Pac-man restoration - Return from Doh!

[Spyridon]

I sanded down the cab with 320 grit sandpaper then applied a second coat of paint.



Next color on the block = black

[Level42]

I was always told to use a dark colored primer for dark (black) finishes because else the primer "shines through" ?
Guess an extra layer will probably fix it, but it's one of those "rules" you always hear.

[WunderCade]

I was always told to use a dark colored primer for dark (black) finishes because else the primer "shines through" ?
Guess an extra layer will probably fix it, but it's one of those "rules" you always hear.

Black paint will cover white primer with no problems, and I think he is referring to the inside monitor area for the black.  The cab will be Yellow, which warrants using the white primer. He may even consider spraying another coat of primer with the yellow pigment in it to give the yellow top coats more depth.

Can't wait for the stenciling portion.

[Brogner]

I've been away from this board for a long time.  I have to say this thread is something I will follow.
You are doing an awesome job on this and I will love to see how it comes out.  Maybe it will inspire me to get mine done.

[Level42]

I was always told to use a dark colored primer for dark (black) finishes because else the primer "shines through" ?
Guess an extra layer will probably fix it, but it's one of those "rules" you always hear.

Black paint will cover white primer with no problems, and I think he is referring to the inside monitor area for the black.  The cab will be Yellow, which warrants using the white primer. He may even consider spraying another coat of primer with the yellow pigment in it to give the yellow top coats more depth.

Can't wait for the stenciling portion.

Hey, I'm very aware of how a Pac cab is colored, of course the black will only be on the inside monitor area, but he used the same primer there right ?

[Spyridon]

Hey, I'm very aware of how a Pac cab is colored, of course the black will only be on the inside monitor area, but he used the same primer there right ?

Yes, same primer, but I'm not expecting to have a problem covering the white.  I've used black over white primer before and didn't have any issues. 

[ElGwako]

If you use the same color with a white primer and a grey primer....you will see a difference. The colors will be more true to color with a gray primer as opposed to a white. Even with 2 coats. Though you couldn't tell much unless you made the comparison.
I carry samples i made to prove this fact since plasterers that prime the walls for customers only use white primer. Also, a lot of pre-primed wood comes white(though i'm seeing it in gray now too). If a customer wants a burgundy wall. I usually insist on a gray prime coat first since it helps on coverage too.


looks like a good project. got me itching to do mine. If i can't get this paint off without ruining whats underneath of course

[Mimatt]

Looking for stencils, or the correct vector file to have stencils made myself, is beginning to get quite (the word "quite" being a large understatement) frustrating. 

I've asked, and asked, and asked around until I'm blue in the face..

I'm seriously about to give up on my Pac-Man. It's been sitting here, for three years, waiting on a set of stencils. Hell, I bought paint stipper, and an orbital sander 6 months ago, and it's still sitting in my garage. The sander has yet to be opened.

[SirPeale]

Hmmm...ask Jeff Rothe.

[Spyridon]

Started cleaning up the parts for the coin door.

Cleaned up the coin inserts with a wire wheel on the dremel.  Still need to polish them, but they look much better.
Front (before and after):

Back (before and after):


Also used the same technique on the bolts that hold these in place:
(before and after):


I finally opened the box that had the inner bezel that was shipped to me a while ago.  Wasn't expecting it to still have the plexi but it will be replaced anyway.  Needs some cleaning up and a coat of flat black paint.


Looks like the plexi is just held in place with double sided tape.

What's the best way to remove old (but still tacky) tape marks?  Goof off?  Goo Gone?

[smalltownguy]

Started cleaning up the parts for the coin door.


What's the best way to remove old (but still tacky) tape marks?  Goof off?  Goo Gone?

Start with Goo Gone. If that doesn't cut it, then you can try Goof Off. Watch out for Goof Off, though, it'll eat through all paint, most laquer, and many other types of finishes. It'll pit metal too, depending on the alloy. Tread lightly. It works though.

[Spyridon]

Started to clean up the coin mechs.  The coin return button is really in bad shape.  Any suggestion on best way to clean it?  I used the dremel on it, but doesn't look great.  I think I'm going to have to paint it.



Peale do you sell replacements of these?  It might be easier just to get a new one.

[Spyridon]

Did the next color paint today. 




I'll check it out tomorrow when it's dry to see if I can get away with just one coat.

[SirPeale]

Peale do you sell replacements of these?  It might be easier just to get a new one.

While mechs are fairly universal - though exceptions exist, of course - these are not.  Sorry man, you're stuck with them.  You may be able to polish them.  They were originally chromed.  Very few of the doors I've worked on in the last ten years had much chrome left on it.

[Silas (son of Silas)]

...Any suggestion on best way to clean it?

The clip below demonstrates using electrolysis on a cast item, but it works well on mild steel too. There are a stack of clips on youtube on how to do this, and the results are pretty amazing.. 

 

[SirPeale]

...Any suggestion on best way to clean it?

The clip below demonstrates using electrolysis on a cast item, but it works well on mild steel too. There are a stack of clips on youtube on how to do this, and the results are pretty amazing.. 

I have a lengthy thread in Arcade Misc regarding this.  I don't think it's right for this application, however.  Simple handwork will remove the existing rust easily, but won't do anything for the shine.

[orion]

Started to clean up the coin mechs.  The coin return button is really in bad shape.  Any suggestion on best way to clean it?  I used the dremel on it, but doesn't look great.  I think I'm going to have to paint it.



Peale do you sell replacements of these?  It might be easier just to get a new one.

I'd try some of this stuff in the spray can variety http://www.liquidstainlesssteel.com/products.html Every midway coin return I have come across has been in a similar state. Your right, there is only so much you can do to clean those up with a dremmel and some polish.

[Spyridon]

Looks like I'll have to clean it up and spray it.  That liquid stainless steel looks interesting.

[Spyridon]

Removed the masking.

Nice straight lines on the black


Next, I masked off the black

[Spyridon]

We've got YELLOW!!!!!!!

Applied the first coat of yellow today.  Nice and bright

[Malenko]

looks great, been following this thread for a while now; one of my fave reads

[WunderCade]

That yellow looks nice.  Have you decided on when to apply the blue speckling?  There are not any blue specks within the actual artwork areas on the original paint job, so this tells me they either masked the artwork and speckled it, or the did it before they stenciled the artwork on the cab.

[Spyridon]

That yellow looks nice.  Have you decided on when to apply the blue speckling?  There are not any blue specks within the actual artwork areas on the original paint job, so this tells me they either masked the artwork and speckled it, or the did it before they stenciled the artwork on the cab.

I'm planning on doing the blue speckles after the yellow and before using the stencils.

[Silas (son of Silas)]

YELLOW!!! That's got to feel pretty good to see that going on? Thats a huge transformation. I'm a HUGE fan of yellow arcade machines 

[Spyridon]

YELLOW!!! That's got to feel pretty good to see that going on? Thats a huge transformation. I'm a HUGE fan of yellow arcade machines 

Yeah it does.  It's finally starting to look like Pac-man.  Maybe I'll just stop here and put it between two other games?      NOT!

[Spyridon]

Second coat of yellow paint was applied today:

[Spyridon]

Coat number 3 of Yellow:

[WunderCade]

Is that the final coat of yellow?  lol

I think we are all right there with ya about tackling the stencil.  But there's only one way to know....

[Superully]

i'll be starting my pac-man restoration shortly and i'm curious to know how much paint you bought for each colour. could you give me something to work with, please?

i'm still struggling to find the correct colours, too. The colours on my twobits repro overlay are completely different from the one on my cab (blue and red are much darker on the overlay, yellow isn't that bright and "poppy"). did you match your colours to the cab's original colours or to the repro overlay?

[Spyridon]

i'll be starting my pac-man restoration shortly and i'm curious to know how much paint you bought for each colour. could you give me something to work with, please?

i'm still struggling to find the correct colours, too. The colours on my twobits repro overlay are completely different from the one on my cab (blue and red are much darker on the overlay, yellow isn't that bright and "poppy"). did you match your colours to the cab's original colours or to the repro overlay?

I got the paint codes from someone on KLOV that had them computer matched.  I think he matched the yellow to the original cab and the other colors to the repro CPO (but I'm not sure).  I'll post the paint codes and sizes later in the week (I'm out of town on business right now)

[Spyridon]

Is that the final coat of yellow?  lol

I think we are all right there with ya about tackling the stencil.  But there's only one way to know....

What?  You guys don't like to see repeating pictures of yellow cabs?

I may do one more coat of yellow, because I have paint left.  I don't plan on doing another pac-man so I may as well use it.  I'll look over the cab later and see what it looks like.  If I can get time to paint on Thursday night, I'll add one more yellow.  No matter what, I will be painting the first stencil on Saturday!

[Superully]

I got the paint codes from someone on KLOV that had them computer matched.  I think he matched the yellow to the original cab and the other colors to the repro CPO (but I'm not sure).  I'll post the paint codes and sizes later in the week (I'm out of town on business right now)

problem is that you guys in the usa have other base colours than we europeans, so i guess the paint codes aren't of any use, or am i wrong here? can those american codes be applied to european base colours?

[Spyridon]

problem is that you guys in the usa have other base colours than we europeans, so i guess the paint codes aren't of any use, or am i wrong here? can those american codes be applied to european base colours?

Well, in this case, the paint I'm using is PPG automotive paint.  They may be international?

If it came down to it, I can facilitate shipping the paint to you (can you ship paint?), but then you are adding costs to what is already very expensive paint.

[Silas (son of Silas)]

...problem is that you guys in the usa have other base colours than we europeans, so i guess the paint codes aren't of any use, or am i wrong here? can those american codes be applied to european base colours?

I have had vehicle paints mixed for spraying really old cars many times in the UK. Its really common for the pigments to no longer be available or for pigments to be specified that were never available in the UK. Most dedicated paint suppliers can deal with that and can cross reference to those that are available.

You could use the American Auto paint codes to get a can of Nitro mixed up using European pigment equivalents, then spray a piece of steel, card or whatever that you could then take to somewhere like Homebase (in the UK, but I'm sure all countries have DIY stores that can do the same) and they would be able to colour match it and produce paint in whatever finish you require (low VOC gloss, eggshell, satin or whatever)

My MAME build will be finished with Formica Laminate in chrome yellow on the outside but the inside of the cab will be colour matched and painted in Dulux eggshell using the sample card of laminate supplied by Formica. Homebase can just as easily colour match an original colour of a cab if can get a sample. Getting the Auto paint mixed up seems like a long winded way of achieving this but at least its an option?

[smalltownguy]

I work at an auto dealership that uses PPG. I'd bet that if you provided PPG with the paint codes, they'd be able to assist with matching for other methods.

[Spyridon]

Here are the paint codes I used:

RED

M119 44.5
M154 205.0
M107 34.3
M118 0.3
M150 233.3


BLUE

M119 111.4
M121 79.2
M122 26.4
M117 10.2
M128 40.2
M150 266.3


YELLOW

M152 223.8
M119 34.8
M106 0.6
M118 0.6
M150 259.9

These are for OMNI AU MBC paint which is manufactured by PPG

[Spyridon]

I'm going to be starting the stencil process tomorrow and realized that I don't know the location of the artwork.  Can someone measure the location (distance from top, bottom, left, and right) for the sides and front.

[Spyridon]

I'm going to be starting the stencil process tomorrow

I just realized that I can't do the stencils yet.  I need to do the blue splatter first.

[ZORK2]

NICE WORK MAN!! Looks GREAT!! Can't wait to see how the blue paint splatter turns out. Don't forget the top and back door were splattered with blue too! Looking forward to seeing how the stencils turn out!!

[Spyridon]

I need to do the blue splatter first.

Blue splatter is done.

Tools needed: One new toothbrush


Dip the brush in the thinned paint and then flick the bristles to spray the blue paint.  Works great!  Just be sure to stand far enough away so that you don't drip on the cab.  You'll end up dripping a lot of paint straight down below your hand.




Not the easiest thing to photograph, but it looks really good in person.