Cocktail Resto - Ms Pac Man

[Slippyblade]

This is gonna be my first restoration.  I was debating whether to go here or in Project Announcements.  I'm going to have a lot of questions so I'm looking for feedback.

I recently picked up a Pac-Man cocktail. The only way to tell it was Pac-Man is the artwork on the glass - which is disintegrating rapidly.  I intend to rebuild as a Ms. Pac-Man at the request of the wife.  She is very excited about this project.  This first post will be updated regularly as the project progresses.

Here's what I am starting with.

[Slippyblade]

It's structurally sound - here's the lid open.



Coin door has been freshly stripped and powder coated, it's in GREAT shape.



Artwork is beyond recovery, that's ok though since it's gonna get turned into a Ms Pac anyway.



Here's where it starts to need work.  The side panels tongue-n-groove into corner coping.  This is all separating pretty seriously.

[Slippyblade]

Now it's time for questions and help requests!

The glass is pretty scratched up and the artwork that was screened/painted is falling apart.  I'm going to razor the old artwork off and clean it thoroughly, but the scratching I'm at a loss for.  I'm pretty certain this is tempered glass, can that be polished?  I've read that buffing with a paste wax will work for some of the lighter scratching - anybody have experience with this?

Artwork!  A quick googling pulls up a lot of Ms Pac-Man cocktails, some have art on the cabinet and some are wood-grain with art only on the glass.  Which is the more correct version?  The wife wants art on the cab so I will be doing that, but I am very curious as to what it "should" be.  Along the artwork line, am I correct in assuming that Ms Pac-Man was stenciled? 

[yotsuya]

Now it's time for questions and help requests!

The glass is pretty scratched up and the artwork that was screened/painted is falling apart.  I'm going to razor the old artwork off and clean it thoroughly, but the scratching I'm at a loss for.  I'm pretty certain this is tempered glass, can that be polished?  I've read that buffing with a paste wax will work for some of the lighter scratching - anybody have experience with this?

Artwork!  A quick googling pulls up a lot of Ms Pac-Man cocktails, some have art on the cabinet and some are wood-grain with art only on the glass.  Which is the more correct version?  The wife wants art on the cab so I will be doing that, but I am very curious as to what it "should" be.  Along the artwork line, am I correct in assuming that Ms Pac-Man was stenciled?

Looking forward to seeing you work your magic on this one, Slippy.

Sell some stuff and order the screened Ms. Pac glass from Phoenix Arcade. I only wish I could get one with Super-Pac on it.

All Ms. Pacs were wood-grain. The ones you see online with art are customs.

[wp34]

I bought my artwork from Two Bits and my glass from Holland and I've been happy with both.  But if I were restoring a machine to keep I'd go with the screened glass from Phoenix.

Now it's time for questions and help requests!

The glass is pretty scratched up and the artwork that was screened/painted is falling apart.  I'm going to razor the old artwork off and clean it thoroughly, but the scratching I'm at a loss for.  I'm pretty certain this is tempered glass, can that be polished?  I've read that buffing with a paste wax will work for some of the lighter scratching - anybody have experience with this?

Artwork!  A quick googling pulls up a lot of Ms Pac-Man cocktails, some have art on the cabinet and some are wood-grain with art only on the glass.  Which is the more correct version?  The wife wants art on the cab so I will be doing that, but I am very curious as to what it "should" be.  Along the artwork line, am I correct in assuming that Ms Pac-Man was stenciled?

Looking forward to seeing you work your magic on this one, Slippy.

Sell some stuff and order the screened Ms. Pac glass from Phoenix Arcade. I only wish I could get one with Super-Pac on it.

All Ms. Pacs were wood-grain. The ones you see online with art are customs.

[yotsuya]

Slippy, this link might help with your conversion plans:

http://www.Twobits.com/parts/cpwidechart.html

[behrmr]

Here's a picture of mine with the Holland Computers glass and the two bits underlay

[Slippyblade]

After looking at some sites, I'm a tad bit confused.  The cutout in the top is much wider than the artwork cutout.  From what I am seeing, Pacman had a 9" cutout and Ms Pac had an 11", so I think this was originally a Ms Pac that ended up with the glass swapped to a regular Pac.

Wow - new screened glass is $245.  That would be sexy as hell but wow...  spendy.  A printed underlay is only about $30-40 depending on the vendor.  I'm gonna try to buff the glass, if I can get is clean and clear enough I'm just gonna get an underlay.  If I need to replace the glass, then I might consider the up-sell to the screened glass.

I've decided on a CP layout as well.  Gonna have a 4-way stick with 2 buttons (one on each side of the stick) on each end.  Gonna put an assortment of 4 way, single button games on it.

Also, the wife wants hot pink T-molding.  I haven't looked around yet to see if 1" is even available in pink though.  We'll see.

[yotsuya]

Honestly, the underlay and a brand new piece of glass would only be about a hundred forty bucks. If your wife doesn't really care, that's probably the way to go.

[yotsuya]

Here's a picture of mine with the Holland Computers glass and the two bits underlay

Sexy.

[behrmr]

After looking at some sites, I'm a tad bit confused.  The cutout in the top is much wider than the artwork cutout.  From what I am seeing, Pacman had a 9" cutout and Ms Pac had an 11", so I think this was originally a Ms Pac that ended up with the glass swapped to a regular Pac.

Wow - new screened glass is $245.  That would be sexy as hell but wow...  spendy.  A printed underlay is only about $30-40 depending on the vendor.  I'm gonna try to buff the glass, if I can get is clean and clear enough I'm just gonna get an underlay.  If I need to replace the glass, then I might consider the up-sell to the screened glass.

I've decided on a CP layout as well.  Gonna have a 4-way stick with 2 buttons (one on each side of the stick) on each end.  Gonna put an assortment of 4 way, single button games on it.

Also, the wife wants hot pink T-molding.  I haven't looked around yet to see if 1" is even available in pink though.  We'll see.

That glass is beat just bite the bullet and replace it.  It's amazing the difference it makes in the look of the game and machine overall when you put new glass on it.  If you order new glass make sure you get the right radius. There are printable templates that you can use to lay on your existing glass to be sure.

[yotsuya]

I've bought this for my HaRuMaN Midway cocktails.

http://www.xtreme-game-room.com/ms-pacman-pac-man-galaga-arcade-cocktail-table-glass/

[cmoses]

After looking at some sites, I'm a tad bit confused.  The cutout in the top is much wider than the artwork cutout.  From what I am seeing, Pacman had a 9" cutout and Ms Pac had an 11", so I think this was originally a Ms Pac that ended up with the glass swapped to a regular Pac.

The Bally Midway cocktail cabinets are a bit confusing. Yours is a Pac Man for sure. I have one I am restoring myself.

There are two things to look for. The width of the control panel and the shape of the cutout. Pac Man's had a 11" wide control panel. Ms. Pac Man and Galaga's have a 9" control panel. The shape of the cutout on the Pac Man cocktails is more U shaped. The sides of the cutout are parallel to the sides of the cabinet. The sides of the Ms. Pac Man and Galaga cutouts are more V shaped. They are angled and not parallel to the cabinet sides.

If you buy a Ms. Pac Man overlay it will not line up with the cutout of your cabinet. I am not sure how "off" it will be, since I have never tried it.

I am pretty sure I have seen a vendor that sells a Ms. Pac Man graphic that is printed on a Pac Man overlay.  Since Ms. Pac Man tends to be more popular and people often do convert it. I will look through my saved links and see if I run across it.

I am hoping to get back to my own project soon. I will keep an eye on yours and maybe get some inspiration. I am jealous of your coin door it looks great. It does look as though you are missing some pieces, control panels, monitor mounting bracket.  Do you know what you are going to put in it monitor wise?  Feel free to ask me any questions.

Thanks


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[Slippyblade]

There are two things to look for. The width of the control panel and the shape of the cutout. Pac Man's had a 11" wide control panel. Ms. Pac Man and Galaga's have a 9" control panel.

So - this website is wrong then?  According to what they are selling the Pac-Man had the narrower opening and the Ms Pac had the wider...

http://www.twobits.com/parts/cpwidechart.html

[cmoses]

There are two things to look for. The width of the control panel and the shape of the cutout. Pac Man's had a 11" wide control panel. Ms. Pac Man and Galaga's have a 9" control panel.

So - this website is wrong then?  According to what they are selling the Pac-Man had the narrower opening and the Ms Pac had the wider...

http://www.twobits.com/parts/cpwidechart.html

No they are correct, but so is the information I gave you.  As I said it is confusing.  Pac Man has a 11" wide control panel but has the 9" wide opening.  The opening is more U shaped with straighter cut outs.  The Ms. Pac Man has a 9" control panel but has a 11" wide opening.  The opening is more V shaped with the cut outs being angled. 

If you look at the overlays and your cocktail top, you should see that yours is the Pac Man style with the straighter cut outs, not the angled ones.  I would also measure to be 100% sure. 

This is also the site I had seen the conversion overlay on.  You are going to want to get the overlay at the bottom, model #MPCTUW.  It has the right shape for the Pac Man cocktail top, but has the Ms. Pac Man overlay printed on it. 

Hope that helps clear up the confusion. 

[lilshawn]

quite honestly, if you are just going to be homing this cabinet and have no plans to put it on route, just get a standard piece of 1/4" glass cut for it. As long as you aren't standing on it it's plenty strong enough. I built a bunch of cocktails from scratch to sell for home use a few months back. I had 4 pieces of glass cut matching the original scratched glass... corners cut and sanded edges and everything for ~30 each.

the only real reason you'd want to go tempered again is if you are putting it out in public and need to keep it secure, or your wife likes to stand on tables when she's drunk.

[Slippyblade]

Started dismantling the cabinet yesterday...

Wow, they really did NOT mean for this to ever be taken apart.  All the parts are routed, glued, and screwed.  So I'm taking it apart as best I can.  The construction is mostly plywood and at 35 years old is delaminating pretty badly.  I'm going to trace out the parts and cut new panels where appropriate.

[Slippyblade]

Well this has been interesting.  The wife wants pink t-mold, which means the old stuff has to come off.  Not possible.  I'm serious, the glued the t-mold into place and then stapled through the spine.  It isn't coming out.  So that means I had to remove the CPs, which meant sawing into the cab due to the glued tongue and groove construction.  Gonna just build new CPs.

Since I will be painting the cabinet, I also removed the woodgrain laminate.  Easy enough with a heatgun and a putty knife. 



Now that I am down to bare wood, the delamination is more apparent.  I mixed up a thin paste of wood glue and water and then basically poured it down into the laminations.  Layed down some plastic and clamped a 2x4 down across the edge for even pressure.  That seems to have worked like a champ.

My next concern is the top wood layer.  It chipped and broke away a lot.



Any ideas on how to make this better?

[yotsuya]

I've just used regular wood filler on stuff like that myself. Works great

[vwalbridge]

This is gonna be my first restoration.

Cool! Let's be first-time-restoration buddies!

[jennifer]

 A little  fibreglass resin pushed into the ends of the ply will stop future wood delamination , will glue it back together and give it a nice finished look *although looks as if you got some putty work to do there too*.... I vote for the new screened glass,It will give it that "new" game feel. It seems a bit spendy, but it would be the crowning glory on that project. But if you insist on polished glass, canopy polish (yes the airplane stuff) will fill/hide the small scratches for awhile.

[Slippyblade]

The finishing touch on this is gonna be neat.  Since it's for the wife, she gets to pick what the final art will look like.  Since she's an artist, she's gonna do it by hand.  I'm going to be giving it a base coat of Ms Pac blue and then she's going to attack it with stencils and paint.  I'm going to give her a bunch of Ms Pac-Man art as reference though.  Should look pretty cool.

[JimmyU]

I've always loved Ms. Pac Man cocktails. It reminds me of going to Pizza Hut as a kid.

[Slippyblade]

I've always loved Ms. Pac Man cocktails. It reminds me of going to Pizza Hut as a kid.

And that, right there, is EXACTLY why I'm building this one.  You know how everyone has that one machine that sticks out in their minds?  Well, my wife's is Ms Pac-Man, in a cocktail, at the Pizza hut.    Her one caveat when I got into this hobby was that someday, she'd get a Ms Pac cocktail.  So here we go!

[Ginsu Victim]

I've always loved Ms. Pac Man cocktails. It reminds me of going to Pizza Hut as a kid.

Reminds me of my younger days at Pizza Inn!

[yotsuya]

Pizza Inn!!!

[harveybirdman]

I remember cocktails the most at the Western Sizzler... Our Pizza Hut had an upright Galaga.

Looking good so far Slippy.

[Slippyblade]

Whew.  Been a while since I've Bondo'd anything - forgot how strong the smell was.  Also forgot how quick the ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- sets up!  Going to do up the other sides before pics.

[Slippyblade]

Bondo and sanding going well.

Started looking at controls, the Midway cocktails used odd small buttons for P1/P2 start.  Twisted Quarter is the only place I've found them in stock, but they want $15 shipping for 2 buttons!  I've got an email out to them checking on options.

 

PS: Just finished reading Invading Spaces: A Beginner's Guide to Collecting Arcade Games by Rob O'Hara .  Good book, and good info for arcade collecting neophytes like myself.

[yotsuya]

Bondo and sanding going well.

Started looking at controls, the Midway cocktails used odd small buttons for P1/P2 start.  Twisted Quarter is the only place I've found them in stock, but they want $15 shipping for 2 buttons!  I've got an email out to them checking on options.

 

PS: Just finished reading Invading Spaces: A Beginner's Guide to Collecting Arcade Games by Rob O'Hara .  Good book, and good info for arcade collecting neophytes like myself.

Buy them off ebay. I ordered new ones, too - they should be here Friday.

[Slippyblade]

I always forget E-Bay.  Doh!

[yotsuya]

I bought one of those nice JAMMA harnesses and those two buttons via ebay. I got him to combine shipping and saved $8

[Slippyblade]

Got a lot done the past couple days.  Pics to come.

Question though - this is driving me nuts.  I'm using 4" foam rollers for priming and painting.  How the hell do you keep the roller from sliding vs rolling?  It totally changes the texture when the roller stops rolling and starts sliding. 

[harveybirdman]

Use less paint on your roller?

[yotsuya]

Use less paint on your roller?

Probably this.

[lilshawn]

foam isn't really great but once you get the hang of it it makes a nice finish.

but the sliding... yes, less paint. you need to load up the roller, then roll the hell out of it on the ramp of your paint tray.

also, a lighter touch. if your press too hard, the foam distorts and you end up with a flat spot and it stops rolling.

[Slippyblade]

Bondo went really well.  Sanded the ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- out of it. 

Prime, sand, prime, sand, paint, sand, paint...  You know the drill.  Yes, I know the corners are ugly.  They are going to bet masked and gone over with a gloss black.  The original had glass black corner molding with laminate sides.  So I'm going Ms Pac blue on the sides and keeping the gloss black corners.

Started working on the CP boxes today as well.  First time using a router pattern bit and wow.  Once things are clamped properly it's so simple.  Now I have 4 *exactly* identical CP box sides.

(edit)Weird.  The thumbs are sideways, but when clicked, they are right way up...

[harveybirdman]

Interesting color choice for a Ms Pac, I know it's going to be a custom design by the better half..... It kind of says DK.....  I figured it would be darker.

[Slippyblade]

That's what the color match said for the image I found.  I'm a little color blind anyway.

[Slippyblade]

I'm using particle board for the CP boxes.  It doesn't carve as nicely as MDF, but it's a hell of a lot better on the lungs when cutting/routing.  At least it seems like it.  Not to mention cabs were built of particle, not MDF.  That being said, holy crap does it soak up paint!  Looks great with the pink t-molding I got though.  The wife is very happy with the progress so far.

[Slippyblade]

Scrubbed the vents with steel wool to clean off all the rust and to rough up the existing paint.  Then hit them with a nice coat of gloss spray.  Chucked the mounting bolts into my drill and buffed them with sandpaper then steel wool, now they're nice and shiny!  Mounted the vents and the coin door.  Looking good.

Also, my control panels from Twisted Quarter showed up today, they weren't supposed to be here till Wednesday so that's awesome.  CP boxes are glued up and drying.

[05SRT4]

Slippyblade,

Being your first restore you're really killing it. Keep up the good work!

[yotsuya]

Yeah, that's looking pretty good Slippy. That powder coated door is the icing on the cake.

[Slippyblade]

Yeah, that's looking pretty good Slippy. That powder coated door is the icing on the cake.

He only says that because he GAVE me that door! 

 I'm so excited about this.  I've never done anything this involved before.  I tend to be a "get it done NOW" kind of guy.  This project, I'm polishing bolt heads for crying out loud.

[yotsuya]

Hey, you bought it,  fair and square!

What are you going to do about the glass top?

[Slippyblade]

I attacked it with some 1000 grit sandpaper and that cleaned off some of the lighter scratching.  It looks better now, but still gonna replace it.  It's spendy enough that it's gonna need to wait though.

[yotsuya]

I'm going to order mine in about two weeks. $85 or so shipped, but it's really nice glass.

[Slippyblade]

Learned an important lesson.  If you look at the pic of the control panel box parts you'll notice that I painted the sides already.  Guess what?  Glue doesn't hold when it's on painted surfaces!  So I had to buff off the black paint in the areas where I was connecting parts, in the process I took off a little bit of the tip of my thumb.  Not enough to cause damage, just enough to make me cuss a blue streak and bleed on my panels.

[Malenko]

I am digging this restore! I didnt think I was going to like the blue at first but its growing on me.

[harveybirdman]

I am digging this restore! I didnt think I was going to like the blue at first but its growing on me.

ditto here, I'm interested to see the t-molding and art they come up with.

[jennifer]

     **Jenn has a smoke over morning coffee thinking.... Polishing those bolts with sandpaper will remove the plating, and promote rust, maybe consider new or stainless? and there is probably no realistic fix for that mottled paint, other than disassembly and topcoat.... You wouldn't be the first to spill some blood on a game, but never fun to hear about it, hope your feeling better.

[Slippyblade]

...and there is probably no realistic fix for that mottled paint, other than disassembly and topcoat....

Mottled paint?  Where?

[jennifer]

    Oh, Thought your painted edges couldn't be glued and distressed as result....Nevermind then.

[yotsuya]

Yotsuya wonders what Jen was smoking...

[Slippyblade]

    Oh, Thought your painted edges couldn't be glued and distressed as result....Nevermind then.

Nah - just haven't gotten to those yet.  On the original builds the corners were actually radiused moldings that were painted gloss black.  I filled the gaps and intend to mask the moldings and re-paint.  Probably in the next couple days.

[yotsuya]

    Oh, Thought your painted edges couldn't be glued and distressed as result....Nevermind then.

Nah - just haven't gotten to those yet.  On the original builds the corners were actually radiused moldings that were painted gloss black.  I filled the gaps and intend to mask the moldings and re-paint.  Probably in the next couple days.

I see it now... you didn't try using those moldings?

[Slippyblade]

I see it now... you didn't try using those moldings?

I didn't remove them.  Just filled the gaps that had developed between the moldings and the panels.

[yotsuya]

You didn't keep them black, though, right?

[Slippyblade]

They got sanded and primed and are going to get repainted gloss black.

[yotsuya]

They got sanded and primed and are going to get repainted gloss black.

Sweet!  Looking forward to seeing it!

[Slippyblade]

Minor screw up.  It seems when I drew my template for the CP box sides, it squished slightly when I printed it out.  By a little more than half an inch.  Not a lot, but enough that the metal panels stuck out.  Obviously this wasn't acceptable so back to the woodshop! 

My wife bought me a router table a couple months ago, it was a thrift store purchase on dollar days.  The mounting plate on it didn't fit my router, but for the price, I figured I'd make it work.  having to re-do the CP sides was a good incentive to finally make the modification.  Once I got the router mounted into the table, cutting new sides was a breeze.  Cutting the t-mold slots was child's play as well.

Anyway, CP boxes are glued up and clamped sitting on the bench at home.  I'm at work currently and can't wait to get home to finish them up.

[lilshawn]

that blue is really schmexy. 

can't say how much a good router table and bit attest to making a good part. also...identical parts.

I've been mass making cocktails the last 8 months and having templates and jigs to make things consistent is absolutely the key. if you need 4 holes... make a template and use it to mark/make them. perfect every time. I need control panel sides...so I make 1...perfectly. and use it and a router bit with a ball-bearing to make a template. voilą! 60 identical control panel sides.

 

[cmoses]

I like what your doing with this cocktail. Will be keeping an eye on it.


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[jennifer]

that blue is really schmexy. 

can't say how much a good router table and bit attest to making a good part. also...identical parts.

I've been mass making cocktails the last 8 months and having templates and jigs to make things consistent is absolutely the key. if you need 4 holes... make a template and use it to mark/make them. perfect every time. I need control panel sides...so I make 1...perfectly. and use it and a router bit with a ball-bearing to make a template. voilą! 60 identical control panel sides.

 

  That's an interesting statement, True yes, But its been my experience a "good" table runs around 1200.00 us that's with above table changes bla.bla.... But most tables are cheaply constructed fixed with a mdf  top and subject to moisture, usually warped, have really poor jointer operations and overall seem to have a rickity feel  and are not much fun to play with.

[jennifer]

       **Revision (or double post or Whatever)...Sorry **

[lilshawn]

That's an interesting statement, True yes, But its been my experience a "good" table runs around 1200.00 us that's with above table changes bla.bla.... But most tables are cheaply constructed fixed with a mdf  top and subject to moisture, usually warped, have really poor jointer operations and overall seem to have a rickity feel  and are not much fun to play with.

good is subjective. we use the router mounted upside down on a piece of 1/4" plex with a square hole routered out of the side table of our table saw. yes it's MDF. yes I hate it. still better than clamping every single part down and doing it by hand though.

a dedicated router table would be ideal, but most of our parts that need routering are small anyways.

I'd be happy with some collars for our router so I can stop cutting with a cutter with bearing on the end. I like to be able to see what I'm cutting...also to stop burning through bearings like no tomorrow.

welp i have a pile of control panels sides and a dozen cocktail tops to router...better get 3 new bearings. 

[Slippyblade]

Spent the past two days de-casing that CRT.  Holy crap is there a lot of ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- inside that casing.

Got it all pulled apart and started looking at how to mount it.  Forgive me if my terminology is wrong here.  The chassis (big board with power circuits on it) seems to be attached in such a way that re-aligning it is out of the question, so I figured I'd try to mount the whole bugger as a unit.  I initially thought about making a frame for the monitor but decided against it.  I ended up just creating some "ears" and mounting the tube/chassis assemble to them and then bolting the ears to the tabletop.

Well, that was the plan.  The chassis is to thick to mount the proper way so I tried flipping the whole thing 180 degrees.  That mounted well enough - except that now the chassis smashes into the coin door.  Bugger it all.  So I gave up on the CRT and will just mount a 19" LCD in there.  Gonna save the CRT though since it has an amazing picture.  I'll use it when I get around to building an upright.

[Slippyblade]

Spent the past couple of nights building the wiring harness.  It's only the 2 sticks, 2 buttons per player, and p1/p2 start but it's still taking forever.  Trying to do it right though.  Crimping QD's. Reliable ground daisy chain.  splicing into .1" female jumpers to attach to a KADE.

Had no idea how annoying this was.