Whew!
OK. Update...
I received my Parts Express package yesterday and inside were the 4 rolls of pica vinyl I ordered. This stuff is about what I expected in terms of thickness, feel and grain.

One thing I never could tell from all the pictures of this vinyl, was the size of its grain. Oscar's Centipede cab used this same vinyl, but I could never see how detailed the texture was, since all of the shots didn't have any sizeable reference. I put a dime in this photo to show the grain size on the vinyl. This really is a great product for covering cabs though.

Next, I prepped the surface for the vinyl by removing the external hardware (monitor bracket and CP latch bolts) and washed it down with soap and water and let it dry. I then took a razorblade and went over all the bumps and screw holes and sliced them so they were flush with the rest of the surrounding area. I can only guess that the previous owner of the cab had a few cup holders screwed into the side and then removed them, leaving several raised "mounds" on the sides right where you might think one would be.

Now came the tricky part. Lining up the vinyl. This is something that really helps when you have an extra set of hands, but it can be done my one person if you just go slow and take your time. I gave myself a lot of slop and room for error by hanging about 1/2-3/4 of an inch over the edges incase it was laid crooked. Luckily, I got it right on the first time, and rolled the rest of vinyl down the length of the cab with one hand pulling the paper backing from underneath, and the other running back and forth on the leading edge to work out any trapped air. That was the most difficult part, making sure that all the bubbles were out and that any imperfections in the surface (dirt, pieces of MDF, gunk, etc...) didn't get under the vinyl. If I had to pull it up, it could have distorted the vinyl as it was lifted, causing a problem that wouldn't be easily fixed. After I was done rolling the vinyl, I went over the entire surfave looking for any bubbles I missed, and worked them out using my razorblade. I laid it at about a 45* angle and drew it across the bubble, flattening it and pushing it to the closest edge. This turned out to be a great way of doing this, as the blade is perfectly flat and didn't scratch the surface at all.



Once one side was done, I flipped the cab over and did the other. I then finshed the front of the cab the same as I did for the sides. The only thing that was trickier for the front, was keeping the vinyl straight, as it had a tendency to sag into the coin door space. When it did, it pulled away from the edges and screwed up the alignment. It eventually worked out in the end by going slowly, checking, rechecking, and checking again the alignment every inch or so. It was a pain in the ass.


Now then, a little red T-molding here.......

.......the coin doors.........

And there you have it.
The cab looks just as good as I had imagined it. The only thing missing now are the 3 biggest components...
1. The monitor (new chassis is on its way)
2. The computer (pricing out the best deal)
3. The control panel (Need to find someone with a router)

