First Time Arcade-Machine Owner looking for general cleaning tips

Sbeehive

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First Time Arcade-Machine Owner looking for general cleaning tips

Hey All,

I finally got a hold of a Donkey Kong/Donkey Kong Jr/Mario Bros. Namco upright. After an epic journey through a mall, a U-Haul, and up three flights of stairs it needs a little cleaning. I'm not sure what the components are made of so I'm being a little cautious. What do you guys typically use to clean an Arcade machine's:

-Sides (basically the painted parts without the artwork)

-Bezel ( I think mine is tempered glass from what I've been able to research)

-Insides (they are pretty clean- I'm thinking more from a maintenance standpoint)

Thanks for your input!!!
 
Welcome to this Addiction...errr Hobby ;)
For myself I use a compressor to blow out the insides of my cabs, and use Simple Green and a cloth or Magic Eraser to clean the sides and art and such.
Worked pretty good so far for me.

Ken
 
Magic eraser rocks, but be careful and go easy on stuff like side art, or glossy stuff. It IS an abrasive and can do some damage if you go at it too hard. I always start with plain old hot water and a rag, then add in a cleaner like Simple Green, and finally the magic eraser if called for. Be methodical, and progressive in your cleaning, and you'll be rewarded.

Sounds like your machine is fairly clean to start with, but you should see the messes some of us deal with. I'm fairly new at this myself, but I've had PCBs and monitor chassis in the sink, sprayed down with simple green, scrubbing with a tooth brush in order to remove accumulated grim and crud. It's madness! So much fun. =)
 
I usually use Windex for painted surfaces. Ironically I don't use it on the glass because it leaves streaks, I prefer to use isopropyl alcohol for that.

The bezel is not the glass, the bezel is the piece in between the screen and the glass.
 
Find a good soft brush and some pressurized air (e.g., canned or a compressor with the air turned way down) to keep the pcb and wires dusted (as Ken mentioned). I have also found isopropyl alcohol to be handy for several tasks regarding cleaning and maintenance. You can use the alcohol on everything from the pcb to cleaning the cabinet, buttons and joysticks. Just make sure it dries before providing power (probably goes without saying, but you never know). There are going to be moments when you wish you collected something like comic books or baseball cards, but hang with it. Nice work on finding and using this forum too, these guys will save you much heartache in the future when things go wrong, and they will. Welcome to the hobby.
 
Prefer Mean Green over simple and I have been trying this stuff from the dollar store, LA's Totally awesome, So far so good.
 
Thanks all, that definitely helped a lot. Definitely a dream come true owning this kind of stuff. Look forward to reading about your projects!
 
All good advice here. Here are a couple things:

1) Novus is your friend - Novus 2 is awesome for small scruffs/scratches in the bezel and on the Control Panel. Novus 1 works great for the cleanup. You would be surprised how much it improves.

2) Invest in a shop vac if you don't have one already. Makes life a lot easier.

3) If you ever have edges on the cab with mild rotting, sand it down and add a few dabs of wood stabilizer. Pretty easy fix and you won't have to clean up wood pieces constantly.

4) Don't do anything to the monitor without research! But once you feel comfortable, monitors and monitor boards can hold a ton of dust (or worse). Cleaning everything monitor related helps a lot.

5) Keep band aids around the house...
 
...

3) If you ever have edges on the cab with mild rotting, sand it down and add a few dabs of wood stabilizer. Pretty easy fix and you won't have to clean up wood pieces constantly.

...


Does anyone know if the Elmer's Wood Stabilizer as sold at Home Depot is any good? I've never used wood stabilizer before.
 
Does anyone know if the Elmer's Wood Stabilizer as sold at Home Depot is any good? I've never used wood stabilizer before.

I used Elmer's stabalizer recently. Worked great for me. Once it dries, it is hard to tell where you've applied it (except the wood is a lot stronger). Of course, it is not designed to fill holes, scratches, or dents, just to strengthen the wood, so it is a first step. But for edges that are chipping or shedding, I was surprised how well it worked.
 
Inside, use a nice quality medium sized paint brush, I think mine is a 2.5 inch wide, not a cheapo that will dump bristles everywhere, and brush everything while you have the shop vac tube there to suck it in.
 
Water & Dr. Bronners liquid soap has worked wonders for paint. Use a damp rag and wipe. Alternitavely, a magic eraser and some Simple Green also works.

For the glass bezel, you can't remove scratches but you can use Windex with a paper
towel. That's what I always do.

For the plastics, I use a variety of things. Armor All or Novus 1 with a microfiber towel on plex, and for textured CPOS I use Armor All, and believe it or not, hand sanitizer. Works great.

Can't say much about the newer internals.
 
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