Topic: Hoping somebody can help me

[ponyboy]

Help..lol. Ok I just bought a used home edition table and trying to find some info on it. It's a tornado, brown marble finish, 3 man goalie, black leveler feet, and on the id plate it states it was made in ft worth, so i'm taking it was made before valley bought tornado out. Needs cleaned pretty bad. A couple of the rods have small rust pits, not bad but still there. Hoping maybe a non-scratch scotch pad a a little wd-40 might work and then polish out with a fine cloth? Bought a few new split bearings, pins and bearing nuts for now, now just the cleaning and ready to play. Been 15 years (i'm 56 now) since i've played, Started back in 74 or so while in Hs. Can anybody help me with this Info..Keep on foosin..lol..ponyboy    ( i'm thinkin it might be a cyclone)

[kgstewar]

Congrats on your new-old table! I have been restoring a 40-year-old table (Bonzini) so have been dealing with similar issues, including rust.

To get the rust off the chrome rods, try this:

Wad up a golf-ball-sized piece of aluminum foil, run a little water over it, and then rub this on the rusty rod. It will create a dark gray slurry as you rub. I know it sounds strange but I think you will be amazed at how well it works. It will not repair the pits (nothing will), but it will get off the surface rust and leave the chrome nice and shiny with no new scratches.

Post some pics if you can.

Kevin

[ponyboy]

Thanks kevin, I might try that. And I still have to try the wd-40 also. Probably both, after all all that can happen is having to buy a new rod, which i'm gonna do sooner or later anyway. I will post some pics tomorrow before the tear down, after the tear down and after the rebuild is complete...Thanks again..and may the Foos be with you...lol...sorry couldn't help myself...lol..Jeff

[snake eyes]

Do not use WD-40 it will ruin the bushings, If it's a brown marble probly a HM2000 same as the T2000 less the coin-op. Great table and will last you forever. Good Luck....Snake

[ponyboy]

Thanks snake. I thought about using the WD-40 while the rods were out of the table during rebuild, maybe not.  After viewing the info on the HM2000 the info doesn't match....HM2000
    The mid-level non-coinop foosball table by Tornado. The "Home Model".Compared to TP2000 (Time Play) it does not have levelling feet nor a goal return, and its rods are of a smaller size gauge. About $500 w/out shipping at the lowest price. Under Valley, the Tornado HM2000 is now known as the "Storm."  The more I look the more it looks like the cyclone. I'm sending some pics to "Tornadofoosball.com" and the said they could most likely tell me the model and a ball park estimate on the year.  Here's a pretty cool link for viewing the Glossary of Foosball Terms info..www.nycFoosball.com...thanks again..jeff

[PGA_Fooser]

I've got an old TP2000 that I've had since 1986.  Upgraded with the new men, side strips and bearings a couple of years back. Now it plays as good as any T3000, plus easy ball return without the hassle of pulling balls off the coin-op track.

Couple of tips for you.  Make a spray bottle mixture of half ammonia and half 409.  Works wonders for cleaning the table surface, rods, men and bearings.  Dries fast, cuts the grease/beer/old silicone, and doesn't leave the surface slippery.  Won't de-chrome the rods or ruin the bumpers.

Agree with whoever posted to avoid WD-40.  Use pure silicone, either spray or drops.  Most auto parts stores have it in spray form.

Good luck and good foosing.

[ponyboy]

Started on the tornado rods tonight, the foil and water is working great. A lot of elbow grease but no bigger than the rust pits were it seems to be taking them out without scratching the rods. I believe with a little more work it will take out the few that are a little bigger if I just take my time. I'm looking for my camara charger so I can post some pics during this process. My new balls, pins, bearing and bearing caps came in today so now just gotta get off my ass and get'er done..lol..Thanks again..Jeff

[kgstewar]

Started on the tornado rods tonight, the foil and water is working great. A lot of elbow grease but no bigger than the rust pits were it seems to be taking them out without scratching the rods. I believe with a little more work it will take out the few that are a little bigger if I just take my time. I'm looking for my camara charger so I can post some pics during this process. My new balls, pins, bearing and bearing caps came in today so now just gotta get off my ass and get'er done..lol..Thanks again..Jeff

Glad it's working for you. I wished I had known about the aluminum-foil-and-water trick years ago! Looking forward to seeing your pics.

Kevin

[ponyboy]

Half the rods are clean. A old friend told me to try vinegar and foil. Holy cow, it works pretty good. Then a little water and 2000 wet dry real lightly and they polish out real nice. Sorry no pics i guess. Can't download from the computer. Kinda bites, wanted to show everybody the process of rebuilding. Should only have 400 in it went all done, new rod, bushings and all.  Has anybody used the light made for the tornado table. i like it because you can move the table where ever you please. Like some feed back if you dont mind. Now back to the rods...