just poking along as i please, my wife has cleaned and polished all the plastics, so they are ready to put back on as soon as i am.

[johnwartjr]

Looks great.

Makes me hope to get to my TZ soon :)