Donkey Kong Restoration...( UPDATE, PICS ADDED!~)

[Dustin]

A few months back I bought a Donkey Kong Jr in working order for $240.
Game plays fine, but the cabinet corners are bad.
This is a particle board cabinet and as you would guess it is a mess.
Anyway, the cabinet is blue but the plate on the back states it as a dkj.
 I thought they only made Junior in orange?
I plan to convert this to a DK.
I just like Donkey Kong better.

I'll post up pics soon, so stay tuned!

[IG-88]

Looking forward to it your progress! Post lots of pics.

You say the cab is particle board. I always thought ninty cabs were only plywood based. Are you sure this was a DK (of DKjr) originally?

[Dustin]

Well, the info I found was the early cabinets are plywood and the later cabinets are the particle board.
This is heavy and was a treat getting it down into the basement...
Still not sure why the Junior is blue though.

[Dustin]

This is how the machine looks as of now.
As you can see, the corners are bad.
The Monitor is not bad at all, just a slight wave going on but clear picture.

[Dustin]

More pics ot the inside.

[Dustin]

Still thinking how to repair the corners.
The only thing I can think might work is auto Bondo.

Also, I am at a toss up of how I want to restore this. I Might do Double Donkey Kong since I have a perfectly fine working JR board.
I Really Want Donkey Kong 2 Jumpman Returns though so I might have to Get a Donkey Kong Board...

[Dustin]

Anyone ever fix this type of damage?

[DLinkOZ]

Bondo or a really good wood filler (I use plastic wood, by Dap) then cut a new slot (or you can fill the slot with something and fill around it).  My DK cab had nearly-identical damage, I just rebuild the corners a little at a time, allowing to dry as I built up additional layers.

http://album.oesm.org/arcade/Donkey%20Kong/2012-10-18/index.html#IMG_2105.JPG

Before a final touch-up, to get the edges nice and crisp.

[Dustin]

Thanks for the info and the link, DLinkoz.
I think I'll go with the Plastic Wood Filler too, seeing the result you got on that cabinet!
Looks good.
Did you end up repainting the entire cabinet? or just touch up?

[DLinkOZ]

Complete repaint.  Took a chip to my local Lowes, and they matched it perfectly.  With the broken corners, some were held no with only the t-molding.  So when I took it off, I had plenty of donor scraps to take in for matching   I just made sure that the piece I took matched a section that was under the coin door, to make sure it wasn't faded or discolored.

[Dustin]

I have a few paint samples from mine too!
Should be easy to get the right color match-up.

[Dustin]

DLinkOZ~
I was just looking at your cabinet, the finish product is Excellent!
Is that the NES for the guts?
Looks like a fun Cabinet to play!

[DLinkOZ]

Thanks, it's a lot of fun to play and was an enjoyable project.  And yes, it's an NES with the controllers wired up to the VS control panel.  And every family member is picking out games for themselves (including my wife), so we all have our own games within the single cabinet.