Galaga bezel: retouched

[Mr. Hot Dog]

I recently finished my Galaga project, so I thought I'd share one of the more interesting parts of a fairly routine restoration. The glass bezel was pretty scratched up, and I was hoping to keep costs low and keep the machine original where possible. I picked up some Testor's model enamel (regular bottles as well as some paint markers), matched the colors as closely as possible, and took a crack at it. The color isn't a perfect match, but it's really unnoticeable when it's in the game unless you shine a flashlight on it and inspect it with a fine toothed comb.

Before:

After:

Back side:

Detail:

In the game:

 

[wickedbass]

Well done , looks great. its to bad you dont see this more often. You gave that bezel a new life.

 

[Area69]

Yep, that is rather impressive.

 

[Spyridon]

Very nice work.

 

[toolguy]

Nice job!

My mini Galaga bezel has similar, I've debated on touching it up. Now I might consider it more.

I was glad to just clean it and not remove any paint, but all the tar/smoke garbage on the white backside.

 

[hatrick]

Well done , looks great. its to bad you dont see this more often. You gave that bezel a new life.

Agreed. I like to re-use original stuff as much as possible, but I have yet to attempt something like this. Great work!

 

[Mr. Hot Dog]

Thanks! I figured I'd rather say that it was a retouched original than an untouched repro. Plus, those little bottles are a lot cheaper than new artwork.

Toolguy, it wasn't too bad... just a little time consuming. For something like the wing detail, I did it in a manner similar to how [I think] silkscreening is done in layers -- I laid down the blue background first, then added the outline and thin line in black, then just went right over top of it all with the green.

I'll post the numbers of the colors I used later on in case anyone ever needs it -- like I said, not 100% perfect but about as close as you're going to get with Testor's without mixing.

 

[Slackmoe]

Please list the numbers I have 2 Galaga bezels I want to touch up

Andrew

Thanks! I figured I'd rather say that it was a retouched original than an untouched repro. Plus, those little bottles are a lot cheaper than new artwork.

Toolguy, it wasn't too bad... just a little time consuming. For something like the wing detail, I did it in a manner similar to how [I think] silkscreening is done in layers -- I laid down the blue background first, then added the outline and thin line in black, then just went right over top of it all with the green.

I'll post the numbers of the colors I used later on in case anyone ever needs it -- like I said, not 100% perfect but about as close as you're going to get with Testor's without mixing.

 

[kabkollector]

I have an original Centipede glass marquee that needs a little touch up. I might give this a try. Thanks for the post!

 

[Mr. Hot Dog]

Let's see... looks like my Testor's colors were:
- 2547C Black*
- 2511C Dark Blue*
- 1124 Green
- 1103 Red
- 1169 Flat Yellow
- 1112 Light Yellow

*The black and the dark blue were both enamel paint markers. I figured I'd give those a try since there's a lot of black/blue to paint and it's a bit more convenient than dipping the brush.

 

[MIKE96]

nice work, I had to do the same thing on a wild western bezel

 

[JamBurglar]

I tried to do something similar with a marqee and it doesn't work nearly as well. When the light wasn't on it looked great, but as soon as you backlit it you could definately see where it was touched. The bezel seems like a much better application for the touchups.

 

[Mr. Hot Dog]

I recently tried it with a marquee as well and had the same exact results. Ugly. I wonder if water colors or something like an acrylic wash would be translucent enough to work. (Although, I wonder if it would even adhere to the plexiglass.) I have a junker marquee, so maybe I'll try it out for posterity.

 

[toolguy]

I tried to do something similar with a marqee and it doesn't work nearly as well. When the light wasn't on it looked great, but as soon as you backlit it you could definately see where it was touched. The bezel seems like a much better application for the touchups.

It has to do with the paint used, unless you get the right kind that let light through, it will look like garbage. With old pinball backglasses, the paint is really ink. A marquee, which I've never touch, probably has a paint that will also let light through.

I have a bad backglass on a machine that needed touch ups, I knew what the results would look like, but I did it just to cover the bare spots.

 

[VectorAddict]

Awesome work. I'd much rather have a restored glass bezel than a new plexiglass one.

 

[mike boss]

Awesome job !
Not that it matters, but how many hours to touch up the bezel ?