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Author Topic: Galaxian Mame Conversion  (Read 80012 times)

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blueznl

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Re: Galaxian Mame Conversion: Coin Door Restoration Begins
« Reply #40 on: February 12, 2007, 12:04:05 pm »
I think if people like that original Galaxian so much they should buy it from you!  8)

Anyway, good luck with the conversion, at least you keep it neutral and nice, and there's nothing wrong with a souped up hotrod, so it's fine in my book. The only thing I wonder about is if it wouldn't make much more sense to rebuild one from scratch if you are removing the artwork anyway, but that's just my two cents.

By the way, fantastic idea on the keyboard there. Consider it swiped :) Now if I only could convince myself of buying an LCD  :(

« Last Edit: February 12, 2007, 12:09:00 pm by blueznl »

csa3d

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Re: Galaxian Mame Conversion: Coin Door Restoration - 90% Complete
« Reply #41 on: February 24, 2007, 04:06:51 pm »
Restoration on my coin door continues, and is at what I'm calling 90% completed.  What still needs done:

  • Replace money inserts with newer, matching reproduction printed versions
  • Purchase and replace the midway logo on the front
  • Figure out where to buy pop-rivets to mount this new logo plate
  • Purchase new coin switches in the event that these do not trigger a credit (TBD)
  • Come up with a way to add back lighting to the money inserts

Also on my list of projects, is that I've finally dedicated a blog page to this project.  You can see all commentary at:  http://www.csa3d.com/galaxian.php

Pictures as follows:

CheffoJeffo

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Re: Galaxian Mame Conversion: Coin Door Restoration - 90% Complete
« Reply #42 on: February 24, 2007, 07:02:32 pm »
With the amount of effort you are putting in, it is a shame that you're not doing a complete restoration.

The coin door looks bloody fabulous -- nice work.

Cheers
Working: Not Enough
Projects: Too Many
Progress: None

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Re: Galaxian Mame Conversion: Coin Door Restoration - 90% Complete
« Reply #43 on: February 24, 2007, 07:10:09 pm »
Cheffo took the words right out of my mouth.....

Looks like brand new.... :notworthy:

I personaly wouldn't light up the money inserts....they never were lit...but you're hot-rodding it anyway ;)

Get new coin inserts here: http://www.thisoldgame.com/thisoldgame/new_page_2.htm

(I think I'm going to order my CPO there. Great communications via e-mail, answered all my pesty questions without problems and quickly so far.)


F.Y.I.: The Midway plate I got from www.arcadeshop.com has adhesive on the back, but indeed, I will be putting back (the old ?) rivets in as well, to keep it authentic. It looks weird without them...


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Re: Galaxian Mame Conversion: Coin Door Restoration - 90% Complete
« Reply #44 on: February 24, 2007, 07:12:20 pm »
By the way, I was looking at a thead this morning, and my nearly 5 year old son saw your avatar.......

He said: Hey look dad, Mario's kissing !!!  :angel: :laugh2: :laugh2:

Uhhmm,  yeah son, yeah, he's kissing that sweet princess !!!   :laugh2:

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Re: Galaxian Mame Conversion: Coin Door Restoration - 90% Complete
« Reply #45 on: February 24, 2007, 07:26:59 pm »
Get new coin inserts here: http://www.thisoldgame.com/thisoldgame/new_page_2.htm

(I think I'm going to order my CPO there. Great communications via e-mail, answered all my pesty questions without problems and quickly so far.)

Sorry for the threadjack ...

L42 -- can you add This Old Game to the Vendors list in the wiki ... I can't log in for some reason (I tried to add it the other day).

I now return you to your regularly scheduled project thread.
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Re: Galaxian Mame Conversion: Coin Door Restoration - 90% Complete
« Reply #46 on: February 24, 2007, 07:32:25 pm »
Working: Not Enough
Projects: Too Many
Progress: None

csa3d

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Re: Galaxian Mame Conversion: Coin Door Restoration - 90% Complete
« Reply #47 on: February 24, 2007, 07:48:20 pm »
With the amount of effort you are putting in, it is a shame that you're not doing a complete restoration.

The coin door looks bloody fabulous -- nice work.

Cheers
Thanks for the compliment!  I am having a really fun time doing this.  Like I said earlier, my plan is to keep it more or less stock looking.

I wish I enjoyed the game Galaxian itself enough to keep it dedicated.  I grew up on Galaga.. so trying to play galaxian is painful in many ways.   :dunno  If I ever finish this cab, I might look into owning a dedicated centipede, frogger and/or an asteroids deluxe.  We'll see if the wife lets me live long enough to complete one machine though!  I'm all ready way too obsessed with all this.

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Re: Galaxian Mame Conversion: Coin Door Restoration - 90% Complete
« Reply #48 on: February 24, 2007, 08:05:52 pm »
Cheffo took the words right out of my mouth.....

Looks like brand new.... :notworthy:

I personaly wouldn't light up the money inserts....they never were lit...but you're hot-rodding it anyway ;)

Get new coin inserts here: http://www.thisoldgame.com/thisoldgame/new_page_2.htm

(I think I'm going to order my CPO there. Great communications via e-mail, answered all my pesty questions without problems and quickly so far.)


F.Y.I.: The Midway plate I got from www.arcadeshop.com has adhesive on the back, but indeed, I will be putting back (the old ?) rivets in as well, to keep it authentic. It looks weird without them...


Level42:
Thanks again for the kind words.  I'll convert you all into believers, you just wait!  :laugh:

Good to know that plate is ahesive on the back.  I did not save the old rivets when dismanteling.. never assumed these would be hard to find!  I was doing some internet searching, and found this page:  http://www.rivetsinstock.com/rivet02.htm   I was considering the 1/4th inch rivets, they seem about the length I need.  I did not email anyone, who knows if you have to order a giant run of these or not.  You have any leads on these?  I think I agree that without them won't feel right.  Hopefully acceptable.

Last question for you was on thisoldgame.com, I saw there were two options for the money inserts, one was labeld as the old style but no photo is present.  If you look at my money inserts, one appears to be rounder cornered text and the other is more rigid.  I'm wondering if the older style matches the rounder version.  I suppose I'm gonna send an email off and see what I can find out.

I'd also like to say thanks for getting me inspired through your project again.  That's largely what got me up and moving on this coindoor.  More to come.

-csa

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Re: Galaxian Mame Conversion: Coin Door Restoration - 90% Complete
« Reply #49 on: February 25, 2007, 03:43:11 pm »
Yeah, I plan on drilling out the rivets on the inside and hope to re-use them, at least visiualy....However, I think it will be hard to have it look like the plate is hanging on the rivets, without really tightening somehow on the inside.. so....

If that won't work I'd be interested in those rivets as well. I have no clue where to get the flat-tops here (the others are widely available), and also, I bet they are metric sized here......

So are these brass or copper ? Mail them and ask about quantity, maybe I can get Darth Nuno interested as well....we can do a "group-buy"  :D ;)

Drop Richard of www.thisoldgame.com a mail, I bet he'll answer quickly and completely.  Good to hear I actualy inspired someone, that's very nice to hear :D You truely did a beautiful job on the door, therre is no doubt in your skills to do restorations :D ;) !

To Cheffo: I added info about www.thisoldgame.com to the Wiki !

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Re: Galaxian Mame Conversion: Control Panel Art WIP
« Reply #50 on: February 25, 2007, 04:30:10 pm »
Classic car or hotrod... hmmm....  Same argument.

I have owned several classic Mustangs and I completely agree with the above argument.

Everyone telling you not to do this or that with your purchase is just wrong.

It's yours!  Do with it as you will.

I got so much heat from people when I decided to retrofit a 66 Mustand with disc brakes but I'll tell you, it was worth it.  The increase in usability made the 'Stang a much better driver.

Anyway, not to start a war here, I'm just voicing the opinion that I like the cab.

-D

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Re: Galaxian Mame Conversion: Coin Door Restoration - 90% Complete
« Reply #51 on: February 25, 2007, 05:17:01 pm »
Mmmm, I thought we left that point behind us several postings ago, and see csa3d and I are still good friends. This is a forum, when you post something, you can expect people to respond. If it would all be just oooh's and aaaah's it would be nice, but sometimes it's OK to say what you feel as well. csa3d and I differ in opionion on some parts, but we help eachother and support eachother on others....it's not like I don't respect him at all !!! (Quite the opposite !)   

I also hope people are honest in their responses to my threads/projects. That's how we learn IMHO :)

I've already nuanced my initial post, csa3d is happy, I'm happy can we now move on ? Thanks  :)
« Last Edit: February 25, 2007, 05:37:39 pm by Level42 »

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Re: Galaxian Mame Conversion: Coin Door Restoration - 90% Complete
« Reply #52 on: February 25, 2007, 07:03:55 pm »
Mmmm, I thought we left that point behind us several postings ago, and see csa3d and I are still good friends. This is a forum, when you post something, you can expect people to respond. If it would all be just oooh's and aaaah's it would be nice, but sometimes it's OK to say what you feel as well. csa3d and I differ in opionion on some parts, but we help eachother and support eachother on others....it's not like I don't respect him at all !!! (Quite the opposite !)   

I also hope people are honest in their responses to my threads/projects. That's how we learn IMHO :)

I've already nuanced my initial post, csa3d is happy, I'm happy can we now move on ? Thanks  :)

I saw we stage a big fight, and make season 2 of Mame Wars a hit!  Yeah, I'm past all that as well, everyone is happy and moving along.
-csa

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Re: Galaxian Mame Conversion: Coin Door Restoration - 90% Complete
« Reply #53 on: June 12, 2007, 06:02:05 pm »
It's been a while since I've had time to work on this project.  Between new jobs and Real Life (tm) little has been done.  I found a bit of time and the bug is back to make some real progress on the cab.

I need to order the monitor very soon so I can start to get the woodworking complete.  Javery's Bella Cab has inspired me to go that route in regards to monitor mounting.  I think I'm still going with my planned Viewsonic mentioned earlier to keep the 4:3 ratio aspect.

That being said, I began peeling off the old artwork and vinyl to see what structural damages to the structure need repaired.  I wasn't concerned about salvaging any of the artwork; I can print new for far less hastle.  The back vents and the entire front and back of the cab appeared to have wood splitting, which I thought could be water related based on the musty smell of the cab in general.  There are also holes needing filled around the coin door from an after market security bar across the front.

My process for removing the vinyl was to grab a hairdryer, warm up the surrounding area, and starting from a corner, to slowly peel off the giant 'sticker', working your way towards the heated section.  You pull off as much as you can before the vinyal appears to stretch.  You don't want it coming off in tiny bits and it will tear, so do it slow and try to remove it all in one giant sheet.  And oh yeah, protect your fingers from the heat.  After 3 hours of handling hot plastic you get blisters believe it or not.

I was nervous about this process, as I have heard of others removing vinyl, but never saw any photos of this process.  I found that it comes off pretty easily, and is very similar to removing wallpaper.  I started in the morning and after 3 hours I got 75% of it off.  I quit only because my fingers became blistered from the heat.

Here is where I'm at with that process.  I'm hoping this weekend I can begin the patching process with bondo to repair the base.  I'm also talking with some folks about getting the vinyl printed.  Seems like it will run around $350 if I only want the 2 sides and front in vinyl and paint the rest white.  However, MY cab came with a vinyl top, bottom, and back side.  A true restoration means I would not paint this.  I'm up in the air over how I feel about this at this point.

Finally, pics.  Enjoy.


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Re: Galaxian Mame Conversion: Coin Door Restoration - 90% Complete
« Reply #54 on: June 12, 2007, 06:03:37 pm »
And more.

Notice the bottom chipping.  I think the old woodglue, clamps, and bondo trick are in order.

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Re: Galaxian Mame Conversion: Stripping off years of neglect
« Reply #55 on: June 12, 2007, 06:07:07 pm »
Did you check with MameMarquees?  They might be able to save you a bit on your side art, etc.

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Re: Galaxian Mame Conversion: Stripping off years of neglect
« Reply #56 on: June 12, 2007, 06:12:47 pm »
Did you check with MameMarquees?  They might be able to save you a bit on your side art, etc.

Yeah, I talked with Scott.  The two sides were $180 + 100$ for the extra tough coating (or whatever), $40 for the kickplate (which comes in the tough material all ready).

I've contacted someone over in the U.K. and seeing if they can beat that deal.

-csa

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Re: Galaxian Mame Conversion: Stripping off years of neglect
« Reply #57 on: August 18, 2007, 09:08:58 pm »
It's been a long time since I've updated this thread, so here's what I've been up to:

Patching Holes, Damage, and Age

After ripping off all the vinyl, I went to town with my new found friend, "Bondo" repairing as much as possible, attempting to recreate missing parts, patch unnecessary holes, and to clean up and other surface marks which would detract from a clean, smooth final surface.

Here's the images from this process:


Right side, not much patching here


Left side, some back corner patching, some filling nail holes


Front view, Lots of security holes patched around the coin door, bottom edge water damage repaired


Coin door patching close up.




Back vents needed a lot of help


And the base needed water damage repair as well
« Last Edit: August 19, 2007, 10:47:13 am by csa3d »

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Re: Galaxian Mame Conversion: Reconstruction at "rough fit" stage
« Reply #58 on: August 18, 2007, 10:38:16 pm »
Back Door Mod

I know I said i wasn't going to modify this cab, and leave the internals as original as possible.  Well, the monitor wasn't going to function without a mod.  After that, I decided it didn't make sense to suffer through other things I didn't like about the cab design.  So here's why I ended up doing to my back door:


Door looks normal from here


Door now swings open Suicide Style.


This mod required special hinges.  Piano hinges didn't work with the default routing of the cab.


I filled in the gap where the door usually fits into.  It needs on pass of Bondo to eliminate the middle notch yet.


Magnetic hinges at the top ond bottom keep the door snapped shut.  The lock is still function but not necessary to keep the door hinged shut any longer.
« Last Edit: August 19, 2007, 10:33:52 am by csa3d »

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Re: Galaxian Mame Conversion: Reconstruction at "rough fit" stage
« Reply #59 on: August 18, 2007, 10:48:45 pm »
LCD Rotating Monitor Mount

After trying to save the default monitor mounts, and utilize what was there, I quickly became aware that my monitor would hit the supports on the sides and bottom during rotation.  I started first by removing very little wood, only the parts that hit.  Then more problems, after more problems, to the point where I felt it was time to rip out the monitor mount and start over.

This mount is nothing special, it's a single beam hanging off 4 slotted L-Brackets so I can adjust the height when I get my custom bezel created.  The LCD is going to use the VESA mount that came with the monitor after a few customizations from our friend the "dremmel tool".

Here's pics:


Looking into the cab, glass is there just to show how it will fit.  Glass is going away before long.


Looking in from the back, you can see it's just a single beam with a vesa mount.  Nothing fancy here.


You can see Bondo lines where there was once Midway Slotted monitor support goodness.


Yes, it's a shame they had to come out.  I figured I would patch them and have them look they there were never there for "fit and finish"


Close up of 2" L-Brackets who have been turned into slotted, adjustable brackets with the Dremmel

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Re: Galaxian Mame Conversion: Reconstruction at "rough fit" stage
« Reply #60 on: August 18, 2007, 10:57:31 pm »
Speaker Mods

The Galaxian came standard with a state of the art 6x9 paper cone speaker from the late 70's.  Wow.  This wasn't gonna do it for me.  I had a 2.1 speaker system laying around from a college computer no longer in use.  After some research into looking at new 2.1 systems with a cleaner, flatter look, I decided that I wasn't gonna drop extra money into it.  My speakers work and sound great, have a separate volume control, and weren't too bad to install:


Here you can see the 6x9 slot has been filled with 5/8 plywood, awaiting bondo.


Also note that my speakers had a slight bevel to them.  I decided to mount the sides flush with with top frame and use bondo to give them an outter emboss feel.


A closer look at the bevel.  They protrude down less then 1/2 an inch.  Once painted black to match the inside I suspect they will mostly vanish.


From the inside, I cut a rounded square and used the Dremmel to achieve a snug fit.  The speaker pods screw from the back into this frame and are now secure.
« Last Edit: August 19, 2007, 10:37:52 am by csa3d »

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Re: Galaxian Mame Conversion: Reconstruction at "rough fit" stage
« Reply #61 on: August 18, 2007, 11:05:15 pm »
Control Panel

I finally bought a router, a circular saw, and some supplied I needed to start this part.  I had to use the hinges I was going to use here on my Back Door mod (because the Piano Hinge wasn't working with the inside routing).  Therefore, there's not much to see here other then the shape has been created and I have some hole filling to do.  This was far easier to create then I had expected.

MDF Control Panel, routes like butter and really shapes out nicely with a good sand!

Wheels

I grew tired of lugging the cab around, and purchased 2" casters.  I wanted the casters high enough to allow movement on carpet, yet low enough to not bother the profile of this machine when completed.  I plan on placing 4 Cold Cathode tubes under the until to give it that floating on light affect.  Hold in your suspense.. we have:


Wheels mounted

Status for Now


A bit more Bondo work, mounting the control panel on hinges, and a good primer base is next in line.

Hope you enjoy the updates.
-csa
« Last Edit: August 19, 2007, 10:48:15 am by csa3d »

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Re: Galaxian Mame Conversion: Reconstruction at "rough fit" stage
« Reply #62 on: August 19, 2007, 03:40:54 pm »
 :applaud:

Good work!

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Re: Galaxian Mame Conversion: Reconstruction at "rough fit" stage
« Reply #63 on: August 19, 2007, 03:59:10 pm »
Bondo is real nice to work with.  Good work on the repairs.  I also like the way you fixed the door to swing open.  Keep it up.

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Re: Galaxian Mame Conversion: Reconstruction at "rough fit" stage
« Reply #64 on: August 25, 2007, 12:12:21 am »
Minor updates today, no pics  tonight... (It's dark now anyways):

1.  Holes on control panel patched.  I have a feeling after priming it will need one more go at minor Bondo leveling.

2.  Control panel now attached on European hinges like the back door is mounted on.  It now swings up like the original GIF Design shows.  (Keyboard drawer will not fit like originally designed and is on the chopping block)

3.  Primed 2 coats of water based primer on both sides, the top and the back vent area.  The wood is soaking this stuff up like a camel.  I have a feeling it will be a long weekend!

4.  I'm on the prowl for reproduction artwork.  Please see this thread if you feel you got the goods.


More tomorrow.
-csa

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Re: Galaxian Mame Conversion: Priming begins..
« Reply #65 on: August 25, 2007, 12:42:09 am »
Very nice.  Good luck on the paint job.

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Re: Galaxian Mame Conversion: Priming begins..
« Reply #66 on: August 25, 2007, 12:52:45 am »
cool project! I love the galaxian cab

good luck with the paint

I'm still waiting for my black semi-gloss latex enamel paint to fully dry / harden (1 week later) ... that stuff can take time... humidity doesn't help right now

that is one fun hobby we have guys! ;)

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Re: Galaxian Mame Conversion: Priming continues..
« Reply #67 on: September 03, 2007, 11:39:37 am »
Minor update this weekend:

- Priming will hopefully be done by night's end.  Unexciting pics of a white cab to follow if true.
- Buttons, Trackball, and joysticks have all been ordered.  Boy, that adds up quick!  I plan to bling the CP with GGG lighting modules.

Left to buy:
- T-Molding (going with leather black on this) <-- Suggestions on where to purchase?
- Reproduction Coin Door inserts, ThisOldGame
- Reproduction Coin Door Midway plate, hopefully ThisOldGame
- Reproduction Back Midway Badge, ThisOldGame
- Vinyl Artwork, looking like Scott's the only one who's going to be able to come through on this
- Neon lighting accents for under cab and behind rear vents for backwash
- Tempered gray glass

This being said, I've created a photoshop mockup of my color/lighting scheme.  I didn't like alien green molding.. blue was a bit distracting.. then I tried chrome, and that felt tacky.   I also tossed up green vs. blue neon.  I think blue was more pleasing.  Here's the outcome.  Opinions welcome.




« Last Edit: September 03, 2007, 11:45:46 am by csa3d »

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Re: Galaxian Mame Conversion: Priming continues..
« Reply #68 on: September 03, 2007, 01:25:31 pm »
Left to buy:
- T-Molding (going with leather black on this) <-- Suggestions on where to purchase?

Best place I could find for my cabinet was: http://www.dreamarcades.com/partstmold/index.shtml

25 feet for $10.99 or $35.99 for 100 feet.


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Re: Galaxian Mame Conversion: Priming continues, parts ordered, lighting mockup
« Reply #69 on: September 03, 2007, 02:30:09 pm »
Got mine from arcadeshop.com, 10 bucks per game. It's exactly enough for the cab...

Have also ordered with www.t-molding.com.

I vote against the neon, but that can hardly surprise you...... :laugh:

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Re: Galaxian Mame Conversion: Priming continues, parts ordered, lighting mockup
« Reply #70 on: September 03, 2007, 09:16:04 pm »
Priming is "Done"

Well, here's the result of 2.5 full weekends of priming.  This part was pretty much not fun at all, and I'm quite glad to move onto other things.  I say "done" because I know I have at least 3 more hours cleaning up the bondo lines from where I filled the original monitor mount, which i apparently sanded a bit too much out of.  I also have a few spots in the cab, that no matter how many coats of primer they receive, a brown tint keeps coming back.  This has me worried that I have mold or moisture in the wood somewhere... which is crazy.. this cab has been baking in my Texas Kiln (garadge) bare.. for weeks now.  Let me know if you have any ideas on that.  For the record, I've been priming with Kilts white latex stain blocker primer.  Yes, I'm going to cover the sides and front with vinyl, but given the original smell and no desire to bring any mold into my home, I decided to give this a good coat.

enough.. time for pics:


Right side of cab.  Excited yet?


Front of cab.  Speaker grills in place to give you an idea.  Oh yeah.. it was "fun" painting that interior marque area.  Can't wait to do it again in black. ::) 


Speaker close-up.  I'm likely going to chop 1/4" off of their height before permanently affixing them.


Interior painted.  This.. sucked.. to.. do!  UGH!  Flipping the cab upside down helped some.   I'm well over the joy of painting.

Suggestions on this..

Ok.. this next pic is the area that doesn't seem to want to be white.  It's been coated about 10 times I'd estimate.  Suggestions?


Notice the tan.. the unholy area that seems to stay brown.  Can I paint over this black and not worry or should I address this before?

There you go.  Until next weekend..
-csa




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Re: Galaxian Mame Conversion: Priming "done".. thank GOD!
« Reply #71 on: September 04, 2007, 12:37:20 am »
After all that work I hope not to discourage you but AFAIK, primer never needs to totally cover the wood. After all, it's a primer. It's just offering a layer that makes the actual paint set much better to the wood.The covering is done by the finishing paint layers....

And using a white primer for a dark (black) paint is not a clever idea......you should at least have used red for the parts that need to become black again....This is going to take you another dreadful weekend of putting on LOTS of layers of black paint. I'd suggest still putting some dark tinted primer on the places where the black will come.

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Re: Galaxian Mame Conversion: Priming "done".. thank GOD!
« Reply #72 on: September 04, 2007, 05:47:39 am »
Level,

Hmm..  well, the good news is that what the pictures show isn't really a great solid cover of white primer anyways.  Close up there are spots which could use a third or forth coat.  I was aware that this layer didn't have to completely cover, but what I also thought I remember hearing is that primer is cheaper then paint... so I thought I'd give it two so that the wood would suck up my primer layer instead of my paint layer.  ::dunno

As for the black.. sigh.. I thought of this halfway through the 2nd coat when remembering back to painting my house a dark color.  I plan to wet-sand the visible exterior parts to bring back the shine.  We'll see how I feel about the inside.  Sounds like that process involves 5 or so layers of paint anyways.  I'm hoping that process also fills some minor lows and highs as well.

Thanks for your input.  I'm not discouraged.  I just keep hoping it gets cooler outside soon if I'm going to be living in the garage for many more consecutive weekends!  :laugh:  It's probably best I the work week has arrived so I can "recover".

-csa

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Re: Galaxian Mame Conversion: Priming "done".. thank GOD!
« Reply #73 on: September 04, 2007, 11:59:29 am »
The product you need is called "KILLZ" one or two 'L' not sure on the spelling.  This is supposed to be the best stain blocking paint on the market.  I use it myself on all my priming jobs be it MDF, bondo, plaster.  It comes in two varieties, oil and latex.  I use the latex because of the easy clean up.  It usually takes two to three coats for MDF and Bondo.  Plaster will take one coat.

Keep up the progress.  That priming seems to take the longest but with Killz you can add coats rather quickly usually the next day after a light sanding.  The keyword is light, I use a foam sanding block and just scuff the previous coat.  Then use a tack cloth or wet rag to clean off the sanding residue and add the next coat.  I was able to get Dad's Bartop painted in a week, 3 coats primer, 3 coats color with a little touch up after the fact.  Then I waited a week until I stuck on the artwork with a final 2 coats of clear paint to seal in the artwork.

TTFN and Good luck.
Kaytrim

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Re: Galaxian Mame Conversion: Control Panel
« Reply #74 on: October 14, 2007, 12:10:59 am »
So believe it or not, lots of work is being done on the cab.  The inside is mostly painted black, and you don't get to see pics of that yet cuz frankly, it's not ready yet.  However, this weekend I've made quite some progress on the control panel.

I've rebuilt the control panel pictured previously because I quickly realized that in order to route the bottom holes for the trackball and joys, I was going to need a flat piece of wood.. not a permanently assembled "l-shape".  Live and learn.  The second time around was faster with my new router skills anyways.

I decided to try the route out the bottom technique I read about in another thread (which I'll reference when I find it again).  What I ended up doing was taking the unit apart, tracing the teardrop pattern onto the wood.  Next, 2.25" hole saw to remove enough to completely surround and hug the plastic lip.  Then, I took a 3/8" strait bit and carved out all but 1/16" inside the teardrop shape, so that from the top it appears to be seamless.  We'll go over the mount more in detail in a few.  I also decided to bottom mount my u360's, dust washer on the bottom.

The bottom and top lips have been routed out to fit snugly as the exactly how the original metal cp did.  The unit is mounted via the same European hinges I used on the back door, so the entire control panel swings up, exposing the innards for easy access (pics of that later).

The MDF was primed with gray killzs primer, then I hit it with 5 or so layers of Krylon spraypaint for plastic sufaces.. wetsanding with 400 grit paper in between.  I spent more time on the top then the bottom, and ultimately, I'll be covering the entire cp with artwork.. but this should make it feel complete until I get around to that stage.  I hand rounded all corners on this unit to soften the feel a bit.

Pics as follows:


Top view.  Top row (p1,coin1,turbotwist,coin2,p2).  Middle row (joy1, p1fighter layout, 2.25 betson trackball, joy2)


bottom view


Front view


Top angle


trackball detail


Bottom angle
« Last Edit: October 14, 2007, 12:13:48 am by csa3d »

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Re: Galaxian Mame Conversion: Control Panel
« Reply #75 on: October 14, 2007, 12:28:07 am »
So here's how I mounted my 2.25" Electric Ice (Betson) trackball for anyone else who might be curious.

First you need to dissamble and trace the top shape onto your wood.  Cut out the hole with a 2.25" hole saw, then use a strait bit to route out the teardrop shape ALL EXCEPT for about 1/16" (which is about the height of the lip).  Your goal:  To get the lip to fit snugly in the hole and be flush mount with the top of the CP.  Mine is slightly lower then I would have liked, but if I chewed out too much more MDF from that area.. I'm not sure how sturdy it would be.  You are shooting for this:



Now that you have this shape cut out, and made sure everything fits snugly (remember that paint will tighten everything up some), it's time to grab your dremmel tool.  I inserted a small drillbit into the end of it like so.



This is great for getting into small places which my clunky drill could not handle.  What tight spaces you ask?  Look:


Insert the top plate snugly into place


Plunge sideways through the plastic, into the wood.  I had to modify the corner and remove some plastic to access the top right corner securely.

Three 3/4" screws along with the tight routing job and the 2.25" hole hugging the lip.. this thing ain't going anywhere!  Here's what it looks like from the other side:




Now place the bottom of the trackball unit back in place, and secure the four screws which hold the bottom and top together.  Since the top is secured into the wood, these four screws will keep your bottom in place.  The result is a pretty decent trackball mount (in my opinion), which doesn't allow any unusual dust to enter since like some other techniques of removing the top.  Plus, it doesn't force you to loose room on the surrounding sides of the trackball because you had to use brackets to hold it all in.  The install of all the LEDs, cherrys, etc.. I need all the room I could.  Here's the final result:



I have most of the other parts/guts installed, and will post pics of how I did that once I wrap up the wiring.  Hope this helps somebody... mounting these trackballs seems like there's really no one way to do it if you are abandoning that mounting plate.

-csa





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Re: Galaxian Mame Conversion: Coin Door Restoration - 90% Complete
« Reply #76 on: October 14, 2007, 04:29:17 am »
Restoration on my coin door continues, and is at what I'm calling 90% completed.  What still needs done... (snip)

Door looks great!  I need to restore a couple of mine...  a question.  after cleaning with the Dremel disk, how did you paint it?  what paint, etc?
My projects...

Finished:  Stargate (only 'cause I got it that way)
In progress:  Tron, 48-in-1 for School Auction, DKJr (currently a 60-in-1), Millipede, MAME System

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Re: Galaxian Mame Conversion: Control Panel
« Reply #77 on: October 14, 2007, 04:34:12 am »
That's a clever way to mount that trackball. Nice finish with the paint too.
« Last Edit: October 14, 2007, 04:37:50 am by patrickl »
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Re: Galaxian Mame Conversion: Control Panel
« Reply #78 on: October 14, 2007, 04:46:58 am »
I agree, it's great to have the trackball recessed, and this is a very nice way to do it. The Galaxian CP (wood with metal on top of it) makes it possible......  :D

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Re: Galaxian Mame Conversion: Control Panel
« Reply #79 on: October 14, 2007, 05:22:45 am »
Looks very nice! Keep on 'hotrodding'  :)