Next I sanded the cabinet down using an orbital sander and 120 grit. Any areas with major pitting or with gouges or dents were first filled with bondo (for big fixes) or evercoat (for shallower fixes) and then sanded smooth to the surface. I got many of the larger pitting fixed, but there was still some left behind. Instead of fixing the smaller pitting, I decided to forge ahead. This ended up being a big mistake. More on that later.
Over the years, the front panel had come a bit loose near the bottom and the front sides were separating below the lower internal "shelf". To fix this, I clamped the sides and front back down into position, then inserted new 3/4" X 3/4" blocks which were Gorilla-glued and stapled with 1 1/4" narrow crown staples it to repair the broken seams. After the repair the lower cabinet is much more solid and it looks much better from the outside, even if there is a bit of Gorilla-glue splatter on the inside.
I coated all the the surfaces that will get new vinyl using Minwax fast-drying polyurethane (again, following the footsteps of
Jedidentist - link) and
nash before him. I applied the first light coat of poly using a throwaway foam "brush", trying to get a nice, thin, uniform coverage with the poly. After the first coat, I hand sanded using 400 grit sandpaper. Make sure you sand in a well ventilated area and use eye protection and something covering your nose and mouth. Sanding poly creates a very fine dust that is easily breathed in. After each sanding, I vaccuumed up the dust, followed by wiping the cabinet with a damp sponge. Finally, I tacked the cabinet before the next coat was applied.
I let the final coat of poly cure for 72 hrs. After 72 hrs, I sanded and tacked the sides one "final" time, followed by wiping down everything with denatured alcohol. I did not get 100% of the pitting fixed, but I decided to go ahead with the vinyl application...I was
hopeful the result would not be too bad...it certainly should have been better than the original paint job, right? Wrong!!
I applied new black vinyl from ThisOldGame, using
the very method outlined by Rich @ ThisOldGame himself I had no problems with the boom box sides as they are pretty small and it is easy to manage the vinyl. Next I tried the left monitor side...this is where things started to get dicey.... My big issue was getting the initial edge placed down straight enough so that I got no bubbles
and I didn't run out of vinyl at the end of the piece due to an initial misalignment. I got one of the monitor sides on okay, but I ended up having real problems with the side base the first time through due to its non-standard shape. I ended up removing the vinyl from the base sides as I ruined it....
Once the vinyl was applied, trimmed, and folded over the edges, I added new smooth black t-molding. At this point...well...the pitting was a lot more noticeable.
I knew this side did not have the worst of the pitting...so...back to the drawing board.
I removed the vinyl from the monitor side (much easier than the old vinyl as the new stuff didn't want to keep ripping into many pieces. However, I will say that the adhesive residue was a real pain to deal with. I first tried sanding, but that didn't work. Then I tried rubbing alcohol...but that didn't work so well either. Finally, I was able to clean up the adhesive residue with Citristrip. To try to fill the pitting, this time I tried something new, Evercoat Slick Sand. It is supposed to be a good way to apply a polyester resin over large areas, which is difficult with regular bondo or evercoat due to a short pot life. Once mixed, Slick Sand has a 45 minute pot life, which is long enough for covering larger areas. Technically, you are supposed to spray with HVLP gun...but I don't have a spray set-up. So, I figured I would try to roll it on instead with a dense foam roller. I was hoping that this would do a better job filling in the pitted particleboard. While the Slick Sand did do a good job with some of the very shallow pits, it did not get rid of the deep pits.
Ugh. So that meant more sanding. And this time, I'm sanding hardened Slick Sand so it is like sanding bondo. After sanding the sides smooth again, I finally listened to advice from both Wade and Jedidentist. This time I used joint compound to fill in the pitted areas. I covered both sides with the stuff, let it dry and then sanded most of it off. After I was done, you could clearly see the pit locations by the white joint compound left behind. Finally, with the sides devoid of pits, I covered with 2 coats of polyureathane, followed by more sanding after each coat. I was finally left with a surface that should take the vinyl better than before.