Raiden Cab Project - New Pics with coin door. 98% finished (for now)

[BurgerKingDiamond]

I know that the laminate finish would look awesome, and I'm not saying it's not worth the $. I just can't bring myself to spend it right now. I'm spending $ left and right on this thing right now. $70 for new monitor, $20 for S-video cable, $50 for new graphics card with S-video out since my new computer doesn't have it (at least the new computer was free though.) Probably another $20 for the LED marquee since my flourescent one burned out (not the tube, tried to replace it. The fixture itself is just f*****... I want to put in a coin door too, and some fans.

So, I'm just gonna take my time and paint it. Maybe in 6 months or something I can afford to buy some laminate.

[Epyx]

I hear you...costs are nuts on these  things...and the pain to the wallet isn't fun.  Good luck and I have no doubt your  paint job will look fantastic!

[rablack97]

In my opinion it all depends on the finish you want, but I agree with Epyx on this one.

I would disagree only in that laminating is *much* quicker than a great paint job.

Total time spent painting, sanding, buffing, fixing mistakes, curing and finishing -  roughly, 3 weeks total. Start to finish.  Mainly because I was inexperienced worked trial and error.  A pro, maybe a week.

I think Epyx laminated his cab, minus the back    in like a day or so if that.

I spent well over $200.00 to get the mirror reflective finish on my cab. It was all done by spray paint cans.  Now grant it, it was time consuming, and inefficient but the finish was awesome.  Guess what though, while moving it upstairs it scraped against my tablesaw and left 2 huge gashes in my $200 paint job.  I just filled the gashes  in with perm marker, out of insanity....

You could get you some rollers and do it, but you will have more of a hammered orange peel look, for some that's acceptable.

The one huge pro of laminate is DURABILITY, had i laminated I wouldn't have any scratches on the cab.  Only thing you have to check if you use laminate is your MDF thickness, if you used 3/4 then your t-molding won't be flush with the laminate.  You sides would have to be 5/8 for the laminate to be flush with your t-molding.

So cost-wise, I would say can of primer, can of semi-gloss and a foam roller and knock it out. $20.00 at the most.  If you want it smooth, spray on a few coats of clear enamel, let it cure for a few days, buff it with mild abrasive compound, then some swirl remover and a good wax....not a mirror finish but super smooth.

Get your coin door off ebay, I got a happs over/under door w/ mech and coin box for $25.00. You can catch arcade vendors ripping machines apart and selling the pieces.  Most of the time no one else bids on this stuff so you can get it for little of nothing.

[BurgerKingDiamond]

I just got my coin door and I've been looking at it trying to figure out what is what. I see two wires going to each micro switch and two wires going to each light bulb. That makes sense. What I don't understand are the two extra wires that are going to this little box on the bottom of the door... If this description isn't good enough I can take pictures. Thanks.
BKD

[BurgerKingDiamond]

Hi. I was wondering if somebody could explain to me how to make a volume control. I want to use a pot to control the volume of my speakers (i.e. not control volume through the computer). My configuration is two speakers coming out a stereo receiver.  How do I go about connecting the pot to the speaker wires?

[rablack97]

Not sure about the pot, but the little box at the bottom could be the play counter.  Arcades used them to track the # of times the game was played.  I just disconnected mine and took it totally off.  I yanked all the excess wiring which left me with basically 12v & ground for the lights and ground & trigger for the coin mechs.

I just use a third party program to control the volume using key combinations....

Send a PM to OND, he's a electronics guru, he's pretty good about responding too....

[BurgerKingDiamond]

Thanks. I decided that whatever it is it doesn't matter cause I was able to hook up my lights and coin switches without using it.

[Silas (son of Silas)]

I would disagree only in that laminating is *much* quicker than a great paint job.  A side of a cab can be laminated and routed within 45 minutes:

-5 minutes to trace outline of side on laminate
-10 minutes to slop on glue
- 20 minutes to dry
- 5 minutes to press laminate on side
- 10 minutes to route it

If you use spray on contact adhesive it's even quicker. 2 minutes to spray on the glue, 5 minutes to dry; plus there's less likelihood of any glue bumps.

[BurgerKingDiamond]

some new pics

[BurgerKingDiamond]

some new pics

[BurgerKingDiamond]

The bezel is temporary. I made it out of paper mache. My friend is going to use it as a mold and do the bezel for me with fiberglass.