A big point of contention in the pinball community is what constitutes a shop job. You'll see all ends of the spectrum from shady sellers who consider a quick wipe down and rubber/bulb replacements "shopped" to people who don't consider a game shopped unless it's been fully restored with new cabinet decals and playfields. It's been debated to death, I don't need to go over the merits of the debate, but here's what I do to my games when I'm shopping them out.
If you're looking for a more step-by-step guide on how to do most of this, check out flippers.be or HabosArcade.com. For a list of tools required check here.
What MUST be done for a basic shop job
I probably won't play a game unless I've done these steps are the very minimum. This is what I would consider a basic shop job which could bring a game up from being completely routed to a player's condition game.
- Fix all mechanical and electronic issues. This is the last thing I do. After disassembling the game and cleaning everything you're probably going to fix existing or cause new problems such as broken switches/optos/bulbs and wonky mechanical parts. The fundamental reason behind shopping a game is making it play perfectly, obviously it can't have errors. Even if it's not broken yet, you should probably do things like rebuild the power supply, repin the GI connector, reheat cold solder, etc.
- Label every connector in the head and under the playfield. Take pictures of everything too just in case.
- Strip the playfield to the wood. All plastics, posts, subways, ramps and ball guides need to come off. The center of the playfield is probably pretty clean already, you need to make sure the lane under 3 stacked ramps is clean because no one's probably ever cleaned it. There is no way to half-ass this.
- Clean each individual part. Any dirt you leave on any part of the game is going to find its way all over the game. Novus the plastics, clean the ramps, subways, scoops, targets, posts, assemblies, coils, switches, etc.
- Clean and wax playfield. I use a microfiber cloth and Novus 2 for initial playfield cleaning. There are a ton of good waxes to use. I use Mother's Gold usually. Don't leave wax inside switch holes and on components you were too lazy to strip off. Scrape the bulk out with a screwdriver, carefully melt anything left with a hair dryer.
- Clean optos with Windex and a Q-tip. Flaky optos should be resoldered and realigned.
- Clean and adjust the switches. Pop bumper and slingshot switches are the ones that normally need the most love.
- Lubricate metal on metal parts. I use Super Lube PTFE Grease.
- New balls. I use Pinball Life Ultra Gloss balls.
- New rubber. I use white rubber rings, Super-posts, and Titan Pinball colored shooter tips.
- New light bulbs. Bend light sockets in to make a better connection. Also add/reflow solder on light boards with flaky connections.
- New coil sleeves. I replace every sleeve. You should be disassembling everything to clean anyway and they're cheap. Replace expanded coils that have lost their shape and cause problems.
- New target foam.
- New batteries or get NVRAM like anyPin.
- Replace missing and incorrect hardware. This drives me insane. Operators will strip out holes and use bigger incorrect screws. I keep a stock of many kinds of screws on hands because of this. Be sure to replace the nuts under the flipper nylon bushing which are often missing.
- Replace or fix cracked weldments/ramps. Even if it technically works I wouldn't consider a game with a major broken part to be "shopped". Most repros are easily available. I get superior replacements from Mantis Amusements if possible. I use Ambroid Pro Weld to fix cracked ramps.
- Replace worn coil stops.
- Rebuild flippers. New plunger/link, bushing, coil stop, EOS switch, and return spring at a minimum. I usually salvage the pawl unless it's messed up. Re-gap and adjust the flippers correctly with a 0.7mm tool.
- Rebuild pop bumpers. New spoons, skirts, base, body, ring, fiber yoke, metal yoke, and lamp socket for me. It's all cheap stuff, so you might as well save yourself the hassle of having to take it apart again while you're fixing it up. Set the switch gaps for good play.
- Fix loose/stripped screw holes. Cut a toothpick to size and use wood glue to repair the hole with it.
- Check fuses. Take each one out, check continuity, check rating, save future hassle.
- Check all coils. People frequently replace or "upgrade" coils with the incorrect ones. Check the manual, make sure all coils are correct.
- Replace burnt connectors. Repin GI connectors and replace tarnished headers. Removing the Z-connectors isn't a bad idea either.
- Check for and replace missing heatsinks and high voltage insulators. The BR1/BR2 heatsink on WPC games seems to go missing after replacing BR2 for example.
- "Dial in" the shots. Metal guides and scoops sometimes need to be adjusted so the ball travels to the intended target. If you don't do this, the game may feel sloppy.
- Replace the backbox hinge on the back of the head of WPC games if it is not present. Also make sure the head bolts are there.
- Adjust tilt bob. Sometimes this is missing from games.
- Vacuum out the cabinet
- Clean the glass channels with a q-tip
- New playfield glass
- Level the game
What I think you should do to a shopped game
I do these to almost every game that I consider to be shopped out.
- Ultrasonic clean everything. Once you use an ultrasonic cleaner, you will realize you've never really cleaned anything before using one.
- New flipper bats. I usually can't clean these perfectly and sometimes they're missing the logo, so I often replace them.
- New shooter hardware. New plunger rod if the end is at all damaged. Make sure the spring is correct.
- Install a remote battery holder
- New magnet cores if they are worn.
- New legs. It often takes more work to restore legs than is worth the $40 or so for a set of new ones.
- New leg levelers and bolts. Soaking them in evaporust is also an option.
- New lockdown bar if it's damaged or has visible welding marks. Replace the beer seal otherwise.
- New plastics. Replacing all plastics isn't always necessary.
- New ramp flaps. I really only replace if they are rusty and worn. Otherwise I just clean and re-blue them.
- New target decals on drop targets and standup targets
- New posts. I usually replace the plastic posts with new ones for that shiny new look. Ultrasonic cleaning usually only gets them 90% of the way there.
- Add cabinet protectors to the legs. I use PinGuards.
- Add Cliffy protectors.
- Flame polish the ramps. I use a small butane soldering iron for this.
- Clean under inserts. Use Windex with a Q-tip.
- Un-do any hacks. If it's within my ability to fix something correctly, I do.
- Repaint the coin door
- Add a keyless lock. Otherwise make sure the locks to the backbox and coindoor are keyed alike.
- Minor cabinet paint touchups. I am no artist, but take 5 minutes with a paint pen to go over worn edges on the cabinet and head.
- Custom scorecards or at least replace the dingy old 25 year old paper.
- Update the ROM to whatever people consider the best version.
- Add LEDs. This is a topic unto itself. I prefer Comet Pinball LEDs.
- Add superior replacement parts/mods. This includes LED OCD/GI OCD, Great Lakes Modular electronics, Mantis Amusements weldments, ColorDMD, improved speakers, AllTek boards, a subwoofer, standup target decals etc.
What I consider restoration business
These are some things you can do to your game that aren't something I normally do when shopping out a game, nor would I expect a game considered "shopped" to have any of these done to them. I definitely don't always do these things. Some I consider low reward for the effort. Many I consider in the realm of full restorations and not part of an everyday shop job.
- Clearcoat or replace the playfield. Unless a playfield is blown out, this is restoration territory.
- Paint touchups. Most things that require artistic skill I would consider restoration.
- Redecal/restencil the cabinet art
- Sand and repaint the cabinet interior. I do sometimes sand, I don't usually paint.
- Ultrasonic clean the wire harness
- Replace the translite/backglass for minor damage.
- Repair all cabinet damage, especially minor or moderate damage. Flaking wood under legs or behind the cabinet where it was stood on end isn't a big deal. A crooked or water damaged cabinet obviously is.
- Repair cosmetic hole damage. Usually cliffys exist to cover this anyway. Damage to the hole itself needs to be repaired with Quikwood or JB Weld or the Cliffy will get bent out of shape.
- Remove mylar that isn't damaged or severely bubbling
- Replace every coil stop. Not necessary, I just clean ones that aren't mushroomed.
- Replace every target. Not necessary, drops and standup target faces can usually just be cleaned.
- Replace/adjust every single switch. I usually just leave working switches alone
- Replace good ramp flaps. If a ramp flap looks good after cleaning, I personally don't always replace them.
- Replace pushbuttons. Ultrasonic cleaning is usually fine.
- Replace plastic tacks on the back of the cab. I rarely stand games on end and simply don't care.
- Ultrasonic clean all coils. Or replace all coils, or even get new wrappers for all coils. This is restoration stuff in my opinion.
- Tumble minor metal pieces. Lamp sockets, tiny screws, e-clips, whatever other dumb things you can't actually see. Firmly restoration business.
- Regrain metal ball guides and scoops. I often just use a metal polish, not that this is hard to do.
- Un-do all hacks. If someone put in a simple jumper to fix a broken trace I'm not going to bother un-doing that and repair a trace if it's working fine, especially if the repair is easy to understand. If a board is full of nonsense, that's more concerning.
- Re-do the ground braid. I don't think people who aren't swapping playfields actually do this.
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