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Swapping a playfield

Spandangler

Spandangler

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10 Years
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Jul 21, 2011
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Suffolk
Hi group



Right, I'm currently stripping my Congo for a reet good clean. The top of the pf is now pretty much bare with exception of a couple of posts and the pop bumpers.

Since stripping it I've noticed the upper part of the pf normally covered with gray gorilla and ramps, is fairly badly planked. There's also insert wear on most of the inserts but not too bad.



Thanks to Rex off the forum I do have a spare pf, which is in excellent condition and I'm thinking while I'm stripped to this extent, I should probably swap them over.



Now, as an analogy I'd liken my skills to walking into the cold sea. I've started by dipping my toe in, then gone up to my waist and I'm currently up to my neck but can't dip my head under!



I'm now confident in stripping the top of the pf but scared of stripping it fully.



So if anyone has any top tips then they would be gratefully received.



My first puzzlement is how to remove those thin round metal pieces which sit on the pf below and parellel with the flippers, also the piece that separates the in and outlane similar to those on Whirlwind. There is no nut the other side so guessing they are glued in?



Anyway feel free to post any hard lessons you've learnt and I'll decide whether to take the plunge.



Grateful as always



Gaz
 
Brace yourself !



The obvious tip is make sure you have a fully charged digital camera with plenty of memory available. Take pics of EVERYTHING from every conceivable angle (you WILL need them).



I take off everything I can from the top of the playfield (leaving essentially just the pop bumpers and the wooden edges). I then lift out the playfield and then lay it upside down on one of my other pins (covered with old towels).

I then put the new playfield on another machine next to the original so that they are side by side.

Cable tie the wiring loom so that it it will maintain its shape when you remove it. Number anything that could be potentially put into the wrong place (like lamp holders etc, switches etc.) with a fine permanent marker. Don't worry you can get the ink off with alchoholic hand gel later. Put little stickers onto the new playfield where the numbers are going to go.

Swap the black wooden playfield edges over.

Remove all the light insert boards.

Number the pop bumper parts in the same way (which switch to which bumper etc).

Have a good look at how the the pop bumpers are soldered and laid out and work out the minimum numbers of wires you need to de-solder to seperate them from the loom. You will have to de-solder the metal strips and remove the staples holding them down because the pop bumper bodies can only come out from the top of the playfield. Remove the bumpers and re-fit them into the new plafield. Take care to put the clear heatshrink back on the metal strips in the correct place. Staple down the strips (I bought a stapler from Poundstretcher). Re-solder the strips back together.

You can start unscrewing stuff now. Take care about which screws go where ! Keep the different screws seperate.

You don't have to de-solder all the coils and stuff like that, just be careful when transferring the loom.

Put all the cable brackets and retainers on the new playfield.

Lift the wiring loom from one playfield to the next. You will be surprised how much stuff sits where it should, it holds its shape pretty well (if you cable tie it first).

Screw everything back into place and re-solder the pop bumpers (and any other stuff that needed de-soldering).



It isn't all that hard to do. Just take your time and don't cut corners. Make notes as you go along, especially if things have to be removed in a certain order (sometimes the playfield hinges and runners are located under other things).



Feel free to pm or mail me if you get stuck.



Andrew.
 
Gaz Shiells' date=' post: 1691305 said:
Brilliant, cheers Andrew, just what I was after.

Here goes nothing!!!
Click to expand...



Good luck Gaz!



I am contemplating doing this for the first time ever too. I've striped the top of playfields many times but never underneath.

:eek:

Keep us updated.
 
Fintan Stack' date=' post: 1691308 said:
Good luck Gaz!



I am contemplating doing this for the first time ever too. I've striped the top of playfields many times but never underneath.

:eek:

Keep us updated.
Click to expand...



I'll keep you posted mate. Probably be a few days before I start due to work.

If this turns out ok then anyone can do it.

I'm a DIY Mong, literally struggle to put up a shelf!!
 
Good luck.



Those metal bars below the flippers you can CAREFULLY prise up with a screwdriver. Make sure you protect the playfield when you lever them though. I use a small block of MDF. The other wireforms just pull out too.



Andrew.
 
Those metal bars below the flippers you can CAREFULLY prise up with a screwdriver. Make sure you protect the playfield when you lever them though. I use a small block of MDF.
Click to expand...



Have a look on Youtube at Chris Hutchins High End Pins channel for an example. He does this on a recent video of his Krull restore. He cuts a little slot in the piece of wood to help.
 
ronsplooter' date=' post: 1691318 said:
Have a look on Youtube at Chris Hutchins High End Pins channel for an example. He does this on a recent video of his Krull restore. He cuts a little slot in the piece of wood to help.
Click to expand...

Another way is to cunningly grind an Allen key (about 3mm would do it). You grind it so that you can just slide the short leg under the wireform, then resting the bend of the Allen key on some thick flexible plastic you can lever the wireform out.



Andrew.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions guys. Reckon it'll be a week or so before I get round to that I'll let u know how I get on
 
It is the most tedious chore ever, pf swap is not difficult, it is just tedious............did I already mention it was tedious :eek: , my only tip is solder the pops back in before you do anything else, it is a pig to get to them once you have populated the pf and impossible to get a stapler in there, I found out the hard way as I just went for it without doing any research, I think the Congo looks pretty straight forward, T2 even easier (hardly anything under that pf) doing a pf strip and rebuild on my STTNG as we speak, that looks like a lot of work to do a complete swap.



You do get to a point where it becomes very more’ish and hard to stop, those are the good bits but it is a mountain to climb as you set off.
 
Cheers Andy



I've just spent the day polishing the spare pf using the treasure cove kit.

Man that stuff is good. Well impressed.



Just keep staring at the underside of the pf and going into a sweat. We'll see how the current pf looks once polished and make another assessment!!
 
re - the pop bumper lights.

I normally replace the flat wire lamp holders with ones with normal wire leads and connect to the harness with small terminal connectors (much easier if you ever want / need to remove just the pop bumper again).

Fairy sure I bought my last lot from Pinball Mania. Can't see them listed on the lamp holder page anymore - though they are still listed on the 'a long list of parts' page - Part No. 24-8776-1



Cheers

Geoff
 
Good ain't it ?

It's definitely on my 'must have' list of pinball clobber.



Gaz Shiells' date=' post: 1691366 said:
Cheers Andy



I've just spent the day polishing the spare pf using the treasure cove kit.

Man that stuff is good. Well impressed.



Just keep staring at the underside of the pf and going into a sweat. We'll see how the current pf looks once polished and make another assessment!!
Click to expand...
 
Gaz Shiells' date=' post: 1691366 said:
Just keep staring at the underside of the pf and going into a sweat. We'll see how the current pf looks once polished and make another assessment!!
Click to expand...



Yep - you need to be sure it really is gonna be worth the effort. Like Andy said ....its a BIG and at times tedious task. Is the game a keeper for you ? I think I'd only be doing a full swap if I thought it was.
 
I wussed out!! The current pf has come up real nice after the treasure cove treatment. It's a keeper for now, really enjoy it.

So I spent all last night reassembling the pf and now it gleams.

I'll post some pics when I get on a computer. Thanks for all those who gave advice, I might still do it one day so it'll be here to refer to.

Gaz
 
Well sort of, the only Mylar is the small bit round the bumpers but it did get it nice and shiny. I also used it on the mini pf window which also cleared up a treat, got rid of most of the cloudyness and ball swirls.

Can you tell I'm a big fan of the treasure cove kit!!!!

I also put the inlane decals on which looks really good.
 
Right move Gaz if you didn't feel up to it. You have to be 100% committed else you will make an **** of it.
 
Oh no and I'm gonna start my first playfield swap today on wh20 !!
Anyone got any pics of the sequence of events?

Cheers Kev
 
Whitewater isn't to bad at all once you have all the ramps off.
Plenty of pics and note the order of removal, you will be fine.
Any help you might need just yell.
 
It's funny reading old threads back. You're so in to that particular machine at the time, you can't imagine parting with it.

That was a couple of years ago and alas Congo is long gone. Struggled to sell it for £1100, think I took £1050 in the end!!!

I am in the middle of a pf swap with taxi at the moment. Only thing is, I'm paying someone to do it!!!

Trust me newdos, you're saving A LOT of cash doing it yourself. You seem more than up to the challenge. I on the other hand, have a mate who comes round to put a shelf up for me as I'm that **** at DIY. The pf stood no chance.

Good luck mate
 
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