1982 Sega Star Trek Captains' Chair Restoration

[Zitt]

I have also been attempting to paint match the cabinet plastics against some powder coat - and learned something neat for future projects; but before all of that ... I want to paint match against powder coat because my chair controls have began to peel and rust. They'll need to be redone.

I started by measuring the sRGB color of a retr0bright-ed side panel using my Panatone(r) Color Cue(tm) device which I got off of Ebay several months ago and it came up with r246 g230 b198. I pulled these values into the RGB to commercial Tints page at EasyRGB.com. This gave the closest RAL numbers which to match to. I then went to google and did a search for RAL-1013 powder coat which returned a result to powder365.com for their " Oyster White " powder coat. Then using the HTML code #F6E6C6
I used the RGB browser to convert to "RAL Classic" listed six colors with % equivalent matches to my original scanned color.
% 1-ΔC Color name
96% RAL 1015 Light ivory
94% RAL 1013 Oyster white
93% RAL 9001 Cream
92% RAL 1014 Ivory
90% RAL 9010 Pure white
89% RAL 9002 Grey white

I also did searches for other color combinations and ended up selected the following three colors from powder365.
1 x RAL 1013 OYSTER WHITE (340/10MIN)
1 x RAL 7035 LIGHT GREY (340F/10MIN)
1 x TEXTURED ALMOND (380F/20MIN)

The idea was to put each color on a test peice to see how close to match and pick one which looked the best.

During my research; I also came across a post to caswellplating.com's forums which talked about mixing the powder with MEK to "melt" the powder into liquid form. This sparked an idea - why not use the MEK to mix powders together to get an even better color match. I have a quart of MEK in the garage - so time to experiement.

I knew the grey wouldn't really match - it was too grey; so I used MEK to melt it and used a hobby paint brush to apply it to the scrap peice. I then used regular power coating equipment to lay down the almond and oyster for comparison. For the last color; I decided to mix some grey, 2 TSP of pure white (purchased at Harbor Freight), 2.5 TSP of oyster together with a generious helping of MEK to turn the powder to a grey-white "milky" forumation. I applied this with a paint gun:

From Left to Right: RAL-7035+MEK (under thumb), Almond, RAL 1013, and MEKMix
The Right most Grey is "uncured" IE that is how it goes on being applied with a paint gun. Looks fully cured already. and the lines were created with standard blue painters tape.

With MEK; it looks like one could color match any color given enough patiences and primary colors to choose from. I look forward to futher experiments.

 

[Zitt]

Does anyone know how to remove the acrylic/plexi from the canopy? The plastic plugs used do not appear to be removable.

Now that I have the paint matching somewhat figured out; I went to work on the control panels:


As you can see the control panels are in need of some TLC. As typical for this machine; the Fire control panel label has begun to deterioate and is peeling away from the metal. So I removed the label manually - then used Xytol to soak the peice for about 5minutes to soften the label adhesive so it could be removed with a plastic paint scraper. I continued cleaning/soaking the bracket until all the lable resude was removed:


Then I sandblasted the bracket w/ ALO2 to remove the rust and other residue. And then finally; I wiped the bracket clean with some clean MEK to remove and remaining dust and oil from the surface.


I then proceeded to powdercoat the underside to the bracket with the Oyster White Powder coat.
For the front; I did an MEK liquid mix as discussed previously. This time I started with a base of 2.5 TSP of Oyster White powder coat and added 1.5TSP of pure white Powder coat. I then mixed with approx 1/4cup of MEK to form a 2% milk-like consistancy. I color checked the mixture by using a small paint brush to apply the color to the underside of on of my plastic peices. This mixure was nearly a spot on match to the plastic so I decided to go with it. I loaded the MEK liquid powder coat to my touch up paint gun

 

[Zitt]

And painted the front / sides with this MEK paint match. Here it is "air cured":


Once it is dry to the touch / safe to handle (usually about 20minutes); I place the bracket in my powder coat toaster oven for inital curing. during my test runs; I notices that if you attempt a full cure (400F / 20minutes) with the MEK solution still wet - it will "Boil" the paint leaving rough spots. So I put the peice in the oven at 150F / Warming setting for 10minutes to allow the MEK to evaportate. Then I crank the peice up to 400F for 20minutes for the final cure.


Once the piece cooled to room tempeature; I did a test match against a retr0brighted piece. First; here's the stock Oyster White (back of bracket):

Notice the slight yellow hue to the plastic peice.

Here's the MEK paint match 1.66:1 (oyster to pure white):

I call that a match!

 

[Zitt]

Now my attention turned to how to put the lettering back onto the peice. I could use rub-on transfers or put a water slide decal on it. But I wanted to attempt to make the label part of the powder coating. So I scanned in the bracket into my computer and replicated the design. Initially; I was going to just use the image to create a custom font - but to be honest; the stock font was well... too stock. So I decided to use the Khan Font to make the control panel more star trek like.


I layered the top with blue painters tape and put in on my laser cutter to etch out the labels in blue painters tape. It was then I was sure my laser tube was shot... it won't even cut through the tape horizontally. It will cut the verticals where the laser turns on then off - but not "etch away" the inner solid. The result was a incomplete label.


So for the moment; further work on the control panels is tabeled until I get my Laser tube fixed.

 

[PeRFiDiouS]

Hurry up nd finish this so I can come over and play it...


And dropoff a couple Trons for the next project...

 

[EagleTG]

I am in complete awe at the attention to detail and quality of workmanship you are putting into this project. Digging the play-by-play as well. Very nice, it appears you have access to some really nice tools/toys as well.

 

[Zitt]

Thanks guys!
Darn it Perf - your trying to get the wife to devorce me aren't you!

I'm taking my time doing it right - so we'll see how long it takes.
I think the longest "pole" here is likely the laser tube repair. The G08Audio PCBs should be here Monday - which means I start assembling the new PSUs for the game.

 

[Zitt]

I've sourced some Melamine-White backed MDF in 3/4" in a huge sheet... I've also located a local CNC machine which can cut my replacement peices out of the MDF. I hate press board; MDF is better - but has the same issues with swelling in mosture.

I don't need the whole sheet; and it's only marginally more expensive to get additional peices cut out of the spare MDF.

I'm proably going to cut the Left and Right lower monitor stands and the back of the monitor access panel.
Is anyone else interested in a specific peice? If so; let me know.

Does anyone know what size router bit is used to cut the t-moulding slot?

 

[Zitt]

While I wait on the Laser tube to arrive so I can cut PCB stencils... I needed to figure out how to remove the grey acrylic on the top canopy so that I can re-powdercoat the canopy structure. Turns out the Acrylic is attached with Plastic Nylon Blind Rivets. They can be easily cut off with a sharp razor knife. Once I removed the rivets; I notice there appears to be a rubber strip between the acrylic and the bar stock. Research on McMaster.com seems to identify the following replacements:

90219A340 Plastic Blind Rivet Black, .246" Dia, .157"-.394" Material Thickness, packs of 20
8694K113 Weather-and-Fire-Retardant Foam Adhesive-Back, 1/16" Thick, 5/8" W, 50'L

While I was at it; I ordered some new Flange Bearings for the spinner:
9440T12 Graphite SAE 841 Bronze Flange Bearing for 1/4" Shaft Diameter, 3/8" OD, 3/8" Length

And some T-nuts since at least one of mine is missing:
93766A500 Zinc-Plated Steel Self-Locking Tee Nut 3/8"-16 Internal Thread, 7/16" Barrel Height, packs of 25

 

[Zitt]

As some may know; Universal laser shipped me a new laser tube (not it wasn't free :S) for my laser cutter - the enabled me to make more progress on the control panel.

I put another layer of blue painters tape on the fire control panel andput it in the laser cutter - setting for 50% pwr, 100% speed and etched in the button labels. The new laser cut the tape and powdercoat like butter:

leaving me with bare metal again.

I then mixed some black powder coat and MEK and used my AirBrush to spray the etched labels:


Toaster oven, warm 150f/10minutes... remove blue painters tape... Oven 375F/20minutes.
I put the black on a little thick; so I used 280grit wet/dry sandpaper to even the label to the white. I then put on a layer of clear gloss powdercoat to protect both from the element. Here it is after final clear coat cure:

 

[Zitt]

I wanted to do something on the spinner side... so I went to work in CorelDraw and laser etched the spinner piece:


MEK+black powder:


Sanding, clear coat as above:


Artistic check:


Yeap - I think that will do right nicely.

 

[Muel]

INCREDIBLE WORK!

I am staring at it in awe!!

Bows to the Restoration GOD!

-Gino

 

[dxvinnyxb]

this is just absolutely fantastic, being a bit of a trekkie myself this hits home lol

 

[kstillin]

The powdercoating part got a Hackaday mention today.

 

[Zitt]

Thanks guys - yes; I was quite happy when Hack-a-day posted about the work.

I got my order in from mcmaster which contained the sleeve bearings to restore the spinner. They were an exact fit; so I installed them.



Also; I ordered some #8-32 x 1" star drive (get it? :>) stainless steel machine screws. They were steel; so they needed their heads powdercoated as well - this time I used "black magic" from Caswell Plating and did another test fit:


Last night; I disassembled the fire control buttons but removing the "eclip" on the bottom and dissembling the buttons. Once I had the button and base seperated; I put them in the sink to soak overnight in soapy water. A toothbrush scrubbing removed the years of arcade grime from the button assembles. Here's a test fit of the new cleaned buttons:

 

[Zitt]

Over the last couple of days; I've been assembling the G08 PSU refit I designed- I finally got it assembled by hand:

onto some Heatsink stock (#F010) from heatsinkusa.com.

After some initial debug; I was able to verify all of the DC voltages going to the G08 card cage. I didn't check the current limits of the negative linear regulators (-5, -12); but did begin some initial operational checks on the Switching regulators (+5 and +12). I designed the +5V regulator to supply at least 5Amps; so I wanted to check for an upper load check:

I was able to source at least 6.18Amps at 4.91VDC... exceeding my goal. I checked four load levels using discreet 25W resistors and at worst case saw 4.4% deviation from the +5V goal. The switcher PSU maintained better than 75% efficiency.

There is proably additional head room on the 5V rail; I just didn't have a descreet power resisitor to check for an upper bound. Obviously; there is a hard 8A bound on the Iin given the diode bridge used.

For the +12V switcher; I wanted at least 2Amps... but was hoping for 3Amps. A load check:

I tested two discreet resistor values here... one giving me a 3A load and the other a 3.9amp load. at 3.9Amp load; the regulator was within 4% of intended setpoint.

There is also likely more headroom on the +12V switcher - again a problem of not having a discreet power resistor of the right value.

A lot more debug/validation of the G08 PSU refit is necessary... I need to check the audioamp, powergood signals, and the fan controller for functionality before I "commit" to installing it into my system. I also want to measure noise a nominally loaded rail to ensure the filtering caps on these lines are "good enough". I'd really like to do some transient load checks on the PSU as well; but I don't appear to have the necessary equipment.

 

[RetroReject]

Loving the Thread and all I can say is WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Zitt]

Work on the chair stalled last week - as I was in Orlando... for a scrubbed Shuttle launch on Friday. Sadily I cannot afford to fly out again.

For the past three days; I've been doing batch after batch of Retr0bright on the side panels to return them to their factory color... First I started with the Side panels:

the TAN has to go...
in the Full TX sun; the retr0bright begins to work almost immediately on these pieces... this is a picture after spraying on the retr0brite ... probably no more than 10-15minutes in the sun:

A close up of the work I'll need to do:


My process now is to do a first coat of retrobright ... let it set for about 1hr... re-wet it with a diluted retr0bright and let it soak more UV for about 1-2hrs... then use a melamine foam block and super green to remove the black marks from the pieces. Then do more another two sessions of retr0bright. The pieces are nearly completely factory... except in some areas were the sun hasn't be in direct view.

 

[Zitt]

The monitor panels also needed some work:

as you can see; I taped off the graphics with some blue painters tape and plastic wrap. Turns out this is unnecessary as the retr0bright doesn't appear to attack the inks of the graphics. Later the tape came off and I went ahead with the retrobright - to find out it didn't fade.

Here's the pieces getting another retr0bright session after removing the black marks with the MEFoam:


I'll probably do another session of Retrobright tomorrow.

 

[Zitt]

After dark; I turned my attention to the monitor leg I've been waiting for. My CNC contact has been tied up with family matters; so he hasn't given me an estimate. I decided to hand cut the side piece out of the Melamine backed MDF I've had in the back of my truck for a couple of weeks now. I used a blue sharpie to trace the existing leg... and a Tsquare to connect the broken area.


I then used blue painters tape to cover the saw line to try and minimize Melamine chipping... and cut the piece out using a jigsaw:


Then used my CNC files to print the front "toe" which I re-engineered in CAD. Using that print I cut the front toe with the jigsaw. I used a set of wood files to help shape the rounded corners.


I need to find a 1/16" tslot cutter for my router so I can cut the T-molding slot. Once I have that slot; I should be able to install it and reassemble the monitor panel.