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MrGorf
Well-known member
Did you lay the cab on its side when you clear coated it?
Another Berzerk restoration
- Thread starter MrGorf
- Start date
Did you lay the cab on its side when you clear coated it?
Phetishboy
Well-known member
Yes. On one side. But the second I did standing up. They look the same.
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MrGorf
Well-known member
I think I'll do the clear coat. I just don't like the uneven look it has now.
Phetishboy
Well-known member
Just use a satin poly and stop at one coat, if you do a second, you'll get too much depth like I have.. Make sure you get rid of all brush strokes before letting it cure. Maybe experiment with a wide foam brush and a wide varnish brush on a painted board to see which finish looks better.
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MrGorf
Well-known member
Thanks for the tips. I think i'll take your advice and practice on a scrap piece first. Don't want to F it up now.
joeycuda
Well-known member
Describe the uneven look you don't like? Were the stenciled layers sprayed too thickly, so that there's a visible edge to them?
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MrGorf
Well-known member
Yes. The paint did not spray very evenly, and I wanted to cover it in one coat so I could pull the stencil off before the paint completly set and ripped the edges. Of course I realized this logic was flawed, as the 'berzerk' stencil stays on for both colors. Anyway, there is a slight visible edge to the layers.
joeycuda
Well-known member
Covering it in one coat is one of the biggest, if not the biggest mistake I made when I first started stenciling. Whether you're spraying oil based from a rattle can, like Rustoleum, or thinned and sprayed though a gun - What I do is:
Apply stencil (we'll assume vinyl/adhesive bought type). Use grey or green 3M scuff pad and scuff each of the exposed areas thoroughly to rough up the surface and de-gloss. This will ensure the paint will bite. Wipe at least 2x with Naptha to clean and 'degrease'. Spray a mist coat that doesn't even cover 100x. It will appear as though you misted it like overspray. Let dry 10min. Do a 2nd very thin pass - this time it's a "wet" coat, as in a coat of paint that covers 100%, but do it as thinly as possible, with the spray constantly moving. Let dry 10 minutes. If I did the previous coat left to right, I spray the next up and down. Do another wet coat, again as thin as will cover.
This should do it. You need to JUST get the color opaque and stop.
Determine if you need another light coat, etc..
After the final coat, let dry for 10-15 minutes, then start pulling the stencils up.
I found that trying to spray a few fully wet coats, ensuring that each coat covers really well will result in a lousy job, possibly with runs. Keep in mind that the factory layers were sprayed thin enough to cover. It's not intended as a paint to protect, but as a decorative finish. After drying for a week, the finish will be plenty tough enough. Spraying too much paint so that there's a ridge or noticeable layer effect goes against how the original finishes were. Some of that, however, may be due to lacquer finishes and how one layer would melt into the next, as it is a "hot" finish.
Apply stencil (we'll assume vinyl/adhesive bought type). Use grey or green 3M scuff pad and scuff each of the exposed areas thoroughly to rough up the surface and de-gloss. This will ensure the paint will bite. Wipe at least 2x with Naptha to clean and 'degrease'. Spray a mist coat that doesn't even cover 100x. It will appear as though you misted it like overspray. Let dry 10min. Do a 2nd very thin pass - this time it's a "wet" coat, as in a coat of paint that covers 100%, but do it as thinly as possible, with the spray constantly moving. Let dry 10 minutes. If I did the previous coat left to right, I spray the next up and down. Do another wet coat, again as thin as will cover.
This should do it. You need to JUST get the color opaque and stop.
Determine if you need another light coat, etc..
After the final coat, let dry for 10-15 minutes, then start pulling the stencils up.
I found that trying to spray a few fully wet coats, ensuring that each coat covers really well will result in a lousy job, possibly with runs. Keep in mind that the factory layers were sprayed thin enough to cover. It's not intended as a paint to protect, but as a decorative finish. After drying for a week, the finish will be plenty tough enough. Spraying too much paint so that there's a ridge or noticeable layer effect goes against how the original finishes were. Some of that, however, may be due to lacquer finishes and how one layer would melt into the next, as it is a "hot" finish.
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MrGorf
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Finally got a chance to do some work on this. I work two jobs with the second being in retail, and with the extended hours running now, I don't get out 'till 11:00pm, which makes it hard to get anything done.
Anyway, since this had been a conversion the original wiring harness was completly hacked. I got the AC portion rewired, but decided not to wire the second interlock switch on the coin door. I'll just keep the one on the back.
Applied the t-molding, and mounted a new VP monitor.
Had to replace the ballast in the marquee light because the old one buzzed like crazy. Also replaced the starter and put in a new bulb. Installed the marquee.
I always like it the first time I can light up the marquee.
Just got a parts order in from Jameco, so I can start rebuilding the power supply board. Next up will be cleaning and mounting the boards.
Anyway, since this had been a conversion the original wiring harness was completly hacked. I got the AC portion rewired, but decided not to wire the second interlock switch on the coin door. I'll just keep the one on the back.
Applied the t-molding, and mounted a new VP monitor.
Had to replace the ballast in the marquee light because the old one buzzed like crazy. Also replaced the starter and put in a new bulb. Installed the marquee.
I always like it the first time I can light up the marquee.
Just got a parts order in from Jameco, so I can start rebuilding the power supply board. Next up will be cleaning and mounting the boards.
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MrGorf
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Finally got a chance to do some work on this. Replaced all the electrolytic caps on the power supply board, along with the regulators, fuse clips and power diodes.
Didn't have all of the metel angle brackets for mounting the boards, so I had to use other standoffs. I also replaced all the electrolytic caps on the other boards, and removed and cleaned the legs on all the socketed chips. While removing the Z80, one of the legs broke off, so I replaced that socket and installed a new chip. Saw I was missing a 2114 RAM chip on the BSC-1000 board and a 4027 RAM on the VFB-1000. Ordered some replacements from Riptor and installed them. Also cleaned all of the header pins with an eraser.
I had a wire harness that interconnected all of the boards, but had to make a new one for the CP and coin door wiring.
Got everything wired up and powered up just the ZPU board. On power up, I would only get one flash. If I kept pushing the reset button I would sometimes get 3 flashes, which is normal with just that board powered. It finally got to the point that no matter how many times I hit reset I would only get 1 flash. According to the manual the problem was with the ROMS. I verified all the roms with winROMident, and ROM1 was bad. Burned a new one and got 3 flashes every time.
Hooked up the rest of the boards and tried again. Self tests showed 2 of the 2047's on the VFB board were bad so I replaced them. Now the test showed there was a problem with the RAM on the BSC board. Pulled out the 'scope and started checking waveforms. Discovered that switch 1 on the 4 position DIP switch that controls the 'wait' state was not closing. Replaced the DIP switch and everything powered up normally. SWEET.
Didn't have all of the metel angle brackets for mounting the boards, so I had to use other standoffs. I also replaced all the electrolytic caps on the other boards, and removed and cleaned the legs on all the socketed chips. While removing the Z80, one of the legs broke off, so I replaced that socket and installed a new chip. Saw I was missing a 2114 RAM chip on the BSC-1000 board and a 4027 RAM on the VFB-1000. Ordered some replacements from Riptor and installed them. Also cleaned all of the header pins with an eraser.
I had a wire harness that interconnected all of the boards, but had to make a new one for the CP and coin door wiring.
Got everything wired up and powered up just the ZPU board. On power up, I would only get one flash. If I kept pushing the reset button I would sometimes get 3 flashes, which is normal with just that board powered. It finally got to the point that no matter how many times I hit reset I would only get 1 flash. According to the manual the problem was with the ROMS. I verified all the roms with winROMident, and ROM1 was bad. Burned a new one and got 3 flashes every time.
Hooked up the rest of the boards and tried again. Self tests showed 2 of the 2047's on the VFB board were bad so I replaced them. Now the test showed there was a problem with the RAM on the BSC board. Pulled out the 'scope and started checking waveforms. Discovered that switch 1 on the 4 position DIP switch that controls the 'wait' state was not closing. Replaced the DIP switch and everything powered up normally. SWEET.
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retroACTIVE
Active member
I haven't forgotten your bezel... I'm going to get it to you as soon as possible 
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MrGorf
Well-known member
Got the control panel all set. I had to cut a new wood piece, as the original had a bunch of extra holes. I borrowed retroACTIVE's idea of countersinking the joystick in the panel. I used a dremel with a routing setup. Did the cut freehand - not my best work but it got the job done.
Replaced the joystick with a happ 360.
Installed new pushbuttons and leafs (leaves?) and wired up an adaptor to keep the original connector for the bat stick.
The obligatory finished shot with the new silkscreened panel from clnmoore.
Just gotta finish up the coin door and this one is done.
Replaced the joystick with a happ 360.
Installed new pushbuttons and leafs (leaves?) and wired up an adaptor to keep the original connector for the bat stick.
The obligatory finished shot with the new silkscreened panel from clnmoore.
Just gotta finish up the coin door and this one is done.
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MrGorf
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Finally got around to finishing this. It's funny how much the work slows down once it's playable.
Coin door was pretty ugly.
Sanded it down and sprayed it with textured black. Replaced the 'Stern' logo and mounted it on the cab.
Coin door was pretty ugly.
Sanded it down and sprayed it with textured black. Replaced the 'Stern' logo and mounted it on the cab.
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MrGorf
Well-known member
The cab was missing the back door when I got it, so I had to cut a new one.
Lucked out and got a NOS monitor bezel from Mylstar. Printed out an instruction card to mount in the window.
A couple pics of the finished game. I also added a rechargable battery at the bottom of the board drawer to save high scores.
Lucked out and got a NOS monitor bezel from Mylstar. Printed out an instruction card to mount in the window.
A couple pics of the finished game. I also added a rechargable battery at the bottom of the board drawer to save high scores.
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retroACTIVE
Active member
I'm super jealous of your NOS bezel!!!! Your machine looks great! I still need to finish the front door on mine...
Fantastic job!
Fantastic job!
Phetishboy
Well-known member
Looks good man. This is my favorite classic game of all time. My son loves it too. Good work.
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MrGorf
Well-known member
Thanks for the comments guys. I learned alot from this one.
Number 1 - patience. I sometimes hurry things along too fast, and then they don't turn out the way I'd like. I should have put at least 2 more coats of black on the cab, and done a little better job on the bondo and sanding.
Number 2 - stencils. I was quite happy with the way the stenciling went. I now have the confidence to do my Ms. Pac when I get to it.
Number 3 - I still suck at Berzerk. 30 years have not sharpened my skills in any way.
Number 1 - patience. I sometimes hurry things along too fast, and then they don't turn out the way I'd like. I should have put at least 2 more coats of black on the cab, and done a little better job on the bondo and sanding.
Number 2 - stencils. I was quite happy with the way the stenciling went. I now have the confidence to do my Ms. Pac when I get to it.
Number 3 - I still suck at Berzerk. 30 years have not sharpened my skills in any way.
vicjw66
New member
Where did you get the STERN coin door sticker?
Level42
New member
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MrGorf
Well-known member
I got it from Quarterarcade.com along with some other stuff.
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