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How To Clean and Wax Your Pinball Machine Playfield (2022 Edition)

Cary Hardy·video·16m 37s·analyzed·May 30, 2022
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.019

TL;DR

Practical playfield cleaning and waxing guide with product recommendations and step-by-step technique.

Summary

Cary Hardy provides a comprehensive guide to cleaning and waxing pinball machine playfields, covering product selection, application techniques, and maintenance frequency. He demonstrates practical methods using naphtha, Novus 2, Magic Eraser, wax, and microfiber cloths, emphasizing that the process is simpler than many enthusiasts make it and that proper maintenance prevents long-term playfield degradation.

Key Claims

  • Naphtha is available at hardware stores like Lowe's, Home Depot, and Walmart in the paint department

    high confidence · Direct product sourcing information provided in educational tutorial

  • Waxes like Blitz, P21S, and S100 don't leave residual crusty buildup on plastic posts unlike Novus II or other wax materials

    medium confidence · Opinion based on Hardy's personal experience and observation of others' methods

  • Magic Eraser is equivalent to 3,000-5,000 grit sandpaper in sponge format

    high confidence · Technical specification provided as factual comparison

  • Maintenance frequency should be based on playfield condition rather than fixed play counts

    high confidence · Recommendation based on practical experience with location and personal games

  • Newer modern games (Stern, JJP) only require naphtha for rubber cleaning and wax/buff, not harsh abrasives like Magic Eraser

    high confidence · Direct comparison of cleaning requirements between vintage and modern playfields

Notable Quotes

  • “People that spend this kind of money on an oversized toy don't want to damage it due to negligence.”

    Cary Hardy@ 0:14 — Frames the educational purpose and addresses newcomer anxiety about proper maintenance

  • “It's not that complicated. It's not a science.”

    Cary Hardy@ 13:14 — Core message demystifying playfield maintenance for hobbyists

  • “A clean game is a happy game.”

    Cary Hardy@ 15:40 — Self-described 'corny' motto encapsulating maintenance philosophy

  • “If you maintain your game often enough you will not have to worry about the dirt getting deep into the playfield.”

    Cary Hardy@ 13:21 — Key principle linking maintenance frequency to long-term playfield preservation

  • “Always start with the least abrasive materials and work your way up.”

    Cary Hardy@ 7:12 — Best practice methodology to prevent accidental damage while cleaning

Entities

Cary HardypersonStern PinballcompanyJersey Jack PinballcompanyBlitz WaxproductP21SproductS100productNaphthaproductSpray WaveproductNovus 2productMagic Eraserproduct

Signals

  • ?

    community_signal: Educational content addressing common newcomer questions about playfield care indicates active community knowledge-sharing and accessibility focus

    high · I wish I had a dollar for every time I have seen someone new in the hobby ask how they should clean and wax their game

  • ?

    product_strategy: Hardy demonstrates maintenance best practices that preserve playfield condition and prevent degradation, positioning regular cleaning as essential to ownership

    high · A clean game is a happy game... If you do not maintain your game, then it will slowly degrade over time

  • ?

    technology_signal: Modern pinball machines (Stern, JJP) require different, simpler maintenance approaches than vintage playfields, suggesting manufacturing quality and protective coating improvements

    high · For newer modern games, like let's say a modern Stern, JJP... you will not be required or needing a magic eraser or any other kind of harsh things. You're typically only going to need your naphtha

Transcript

youtube_groq_whisper · $0.050

0:00
I wish I had a dollar for every time I have seen someone new in the hobby ask how they should clean and wax their game. It's honestly a common and legitimate question. People that spend this kind of money on an oversized toy don't want to damage it due to negligence. The thing is, the answer is different for almost every person you ask. The answer varies partly due to the plethora of products available. Not to mention people, for whatever reason, over complicate the hell out of it with subjective details. Trust me, I know. I have watched or read other people's methods. I'm going to be showing you how easy it is. Let's start with what items you're going to be needing in your inventory going forward in the Pinball hobby. All links will be in the video description down below. First up is wax.
1:06
This is the wax I'm currently using. I say currently because I hear great things about Blitz wax and P21S. S100 works great, but if you want to spend the extra money, then you may want to get the top rated Blitz. But the price is doubled. One of the benefits to this type of wax is that it doesn't leave any kind of residual crusties behind. I mean, I've seen a lot of games where people use Novice II or any other kind of wax material that gets on the plastic posts, and you can see the haze and the beige color on stuff. It can really make a mess. Whereas for waxes like this, don't leave that kind of stuff behind. Next up is my favorite solvent to use on games for cleaning rubbers and getting all the dirt and grime off the playfield, and that is Naspah.
2:03
This is available at your local hardware stores like Lowe's and Home Depot. Typically in the paint department, so maybe even your local Walmart carries it too. This stuff is very tough on dirt, but easy on your game as well. It's not water-based and evaporates quickly, so it's essentially perfect for putting this on your game with no worries about it damaging or getting into the wood. It's perfect for maintaining your game. Next up is Spray Wave. Now, I've used Windex. I've used a diluted Windex. I've used a Windex with alcohol. I've used an alcohol and water mix. But this by far is my favorite because it is very good about not leaving streaks behind. I recommend using this on your playfield glass, front and back, as well as those translights or back glasses. Now for the optional tire wet. Now this is very subjective on if you want to use this. This is not something I say that you should use because it is very game dependent. I typically use this on the games that have plastics or other objects in the game that I kind of want to have a little bit of an extra shine to it. So it's not something that you need to have in your inventory. This is by all means completely optional. Do not spray this on your game. You do not want this on your play field. So apply it on a microfiber cloth and then run it across what you need or want to shine. Now what you're going to be using for doing all of this work is microfiber cloths.
Blue Magic
product
Windexproduct
Tire Wetproduct
Cactus Canyongame
Jurassic Parkgame
Harbor Freightcompany
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Lowe'scompany
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3:42
I buy these in bulk on Amazon because they are very useful. So there's no sense in me continue buying the five pack from harbor freight or anything i decided to finally get a huge bulk amount from amazon do not use cloths or the shop towel stuff and everything because you going to be leaving all kinds of remnants and fibers behind that why you use the microfiber because they leave nothing behind and they are very soft on your game Novus 2 Now this is not something that I recommend that you use every time that you clean your game. This is something for the neglected play fields or play fields in general that have a particular spot or area that needs something a little more than just your regular naphtha because this is considered an abrasive material and I will show you why in a moment. For those of you that want to have the metal portions on your game have a little extra little shine to it then by all means this is what I use for doing that. The other option that I recommend is blue magic. Like I said links will be in the description. Last but not least is the magic eraser once again this is not something that you want to use often on your game this is for those games that you're disassembling and you're getting those really built up things because this is about a 3,000 to 5,000 grit sandpaper essentially but in a sponge format now also food for thought here if you want to save a bunch of money on these magic erasers don't buy the store brand that you see at Walmart by all means. You can buy a bulk amount of melamine foam because that's exactly what it is off Amazon to have a nice supply of. But once again, you do not use this on the regular and you need to be careful when using it. I will show you why in a moment. So there you are. That is all of the products that I have in my box for cleaning and maintaining play fields. Now let's show you how to use them in practice. A little disclaimer here, going forward I am not responsible for any damages that occur to your game by using the methods that I'm showing you now. This is the methods that I do for my games including games on location, so I will state that this works great for my games. If your play field is highly damaged, meaning you have a lot of planking and the pain is chipping, then by all means you need extra precautions when using all of the products that I have stated in this video and here you go check out this kind of build-up best practice for this is to remove the rubber entirely then use novus to time and effort will vary
6:47
I'll just keep that in the video. You will not. Naptha by itself just wasn't cutting it, so I bumped it up to Novus II and got great results. In the past, I have used Magic Eraser on this, but it takes off the color of the flipper before it takes off the dirt buildup. It's always best to start with the least abrasive materials and work your way up. Okay let me give you a couple of examples of what naphtha will do for your rubbers in your game. It doesn't take much naphtha or effort to clean these things up either. Make sure you clean up all accessible rubber posts. Any grime left behind will just be picked up and spread across your game even faster. Let me show you in real time how effortless it is to clean. Literally just a dab of naphtha and I just run my finger across the rubbers and the dirt is picked up. For those of you out there going the extra mile by polishing up the metal in your game by all means it is best to remove the items from your game before you do the polishing This is merely just showing you an example of a before and after It gives the metal a nice buttery smooth feel to it so this would also work very well with your wire forms. Simply give the metal a good polishing with one portion of the towel and then use a dry portion of your towel to remove the excess.
8:46
Something else Novus 2 is good for is getting those old dirty plastics nice and clean. This is not as heavily sooted as I would prefer it to be for this video but this is all I've got at this time. I have cleaned plastics that looked brown all over the backside and they cleaned up extraordinarily well by using Nobus II. Now time for the playfield. This machine is a good example of an average dirty game. All I'm going to use is NAVSA. Although there is a ball trail on the left orbit here that will require some Nobus II to get it out. But all you need to do is go over the playfield. Typically anywhere the ball can roll. The back portion of the game is usually neglected because it is more and likely not going to be visible and in order to access those parts you will possibly have to remove a good portion of your games hardware. So for a majority of you out there, just keep the bottom two thirds of your game clean and you should be good. This is my next project. Eventually this playfield will be completely tore down and clear coated, but not everyone will do that. Seeing how this game has been sitting for years with a good layer of dirt on it, this makes it a great candidate to show you how to clean those really dirty playfields. Let's start by getting rid of the top layer of crud with naphtha. This will also begin loosening the heavy stuff too. It already looks a lot better, but there are still visible areas of dirt near the right slingshot and you can see some spotting of the dirt on his face. Over the years you will gain enough experience to know what is going to be required to remove certain things. In this case, I skip Novus II and go directly to the Magic Eraser. I do not apply much pressure. I merely allow the weight of my arm and scrub accordingly. Periodically I will look at the eraser to make sure I'm not removing art. If you see colors on the eraser, you need to stop immediately. It is possible for dirt to be so embedded into the playfield that you can't remove it without damaging the surrounding area. For us restorers, we would resort to painting over these defects. After giving it a good scrub, I napped the area to remove any remnants of the magic eraser and give it a look. The eraser did the trick. No more spots on his face. The area in front of the right slingshot is gone too. Once you have cleaned everything in your game, you can move on to the last few steps. Wax and Polish. Some waxes come with an applicator pad. If they do, use it. Otherwise use a microfiber cloth. All you do is apply a thin coat using a circular motion. After your application, this is what it would look like. Allow 10-15 minutes for it to dry. Time may vary due to temperature. After it's dry, take a clean microfiber cloth and merely buff the wax. This shouldn't require a heavy hand either. After you buff it out, give the playfield a little touch. The wax should give the playfield a softer and smoother feel And there you go
12:52
Now for those of you out there with a newer game, like let's say a modern Stern, JJP, or even my Cactus Canyon back here, you will not be required or needing a magic eraser or any other kind of harsh things. You're typically only going to need your naphtha for cleaning up any residual and on your rubbers, as well as just the following wax and buff. That's it for your newer modern games. That's all there is to it. It's not that complicated. It's not a science. and here you go. If you maintain your game often enough you will not have to worry about the dirt getting deep into the playfield. Here we have the typical ball trail on the in lanes. All this is going to require is a quick wipe with naphtha. That's it. And there you have it the 2022 edition of how to clean and wax your pinball playfield. Now of course there are a number of other products and chemicals that can be used on your pinball machine. I'm merely showing you what works for me. Another question that tends to get asked the most along with how to go about doing this procedure is how often should you do this and the answer to that is very subjective because it all depends on how often you play your game and in the end results it's what your game looks like if you have a lot of dirt somewhere in your trop area or back in the back third it's picking up dirt springing stuff all over the play field then naturally your play field could look dirty within 50 plays opposed to the other people with a cleaner game that can go on longer so there is no set time on when you should go about doing this to each their own because there's no way for someone to tell you that you should do it every 100 or every 500 plays because your game may not need that. You need to use your own personal judgment on this and just set up accordingly. If you want to do it just by time and not by plays, you can do that. It's your game. Do as you see fit. Me personally will only go about giving my machine a complete clean whenever I see all the rubbers have a nice little thin layer of dirt across them or I see like the in lanes getting dirty like I showed you on my Jurassic Park. If you maintain your games well enough you will find the longest part of this whole procedure is just waiting for the wax to dry. Cleaning and maintaining your game is part of the ownership of pinball. If you feel like this is something that you can't do, you can sure look around online for someone to do it for you, but by all means, if you do not maintain your game, then it will slowly degrade over time. A clean game is a happy game.
15:44
I don't even know if I should put that in there. That is so damn corny. What the f- A special thank you to all my patrons out there. Your monthly support is greatly appreciated. And for the rest of you out there, if you learned something or you find the video interesting, by all means, give me the thumbs up. And if you haven't already, subscribe buttons down there. Ding my dong. That way you can be notified of whenever I upload something for your viewing pleasure. And until next time, guys, peace out.
16:24
Thank you.