Finally got started on this restoration. Picked up the game a year ago, and it's just been taking up space in my garage along with some other projects. I knew it'd take more work than I really wanted to do, not to mention my baby girl put the brakes on restoration projects for a while.
The PCB worked (tried it in my Mario Bros cabinet), but the game wouldn't boot up (power problem?) and the monitor was dead.
Started by disassembling everything and cleaning the PCB's, monitor, harness, cabinet, etc. with a hose and bleche-wite. The game was dirty, but not really any worse than the usual. Got everything squeaky clean.
Next I cut the rear 3/8" from the cabinet. This was because the rear edge was really torn up and is only 1/4" thick, so I didn't think bondo would have a good surface to hold on to. After cutting the rear of the cabinet, the upper and lower wood pieces had to be trimmed a bit, blocks glued/screwed/stapled on the inside, then the rear 2 pieces reattached. This was a lot of extra work, but the end result looks very nice and is strong.
This week, I finally moved on to the cosmetic repairs, mostly on the sides. There were dings, holes, etc. I used some bondo glazing and spot putty. Two or three coats with sanding in between, and I think this step will be finished probably tomorrow morning. Then I can start the repainting (already have matched paint).
Ordered new sideart today, so next weekend I might be wrapping up the cabinet and taking the parts down to the gameroom for reassembly.
Wade