"cropped" defender control panel

Superully

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just brought home my new defender machine and realized that parts of the overlay have been chopped off on the left and on the right (see attached pics). the missing parts have been covered by thin black laminate. the middle part is covered by plexiglass.

my guess is that this was done to cover up cigarette burns - what do you think?

my question to you guys is: how did the original defender panel overlay look like? was it a printed overlay covered with plexiglass from left to right, was it printed on plexiglass directly (like a marquee), how was it attached to the wooden panel (glued, screwed, ...), was it just a vinyl overlay, ...

i want to restore this baby to it's former glory, therefore it would be great to know what i have to do to get it back in shape! :)
 

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I believe you are dead on as far as it being cut off to get rid of cig burns. Defender's are notorious for having burns on the sides.

Head on over to arcadeshop.com. They have your overlay for you. Defender CPO's were reverse screen printed on thin plexi and they were glued down to the wood. What you have appears to be original (other then the hackjob).
 
ok, so i could get a new overlay from arcadeshop.com, but to have it "more original" i would need to cover that with a thin plexi. or would you advice against doing so?

question of the day: how to fix that on top of the overlay WITHOU using screws?
 
Head on over to arcadeshop.com. They have your overlay for you. Defender CPO's were reverse screen printed on thin plexi and they were glued down to the wood. What you have appears to be original (other then the hackjob).

Yeah... I have the arcadeshop version... it looks good but it unfortunately is not made of the same material (plexi)... its a soft almost vinyl/rubbery substance. Its adhesive backed... but does not have the feel of the original.
 
but to have it "more original" i would need to cover that with a thin plexi. or would you advice against doing so?

No, I would not put plexi over it. When I said original, I meant the screen printing is on the underside of the plexi, all in one piece.

But it sounds like the arcadeshop one isn't quite right. I was just about to order it. I do know that it is screen printed, but not worth it if it isn't the right material....
 
But it sounds like the arcadeshop one isn't quite right. I was just about to order it. I do know that it is screen printed, but not worth it if it isn't the right material....

Well as far as replacements go... I believe it is the only option. Its way way better than a burned or hacked up original... its just not the same as factory fresh... which I'm afraid is non-existent anyway.
 
Aw, and here I figured I was one of the lucky few with a burn-less original overlay. Mine is pliable so I guess that means it's a repro from what RA is saying. I guess that explains why the adhesive isn't doing it's job on the sides. I really need to pull it off, strip the glue, clean the surfaces, and re-glue it.
 
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