Just got done reading the whole thread from start to finish... WOW! what a let down.
Just kidding!!! But seriously you gotta get that puppy finished off. Send your wife on a girl's night out or something... explaining that she's been working hard throughout this holiday season and she deserves a break from all the craziness.
Neil, the work done to this cabinet is nothing short of stellar. I have been wanting to do the same thing for some time now, but I never imagined I would go that far with it... but the truth is it's just a lot of work. Sure you know a lot of helpful people, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't be able to do as sweet of a restore. I'm definitely inspired to push the limits on my restore and hopefully more people will feel the same way after reading your thread.
I just got a Donkey Kong 3 machine (in a Donkey Kong jr. cabinet) that I'll be converting to a restored DK machine.
Thanks for all the info you've dug up along the way - it will be very helpful to anyone restoring a DK machine. I can't believe the stuff about the instruction card not being exact. You'd think after all this time someone else would have noticed and tried to come up with something better. Paint codes are awexome too since I have every hardware store you could think of within 5 miles of me (Lowes, Home Depot, Menards, Ace Hardware, I'm sure there's more).
I'll see if I can get my Dad to help me out as well, in exchange for helping him restore his Austin Healey.
Merry Christmas to us lucky arcade machine owners