Donkey Kong Control Panel Restore

NERDtendo

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Donor 2011
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I have been needing control panels for my Nintendo games for a while. The only one I had was for Donkey Kong 3. That meant I still needed Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Junior, Mario Bros., and Popeye. I found a fellow KLOVr who was selling a farm fresh DK control panel disaster for $10 + shipping. I jumped on it. There wasn't a lot of useable parts except the hardware. The joystick was wrong, the buttom were horrible, the wood was disgusting. This is what I had...

OrigianlDKControlPanel.jpg


OldPanelUnder.jpg


After stripping all of the parts from the crappy control panel I was let with this piece of firewood.

OriginalPanelTop.jpg


OriginalPanelBottom.jpg


OriginalPanelSplit.jpg
 
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Luckily for me, there is another KLOVr that had the time and equipment to help all of us DK fanatics. I am talking this time about jeff412. He used his CNC router to reproduce the wooden control panel. He even went the extra mile for the black laminated plywood. At a mere $40 (shameless plug for a great product) you get this...

NewPanelTop.jpg


NewPanelBottom.jpg


You will even get a 2' strip of True Flat Nintendo Repro T-Molding for the front fr free...
 
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I decided that I was too anxious to wait for all of the parts to get here before I worked on it so I jumped the gun. The CPO was horrible so I traded a monitor chassis of mine for a less horrible DK CPO, Popeye CPO, and cash. I cleaned up the DK CPO and utlized most of the orginal hardware for my restore. I had to used replacement button holders and switches because the orignals were trashed. I also put in some temporary buttons until I can get some new ones. My joystick was wrong so I had to use an 8-way Ninty joy I had in the closet until I get get the correct part for that too.

NewPanelUnder1.jpg


NewPanelUnder2.jpg


RestoredDKControlPanel.jpg


And here i whatit looks like installed in my cabinet...

NewPanelInstalled.jpg



I will post final pictures when I get the proper joystick parts and buttons installed.
 
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I have cigarette burn marks in the exact same spot as yours, above the P1/P2 buttons. I'm curious if you've tried to remove the discoloration. Any tips?
 
I have cigarette burn marks in the exact same spot as yours, above the P1/P2 buttons. I'm curious if you've tried to remove the discoloration. Any tips?

Ditto. I've heard very light fine sand paper and then clean with Novus but I never bothered. Gives it character ;)
 
Ditto. I've heard very light fine sand paper and then clean with Novus but I never bothered. Gives it character ;)

I did try to remove the cig burns on a crappy Popeye CPO. I got the burns out but the Novus was unable to restore the finish to the CPO. I chose to just clean this DK CPO. I too believe that it gives the game some character. I don't want my games to have all of past removed from them. I usually just replace/repair broken parts and give it a thorough cleaning. I like my games to look good but also for me to be comfortable letting little kids play them. If it was in pristine, mint condition I think that I would be the only one allowed to play it LOL...
 
Thanks for the tips everyone.

Another question for you all on DK control panels. What was the original top of the CP finished with? Mine has a shiny and smooth finished melamine/laminate. Was this original?

Also, I don't know how to describe it, but the piece between the CP and the bezel, what did it have on it? Mine is much more of flat back melamine/laminate.

Both of mine have problems. The control panel has chunks missing and the top of that other piece has the laminate missing. I'm trying to decide how to refinish these. Strip CP finish and paint or new laminate. I've never worked with laminate before. I'm thinking of just painting the other piece.

Advice? Sorry if this is off-topic.
 
Looks awesome...I will have to try this with my other CPOs.

I'm trying to decide how to refinish these. Strip CP finish and paint or new laminate. I've never worked with laminate before. I'm thinking of just painting the other piece.

You should try to make it consistant so neither one sticks out lke a sore thumb. Both of those pieces are laminated. If you choose to paint, then paint them both. If you want the best results go for the laminate. It can be a pain, or just get a hold of jeff412 and buy his repro. It is amazing and it will save you time and energy.
 
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Looks awesome...I will have to try this with my other CPOs.



You should try to make it consistant so neither one sticks out lke a sore thumb. Both of those pieces are laminated. If you choose to paint, then paint them both. If you want the best results go for the laminate. It can be a pain, or just get a hold of jeff412 and buy his repro. It is amazing and it will save you time and energy.

Was the original laminate smooth or textured? My CP laminate is smooth as glass.
 
I have an extra DK CP overlay in excellent condition outside of the slight cigarette burn marks above the start buttons. So I'll have to experiment on it with the sandpaper/Novus method to see how it comes out.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.
 
Was the original laminate smooth or textured? My CP laminate is smooth as glass.

Probably the same consistency as the laminate on the cab. I have one cab that is super smooth laminate and one that is textured laminate. I wouldn't be able to give you a definite answer on that one.
 
I got the replacement buttons today. The shipping was super fast. I ordered these like two days ago (in the late evening) and they are here today at lunchtime...bonkers!!! TwistedQuarter is on their USPS game. However, the buttons don't fit. They are too big to fit into my CPO. They didn't mention that in the advertisement. Very disappointed in that. I will have to bust out the sandpaper and widen the holes (I type as I cringe...). I sent Twisted Quarter a message about this so I won't mess with my CPO until I hear from them.
 
I got the replacement buttons today. The shipping was super fast. I ordered these like two days ago (in the late evening) and they are here today at lunchtime...bonkers!!! TwistedQuarter is on their USPS game. However, the buttons don't fit. They are too big to fit into my CPO. They didn't mention that in the advertisement. Very disappointed in that. I will have to bust out the sandpaper and widen the holes (I type as I cringe...). I sent Twisted Quarter a message about this so I won't mess with my CPO until I hear from them.

Are you talking about these?

dk%20button%20set.jpg


http://www.twistedquarter.com/images/dk button set.jpg

He's got a disclaimer on there about them being bigger than the original Nintendo button holes.

If you just bought the leaf style buttons like these:

360204280689_1.jpg


http://www.twistedquarter.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4_154&products_id=767

Then you bought the wrong buttons. Nintendo leaf style buttons are not the same diameter as regular leaf style buttons. They're just a bit smaller.
 
I wish I would have known you were interested in Mike's buttons, I would have grabbed a few from my order a few days ago.

They're quick to respond to inquiries there, though, so if you ask I'm sure they'll reply right away.
 
I bought these. No disclaimer. Also, no fit.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/380220365773?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

He did get back to me by the way and said that the control panel as well as the button would need to be modified.

Has anyone tried MikesArcade buttons??? Are they the same situation??? They are twice the price but if they are correct then I might go for it.

Mike's buttons are modified to fit the OEM CP and CPO. They're the ones to get.
 
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