How would you paint a vinyl covered cabinet?

[XYXZYZ]

I have a 3KOAM Z-Back cabinet covered in blue vinyl, it's really nice looking. But in it's current configuration, I just don't use it that much (three buttons, vertical monitor).  Meanwhile, I would love to have a Street Fighter II World Warrior. That kit looks right at home on a Z-back, but it would have to be red; my mockups on the blue cab just don't look right.

I'm not very experienced with painting; I've read that the best way to do it is sand the vinyl a bit, prime it, and roll on some oil based paint which I'm somewhat afraid of because I live in a small apartment with rather weak ventilation. What kind of paint should I use? Am I missing anything important here?  Also, I've read that using actual adhesive vinyl will be easier and look better, but red vinyl is apparently very hard to come by. (cabinet size)
 
Here's what want to accomplish-


How would you do it?

[protokatie]

I have limited experience in painting, but I would imagine that paint on top of vinyl is a bad idea. Even if you do it "right" it will not be perfect. Do you have a way of striping the vinyl off and then painting on the wood directly?

[Level42]

If you don't mind DK red:


http://www.thisoldgame.com/products/donkey-kong-red-vinyl-kit

Applying vinyl it much easier than painting IMHO.

[XYXZYZ]

If you don't mind DK red:


http://www.thisoldgame.com/products/donkey-kong-red-vinyl-kit

Applying vinyl it much easier than painting IMHO.

That would be great, do you think one order would cover a Z-Back cabinet? Those DK machines were pretty small...
36" is wide enough to cover the side, but I'll have to find out how much you get in one roll.

[RobbyMac]

It depends on how old the vinyl is. Over time (several years) the vinyl can actually shrink, which would cause a painted surface to wrinkle, crack, etc...

Red vinyl isn't hard to come by. Stop by your local sign shop, they can sell you it with or without premask.

[CheffoJeffo]

Red vinyl isn't hard to come by. Stop by your local sign shop, they can sell you it with or without premask.

+1

Or strip it down (heat gun will take the existing vinyl off like butter) and then paint -- don't paint over the vinyl.

[XYXZYZ]

Sounds like vinyl is the way to go. Are there any pitfalls to laying new vinyl down over the old vinyl? It would be nice if there were a way to lightly adhere the new vinyl, so I won't have much trouble reverting back to blue if I want to later on.

[djfunkshun]

Go to your local home improvement store. Pick up some citristrip. Apply with paint brush. Wait 1-2 hours. Peel all the old vinyl right off.

[RobbyMac]

You can strip the vinyl as described... Then fill any holes, marks, etc as needed. But if you go that route put a gloss coat of paint or clearcoat or something on the cab (Primer it first if needed). Vinyl stick better to hard non-porous surfaces. bare wood or flat surfaces don't give the best adhesion.

If the wrap on it now is in good shape, you can cover the existing vinyl without much concern. Typical vinyl is 2 mil. thick, and deep scratches or gouges may show through.

2 things if you're going to wrap;
1) Get the sign shop to premask it for you. This is a thick layer of low tack type masking tape coversheet. It will make the vinyl easier to apply in large sheets (Especially if youve not done large sheets before)

2) Make sure the vinyl is fairly opaque. Some vinyls are a bit translucent (Whether intended or not) and putting it on blue may 'muddy' up the color red. Any sign shop should be will to part with some samples of red vinyl for you to test. But they should equally be able to know which colors will cover the blue and which won't.