T-molding Question

[gamepimp]

I bought some black t-molding from a vendor here on BYOAC and it was scratched up pretty bad. I'm redoing my CP and will need to buy more molding for it. My first question is this: is it possible to get molding that is smooth and scratch-free? I was hoping that the vendor I bought it from originally just didn't care for the molding properly and that I could get clean molding from some place like t-molding.com? The second question: can scratches be removed from the molding? It would be nice to clean up the molding on the rest of the machine if possible.

[Mysterioii]

I got some t-molding from McMaster-Carr that looked good to me.  I think the only color they had was black...  I was ordering some other stuff and just threw the t-molding in as an afterthought.  It's still in a coil in the basement and I can check it's condition tonight but as far as I recall it was fine.

[DeLuSioNal29]

I got mine from T-molding.com and it was fine.  Also, if you get any kind of chrome finish t-molding it will have a protective covering on it which you peel off once installed.

T-molding is cheap.  I would just order more from them.

Hope this helped.

DeLuSioNaL29

[TheShaner]

Yep, T-Molding is cheap, just buy more.  And on the finish of it, I have never seen any from tmolding.com that was anything but silky smooth, until I was done screwing it up of course!

[Mysterioii]

It's a bit subjective too...  "scratched up pretty bad" in the eyes of the OP might not be all that bad to some of us.  Got a pic?

[Mat]

Did you bring the issue up with the seller?

[gamepimp]

I'll try to post a pic when I'm at a computer. It won't seem to let me do it from my phone. I didn't complain to the seller because I thought maybe I was just being overly picky. But to be honest, the way the guy packed the stuff for shipping I'm not surprised the stuff was all scratched. Live and learn I guess...

[Tony555]

I bought my t-molding from Grooby Game Gear....not as much range as t-molding.com, but GGG is cheaper and you can buy any length (t-molding.com requires you to buy in 20ft lots)

[trekking95]

When I get mine, I will get it from GGG. Mostly because I am going to buy a lot from them and it would save double shipping. And I like GGG's stuff.

If the seller packed it that bad and it is in bad shape we should know who it is so we don't buy from them. But then giving out names for that sort of thing is not nice to do. So I guess we should all just buy from online stores since they have a name and its quality guaranteed? 

[gamepimp]

I didn't really want to name any names because I know some ppl have had decent experiences w/ the guy. But if u really want to know for ur own purposes, this thread might "clue" u in. 

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=120154.0

My experiences were similar to some of the complaints in the post (super slow shipping, old microswitches with Ultralux buttons, sent some pushbuttons back and they were never received/refunded by vendor, poor packaging, etc) Needless to say, even though the prices were good I don't plan to use the vendor again...

[paigeoliver]

I never buy the plain black. If you are doing black then always get the leather texture. It wears so much better it isn't even funny. I'll pull black off dedicated machines and install the leather texture without a second thought.

[Le Chuck]

(t-molding.com requires you to buy in 20ft lots)

I don't think that's an accurate statement.  I ordered 10ft of clear for some experimenting and had no issues with my order from T-molding.com.  Can anyone confirm or deny.

[shponglefan]

Most of the t-molding on T-molding.com have 20 foot minimums.  The clear t-molding appears to be one of the few exceptions.

[gamepimp]

It's a bit subjective too...  "scratched up pretty bad" in the eyes of the OP might not be all that bad to some of us.  Got a pic?

Here's a pic of the t-molding I purchased from arcadeemulator.net. It's hard to see in the pic, but if u look at the left top of the molding u can see a bunch of scratches. I basically want smooth, black molding that has very few (if any) easily visible scratches or marks. On my first machine (that I built about 10 years ago), I don't remember the molding being so marred up. But I have trouble remembering what happened yesterday let along 10 yrs ago. LOL!

[Le Chuck]

Have you tried flame polishing?  No idea if this will work so try a test piece first but if it is just surface scratches and nothing gouged it could clear it up for you. That said my t-molding comes scratch free from both GGG and T-mo.com

[Vigo]

Some of that plastic polish, like they kind to buff headlights, might work as well.

[gamepimp]

I will probably order some t-molding from t-molding.com and redo my entire cabinet. Thx for the feedback guys!