XBOX advertising sign - Restore - Done!

[johnrt]

Hi guys! And Jen!

I have got myself an old XBOX advertising sign which I'm gonna bring back to life. It has some damages and the fluorescent light is gone. No big deal since I hate fluorescent lights anyway, so I'm gonna install a LED bar. This way it doesn't get warm and it can stay lit for 10 years for a dollar or two. It'll be nice down in the basement among my arcades and my boys consoles.

Do any of you guys have any experience repairing plastic? Some advice for me. This is all new to me. All I need to repair is the main black plastic box. All the rest is in great shape. Here's pics:

[jennifer]

   "And Jenn?" OMG, that's just cold, BRRRR..... That Xbox thing is pretty cool, I do love stuff like that, Your local auto parts store will be quite helpful on the stuff to fix that, (don't let them talk you into a plastic welder), most likely some emblem glue to stop the cracking, and some epoxy for fill, The LED conversion is kind of fun too, be interested to see what you come up with.

[johnrt]

   "And Jenn?" OMG, that's just cold, BRRRR..... That Xbox thing is pretty cool, I do love stuff like that, Your local auto parts store will be quite helpful on the stuff to fix that, (don't let them talk you into a plastic welder), most likely some emblem glue to stop the cracking, and some epoxy for fill, The LED conversion is kind of fun too, be interested to see what you come up with.

Yeah, I was thinking about the epoxy myself. I'll see what I can find on my local hardware stores. The glue needs to be a strong 2 component one I believe. Well, I'll update this thread as I go. Nice to do something else other than arcades once in a while.

[jennifer]

   I would glue it first with the emblem glue to stop the damage, And block the front up with wax paper and wood (to keep it flat) fill in that missing piece And try to keep the glue mess to a min.,... Jennifer just loves to play with stuff like that,   (**Fun story) I recently bought a new Tig welder, and after some long nights of crazy experiments, come to find out its a perfect low, concentrated, frequency controlled heat source for filling holes and bracket fabrication in something like that back pan.

[johnrt]

   I would glue it first with the emblem glue to stop the damage, And block the front up with wax paper and wood (to keep it flat) fill in that missing piece And try to keep the glue mess to a min.

I bought myself some very strong (at least it says that on the box) glass fibre filller (2-component). And I also found my 2-component contact adhesive. I'm gonna start with that. I'm not worrying about any mess. I will sand it and spray paint it at the end.

[jennifer]

   That fibre filler seems curious, Never seen anything like that, Whats it like a clear resin, or a tube of kitty hair putty?... Keeping the mess down works to your benefit, less work, shaping and finishing.

[johnrt]

   That fibre filler seems curious, Never seen anything like that, Whats it like a clear resin, or a tube of kitty hair putty?... Keeping the mess down works to your benefit, less work, shaping and finishing.

I don't know how it looks yet. I'll let you know.

[jennifer]

   **Jennifer gets all excited....Oh YES, YES please!

[johnrt]

   **Jennifer gets all excited....Oh YES, YES please!

It's been a while since I made a woman that ecstatic. 

[yotsuya]

[jennifer]

    Omg... Don't look at me like that,  ** (embarrassed)**

[johnrt]

The glue was a total fiasco. The glass fibre filler on the other hand... It was actually some kind of fiberglass resin. It IS very strong and this is what keep the sign together now. I have also sanded it. It needs some more fine sanding before paint. A nice llittle sideproject. Anyway, here's pics:





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[vwalbridge]

Nice patch job!

...also I tried pronouncing lasikuitutayte in my head. That was hard.

[johnrt]

Nice patch job!

...also I tried pronouncing lasikuitutayte in my head. That was hard.

It's Finnish. Even the Finn's don't understand Finnish. 

[jennifer]

   That epoxy should have worked, but that fibre resin looks more fun ...  You may want to use a primer on that before paint, or paint it, let it dry for a week or so. sand it down and repaint, Anyway nice fix!

[johnrt]

Been doing some sanding and filling, and today I bought primer and paint:


And the sign were primed:


And painted:


And at last some LED strips wre mounted on the inside:


Almost there. I'm gonna let the paint dry for some days before assembling it. I also need something to blur the LED's a little more, cause I'm seeing the individual LED's through the thin green plastic.

[DeLuSioNal29]

Nice work so far!  (Was there a doubt?  You are THE johnRT - LOL).

Just curious about the TM at the end of the XBOX logo.  Is that going to glow as well?  I'm assuming you used a pin to get the paint out of those small openings?

D

[johnrt]

Yes, the TM also glows. And I applied the paint in thin layers, so there's no need to do anything with the TM. It glows!

[leapinlew]

What's the backstory on how you acquired this sign? Bill Gates an old army buddy? Dumpster diving? So many possibilities...

[johnrt]

What's the backstory on how you acquired this sign? Bill Gates an old army buddy? Dumpster diving? So many possibilities...

Well, the story is quite short. I bought it from a guy on a facebook-group.

[johnrt]

The sign is finished and mounted on the wall. It looks great! And my boy who is an XBOX-player is VERY satisfied! 

[DeLuSioNal29]

Congrats!  Looks brand new, only better!

D

[Cobolisdead]

Nice! As an Xbox and Xbox 360 fan, that is one awesome sign!