Arcade cabinet repair

cmjb13

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I have a dedicated WWF Wrestlefest cabinet and would appreciate some advice...

1. There are a couple of pieces of wood missing from the side. Would Durham's Rock Hard Water putty be sufficient for these repairs or would car bondo be better?

2. The lower portion of the cabinet was painted black from the factory. Unlikely that I can find an exact match so I will have to paint the entire unit. Can someone recommend a black paint sufficient for arcade cabinets? Would I need to do any prep before beforehand or can I just paint right over it?

Thank you in advance for any help
 
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Im super new to this but I use Bondo.

I almost always also use the wilsonart laminates. I order them from home depot for about 42 bucks a sheet.
 
I have a dedicated WWF Wrestlefest cabinet and would appreciate some advice...

1. There are a couple of pieces of wood missing from the side. Would Durham's Rock Hard Water putty be sufficient for these repairs or would car bondo be better?

2. The lower portion of the cabinet was painted black from the factory. Unlikely that I can find an exact match so I will have to paint the entire unit. Can someone recommend a black paint sufficient for arcade cabinets? Would I need to do any prep before beforehand or can I just paint right over it?

Thank you in advance for any help

Posting pictures would help us give you more information.

1) I started out using DRHW but switched to Bondo. Bondo seems easier to work with and is very strong.

2) Depending on the cabinet, it might be paint, might be vinyl. Matching new paint to old paint can be hard. Depending on where it's at, how off it is, etc... will determine what you should do.

Not only do you need to take into account what color the paint is, but the type (Latex, Oil, etc...).

Are you going to roller it on, or spray it on (Paint Gun or Rattle Can?)?

Does it have side art? Are you trying to save that art?

If it's not bad and you're not going for Factory Fresh look, then it might be better just to leave it alone.
 
Posting pictures would help us give you more information.

1) I started out using DRHW but switched to Bondo. Bondo seems easier to work with and is very strong.

2) Depending on the cabinet, it might be paint, might be vinyl. Matching new paint to old paint can be hard. Depending on where it's at, how off it is, etc... will determine what you should do.

Not only do you need to take into account what color the paint is, but the type (Latex, Oil, etc...).

Are you going to roller it on, or spray it on (Paint Gun or Rattle Can?)?

Does it have side art? Are you trying to save that art?

If it's not bad and you're not going for Factory Fresh look, then it might be better just to leave it alone.
Pictures attached for your reference.

Cabinet does not yet have side art, so I'm not concerned about the sides, more the front. I would like to roller it on or use a spray/rattle can. It appears to be painted and not vinyl, but not 100% sure.

Thanks for any help.
 

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It would help if the pictures were in focus but that first one is definitely a job for bondo. You can get general purpose bondo at Home Depot in a small can. If the can doesn't come with it, spring for the tube of red hardener as the white stuff they sometimes include is really no good for mixing it evenly.

Really can't tell if you have paint or some kind of thin vinyl from the pics. It looks like it is cracking at the edge in the last photo so it could be vinyl. If it is, you should remove it before painting. Find an edge and just pull it off. Sometimes a whole side will come off in one piece. You may have to sand to remove old adhesive underneath. Orbital sander is the best but 1/4 sheet sander will work too.
 
It would help if the pictures were in focus but that first one is definitely a job for bondo. You can get general purpose bondo at Home Depot in a small can. If the can doesn't come with it, spring for the tube of red hardener as the white stuff they sometimes include is really no good for mixing it evenly.

Really can't tell if you have paint or some kind of thin vinyl from the pics. It looks like it is cracking at the edge in the last photo so it could be vinyl. If it is, you should remove it before painting. Find an edge and just pull it off. Sometimes a whole side will come off in one piece. You may have to sand to remove old adhesive underneath. Orbital sander is the
best but 1/4 sheet sander will work too.
Thank you for the suggestion on Bondo.

I took a closer look about the cabinet scuffs and if it is vinyl, it's really really thin. The surface is very smooth. I tried grabbing an edge with my finger and the rest just chips off. Then again this cabinet is 26 years old. It appears to be too much of a headache to strip it all down, so is there a paint you could recommend? Really, the only section to be painted would be under the CPO since the sides will be covered with side art.

Thanks.
 
Thank you for the suggestion on Bondo.

I took a closer look about the cabinet scuffs and if it is vinyl, it's really really thin. The surface is very smooth. I tried grabbing an edge with my finger and the rest just chips off. Then again this cabinet is 26 years old. It appears to be too much of a headache to strip it all down, so is there a paint you could recommend? Really, the only section to be painted would be under the CPO since the sides will be covered with side art.

Thanks.

I just use acrylic paint from the art supply store for little touch ups. But you won't be able to match an existing black very well. Be careful with your bondo so the area you need to touch up is as small as possible.

For a metal control panel you can use spray cans of Rustoleum black satin (Home Depot or Lowes). If this is going to be somewhere that people's hands or wrists will rest on the panel then I would strongly recommend powder coating instead. Any paint you use in these areas will eventually wear off.
 
I just use acrylic paint from the art supply store for little touch ups. But you won't be able to match an existing black very well. Be careful with your bondo so the area you need to touch up is as small as possible.

For a metal control panel you can use spray cans of Rustoleum black satin (Home Depot or Lowes). If this is going to be somewhere that people's hands or wrists will rest on the panel then I would strongly recommend powder coating instead. Any paint you use in these areas will eventually wear off.

Sorry, when I said under CPO I meant front of cabinet below CPO and around coin door. So I basically need to paint a small square area around the coin door. It does need to match anything else since the rest of the cabinet will be covered up.
 
Sorry, when I said under CPO I meant front of cabinet below CPO and around coin door. So I basically need to paint a small square area around the coin door. It does need to match anything else since the rest of the cabinet will be covered up.

You have several options: Use a roller. Spray can. Laminate. I've never used a roller but I've heard it can be a pain to get it even. Front panel is probably especially hard because you have the side panels in the way.

I have used spray paint (Rustoleum satin) and the results have been okay but not great.

Laminate comes out looking perfect but you have to order it and it's quite a bit more expensive than spray paint. Plus you need a few tools (router, laminate trimmer bit, j-roller, metal file).

Spray paint is probably cheapest and easiest option. You'll still need a role of painters tape and some paper to mask off everything you don't want painted. Also, I'd recommend removing the coin door and cleaning and painting everything individually rather than trying to paint it all at once. You can usually tell when someone has done that and it looks pretty bad.
 
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