Author Topic: My First Restoration - Galaga! (Read 17598 times)

erlsjj · « **Reply #40 on:** January 07, 2009, 07:04:21 am »

Thanks, Mauzy! The joystick was surprisingly easy to restore. I just need to lube the rotating shaft. What kind of lubricant is generally used in these components?

Now I'm working on removing the control panel overlay. I'm sure there is an easier chemical way to remove it, but I'm just using a painter's spatula and some elbow grease.

Mauzy · « **Reply #41 on:** January 07, 2009, 08:05:20 pm »

Hmm... I'm not sure about what kind of lube. I've never had to re-lube a joystick so i have no idea.

You may still want to use some chemicals to remove left over adhesive. I used a heat gun and it all came off in one big chunk.

erlsjj · « **Reply #42 on:** January 08, 2009, 06:43:40 am »

I ended up using my wife's hairdryer last night. Worked great! After that I used some Goo Gone to clean up the adhesive.

erlsjj · « **Reply #43 on:** January 09, 2009, 06:37:40 am »

Thursday, Jan 8, 2009:
Removed most of the rust. Kind of did a half-assed job since I knew I was going to prime & paint.

Level42 · « **Reply #44 on:** January 09, 2009, 07:13:07 am »

Quote from: erlsjj on January 09, 2009, 06:37:40 am

Thursday, Jan 8, 2009:
Removed most of the rust. Kind of did a half-assed job

And it shows.

You're on the right track, so don't cut any corners my friend. You have to remove ALL the rust before doing the primer. It will come back on you.

erlsjj · « **Reply #45 on:** January 09, 2009, 04:50:10 pm »

Duly noted.

erlsjj · « **Reply #46 on:** January 10, 2009, 08:32:26 am »

Saturday, Jan 10, 2009:
Installed the Control Panel Overlay from MikesArcade.com. I scored a 1" section at the top of the adhesive backing and used the pushbuttons to align the CPO before pulling the backing off. Very pleased with the result (goodbye Led Zepplin).

erlsjj · « **Reply #47 on:** January 10, 2009, 04:50:49 pm »

Reassembled

I decided to keep the original fire button because the spring action felt better than the new one I got from MikesArcade.com. I guess they don't make them like they used to.

erlsjj · « **Reply #48 on:** January 11, 2009, 07:17:03 am »

Sunday, Jan 11, 2009:
Now to work on the coin door. Let's have a look at what I've got...

Mauzy · « **Reply #49 on:** January 11, 2009, 08:31:55 pm »

Quote from: erlsjj on January 07, 2009, 07:04:21 am

What kind of lubricant is generally used in these components?

I happened upon this stuff at lizardlick

http://lizardlick.com/images/for_sale/joysticks/molycoat.jpg

They don't have any and what they had was 30 bucks (It was a very large tube...), but it is used for joystick lubrication. I figured you may be able to get some specs off of the tube and find a close equivalent at a hardware store or auto parts store.

erlsjj · « **Reply #50 on:** January 11, 2009, 10:09:53 pm »

Thanks, Mauzy! I'll definitely check it out.
Do you know of a good rust remover/paint stripper for metal? I can't seem to find one that does as good a job as the stuff that DarthNuno used in his Galaga restoration. I used CLR for the joystick, but it kind of dulls the metal. Naval Jelly does an ok job removing rust, but not paint.

Mauzy · « **Reply #51 on:** January 11, 2009, 11:14:25 pm »

I've never found a chemical that removes rust as I would think it should. I just sand and repaint if it is bad enough. I just live with it if its on a joystick shaft. As for paint remover, I've always had good results on wood and metal with Citrus Strip. Nice thing about that stuff is it has VERY limited chemical fumes, so I could use it in the basement without killing as many brain cells...

Level42 · « **Reply #52 on:** January 12, 2009, 11:56:41 am »

I never use chemicals for rust removing either. I agree with Mauzy. Sand it all away. That's the only sure way to know the rust won't just get back very quickly.

erlsjj · « **Reply #53 on:** January 13, 2009, 12:57:42 pm »

Thanks, Mauzy & Level 42. I sanded the front of the coin door frame last night. It's looking good. Will post pictures when I'm done.

erlsjj · « **Reply #54 on:** January 14, 2009, 07:08:15 am »

Still sanding, and sanding, and sanding...I'm going to see if someone at work can sandblast for me.

Mauzy · « **Reply #55 on:** January 14, 2009, 08:44:02 am »

Sand blasting is definitely the best way to go about it. If you haven't already, check out Peale's coin door restoration. Fantastic work with a lot of helpful hints.

Edit for link:
http://www.pealefamily.net/tech/newmame/coindoor/

orion · « **Reply #56 on:** January 14, 2009, 08:56:28 am »

"I used CLR for the joystick, but it kind of dulls the metal. Naval Jelly does an ok job removing rust, but not paint."

Pick up one of these kits for your dremmel. http://www.amazon.com/Dremel-684-01-Polish-Rotary-Accessory/dp/B00005LEXV/ref=sr_1_9/192-4987556-6026856?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1231940994&sr=1-9 It includes these two gray hard rubber disks that will eat though rust (and also paint) like nobodies business. It's perfect for getting the joystick shaft nice and shinny again. I got my my midway coin door plates on my pac looking brand new with this kit and they were 10 times more rusty than your joystick parts.

erlsjj · « **Reply #57 on:** January 14, 2009, 10:21:54 pm »

Thanks for the link, Mauzy. Peale did a fantastic job with that coin door. Turns out, my friend that bought the Spyhunter when I bought my Galaga has access to a sandblaster, so I'll probably do that.

Thanks, Orion. I could always use new tools for my workshop.

erlsjj · « **Reply #58 on:** January 14, 2009, 10:40:08 pm »

Wednesday, Jan 14 2009:
Replacement synch generator chip arrived today from fpgaarcade.com. I plugged it in, and...RAM 1L error message

. I unplugged it after dinner to show my son, and...IT WORKED!

The vertical hold needed adjustment (it finally clicked in my brain that it is indeed the vertical hold, not horizontal hold, since the monitor is actually mounted sideways). But after a few minutes of warming up, the screen centered correctly on its own.

Naturally, I had to have a game (or 2 or 3 or 4...), so I reinstalled the unfinished coin door temporarily. The control panel felt (and looked) very good. There is a hum from the speaker that I will need to troubleshoot. Oh well...progress!

Mauzy · « **Reply #59 on:** January 14, 2009, 10:45:18 pm »

That's all it took to run? Fantastic! Now the monitor needs to be capped.

As for the hum, I had a hum in mine for quite some time before it bit the dust. I couldn't figure it out, but power was leaking from something in the harness into the speaker connections.

gothroughthegate · « **Reply #60 on:** January 19, 2009, 07:47:59 pm »

I blew two amp chips, because of a speaker wire was shorting out. I ended up replaceing the wire harness from:http://www.arcadeshop.com/galaga/galaga.htm

If you need anything else and don't see it on the web sit just call them they have it.

SirPeale · « **Reply #61 on:** January 20, 2009, 09:56:26 pm »

I need to do another tutorial. That one is good for that particular door, but I recently did an over/under door. The paint is completely different.

javeryh · « **Reply #62 on:** January 20, 2009, 11:43:41 pm »

I'd love to see one for a DK coin door... Will that chemical method work or should I seek out a professional to refinish it?

SirPeale · « **Reply #63 on:** January 21, 2009, 04:32:34 pm »

I would think it would work. Depending on how bad it is I might just clean it up and give it a skim coat to 'brighten' things. If it's REALLY bad I'd see how far sanding/wire wheel got me, and certainly try chem stripper.

Unless I could find someone with a sandblaster that would be willing to do it for cheap.

javeryh · « **Reply #64 on:** January 21, 2009, 08:38:40 pm »

Thanks. I'm afraid to do anything to it because they are somewhat rare (at least I don't know of anywhere to buy a new one) and this one isn't dinged or dented at all really. There is just the typical rust and paint chipping... I don't want to mess this up!

EDIT: don't want to hijack someone's project thread!

erlsjj · « **Reply #65 on:** January 22, 2009, 02:24:19 pm »

Quote from: gothroughthegate on January 19, 2009, 07:47:59 pm

I blew two amp chips, because of a speaker wire was shorting out. I ended up replaceing the wire harness from:http://www.arcadeshop.com/galaga/galaga.htm

If you need anything else and don't see it on the web sit just call them they have it.

I'll definitely look into that. The hum gets louder with time.

erlsjj · « **Reply #66 on:** January 24, 2009, 07:11:38 pm »

Saturday, Jan 24, 2009:
Took a little hiatus after I got my Galaga functional to enjoy it for a while. I noticed after playing for a few minutes, sometimes the explosion graphics would turn into big white squares and some of the challenging stage bugs would be other colored squares. A small adjustment to the 5V fixed that (measured 4.99V at the CPU board, adjusted back up to 5.2V).

Worked on the coin door frame today. Paint stripping, sanding and priming:

JeepMonkey · « **Reply #67 on:** January 25, 2009, 01:43:23 am »

Quote from: erlsjj on January 14, 2009, 07:08:15 am

Still sanding, and sanding, and sanding...I'm going to see if someone at work can sandblast for me.

I found a business in Raytown that said they would sand blast a piece of metal the size of a coin door for something like $20. I am in Florida for a few months, but if you are interested let me know and I will dig up the contact info.

erlsjj · « **Reply #68 on:** January 25, 2009, 08:46:23 am »

Quote from: JeepMonkey on January 25, 2009, 01:43:23 am

I found a business in Raytown that said they would sand blast a piece of metal the size of a coin door for something like $20. I am in Florida for a few months, but if you are interested let me know and I will dig up the contact info.

Thanks, JeepMonkey. Turns out my friend that bought the SpyHunter has access to a sandblaster. Coincidentally, we're planning on sandblasting the coin door after lunch today.

erlsjj · « **Reply #69 on:** January 25, 2009, 10:05:49 am »

Coin door frame - before:

erlsjj · « **Reply #70 on:** January 25, 2009, 10:07:19 am »

Coin door frame - after:

erlsjj · « **Reply #71 on:** January 25, 2009, 03:58:21 pm »

Coin door - before sandblasting:

erlsjj · « **Reply #72 on:** January 25, 2009, 04:06:55 pm »

Coin door - post-sandblasting:

Spyridon · « **Reply #73 on:** January 25, 2009, 09:01:00 pm »

Looks like you are trying to save the logo plate on the coin door. ThisOldGame has reproduction plates available.

Mauzy · « **Reply #74 on:** January 25, 2009, 09:29:09 pm »

Yeah, that plate you have on there isn't worth messing with considering the repros out there. Seeing the sandblasted door really makes me want to have mine sand blasted. I just need to get off my lazy butt and find a place that will do it.

Too bad the TOG site just got re-launched today and seems to have a pretty big bug right now. I'm sure it is getting fixed soon.

SirPeale · « **Reply #75 on:** January 25, 2009, 10:50:42 pm »

I'm less concerned with repro plates and more concerned with the "snaps" that hold them in place. They're not rivets. No one has been able to come up with them.

Level42 · « **Reply #76 on:** January 26, 2009, 04:07:09 am »

Indeed a PITA. I do suggest going with ThisOldGame's plates though, they're much closer to the original than the one's from AS.

I carefully drilled off the back of those "rivets" and saved the "tops". This way I was able to glue them back on. Not 100% right, but it looks OK.

erlsjj · « **Reply #77 on:** January 26, 2009, 07:18:53 am »

Thanks for the link, Spyridon. I had the same thought as Peale with regards to the "snaps". That's a good suggestion, Level42. I'll probably try that.

Sandblasting was pretty fun - you should try it, Mauzy. I've never done it before. Next time I'll stretch my hand out to prevent the cramping. The machine I used was set up to use glass beads. So I guess theoretically I glass blasted the door. Here are some pics:

Spyridon · « **Reply #78 on:** January 26, 2009, 09:29:10 am »

Hey, nice blasting cabinet. Looks much better than my setup.

erlsjj · « **Reply #79 on:** January 26, 2009, 12:51:38 pm »

I wish I had my own sandblaster cabinet. The one I used was at my friend's airplane parts company. Pretty heavy duty.


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