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Author Topic: Ms. Pac Man Cabinet Restoration  (Read 5167 times)

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secret80sman

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Ms. Pac Man Cabinet Restoration
« on: March 19, 2011, 06:48:52 am »
Guys,
I lucked upon a Ms. Pac Man cabinet at a decent price ($175). It is in fair condition, only slightly chewed up and the artwork is in really good condition on one side and about average on the other due to the usual wear from users left hand holding the cabinet all through the years. I have several questions that I hope you pros can help me with. Yes this is my first restore and my goal is to spot fill any holes or dings with wood filler or bondo (preferences suggestions?) and touch up those spots and the artwork by hand to give the sun faded colors new life and cover up the fixed parts.

I'm planning on taking the back door to Home Depot for a computer match of the blue, the artwork colors I'll simply go with the suggested paint codes I've found online since I'm going to go over the entire artwork by hand. If someone has the infamous stencils that they would be willing to loan/sell/rent me I would certainly be eternally gratetful so PM me if you have them and we can work something out. I don't want to go the cheezy sticker route and most of you purists would probably applaud that decision.

So...a few questions are below that I would really appreciate some feedback on. I would really appreciate multiple perspectives so if someone has already answered and you have a different take on it by all means chime in. Thanks in advance for your help on this, I'm excited and scared at the same time but looking forward to the ride.

1. Serial number is 19092, any idea how old the unit is? All the dates on the PCB say 1981 but nothing on the cabinet. If anyone has any idea how to date a Ms. Pac Man Cabinet please let me know.

I may drop a 60 in 1 board to play additional games in this cabinet. If I do I will save the existing control panel and get a second one with some fire buttons so I can both expand the useability of the cabinet and preserve all the original parts. does anyone know of a good 6x9 powered speaker that is actually two speakers in one (STEREO) so I could get better sound and run off the 3.5 mm jack on the 60 in 1? Any suggestions for something better than the 30 year speaker that is in there now?

3. What kind of paint was originally used on these? Was it interior latex semi gloss?

4. I have a corner that is chewed up, I can fix with wood filler or Bondo (any suggestions?) and I wonder If I can apply the blue paint right over the bondo or whether I want to prime that. It will be a very small area so am wondering if the primer is even necessary but again I'm not “Joe Paint” so I don't know and really could use some advice from you guys on this front.

5. What is the feeling of painting over old paint without sanding since I'm touching up and not repainting completely? If the same color is that ok? In a few places it looks like the paint has cracked so I guess I should sand out the bulging crack so it's flat and proceed from there?

6. What size is the barrel lock for the coin door? Who sells these?

Many thanks in advance guys, I really appreciate your forthcoming input  :notworthy:

PS: How the heck do I add images to a post? I want to post the pictures but the add image button doesn't let me browse to a location on my drive. Sorry if I'm denseish on this front gang  ???
« Last Edit: March 19, 2011, 09:38:50 am by secret80sman »

Alpha-tron

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Re: Ms. Pac Man Cabinet Restoration
« Reply #1 on: March 19, 2011, 04:50:37 pm »
While I have never restore a Ms packman game. I did run across someone who did a complete restore on a ms pacman cabinet. Rotheblog describes the kind of paint to use.
Code: [Select]
http://www.rotheblog.com/2008/11/arcade/prologue-stencil-a-ms-pac-man-arcade-cabinet

Good luck on restoring your game.
Ms pacman, Tron, Lunar lander and Battle zone

secret80sman

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Re: Ms. Pac Man Cabinet Restoration
« Reply #2 on: March 20, 2011, 04:47:03 pm »
I've read that thread but none of the questions posed above were really answered there so any feedback or insight would be appreciated.

Nimbus

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Re: Ms. Pac Man Cabinet Restoration
« Reply #3 on: March 25, 2011, 01:39:15 am »
I'm working on a Ms. Pac that is in pretty rough shape as well as some other classics. I'll try to give you some insight.

1) No idea on the date.

2) I am assuming that you mean a 2-way speaker with a coaxial woofer and tweeter. If so, check out this speaker:

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=265-380

The drivers used in original arcade cabinets are about as cheap as it gets. Most anything is a step up. The 60 in 1 board doesn't produce much power, so most every speaker will be overkill. This speaker (as well as most 6 x 9 speakers) is 4 ohm. This is because 6 x 9's are typically manufactured for car audio. The original version for the cabinet is an 8 ohm speaker. Make sure the board can handle a 4 ohm load. Otherwise stick with the original.

3) The paint was likely oil or lacquer based. It was not latex interior semi-gloss, which is far lower quality. If you are going to use paint from a hardware store and you want to try to approach the quality of the original, at least use oil based paints.

4) Bondo is an awesome product and great for repairing corners. It won't have the same texture as the plywood cabinet, but it will still need a bit of primer.

5) The answer to this is simple. Any paint or finish only looks as good as the prep work and care put into it. If you paint over old paint, it will look like you painted over old paint. Touching up spots rather than repainting will be tough because the paint won't match.

6) No idea. However, there are more than a few companies selling the locks. Google "arcade parts" and you will find places to buy them. I am sure these places can help you size the lock.

It is tough to restore Ms. Pac's and Pac's because they were painted. Sometimes it looks better just leaving the paint as it is. Trying to repaint little bits by hand usually turns out looking worse than before. I would spend your money on a repro control panel overlay. There are also places that sell vinyl graphics for Ms. Pac Man.

After weighing the options and all the time and effort involved, I am probably going with a silk-screen printed Ms. Pac Man vinyl set from Phoenix Arcade. I will sand the cabinet flat and apply it directly. The labor involved in doing a great paint job is pretty intense. Later model Ms. Pac's were manufactured with vinyl graphics so it is still in line with the originals.

Hope this helps!

secret80sman

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Re: Ms. Pac Man Cabinet Restoration
« Reply #4 on: March 26, 2011, 06:08:04 pm »
Nimbus, thanks for the advice. Much to ponder for sure. My brother in law is a mother of an artist with a very steady hand so if he wants to volunteer to go over the entire artwork by hand using the paint codes I found online then it will probably look really good. I might just leave the blue paint and touch up dinged spots if the computer match is good. I will test on the back, if it looks like crap well the machine will simply have the character of the ages.

Thanks again.

Nimbus

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Re: Ms. Pac Man Cabinet Restoration
« Reply #5 on: March 26, 2011, 10:43:07 pm »
Cool! If you know a talented painter then you might get amazing results. Make sure to post a pic or two if you get it painted. I'd love to see it! :)