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Waxing a new pin

P

PinballChick

Registered
Joined
Oct 19, 2025
Messages
8
Location
UK
Hi all totally been bitten by the pin bug and treated my self to a new Stern Jaws Pro, as love my JD but wanted a new one too


Have purchased Mother's 05550 Pure Brazilian Carnauba Wax Paste, California Gold,340g and also Novus 1 2 3 set (for when that and JD require light cleaning using Novus 1 only)

Query is would you wax a new pin straight away?

Many thanks in advance


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Congrats on your new purchase! And welcome to the community.

No, I personally wouldn't, in fact in wouldn't be in a rush to put any wax on a newer stern, it'll play fast as long as it set up properly for a little while... Just a little clean every now and then should be enough - get some decent antistatic foam cleaner and microfiber clothes and you'll be good for a while.

Enjoy!
 
Clean it, buff it, enjoy it.

It'll need less cleaning if you change the Stern flipper and sling rubbers for Titans or another brand.
 
Devil-Mish said:
Congrats on your new purchase! And welcome to the community.

No, I personally wouldn't, in fact in wouldn't be in a rush to put any wax on a newer stern, it'll play fast as long as it set up properly for a little while... Just a little clean every now and then should be enough - get some decent antistatic foam cleaner and microfiber clothes and you'll be good for a while.

Enjoy!
Click to expand...
May I ask why that over Novus one?

Would you spray the cleaner on the cloth as wouldn't want to spray directly on the playfield
 
PinballChick said:
May I ask why that over Novus one?

Would you spray the cleaner on the cloth as wouldn't want to spray directly on the playfield
Click to expand...
https://amzn.eu/d/asbh1eo this is the one I use.

Shake, spray straight on the play field, give It 15 seconds, then remove with the cloth.

Novus 1 is great for plastics if they've got a few marks but anything higher is far too abrasive, especially for a new machine. Most would only recommend 2 for deep cleaning an older machine and 3 is in extreme scenarios.

Agreed on the rubbers too, especially factory from stern, give them a clean too, there's a good rubber cleaner from David: https://retroarcadespecialists.co.uk/all-products/ols/products/pinguard-rubber-cleaner

Apply that to a cloth, then run that over the exposed rubbers / flippers.

With that you're golden though, only use wax after probably after a few thousand plays? I have used wax too early before and it won't do any harm, just isn't required and can be messy if you don't clean it properly
 
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You shouldn't need any Novus with a home-use new-ish pin in my opinion.

Like any clear-coat/varnish polishing (watch some youtube videos of how car paintwork and scratches are fixed) you would really need to be using a powered polisher for these abrasive fluids to have any significant effect anyway, which is pretty much impossible to do well without a playfield strip. Just clean it from time to time like @Devil-Mish suggested and you'll be good.
 
I wax mine every couple months, keeps play fast and consistent as well as protecting the playfield from wear. I wouldn’t dream of not waxing my pins for a long period, I enjoy doing it too.
 
I love the insane spin you get for the first half dozen games or so after a good deep waxing.

I enjoy doing it too.

The biggest lesson to learn is less is more.
 
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