6 replies to this topic

[yoeyyutch]

Trying to figure out which would be the best to put on my dad's Twilight Zone pinball machine. It had red flipper rubber and black everywhere else when we got it. Then we read that it originally came with white. But when we switched back to white they kept breaking and tearing.

Are black rubbers rings more durable/ Will they last longer than white ones? Are there better brands? Maybe we just bought some off brand crap.

Do black rubbers really leave a black "dust" on the ball and table? I read that somewhere but haven't been able to confirm it.

[KloggMonkey]

Black rings are harder and will have less bounce as a result. They also hide dirt better.

Personally I like white, they have more bounce are make the game look brighter. If you keep your game clean they shouldn't get dirty very fast.

As far as which one lasts the longest is not really an issue. I change mine as needed(showing any wear) or every other year at the latest.

I don't think the ball can gather dust. The rubbers will leave some dust(same color as the rubber) as they decompose but if you keep your playfield clean its not an issue.

Which ones are breaking and tearing and how does it happen?-- unless they are old that shouldn't happen.
I pick mine up at Pinball Life and they are very good quality. http://www.pinballlife.com/

Go by this chart to know what to order, you can search the part no. @ Pinball Life TZ Handbook

While I'm at it if you are new to pinball... lots of info some may not be relevant to you but its good stuff.
Tim Arnold of Pinball Hall of Fame's List

Sort version:

Change old pinballs as soon as they start to show wear.
Novus 2 to clean... then paste carnauba wax.
Check flipper bushings.

[Osprey101]

I use white except for the flippers (do they even make white flipper rubber?). I try to find pics of original fliers to get the flipper rubber the correct color.
How old is your rubber that is breaking? Rubber should last a year or two at the very least (unless you are playing it every day, all day).
You can clean white rubber with a magic eraser and an Isopropyl alcohol (ISO) and water mix. I use a about a 1-1 mix. Just take them off to clean them.
Don't use the ISO/H2o mix on the playfield because it will remove the wax.
I wipe down (dust) the playfield regularly and rewax when any area becomes "less shiny" than I know it should be. If the ball seems a tad slow; even just s tiny bit from what you expect, you should probably clean and wax the PF.
I would reccommend wiping down the PF after 10-12 hours of play. Look at it when you do this. Look for the "less shiny" thing mentioned previously. and wax as needed.
I use a caranauba cleaning wax (Mothers. You can get it at NAPA). For a deep clean, Use Novus 2.
I do a quick-wax about once a month, depending upon how much it has been played. I strip the top and do a serious clean and wax about every 6 months.
My Flash machine has no glass so it gets wiped down before every play session, usually.
Clean, shiny balls are important and if it is an older machine, make sure your ring and rods on the bumpers are not worn and rough as that will kill good balls FAST.
And last but not least, wipe your ball off before putting it in play. It is amazing how much the oils from your hands will slow the ball travel.

And the pinball rolls....

[yoeyyutch]

Thank you very much for your response. The ball seems to be collecting some kind of material because over time it leaves a line where it travels down the inlanes. It hadn't occurred to me that natural rubber decomposes fairly quickly, and even faster when exposed to uv and florescent light. Well my dad does not see very well so we have really bright lights above the machine. I wonder if that could cause the rubber to get old quicker.

I also read that some rubber suppliers make more durable rubber than others. That site was touting STC as being a good quality rubber. So I looked on the spare ones we have and the black rubbers do indeed say STC on them. The white ones say PL. If you have any spare white ones could you please check to see what is written on them? Thanks!

[KloggMonkey]

My white ones have PL on them but seem to be holding up just fine. My black ones that were also good had PL written on them as well.

The inlane line of stuff could be wax buildup the ball is moving around or ball trail wear. I know if I get crazy with my waxing after a while a ball trail of wax shows up on my black ramp.
I doubt the bright lights hurt too much unless they are on all day, or something crazy powerful like a portable sun. Speaking of the sun make sure sunlight doesn't hit the pin it fades cabinet art and messes with everything on the playfield.

Also remember to change the batteries in the backbox every year- don't trip on acid not good for the electronic boards up there.
Lots of luck to you and your pops with the TZ, I wish to own one someday.

[faralos]

try this place for anything pinball related

http://www.betson.com/
I used to wax a pin every week also a good idea is to use an old toothbrush to get all the
extra wax buildup off the base of the posts.
this way it looks nicer without that extra wax collecting at their bases
I used to use Pinball rubber cleaner to clean the rubbers with but that stuff can get expensive after a while
ISO with water works well too DO NOT USE ACETONE! this will surely craze them
and also may hurt any plastic covering you may have down on the play field
it also will melt some plastics
for the ball we used to clean and polish them up as needed with a standard car wax/cleaner
at times the ball too should be wiped down with ISO to keep wax buildup off it then waxed again
for the outside of the cab we used Lemon Pledge on the painted surfaces and car wax on the chrome legs
keeps it clean, dust free and smelling nice too as most of our pins went into grungy dirty smelly bars
and anything done to it was an improvement over the stale cigarette/ beer odor that usually got into everything
Novus 2 plastic polish does wonders for ramps too

Edited by faralos, 12 February 2012 - 02:03 PM.

[Osprey101]

Rubber sets are cheap. 12 -15 bucks for a set for your specific machine, usually.
I order from pbresource.com or marcospecialties.com.
There is also bayareaamusements.com
And I am sure there are many other places.
Sometimes you can get complete "tune-up kits" off of ebay for cheap. They usually have new rubber for the entire machine, ball(s), wax, bulbs. Not really a tune-up, but at least it's the basic stuff for maintaining the appearance.

And Faralos, your advice was just fine this time! Never use any chemicals, beyond ISO, unless you actually need to (such as a restoration), and always test in an area you won't see or can easily fix, just in case it does more than you want.
I doubt I would use acetone for anything on a pin. I use a citrus based solvent for degreasing the mechanical parts on the old pins I fix. I have heard of people use naptha for removing mylar adhesive, but I would be very, VERY cautious using anything like that...

Anyhow, this was about rubber. It's cheap. Just buy a set or two as needed. www.pbresource.com will send it right away (phone in your order) and you don't even have to pay until you receive your order. Once you receive your order, just send a check.
Shipping is cheaper than marcospecialties.com. Minimum shipping from marcospecialties is $12.00. My last order from pbresource had shipping charges of $5.00 (4 bumper caps and 2 bumper bodies).
I love doing business with pbresource.