Advice on an EDOT please - re: Vinyl or Paint?

jonathan1138

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Hi all. On this recently acquired EDOT, the insides are all in Vinyl, and I ended up peeling most of it off.

Now i have to replace it. I can just paint it black, or, My other alternative is to Vinyl it.

Being that i have no experience with Vinyl, i am more inclined to roll it on - would that look like garbage though? I can do a test spot to see....

The good news is the surface is entirely smooth so i dont have much prep work to do (my weakness).

Any advice is appreciated.....
 
Yes, i love the vinyl look. LOVE IT. But it scares me. Now, ive layed my share of side art - but this is different.

I checked your Vinyl made easier thread - looks incredible. Maybe inspiring me.

Now i have a source to get it from (Happ Pica i guess?). For the Front coin door part, i could use that.... thats a small area and removed from the cab already. Just lay it down, peel and stick.

My dilemma is the inside back - where the seat rest is. Its curved.... something like this (excuse the photos not capturing the entire idea):

DSC03000.jpg


DSC02996.jpg


So, from the top i would roll it down, and cut around that seat (trim to fit with the backing on), and, lay when ready right?

Ok i will try it. I guess my "Seam" will come where the cab separates, i will run new vinyl over on that side, trimming to fit prior to the laydown?

BTW i never cut a straight line before, so all of this is daunting!
 
Yes, i love the vinyl look. LOVE IT. But it scares me. Now, ive layed my share of side art - but this is different.

I checked your Vinyl made easier thread - looks incredible. Maybe inspiring me.

Now i have a source to get it from (Happ Pica i guess?). For the Front coin door part, i could use that.... thats a small area and removed from the cab already. Just lay it down, peel and stick.

My dilemma is the inside back - where the seat rest is. Its curved.... something like this (excuse the photos not capturing the entire idea):

So, from the top i would roll it down, and cut around that seat (trim to fit with the backing on), and, lay when ready right?

Ok i will try it. I guess my "Seam" will come where the cab separates, i will run new vinyl over on that side, trimming to fit prior to the laydown?

BTW i never cut a straight line before, so all of this is daunting!

For the curve, you need to either cut an undersized general curve shape into the vinyl before you start, then trim off the excess once it's in place, or use paper as a template and transcribe the curve from the paper onto the vinyl before you start. You just have to make sure to leave yourself slack at the edges, and make sure to start with a small piece of backing removed, don't remove it all at once.
 
Ah yes - i will cut a general outline leaving slack, razor off the slack afterwards. That should work - when i get in front of the cab tonight i will think it through some more (seeing it i can get a better idea).

The inside particle board - its already flat / seems to have some sealant on it - most likely from the vinyl that was on there before? All i did was peel of the already peeling vinyl.

If i need to, is this just a roll on application? Any other tips besides buy a can, roll it, wait to dry?
 
Ah yes - i will cut a general outline leaving slack, razor off the slack afterwards. That should work - when i get in front of the cab tonight i will think it through some more (seeing it i can get a better idea).

The inside particle board - its already flat / seems to have some sealant on it - most likely from the vinyl that was on there before? All i did was peel of the already peeling vinyl.

If i need to, is this just a roll on application? Any other tips besides buy a can, roll it, wait to dry?

There will be some old sealer still there and what's there may be adequate to just vinyl over, but if you have any flat/uneven spots, they may compromise the adhesive qualities of the vinyl in those areas. You could roll the poly on, but if you're going to all this trouble, you really should strip the game bare, then spray the poly on. If you can't do that, then rolling is really your only option, as over spray will get on things you never knew it could. Also, I would remove as much of the seat as I could before starting, as your trim line could then be masked when the outer layers of the seat are put back on.
 
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I appreciate the advice. Makes this easier (Vinyl made easier as you would say).

I am pretty sure the poly is in good shape - i will check it again, but the insides seemed good and ready / very smooth.

That cab is in the room now, and not moving - it was a basta*d to get in the door, its not going anywhere. 700 pounds man!

I will most likely pass up the Poly treatment unless its in really bad shape.

Ok - placing an order now. I think 10 feet should do it? Just the inside / front to back (cab is 68 inches depth, 76 high, lots of cut outs etc). I didnt peel the front part of the cab (where the electronics go) so think i only have the player part to do.
 
Oh - the seat by the way - i ripped out that carpet. It was in great shape considering its age, but thinking more about it, its pretty rancid to keep it. Probably impossible to get clean completely. Going to get a new one.
 
yep not sure what the orginal vinyl is like
but I can tell you the Happ pica though real nice (I used it on my VideoPinball 2.0)
It is textured.
The vinyl I carry is a smooth Matt black.

and the wood should be poly'd or primed, clean and smooth prior to applying.
 
Hi Rich,

The original is very smooth - at first i thought it was a bad paint job (it was peeling right off in some spots, thought it was bubbled from moisture or something). But it peeled right off like a sticker. Strange stuff.

Looking at this post:

http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=132047&highlight=discs+tron+vinyl

Its advised by Jedi Dentist not to use Vinyl (its also not vinyl originally - its like melamite or something like that).

Here is what i am going to try - spot black paint and see if i can match the original finish (top of cab where no one looks!). If that doesnt come up like i hope, i will go with the vinyl approach - the stuff you sell seems perfect i may take it anyway for the coin door area. The area on the inside is not alot.

Thanks.
 
On my UDOT the stuff came off fine. I suppose I could've revinyled it, but the inside monitor section would've been a bear. On some of these games the stuff comes off fine, but on others it's terrible. I'm in the process of biting the bullet and vinyling my ROTJ, but I'm not looking forward to it. I rolled my UDOT and Tron and they both came out very good. Personally, I'd give the vinyl a try, but if it sucks too bad, you can paint it well. However, if this is outside, I would recommend masking it well and spraying it vs. rolling it if you can.
 
Hello j1138-

I have some comments in my 25" Major Havoc thread

http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showpost.php?p=1514991&postcount=3

and my SWCP restoration thread...

http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showpost.php?p=1477039&postcount=5

Basically, for inner edges, what I did was to trim vinyl size to be slightly larger (maybe 1/2 per side) than piece to re-vinyl. Then, I placed easy release masking tape on the bounding pieces the butt up to the piece to re-vinyl. I placed the tape very close but not touching to the piece you are re-vinyling. Once the vinyl is applied to your liking, trim the edges with new exacto-knife blade. Remove the trimmed piece by lifting up the tape. You can also pre-paint the inner corner black first so that you do not see any unfinished wood if you don't trim exactly on the inner edge.

The vinyl from Rich is really good. Adheres well to smooth, clean surfaces (make sure surface is really smooth and clean, otherwise you will see surface imperfections) and is fairly easy to work with.

Good luck!
 
Thanks for that Scott. I will research it.

I retract my prior decision (to spot test paint). I will go with Vinyl.

Rich - the stuff you sell is perfect for the application - the EDOT vinyl was very close in texture / color to SW cockpit color. And the price is incredible, i can order more to leave room for error. Placing an order now.

Thanks everyone. Going to give this a go. I peeled off the rest of the stubborn vinyl, i think the surface is good to adhere to. Looking at it again, its not alot of area i need to cover.

Oh yeah, and its gonna be like wallpapering half a closet - its really tight in there.
 
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