Maintenance EM TECH : Cleaning / lubing disc units - ?

[seeburg220]

What if any lubricant, should be used on the disc units (match, ball count, bonus, etc) ?

I have seen where #400 grit sand paper can be used to gently clean the brass contacts. The original manuals say to apply the "special lubricant" that came with the machine.

Brand name and where to buy would be most appreciated. Thanks

 

[morethansleeving]

No no no no no. No lube on the discs. There will be techs that disagree with me on this, but you should almost never lube anything on an em. the only time to is in a situation where you have metal on metal in a cylinder. like a solenoid plunder in a m,etal sleve. in those situations, use a silicone based gel that you can get from radioshack for about 10 bucks a tube. on discs, use 400 grit or an emery board (no other techs are to yell at me on this. it works) to clean the contachs on the disc and then give it a cleaning with mean green or la's totally awesome. after that, clean with alcohol and let dry. then you should be fine.

 

[pinballfixer]

What if any lubricant, should be used on the disc units (match, ball count, bonus, etc) ?

I have seen where #400 grit sand paper can be used to gently clean the brass contacts. The original manuals say to apply the "special lubricant" that came with the machine.

Brand name and where to buy would be most appreciated. Thanks

For the last 40 years I have always used a drop of Seeburg Oil (non detergent, super refined) on all the pivot points on step up units and after cleaning the disk surface put just a fine film of the oil on that also. This only needs to be done about every 10 years or so. Granted any lube will cause things to gum up but only after many years and then it will need to be removed for cleaning and relubed. A fine film on the disk will keep wear of the contacts to a minimum, stop noise, and help it step completely. The manufacture lube was a fine white Lube / Grease that Bally put there name on and included a sample in every Game, it was used to put a very fine film on the step up disks but the oil will work just as well (use very little lube=for the disk I just put some on my finger tip and spread it as thin as possible only on the contact area). Now and then you can find the Bally Lube on Ebay.

 

[EnduroExpertFSR]

for mine i take apart and clean all the contacts with a scotch brite pad. then i clean with 91% alcohol, then i lube with super lube to help keep wear and oxidation down.