Galacade (Galaga Insipred Slim MAME Cabinet) - painting advice needed

[opt2not]

Yeah, Hopefully the inside doesn't turn out nicer than the outside 

I wouldn't worry about that
Your cabinet is going to be epic. 

[Lewis Black]

Looks really good.  Can't wait to see it done.

[newkillergenius]

You've done some pretty good work here Roo.

[Roo]

I really appreciate all the kind words.  It's especially nice to hear when the project work is being so frustrating.

A question for those out there with more painting experience than me (I should just say "everyone" )

The CP lid is giving me fits.  The inside of the CP box is done.  It's really hard to get a picture of, but here's what I was able to get to show how the texture of the paint looks inside the CP box:



I'm not going for a black piano mirror finish here, just something I can live with.  Since I am making it easy to lift the lid on the CP, I want it to be nice enough when I show friends how it all works on the inside.  The roller stipple makes for a nice effect, IMO.  The problem is I painted the lid the same way, but it's acting completely different.  In the CP box, I was able to sand it down (almost) completely smooth before the final coat.  

After I dug into the paint trimming the laminate edges on the lid, I re-primed and painted it.  That's when it got bad, the texture of those last few coats looked really rough and un-even.  They didn't want to sand down smooth so I could put down a nice finish coat.  I had been wet sanding by hand between coats, but yesterday, I decided to take the random orbit sander to it, to get back to a point where I can start building back to a nice finish. Here's what it looks like now:



I think I need to keep going.  You can't see it in the picture, but all the black "flecks" are tiny dips in the paint where it's not smooth.

So my question is, should I keep going with the high density foam roller pads or should I switch to spray paint?  Keep in mind I have no experience trying to do a nice job with spray paint either  

I guess I could laminate it instead, if I could figure out how to trim the excess laminate from those joystick mortises    Laminate is so easy!!!

[Ond]

This is all coming along nicely, I'd keep going with the orbital sander and remove the pits, you can always use fine paper say 320 grit on it and then hand sand using a sanding block and 600 grit.  A nice smooth finish (not piano gloss) is better achieved using spray rather than roller.  A roller gives that nice textured finish (even if you sand between coats).  If you're new to spraying then remember spray light coats with 10-15 Min's between to build up a smooth even surface, a final heavier spray will produce less of an orange peal effect.  Let dry for a week - sand back with 600 wet sandpaper and respray.  Repeat until happy with the result.  One thing though, if you change to spray paint try to use the same base i.e. if you previously used acrylic paint try to use acrylic spray.  Avoid using oil based with acrylic base as they dont always adhere well to each other.

 

[Roo]

This is all coming along nicely, I'd keep going with the orbital sander and remove the pits, you can always use fine paper say 320 grit on it and then hand sand using a sanding block and 600 grit.  A nice smooth finish (not piano gloss) is better achieved using spray rather than roller.  A roller gives that nice textured finish (even if you sand between coats).  If you're new to spraying then remember spray light coats with 10-15 Min's between to build up a smooth even surface, a final heavier spray will produce less of an orange peal effect.  Let dry for a week - sand back with 600 wet sandpaper and respray.  Repeat until happy with the result.  One thing though, if you change to spray paint try to use the same base i.e. if you previously used acrylic paint try to use acrylic spray.  Avoid using oil based with acrylic base as they dont always adhere well to each other.

 

Thanks for the advice Ond!!!

A couple questions: if I were to go the spray route, is it worth even trying to do with rattle cans?  And second, the paint that's on there right now is oil-based enamel.  When I look up rattle cans on the 'net, I see acrylic and enamel, but nobody seems to distinguish between oil based and water based paint in their can.  Is that part not important to keep the same to make the paint adhere well?  Or am I just not understanding the different types of paint?

[Ond]

Thanks for the advice Ond!!!

A couple questions: if I were to go the spray route, is it worth even trying to do with rattle cans?  And second, the paint that's on there right now is oil-based enamel.  When I look up rattle cans on the 'net, I see acrylic and enamel, but nobody seems to distinguish between oil based and water based paint in their can.  Is that part not important to keep the same to make the paint adhere well?  Or am I just not understanding the different types of paint?

You're welcome, rattle/spray cans are fine but they can vary in quality. Avoid the really cheap stuff, I've found quality Auto spray paint to be the best. If it says 'enamel' that should be fine, most enamel paints I've used are oil based. If you go the Auto paints route you'll get clear advice from the reseller. Good quality "rattle cans" produce a fine even spray to the end of the can, cheap cans can spatter or clog up.  It help to have clean rag on hand to wipe over the spray nozzle in between spray sweeps, paint tends to build up around the nozzle after a while.

[Roo]

I took your advice Ond.  After looking at auto and hardware stores around me, it seems that Rustoleum and Krylon are the two readily available spray paints.  I picked up some Rustoleum Professional line.  It's an alkyd enamel, which I've learned is a fancy way of saying oil-based   

I finished sanding the CP lid down smooth and got rid of all the pits.  I taped it all back up and tonight I sprayed a couple coats of primer.  Looks nice but saying the primer looks nice is like saying "but we did great in the first quarter!"...  We'll see how the finished product turns out!

[otsep]

Love this machine! 

Your control panel layout is exactly what I'm looking for. Would you mind sharing it?