The Plan of Attack

The success of any project relies on having a good project plan behind it!

I have been working out a strategy on how to best attack this project.  As this is intended to be a 'keeper' I am going to be giving this pin the 'full works' with a thorough strip down and rebuild.

I have decided on the following approach but I am open to other suggestions:-

1. Electrical - Due to the loom being previously cut and repaired, I am going to check all electrical aspects first.  I have already completed the switch testing and all switches and optos are functioning except for one or two I need to sort out.  The continuity back to the main board is all OK as most switches in the matrix are responding, this indicates that wires in the columns and rows are fine and the problem lies with the switches themselves.  I am probably going to have to buy a few micro switches as some are a little 'sticky'. 
2. Playfield Clean - Once everything electrical has been tested and rectified I will then start the main playfield strip down and clean.  First, I am going to remove everything from the upper to give it a thorough clean.  I then move on to the underneath of the playfield.  I am not intending to remove everything from underneath at the same time as I am worried that I will struggle to put it all back!  I will be working from the front to the back and clean and tumble as I go.  I have been thinking about fully removing the loom but unless my confidence grows I will continued as planned, a bit at a time.
3. Metal Components - All metal components will be tumbled and all rubbers, star posts etc. will be replaced.  Depending on how the hardware (nuts, bolts, screws etc.) clean up, I may purchase a whole new set, especially for the upper playfield.
4. Plastics - The plastic ramps and playfield plastics will be washed and then polished with Novus.  I may flame polish the plastic ramps to remove any ball marks but they don't look too bad at all, I think they should be fine after a good session with some Novus 2.  None of the playfield plastics look too bad either and I can't see any scratches that would need to be flame polished out.  I have never flame polished before so I am a little nervous about trying this!  THIS IS NOT HOW TO FLAME POLISH - but well worth watching!
5. Metal Ramps, Wireforms and Ball Guides - The metal will then be polished and re-grained where necessary.  Certain parts will also be sent away to be electro plated in gold.
6. Playfield Waxing - The playfield will be cleaned and waxed with 5-6 layers of yellow Carnauba wax.  I use Harly Pure Wax which is totally pure and contains no additives that can cause later issues with the playfield, plastics etc.  I will then reassemble the upper playfield.
7. Testing - Once everything is back together I will give the pin some thorough testing to make sure everything is back working.
8. Cabinet - I will then move onto the main cabinet which I intend to fully strip, fill, prime, paint and add new decals.  I will also be restoring the shooter gun but I haven't decided yet whether to get that gold plated too.  I will then ad new siderails, legs, lockdown bar, flipper buttons etc.
9. Speakers - I will be replacing the existing speakers with some more modern and higher grade components.
10. Mods - I don't like too many mods on a pinball machine unless it adds to the overall playing experience or improves reliability.  I believe all mods should be reversible though, if you put them on you should be able to remove them with no damage.  I have 'modded' one of my current pins, a Twilight Zone where I added additional light at the back, added light to the gumball machine and replaced the clock lamps with LED's to reduce heat.  I may add one or two 'tweaks' to the IJ such as:

• LED's, 
• a moving propeller on the bi-plane, 
• the "lost" plastic and light board, 
• the kit to illuminate the jackpots on the speaker panel 

 Well thats the plan.  Any comments on the approach would be appreciated.