What do you do with dirty balls?

[Chris K]

So I’ve got this giant pile of dirty and pitted pinballs. Seems like a shame to throw anything away. Does anybody have an interesting use for them?

And yeah, half the reason I made this thread is to troll for jokes.

[Hilton]

I have been saving them in a box and when I get enough I will use them for a cool sculpture or trophy.

If you want to donate, I will happily put all your dirty balls in my box.

[ralphwiggum]

Believe it or not, I re-use them. I can get them tumbling for about 5-7 days in my rotary tumbler and they come out almost better than new.

[Chris K]

I've got maybe a 6" cube of nasty old balls. I have a sonicator, but no tumbler.

I guess I need more toys!

I'll hang onto them until I get a banker box full and see if I end up with a tumbler. If not, I'll put them in Hilton's giant box.

[Hilton]

whoa whoa whoa. It is a tight little box.

I just keep jamming more in and they seem to fit.

[ralphwiggum]

I have an extra thumler AR-12 tumbler if you want to play with it and see what it can do (seriously, I have two of them). They are the bees knees when it comes to making parts shiny. I can bring it with me to Ballers on the 22nd.

[Eric_S]

Any significant difference between rotary and vibration tumbler results?

[ralphwiggum]

Rotary is a bit more aggresive, but doesnt get the inside of posts as well aa vibratory. I love the quietness of rotary, its set it and forget it.

I can also do wet media with rotary as well.

[Chris K]

Wow, the cycles are short enough that you could bring it over on Ballers night? I’d love to see it in action, I always have little metal parts to polish, and I hate doing work by hand.

[ralphwiggum]

No goofball.... I will leave it with you. You can use it for awhile and if you like it, you can polish my balls in exchange for it....

[Chris K]

Deal! Er, wait... we’re still talking about PINballs, right?

[CftBL]

What media do you use in the tumbler when polishing balls? Do you use something different for posts and parts? I hadn't thought about using mine for pinball parts and have only used it on stones.

[ralphwiggum]

Two step process for me.... Initial polishing.... Crushed corn cob.... Pet stores carry it. It is a little more abrasive. Knocks down gunk quicker.

After 24-48 hours, switch to fine crushed walnut. I run that for about 48-72 hours depending on whats in the tumbler.

Both processes use metal polish of your choice. I used to use flitz, but have been using blue magic the last couple of years. Use polish generously with crushed walnut to get a high shine.

I am sure others can chime in with their methods.

[ralphwiggum]

Also, the method I listed above is dry media for metal parts.

If you dont have an ultrasonic cleaner, you can throw plastic posts in there and fill it halfway with purple power, mean green, etc. with some hot water and without any other media. After about 4-6 hours, everything should be nice and new.

[chaos]

If anybody doesn't want to recondition their old pinballs and is interested in something fun and welded, hit me up. I'd be happy to make something, or design something with you. I'm eyeing a new welding helmet (with built-in respirator) and I need an excuse (and some funds) for it.