I’m giving my Gottlieb Wipeout pinball machine a bit of love this week. It was released way back in 1993 and I’ve owned it for about twenty years.
Never did much to it but recently I did a total clean and wax, removed ramps and such to get underneath places unseen and found a few issues.
One was the ramp under the ski slope. The entrance to the plastic ramp had broken on the right from years of balls hitting it. I cut some plastic I have on hand and used SCIGRIP 10315 16 Acrylic Plastic Cement to bond with the existing plastic. Before applying I bent the front of the patch into a bit of an L shape so the pinballs would not catch the end of the ramp.
I bought a box of three of these sheets of plastic intending to make a playfield protector but ended up cutting up a sheet for all kinds of repairs and uses including making rule card overlays.
While I was at it, I finally got around to installing a new right ramp at the bottom of the ski run. The old one was getting a bit frayed at the outhole and I was surprised to see that The Pinball Resource still had some NOS (new old stock) ramps. I had to purchase a new sticker for it and scrounge around for some foam to protect the sides. The original used gray dampening foam. I used a few layers of black 1/16 inch thick foam tape.
Old Ramp on the Left, New on the Right
The old ramp is a bit yellowed and frayed around the outhole. The new ramp with new sticker is more vibrant and clear. I also lined the bottom of the ram with mylar just to add additional strength and protection. Ramps are expensive and hard to find, might as well protect them as much as possible.
Another hand protector to have on is this clear “repair” tape. It’s strong and clear and can be used for various repairs. For example after breaking two clear plastics ring funnel pieces on my Stern Lord of the Rings pinball and replacing them at a cost of $30 each time, I fortified my last one with the repair tape – pre-installing and it has lasted over a year now.