Centipede Restoration

[Spyridon]

Lazy !

Guilty!  However, in my defense, on my Gorf restore, when I used primer under the Rustoleum paint, I quickly got comments letting me know that I don't need to use primer.

[Level42]

Just kidding... I know Rustoleum doesn't need primer, I should have looked better.....

[Spyridon]

Level42 - did you paint the carriage bolts holding the trackball in place?  If so, what color did you use? 

[Spyridon]

Applied the control panel overlay tonight. 


To help line it up, I placed the fire button and some of the carriage bots in place. 


I started from the top and peeled off the top 3 inches or so and then pressed that in place.  Next, I removed the button and bolts as well as the rest of the paper backing.  Working from top to bottom, I pressed the control panel into place.  I used a plastic edge to help smooth it out.

Turned out pretty good!


The only problem I have is the short overhang on the top isn't holding in place.  I'll need to put some adhesive behind it to hold it in place.

Next, I went to work on the carriage bolts.  I didn't like the text that was on the top of the bolts.  I placed the carriage bolt into my drill and spun it on some 60 grit sandpaper.  In no time, the text was gone.

To get a nice smooth finish, I then ran it across some 180, 220 and 600 grit sandpaper.


Much better don't you agree?


So that these don't rust, I want to either clear coat them or paint them.  What color should they be?

[Level42]

Black. At least, I thought so.

This is how it looked when I got my Centipede:


The new one's on my CP still have the text on top, but I'm going to sand them too. Not only does it look bad, it actually feels uncomfortable on your hands during play.

I ordered the bolts from Bob Roberts and they were black. So I'd use some of that rustoleum Put them in some foam so they stand up when you spray them.

[Level42]

Geez, I just zoomed in on the Centipede flyers and it actually looks like that cab had recessed bolts ! I can't make out any bolts on the CP ! Actually, that's what they should have done. Looks great and now bumbs around the trackball.....guess it was cheaper to drill holes than to weld the bolts.....

[RayB]

Much better don't you agree?


So that these don't rust, I want to either clear coat them or paint them.  What color should they be?

They are supposed to be steel or chrome.

I recommend you get some Mothers steel rim polishing compound [from any auto parts or hardware store] and polish up those heads. If you use something like a Dremel with a polishing bit, those heads will shine up to a mirror like finish and will look great when installed.

[Spyridon]

1 vote steel, 1 vote black.  Anyone else?

[HarumaN]

Steel, polished

[WunderCade]

Black to match your cone buttons. Someone actually showed how to re-anodize those things so they are black again. I think it was Level42? Or possibly his friend Bruno? Maybe he can chime in here.

[Spyridon]

2 votes steel, 2 votes black

[Level42]

Not me, could be Bruno...

However, I didn't "vote" for black, it was a wild guess......I think it probably was blank steel by the looks of how my bolts were when I got the machine.

[WunderCade]

My Centipede UR has aluminum cone buttons, not black. Hmmm...wierd.

[Level42]

My Centipede UR has aluminum cone buttons, not black. Hmmm...wierd.

Normally I would say, look at the flyer picture. However, the UR on the flyer is one weird beast.

It has the Irish marquee, bezel and side-art, but a US coin door ! Kinda weird that Atari would issue a US flyer with the Irish/Euro colors....

Anyway, the cones are definitely black and I tend to believe that was original on both US and Irish cabs, but that's based on "what you see most".
So that's not really a sure thing, f.i. my (Irish) MC cabaret has silver cones but I've seen that the US version had black one's on the flyer.

By the way, the MC trackball bolts have "shiny" tops on that flyer.....

[Spyridon]

Black to match your cone buttons.

I think I'm going to go with WunderCade's suggestion.  Can't go wrong whichever direction as it will all look good.

[Level42]

I wish I could weld. I'd love to be able to weld some studs (or how do you call this) on the underside of the CP so it would be "blind", no bolt tops sticking out. I'd love to do that on the Puckman CPO. Has anyone tried this at all ?

[Spyridon]

I wish I could weld. I'd love to be able to weld some studs (or how do you call this) on the underside of the CP so it would be "blind", no bolt tops sticking out. I'd love to do that on the Puckman CPO. Has anyone tried this at all ?

That would be a nice look.  You would need to make sure you got an overlay that wasn't die cut for the carriage bolts like the Centipede one is.  That shouldn't be an issue with your Puckman. 

[Steve B.]

I wish I could weld. I'd love to be able to weld some studs (or how do you call this) on the underside of the CP so it would be "blind", no bolt tops sticking out. I'd love to do that on the Puckman CPO. Has anyone tried this at all ?

I did this on my metal control panel without welding. Let me see if I can explain this without pictures.
I drilled a hole in the metal control panel where I wanted the stud to go and I threaded the hole using a hand tap. I applied some JB weld epoxy into the hole and screwed in a threaded rod from the underside of the control panel so that it just protruded through the hole. Once the epoxy was dry, I used my dremel to clean up the top of the control panel and to cut the threaded rod to length. I've done this on all my metal control panels. It's very strong and I have yet to have one fail.

[Level42]

I wish I could weld. I'd love to be able to weld some studs (or how do you call this) on the underside of the CP so it would be "blind", no bolt tops sticking out. I'd love to do that on the Puckman CPO. Has anyone tried this at all ?

That would be a nice look.  You would need to make sure you got an overlay that wasn't die cut for the carriage bolts like the Centipede one is. 

My Centipede wasn't die cut at all in the first place because it came from Mamemarquees as my cab of course needed the Irish colored CPO so I could have done it that way.
Anyway, Steve B's solution sounds perfect ! I'd love to see if you have any pics.

[Spyridon]

Mushrooms...


They look good in black

[Spyridon]

Assembly of the control panel today.  I planned on using a new white fire button but when I pulled one out of my stock pile, I only had the short leaf buttons and the original came with long buttons.  Looking at the leaf switch holder, there were a few spacers in place.

Removing these moved the leaf switches up closer to the button allowing me to use the short button that I had in stock


All controls in place.  I need to get some adhesive or new pads for the original stick on wire holders.


And the complete control panel:



And once again, the comparison "before" shot:


I know the repro looks like a different color than the original, but it just depends on how the light is hitting it.  Look at this shot of the repro and you can see that it is a good match to the original color

[WunderCade]

Awesome job. The bolt heads look nice black.

Looking ahead to the sideart, this is over on KLOV.

[Spyridon]

Awesome job. The bolt heads look nice black.

Looking ahead to the sideart, this is over on KLOV.

From the KLOV post:

One time I tried Just stripping, repairing and sanding without sealing the sides, the problem comes if you have to reposition the artwork which tends to pull up small particles of wood and leave your finish with little bumps. Also it is difficult to spray windex on the wood when it absorbs it right away. The other problem is that the artwork is slightly transparent which showed a slight tinting to the white as the brown bled through. The vinyl had difficulty adhearing to the edges and was starting to lift up.

On another occasion I stripped, repaired, sanded and painted the sides white. The vinyl was having difficulty sticking to the edges of the painted surface as well.

The best result was when I laminated the sides of the cabinet in white and then applied the sideart on top of the laminate. The result was a perfect finish and reduced the time to prep the cab.

I was planing on stripping and painting the sides.  I hadn't thought about using laminate, but that would speed up the process.

I need to pull out my side art and look at it.  I was thinking it was just the centipede part and you just placed it over a white side.  Now, it sounds like the side art may actually be the full side including the white?


Oh yeah...I think the bolts look good in black also!

[WunderCade]

Yeah, I thought, wow.....great way to eliminate the problems associated with trying to get a perfectly smooth surface to apply the vinyl to.

[Spyridon]

I have my Centipede Upright, let me know what you'd like pics of. I'd be glad to help you out.

Hey WunderCade,
Could you post a picture of the back door on your Centipede?  Level42 posted his, but I think his is a bit differnent in where the vent holes are.

[WunderCade]

Sure thing, the last 4 pics are of the bottom section where the vent is. Let me know if you need more, and if so...exactly what shots...



The vent is under that strip of wood directly under the instructions sheet.

[Level42]

Yep looks like the vent is higher up on the US machines.

[Spyridon]

Thanks for the pictures.  That shouldn't be too hard to replicate. 

At least it wasn't this version that I saw in another thread:

[WunderCade]

I did some measuring, hope this helps a bit:

[Spyridon]

I did some measuring, hope this helps a bit:

Sure does.  That's a great help!

Same basic size as what Level42 posted, but now I have the exact position of the vent.

[Level42]

The Irish vent is better......







 

[Spyridon]

Will be tearing the cab apart this weekend for painting.  Game is working fine, but should I replace big blue anyway?

[Level42]

Measure across the Big Blue, voltage in AC. If you have a serious number there, replace it.

In fact, replace it anyway. It's old. Why risk it ? Order from Bob he has them fresh instead of some others who sell old stock (that is probably worse than using the old one who has been "exercised".

[aPr0mpt]

Hi, great job so far! Keep the pictures coming!  Where did you order the blue inner bezel from? I have been looking all over the net. I need to start my restoration soon but want to order most of my parts first. I bought mine for just over a $100 but it was converted to mortal kombat

[Spyridon]

Where did you order the blue inner bezel from? I have been looking all over the net. I need to start my restoration soon but want to order most of my parts first. I bought mine for just over a $100 but it was converted to mortal kombat

you can get the inner bezel from arcadeshop.com



Good luck with the restoration!

[SirPeale]

I cut out my own inner bezel with two pieces of poster paper and used the old as a pattern.  Looks great.

[aPr0mpt]

When are we going to get to see the sides! I cant wait! btw... thanks for tips on the inner bezel I ordered mine and made a back up with the posterboard 

[Spyridon]

When are we going to get to see the sides! I cant wait!

I'm working on it.  I need to get this ready for paint as I want to do this at the same time as my Pac-man.

Started to take her apart for the big move to the garage for painting:



The power transformer is going to need a good cleaning:


Pretty dirty in there...

[ChadTower]

Uh, Peale, care to mention those two games to either side of that Centipede? 


EDIT:  nm, I thought this was Peale's Centipede thread.   

[SirPeale]

Uh, Peale, care to mention those two games to either side of that Centipede? 


EDIT:  nm, I thought this was Peale's Centipede thread.   

Mine's a mini.  I need to get on the wagon and finish it.  I got it in a playable state the other day and the kids had some fun with it. 

Spyridon: did you see my pictures how I cleaned my power block?