Here's the cabinet when I got it. You can't tell from the crappy old pic but it's absolutely filthy all over.
Here it is in my current garage a few years later after an extensive cleaning.
That's what I have to work with. Doesn't look too bad from the pics but trust me, it has a lot of damage to be fixed.
The monitor got even worse (it was always super discolored) after a mini electric storm around here so it looked like this for a while:
It was literally basically an inverse of what it was supposed to be. A few rounds with my degaussing coil and some readjusting and:
TADA! Crisp, colored and no longer nauseating. Next step: the cosmetics!
Well, while I'm waiting for the parts I need for the seats and plastics, I decided to do some work on the CP details. These pics don't do it justice, but the plastics were absolutely filthy, crusted all over with old food and fluids (it had actually congealed the plastic and some of the screws down as you can sort of see, made removal difficult) I probably don't want to identify. Also, no offense to our Canadian KLOV friends, but I really don't think my game needs to cover the serial number to announce its use of Canadian money.
Left:
Right:
First things first, decided to clean the plastics in a Dawn solution. It worked really well. Didn't eliminate a couple of deep scratch areas that still give it a slight discolor under light, but the brown haze is done for.
Okay, here we go. Time to take out this stupid duck paper.
Oh no...
It's not paper. It's a STICKER. The op obviously didn't expect anyone to ever use this cab outside of Canada.
This one is a nightmare to remove and takes about five Clorox wipes, so I'm guessing there's no way I can keep the serial number intact on the other side.
A huge sigh of relief as the entire half that was covering the label comes off with no residue or trouble!
A good scrub and this is what I'm left with on the left side:
The green tint on the left of the serial number is a stain and didn't want to come off, but I eliminated most of it with careful use of Clorox. Ditto with the sticker residue.
Before:
After:
This is what I decided to do with the blank space on the right side for now. Whipped this up using a design from an old pinball sign and a SEGA logo (obviously). I'll replace it with a higher quality photo paper version soon. Considered putting a monetary amount but I liked the free play logo so I kept it as is.
Before:
After:
Left side, decided to use a smaller version of the same logo.
Before I hit the decals I need to work on the structural stuff, big time.
This random chunk of wood was holding up the divider piece (with a screw through both sides) since the plastic that held it up broke at some point (probably some hooligans hanging off of it at the rink).
Removed it enough to separate the pieces and took a look at the damage.
...I had my epoxy work all cut out for me.
Well, this stuff seems to be doing pretty well. I'm using BlueMagic QuikSteel (plastic epoxy reinforced with steel to make it stronger) to make this as strong as possible for holding the dividers. It's a bit difficult to work with well, but it's totally sandable so I went with a bit more than I needed to make sure I can level it out with no dents or gaps in the final product. I'm going to use Krylon Fusion plastic-bonding paint to make it blend cosmetically.
First test, on a badly cracked area of the main cabinet side. Worked wonderfully.
Fixing some gashes down below. This was a bit less successful (it hardened as I was working with it so I had way too much in the end) but should be easily fixable in the next steps (too much can be easily sanded down, not enough would be unfixable).
The roof repairs went splendidly! Some sanding will be necessary as well, of course, but it's surprisingly close to the original shape already.
Overall I'm thrilled with the plastics so far. I had no idea this stuff existed until I stumbled upon it in the auto section at WalMart the other day. Great bang for the buck for sure. Gonna tackle the sanding tomorrow if I can fine a fine enough brand locally.
TO BE CONTINUED...
I need to get some screws and more sandpaper before I go much further, but we're getting up to the good stuff...
