Battlezone Restoration Without Side Art

quicksilver2112

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I've not been able to find Reproduction Battlezone Side Art so I've chosen to repaint the white periphery and preserve / touch up what remains of the original art in the center. My rationale is that once I'm done, Murphy's will law motivate someone out there to do a repro for the benefit of everyone else! ;)
 
Side Art Removal 1

Razoring around the image (which I want to keep); scrape away what needs to become paint. This is a $15 POS Harbor Freight decal removal tool. The blade attachment is it's only redeeming feature which works well.
 

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Side Art Removal 2

Left side after scraping; 90% of it took 10% of the time. There was more adhesive at the bottom of the cab and the remaining 10% took 90% of the time. All told, scraping this side took approximately 30 minute. There were a lot of "digs" in the particle board when finished.
 

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Side Art Prep 1

Taped off for sanding. Used wood putty to cover the lower 25% of the cabinet that was so stubborn to let go of the original vinyl and had razor digs.
 

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Side Art Prep 2

Cabinet after sanding and primer coat. (Battlezone on the left, an Asteroids on the right.) I find that flaws in MDF / Particle Board are easier to identify and correct after primer (which usually leads to more fill and sanding and an inevitable second primer coat).
 

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I've not been able to find Reproduction Battlezone Side Art so I've chosen to repaint the white periphery and preserve / touch up what remains of the original art in the center. My rationale is that once I'm done, Murphy's will law motivate someone out there to do a repro for the benefit of everyone else! ;)

That's exactly what I plan to do to mine. I was holding out for a better cabinet for mine, but I don't think I'm going to find one. I'm curious to see how yours turns out.
 
That's exactly what I plan to do to mine. I was holding out for a better cabinet for mine, but I don't think I'm going to find one. I'm curious to see how yours turns out.

I'll continue to post my progress. I hope to have it in the gameroom Saturday by beer o'clock...
 
Also... quicksilver didn't mention this but each side actually is a slightly different color of particle/fiber board. Or perhaps adhesive? We noticed one side was much darker than the other. Anyone know why?
 
Yes, nice work saving the original art... I did this with my Frenzy..

69b49_FrenzyBP3_Image4.jpg
 
Also... quicksilver didn't mention this but each side actually is a slightly different color of particle/fiber board. Or perhaps adhesive? We noticed one side was much darker than the other. Anyone know why?

coulve been the polyureathane those atari cabs were clearcoated for the vinyl to adhere better so one of them was proabably sanded before the pic.
 
coulve been the polyureathane those atari cabs were clearcoated for the vinyl to adhere better so one of them was proabably sanded before the pic.

Naw... I was there when he was removing the sides... each side was a different shade... BEFORE any sanding. My guess was that they used a different batch of clearcoat or something.
 
Step Repairs

There were two issues with the step.

First issue was to remove the glue used to hold down the original rubber mat (which was shot). I used paint stripper and scraper; the old crap came right off. It was nasty. I'll post a picture of the completed step later. (BTW, Lowe's carries a nearly identical rubber grooved matting material at $2.50 per linear foot, 24" wide).

Second, one of the step ends needed replacement since the particle board had been busted off (yellow circle). I used 3/4" MDF since it's all I had on hand, and ran a groove for the new T-Molding using a table saw with a 1/8" blade. The groove width is wider than ideal for T- so I'll need to secure the molding with hot glue, but this seemed like an adequate solution considering I did not have a T-Molding saw (if such a thing exists). Using a table saw freehand for this purpose is a bit tricky; watch your fingers.
 

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CP Repaint 1

Colored areas of the CP are in reasonable condition, the black is not. My plan is to mask off the colored areas with Frisket Film and razor away the black areas. Shown is a photo of the film covering the entire CP.

This stuff is pretty forgiving; like shrink wrap with adhesive on one side and can be pulled off and reworked as necessary until you get rid of all the creases and bubbles.

The original paint was hammered / textured and I'm uncertain how this is going to behave in terms of bleed under when I get to the rattle can. My approach is going to "dust" on 4-6 coats of black in order to prevent the paint from accumulating near the edges of the film, possibly a heavier final coat.
 

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There were two issues with the step.

First issue was to remove the glue used to hold down the original rubber mat (which was shot). I used paint stripper and scraper; the old crap came right off. It was nasty. I'll post a picture of the completed step later. (BTW, Lowe's carries a nearly identical rubber grooved matting material at $2.50 per linear foot, 24" wide).

Second, one of the step ends needed replacement since the particle board had been busted off (yellow circle). I used 3/4" MDF since it's all I had on hand, and ran a groove for the new T-Molding using a table saw with a 1/8" blade. The groove width is wider than ideal for T- so I'll need to secure the molding with hot glue, but this seemed like an adequate solution considering I did not have a T-Molding saw (if such a thing exists). Using a table saw freehand for this purpose is a bit tricky; watch your fingers.

I'm working on my BZ step also. Yeah, the glue on these is nasty goop.

I think I bought that same rubber mat material from Lowes... Not ready to install it yet, though.

I think it's a 1/16" wide slotting cutter in a router for the T-molding groove. There was another thread about it in the past couple of weeks.

BTW, what are you planning on doing to finish it? White paint? Vinyl? I'm considering this iron-on melamine veneer: http://www.opentip.com/Electronics-Computers/Bandit-White-Melamine-Ironon-p-1261944.html
 
Step Repairs 3

After cutting the mat material and applying glue I was having trouble getting the mat to stick to the particle board (bubbles forming much like a decal). So, my solution was to poke holes in the bubbles with a straight pin, work them out by hand and then strap 2x10 / 2x4 to the top and front of the step. I let the glue set for 24 hours and it seems to have cured OK.
 

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