Galaga cabinet has "Laminate" finish? Suggestions?

billyc

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Galaga cabinet has "Laminate" finish? Suggestions?

Okay, as some of you may have seen on my other posts, Im restoring a Galaga cab.
This is an original particle board cab, tonight I "fixed" the bottom with wood glue and re-inforced it with screws. (dont worry, Im planning on covering them up nicely with repaint.
Here's my question.
It looks like the previous owner somewhere along the lines coved the sides of the cab with a granite-singlewide trailer- style laminate cover.
You can't remove it or it will bring pieces of particle board with it. So, can that be painted over? Suggestions? I don't want the gray sides, I want the machine to look original!
Thanks
 
Heat it with a heat gun and pull it off. It'll come off. Fill in the chunks that rip out of the wood with Bondo. Prime/paint.

It's particle board and not MDF?
 
It's particle board and not MDF?

It's actually MDF I guess.. I'm not the best with woodworking, so this will be a learning experience. !
I'll take some pictures tonight to show what Im up against.
 
galaga

I just completed this process with my Galaga machine. The hardest part is the many days of sanding with different grits of sandpaper to get it nice and smooth. Use semi-gloss /satin black paint for a nice finish in light layers with steel wool in between.

If your cabinet panels were loose it's probably because the small plastic inserts in the cabinet wall are cracked and the metal studs are no longer tight. I used about 20 screws on my cabinet: use a countersink bit, epoxy, stainless steel wood screws, then bondo / wood putty over the holes.

You might also want to tip the cabinet on it's back and check out the base. The original base design is not very strong around the wheels where the thin strip of wood is in the corner. I replaced my base with 3/4 in plywood with epoxy and screws. The cab is a lot stronger now and looks great. Pics are on my site... I'll be posting more there later.
 
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