What's new
Pinball info

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Advice please pin fans..

rgregson

Registered
Joined
Nov 28, 2020
Messages
13
Location
London
Alias
rgregson
Hi all, I have owned a four player Williams EM for over forty years. It's been through a few house moves and has spent spells (sometimes years) in the shed wrapped in plastic. Now it is a lockdown project and I have fallen in love with it again. Mechanically, I have it all working again but the playfield needs a touch up. I used to wax it in years gone by. Is the current thinking to use 'clearcoat' instead of wax? I don't mind clearing the playfield to do it properly. Also, what is the feeling on painting/touching up the cabinet which looks a bit battered. Would it affect any value? I guess it is not worth much anyway. Many thanks in advance for any advice. RG
 
Clearcoat doesn't replace wax. My car is clearcoated but I still wax it. It just means I don't have to do it very often.

The clearcoat will trap the paint so you won't lose more of it.
 
Clearcoat doesn't replace wax. My car is clearcoated but I still wax it. It just means I don't have to do it very often.

The clearcoat will trap the paint so you won't lose more of it.
many thanks Tim. I will do that then. But probably after Christmas now. RG
 
Magic eraser and IPA are the tools I use along with a steady hand as its very easy to get carried away and make things worse in an attempt to improve. Have a look at the shop log I'm doing on Lucky Strike for a bit more info on the cleaning and I'll be updating it when I start on playfield touch ups:

https://www.pinballinfo.com/community/threads/gottlieb-lucky-strike.47887/
 

Attachments

  • dipsy.jpg
    dipsy.jpg
    81.6 KB · Views: 50
  • IMG_6680.JPG
    IMG_6680.JPG
    121.3 KB · Views: 49
  • IMG_6681.JPG
    IMG_6681.JPG
    133.6 KB · Views: 42
  • IMG_6682.JPG
    IMG_6682.JPG
    130.1 KB · Views: 49
Magic eraser and IPA are the tools I use along with a steady hand as its very easy to get carried away and make things worse in an attempt to improve. Have a look at the shop log I'm doing on Lucky Strike for a bit more info on the cleaning and I'll be updating it when I start on playfield touch ups:

https://www.pinballinfo.com/community/threads/gottlieb-lucky-strike.47887/
thanks, I had a look. I thought I had cleaned mine. After seeing how yours came out in comparison, I may have to get an ultrasonic cleaner for Christmas and do it again. I used a tooth brush and alcohol to do mine. Very tedious, but it all came out working.
 
Last edited:
Magic eraser is a mild abrasive and works by removing very thin layers of dirt and potentially paint so you have to go very gently (at least to start). Looking at your playfield pics I'd be over cautious if you do try it as anywhere around the paint meeting the wood wear is prone to strip paint away and also the stability of the paint on your playfield doesn't look great. You can see there's a lot of little white specs in the solid colour areas which is where the coloured paint is already gone and in my experience these are areas you have to be very careful with. In trying to remove dirt from these areas it generally means removing most or al of the paint as well :eek:

Slow and steady and lots of checking for colour on the magic eraser are the keys here :thumbs:
 
Last time this machine came out in anger was for my daughter's 15th birthday party (she is 21 now). Lot of friends were round, cool they thought. They spent 20 mins on it and then came the question 'Where's the Playstation?'. :(
I am missing a bell inside (or maybe two). I seem to recall my Dad complaining about the noise when I was 18 (I'm 59 now). I think I took the bell out and chucked it. Isn't hindsight a wonderful thing. :rolleyes::eek:
 
Magic eraser is a mild abrasive and works by removing very thin layers of dirt and potentially paint so you have to go very gently (at least to start). Looking at your playfield pics I'd be over cautious if you do try it as anywhere around the paint meeting the wood wear is prone to strip paint away and also the stability of the paint on your playfield doesn't look great. You can see there's a lot of little white specs in the solid colour areas which is where the coloured paint is already gone and in my experience these are areas you have to be very careful with. In trying to remove dirt from these areas it generally means removing most or al of the paint as well :eek:

Slow and steady and lots of checking for colour on the magic eraser are the keys here :thumbs:
thanks Ron.
 
I think I took the bell out and chucked it. Isn't hindsight a wonderful thing.
You can still get replacement bells from Pinball Resource in the US but it might also be worth giving Andy @pinballmania a shout to see if he's got anything in his 2nd hand spares pile :thumbs: The different points scores generally have different size bells so you'll need to figure out which you're missing :thumbs:

There's no specific info for Dipsy Doodle on IPDB re: sounds but for Doodle Bug which is the one player version it says:

Sound: 1 small bell, 1 wooden box chime

Might be the same for yours as well :)
 
I like the cabinet, that would respond well to a gentle ME/IPA clean up too.

There is a decent gallery for this title on that other pinball site https://pinside.com/pinball/machine/dipsy-doodle/gallery.
I can spot one bell on the stepper unit top right of backbox, my guess that's the match unit that clangs it as it rotates.
Yes, I have seen that picture. My stepper doesn't have the arm bit sticking out. There is an unused coil there with missing plunger. I can't imagine I interfered with the stepper all those years ago. There is a video on youtube where a Dutchman restores the same machine. I dropped him a line asking for some pictures but haven't heard back as of yet. There is a 'knocker' inside under the the head . Not sure if there was a bell there once as well. I seem to recall the load clanging which annoyed my Dad happening when one added credits multiple times. I will do more research.........
 
It's frustrating when parts are removed (and probably lost) to silence the bell, was same on my Bally when the bell can just be loosened and moved away from the clanger.

The online parts books are a good reference too e.g. http://www.planetarypinball.com/reference/partsmanuals/WMS_Parts_1971-1972/index.html#/12/

If you know the function of each stepper, you can ascertain if it's a continuous, total reset or increment/decrement type as parts are likely common between them.
 
It's frustrating when parts are removed (and probably lost) to silence the bell, was same on my Bally when the bell can just be loosened and moved away from the clanger.

The online parts books are a good reference too e.g. http://www.planetarypinball.com/reference/partsmanuals/WMS_Parts_1971-1972/index.html#/12/

If you know the function of each stepper, you can ascertain if it's a continuous, total reset or increment/decrement type as parts are likely common between them.
update.... the schematic shows only a 'large bell' and a 'knocker'. The instruction manual coil chart shows they both use the same type of coil. There are a couple of loose wires near the knocker. I reckon a second coil should have been there. It looks as though the bell sounds with 1000 points and the knocker sounds when the 'plays' are added via coin. I can't see any holes in the cab where the bell would have been though. I am going to blame it on my Dad sabotaging it. I can't ask him though as he has been dead nearly 40 years.
I think the little bell in the head previously mentioned needed no wiring as it just sounded by a bar on the match unit rotating every 10 points - except I have no bar and I don't know what the unused coil is there for. I'll put a meter on it and see when if/it energises.
Are there any other Williams Pin owners on here? I reckon the innards would be much the same in that era.
Ron, if you're looking at my dirty match unit I'll clean it with a new super-duper ultrasonic cleaner at Christmas ;).
 

Attachments

  • knocker.jpg
    knocker.jpg
    151.5 KB · Views: 7
  • matchunit.jpg
    matchunit.jpg
    136.4 KB · Views: 7
Did you find this thread in your search, the "large bell" we are seeking is actually a single wooden chime located in the cabinet. As you've worked out, the small bell on match unit would mechanically clang every 10 pts and the "large bell" on 100 and 1000 points, sometimes both sound, these things are noisy I can understand why your Dad disconnected them!
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/only-a-single-bell-in-dipsy-doodle

I find it interesting with a new machine reading through all the related tech posts on that other pinball site https://pinside.com/pinball/machine/dipsy-doodle/forum

Good luck with the restore, it looks a fun machine :thumbs:
 
Did you find this thread in your search, the "large bell" we are seeking is actually a single wooden chime located in the cabinet. As you've worked out, the small bell on match unit would mechanically clang every 10 pts and the "large bell" on 100 and 1000 points, sometimes both sound, these things are noisy I can understand why your Dad disconnected them!
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/only-a-single-bell-in-dipsy-doodle

I find it interesting with a new machine reading through all the related tech posts on that other pinball site https://pinside.com/pinball/machine/dipsy-doodle/forum

Good luck with the restore, it looks a fun machine :thumbs:
yes, I saw that after I posted last night. I'm pretty sure, I will find what I'm looking for given time. My grandma, long since gone holds the high score on our Doodle - round the clock 3 times!! Sadly (or not sadly), this rejuvenated interest has resulted in me wanting an ACDC pin :)! I can feel the £££££'s draining away already.:rolleyes:
 
Back
Top Bottom