Arcade Collecting > Restorations & repair
Centipede Mini Restoration
MaximRecoil:
--- Quote from: ChadTower on November 05, 2009, 08:58:32 am ---Exactly how much wear and tear does a machine get in home use?
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It depends on how much and in what manner the machine is used; but you probably already knew that.
Wade:
So now we know why you're so particular about bluing. :)
You're sure that's the original molding? It looks kindof rounded in the pics. If it is original, wow - super condition. Don't see many like that! The repro molding for Nintendos annoys even me due to it being so different than the original.
Bolt heads are blued at the factory (and not at home) because bluing bolts is *cheaper* than painting, not necessarily because it's better. You're entitled to your opinions of course. I have had more rust/wear on blued bolts in my own games than those that I've painted. NEVER have I had paint wear or chip off of bolt heads. Just my experiences...
I like your attitude, and for the most part I agree with the concept of going with what's closest to original. (I am not going to order blued bolts for my games though.) :) I mean, "ideally", all my games would be in mint original condition. I simply don't have the time, patience, or money to find near mint, original examples. Realistically, we're talking $2-3k for each game if it were in the same like-new condition as a fully restored game. I can't justify that expense in the name of originality! Wish I could though.
Wade
MaximRecoil:
--- Quote from: Wade on November 05, 2009, 11:22:32 am ---So now we know why you're so particular about bluing. :)
You're sure that's the original molding? It looks kindof rounded in the pics. If it is original, wow - super condition. Don't see many like that! The repro molding for Nintendos annoys even me due to it being so different than the original.
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It is most definitely original, and it is perfectly flat. The relatively low resolution/quality of the picture (cheap camera) hides flaws of course; it doesn't look brand new in person; but like I said, it is in decent shape. It matches the moderate wear of the rest of the cabinet (brand new T-molding would look a bit out of place without restoring the whole cabinet). The reproduction stuff is not only slightly rounded, but the color is wrong as well (the white has a hint of translucency rather than being perfectly opaque like the original stuff).
This machine was last on location some time in the 90's and had been sitting in an operator's warehouse in PA, JAMMAtized and missing the gameboard, sporting "Time Killers" garb (good grief), until I bought it a few years ago for $50. I already had tracked down a used, mostly complete SPO kit elsewhere, so that gave me the boardset, marquee, and 5-way SPO joystick. Then I found an auction on eBay labeled "Nintendo parts", which was a box of stuff that included a PO PCB cage, complete PO wiring harness, and PO power supply. Eventually I found a nice PO control panel with its original CPO still in good shape, and I was able to ditch the one that got Swiss-cheesed for the "Time Killers" controls. I got both the PO and the supplementary SPO screen printed reproduction sideart for free.
--- Quote ---Bolt heads are blued at the factory (and not at home) because bluing bolts is *cheaper* than painting, not necessarily because it's better. You're entitled to your opinions of course. I have had more rust/wear on blued bolts in my own games than those that I've painted. NEVER have I had paint wear or chip off of bolt heads. Just my experiences...
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Another option is black phosphate, which is an electrochemical conversion process that some factories use on bolts and screws (it is an inherently rough finish though, not as nice looking as bluing/black oxide can be). Have you ever heard of Parkerizing? It is the same type of process, and has been used on military guns for ages. Try to find an M1911A1 (the vast majority of them were parkerized) with a significant amount of rust. Most of them are rust free to this day, and the last ones were made in 1945; and they went through hell and back until their official retirement in 1985. If they'd been painted, most of them would have been bare rusty steel by the end of WWII, to say nothing of Korea and Vietnam.
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