Tulip/Jackpot Removal

[emmadog]

Has anybody come up with a good way to remove components from the playfield such as tulips, jackpots, etc? I'd like to remove these items from some of my machines to better clean them but I'm trying to find a way to do it so I can reuse the nails and not damage any parts or the playfield. Thanks in advance for any info.

[mudfud]

hey there.

most times the spinners are pretty easily pulled right off

for the tulips, I bought a brad lifter that I can usually slide under one of the nails or an edge of the chrome, then you can work gently around the edge to lift the rest of the tulip

you're really going for the DEEP clean. I'm impressed.

only time i pulled tulips was when they weren't working or had rusted balls stuck inside.

[emmadog]

I really don't want to go thru the hassle of pulling the tulips off but the previous owner must have regularly greased this PF!!! The cell cleaned up nicely but the tulips and sides of jackpot need a good cleaning. It may be easier just to polish the dirt off with a q-tip and plastic polish as opposed to removing everything.

[jwegger]

Typically the nails for Tulips and the center jackpot are shorter than the normal pins. A small staple remover from the office supply store works well, since they normally have a small V on the tip, like everything else work slowly and they come off pretty easily. Tulips are much easier to clean when removed from the cell. Some are held on by small screws but many times the heads are all beat up from the millons of balls that have passed over them.
When working on the center jackpot you need to again work slowly because sometimes there are hidden nails or screws holding part of it in that are not always easy to see.
Finally make sure to keep track of which tulip came from which hole as there are sometimes different styles of tulips for different locations on the cell, Ones that drop the ball to the left or right and other that drop them down the middle as well as ones that drop them back onto the playfield into another pocket.

Have Fun