Baby Pacman cabinet

427Aggie

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Ok so I got a baby pacman that needs some work. Apparently at some time someone drilled a sign in the side of the cabinet and there are a few scratches...I'm becoming anal about my games being better than new.

So what I can't tell right off the bat is were these cabinets painted or is this some type of laminate on it?
 
I fully restored an original Baby Pac. It was not laminate. I had two untouched original cabinets, neither of which were laminate. These are well known for absorbing any water they get exposed to, which will swell the wood and consequently bulge the affected areas very noticabley. Laminate doesn't do that.

If you have an original one with laminate, maybe you can post some pics for comparison.
 
It is my understanding that they used a special paint that hardened to a smooth nail polish like finish. I have two Baby Pac's and they both seem to have this "coating". It is very easy to mistake it for laminate. And yes, the particle board under it absorbs moisture like all get out!
 
Thanks guys. Its minor stuff on the cabinet but its driving me nuts...couple of holes drilled in the side and a few other things that I know will drive me crazy.

I've read the restoration threads on a couple of the baby pacs...going to try to repaint it and see what type of finish I can get.

At first it really feels like laminate...I wonder if I should just do that instead of repainting? Do we know what type of paint they used originally because it really has a plastic coating kind of feel to it.
 
The project Baby Pac I picked up recently isn't laminate, it looks like some type of paint.
 
It really does feel like laminate. I guess its a very hard paint. Mine needs a new cabinet badly as it was in 12 in of water last summer. However, the game still plays fine. That power supply must have been completely underwater too.
 
It is my understanding that they used a special paint that hardened to a smooth nail polish like finish. I have two Baby Pac's and they both seem to have this "coating". It is very easy to mistake it for laminate. And yes, the particle board under it absorbs moisture like all get out!
TWO Baby Pac's?! In Strongsville?!? Are you keeping both of them??!?
 
I'm pretty sure they used a method similar to what Nintendo did.. where the paint is actually baked/heated onto the cab somehow which makes the paint a lot more hard/durable and sometimes this is mistaken for laminate.....but as its been said..when these get wet they will swell because the its MDF under that paint....if it was laminate you wouldn't see the swelling unless the moister got into the layers of MDF themselves which the laminate usually prevents...I think there was a clear coat applied too..similar to what Williams did on their stenciled cabs...The clear makes these pretty durable and if your cab is in good shape you usually don't see the swelling on sides..but on the top or bottom..because that is where the MDF is exposed and moisture can find its way into the seams.
 
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