Atari System 1 Vinyl Removal Tips

FrizzleFried

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Hey guys... any tips on removing Atari System 1 vinyl? I've removed vinyl from a Centipede... from a Galaxian... and even from a System 2 cabinet and NONE were even 1/10 as difficult as this System 1 cabinet thus far. I am 30 minutes in to it and even using my trusted method of a heat gun + heated decal remover (heated razor blade), I've gotten a 4" x 5" or so patch removed... and it's dirty as hell.

The decal remover usually works fantastically... this cabinet is laughing it off.

HELP!
 
Unlike Pede, system1 black is not vinyl, it's melamine.. Melamine is fused to the wood so it's really not meant to be removed easily.. you'll do better to just remove what's loose and blend the rest.
 
The two System I cabs I own both had black vinyl, not melamine or laminate. Still a bitch to clean off though.

I ended up using paint stripper to remove it from mine after trying all the other methods.
 
don't know if what you are dealing with is vinyl or melamine but even vinyl can be a major PITA on a game depending on what it went through in it's life. No easy answer really. Heat is always key. Best scenario would be if you lived somewhere hot where you could leave the game out in the sun for a while. I have a data east cab that took me eight hours to remove the vinyl from one side. That's as far as I got on that one. Still got the front and another side to go. Not looking forward to that so I keep putting it off.
 
Quite the opposite for me. I had no plans to rebuild the front of my System 1 but the vinyl just peeled right off, so I did it anyway. My sides were peeling also in a couple places too. Ive acually seen lots of System 1's around here like that. I gotta wonder if certain climates over time have something to do with it.
 
I have been working on my Indiana Jones this weekend and noticed once I removed the system one side art on one side that the black needed touching up. I took my exacto knife and scraped it a little and discovered that it was vinyl,,,,WTF!!!!!!!!
Once I discovered this I pulled loose one edge and, PRESTO!!! pulled the whole side off.
So instead of fighting the side art on the other side i simply pulled the edge of the black vinyl and killed two birds with one stone. Good luck!!!!!!!!
 
this might sound crazy, but i sat mine in the hot sun 40 mins each side and that vinyl came off like old wallpaper! heat gun, shmeat gun!
 
I have 4 System1 Cabs and it seems that they are indeed vinyl and it does peel off quite easily. Leaving it for 30-45 min in the hot sun or a heat gun will easily allow most of it to peel off nicely.
 
I've only worked on the front thus far... but I can say for sure this stuff isn't your ordinary vinyl (on my cab at least). I have over an hour in to it already and I barely have a 6"x8" corner gone...

Again... the usual tools aren't working so hot (pardon the pun). Heatgun = fail. Heated decal remover = fail. BOTH = fail.

I think I am going to try to just sand it off. I hope the sides aren't like this.
 
Mine pealed off like sheets of sunburned skin. I applied no heat, just pried up a corner and pealed it all off. Chris was there with me. Mine was vinyl. Thin vinyl, but vinyl none-the-less. I kept a few huge hunks of it for comparison, but I think I trashed them a while back.
 
This stuff is coming off any way BUT in sheets. It's literally leaving some black OR taking some wood with it... which makes me wonder if it is, in fact, Melamine.
 
STRIPPING_HARD1.jpg
 
Quit fucking with the little access door. Lay it down and try the cabinet sides.

I sorta wanted to start with the smallest part ya know. It's moms day and I am taking care of the kid so I am not sure if I can get out there... but looking at the sides vs the front door they look identical so I am expecting the sides to come off pretty much the same...
 
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