Restoring My Vintage Sanyo CometII

[Falstaff]

Hello, I’ve been lurking on pachitalk for a while as I’ve been restoring my vintage Comet II pachinko. Lots of good advice here, Thanks! I registered so I could ask some questions.

I disassembled, cleaned, (and cleaned again!) and reassembled the workings. I ordered 500 new balls, figured out why it wasn’t working, and fixed it, much to the delight of my two-year old son. The chrome needs more elbow grease, and the pins need adjusted and polished, but so far so good!

I’ve gotten approval from SWMBO to move it inside, and have been planning the cabinet I intend to build, but if I put it in a cabinet I’ll need a key. I know that will be nearly impossible to find, so does anyone have advice on replacing the lock on these types of machines?

[luckydog]

you could also make a hole in the top part of the cabinet and run a wire to the latch that opens it.

[Eddie]

Welcome to the Show!

What no pics of your restored machine?

What Lucky Dog said!!!

[johntofva]

Welcome to Pachitalk. We are happy to have you here and would love to see pics.

[Falstaff]

That's a good idea. I'm always thinking too complicated. It has the added benefit of not altering anything original.

That was silly of me to forget the pictures.

I didn't do before pictures, and I'm kicking myself now.

I'll take a close up of the play field tomorrow, as I haven't polished the pins yet, it will be a 'before' picture. I intend to apply some Brasso this weekend.

[luckydog]

great job, it looks better than new

[compirate]

Not a huge thing (but a good thing!), it looks like you have all the covers on the back. Most don't.

[dattia]

Beautiful!

[Falstaff]

Thanks for the comments everyone! I think the pictures can be a little deceiving though. It's got a few rough edges. (Maybe those pictures on eBay aren't always trying to hide something. Nah!)

Anyway, here are some more pictures of things so far.

balllaucncher.jpg shows the wire guide that took me a long while to figure out where it went to get the launcher working correctly. There was also a ball bearing wedged in the jackpot (I could tell it wasn't a pachinko ball from the different color rust) and a lot of roach guts and egg pods gumming things up.

lights.jpg shows how I connected the lights to a 9v battery. a little cleaning of the bulb sockets and switch contacts and they work perfectly. As compirate noted, all the covers on the back seem to be there, and only a couple of screws were stripped and repaired by using a slightly larger screw.

lacquer.jpg shows how the playfield lacquer seems to have discolored in the Texas heat. At first I thought it was dirty or water stains, but on closer inspection it is the lacquer itself. It adds character, and it's even across the playfield, so it's not too bad. My wife calls it 'patina'

chrome.jpg shows the worst damage, which is the slightly rusted and pitted chrome. It's not too bad really, and much could be hidden by adding the missing front plexy. I intend to add some elbow grease and try and buff out some of the pitting this weekend.

It plays pretty well, I need to tweak the launcher and pins a little . I found one pocket where the ball won't even fit though the pins above it last night. Also, 500 balls are barely enough, so I'll be getting some more I think.

Now to build a case...

[hanabi]

Welcome to PachiTalk!!

and a nice restoration you have there,
thanks for joining us and sharing your pics

[rjipbs]

Wonderful pictures... we are just starting a restoration. The machine looks good but I don't have a clue with how to get the lights going. Do they only light up when there is a payout or are they on all the time? Does yours make any noises?
Ramona NW Indiana rjipbs@aol.com

[JCIV]

Great pics, thanks! I have a Comet II also, different playfield, but pretty similar on the back.

[hanabi]

Welcome to PachiTalk rjipbs and JCIV!!

[new in town]

Great Pics and Thanks for posting them.

And Welcome to PachiTalk!!!

Spoiler

Bang

[Falstaff]

Wonderful pictures... we are just starting a restoration. The machine looks good but I don't have a clue with how to get the lights going. Do they only light up when there is a payout or are they on all the time? Does yours make any noises?
Ramona NW Indiana rjipbs@aol.com

The lights are very simple and are not required for the machine to work. As you can see in the picture there are two light bulbs. There is one switch on an arm that lifts when there is a payout, causing one light to flash briefly, and there is another on the ball hopper that closes when the hopper nears empty. (it is on the same are that closes the gate to the ball launcher). It causes the other light to come on steadily until the hopper is refilled. The bulbs are actually 10v, but work nicely on the 9v battery. There are 3 pins on the connector but only the top two are needed for the lights to work . The only sounds from a payout is a bell, which is rung by the payout balls striking it as they are released.

Great pics, thanks! I have a Comet II also, different playfield, but pretty similar on the back.

I've seen many play fields on these guys, but the guts seem the be the same and interchangeable.

[compirate]

In the good old days of Pachinko, the power for the machines was 8 volts AC. I've got a couple of old school aisle lights and that's what they take.

[Falstaff]

So the third pin is probably ground?

[rjipbs]

Falstaff... I know you suggested starting a fresh post and I will but... do you have more pictures of the back of your Comet II. I think I have a part missing...but I'm not sure... I am adding some pictures as attachments. Hopefully those come thru, this is a first for me. The part I think I am missing is on the last picture.

Thanks for your help!! Ramona rjipbs@aol.com

[compirate]

Don't know how much you've taken it apart in those pics, but if none, your missing a couple of covers (not a big deal) and one of the ball races - first pic, the ball race with the slots in it, where it empties out at the bottom is supposed to have a piece that connects it to the opening below and to the left. Also not a big deal, it's for dumping the balls from the payout system.

[Falstaff]

What compirate said