How to get paint off without ruining sideart underneath?

Mike Valmike

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How to get paint off without ruining sideart underneath?

I scored a Mortal Kombat II dedicated (still with original serial plate) and I've been putting it back together. The control panel and front graphics were PRISTINE under black vinyl overlays... I just stripped those off with a hair dryer and a scraper. The sides have been sloppily painted black and fortunately it seems one section was painted poorly because the sideart is visible undernearth... I was able to get the paint to flake off and expose it, but it seems like that must have been the touch-up paint when they ran out of the "real paint" because the "real paint" doesn't want to go anywhere. Any suggestions on how I can get this stuff off? I'd love to save the sideart because the exposed part looks great!

My apologies if this has been asked and answered... I struck out trying search terms.
 
Have you tried some "gentle" paint stripper, like 3M Safest Strip, Citri-Strip, etc? You'll have to be careful and test out effects based on how much time you leave it on, and temperature. Good luck!
 
Good to see this thread. I'm soon going to try using 3M Safest Strip to get the paint off of the overlay below the control panel on a Mad Planets cab. Anxious to hear your results if you get to it first.
 
Just a note, painted on/stenciled graphics will not strip well. Citristrip has been doing me right tho. It's hard work, but nothing worth doing isn't.

MK cabinets have a nice thick vinyl graphic and normally strip well.
 
Citristrip works well but be careful of the white area. The citristrip will attack the uncoated white vinyl. I just stripped a MK2 and found the best way is put the citristrip on for 2 to 3 minutes then go over it with a scrub brush and use acetone for final cleanup.

mortalkombat004.jpg

mortalkombat006.jpg
 
be careful with the acetone it can pull the color out of the vinyl. In the stubborn spots i just used citristrip full strength on my rag/plastic detailing brush, then the damp rag if that didn't remove it all (rarely) I would break out the Denatured Alcohol.

Slots that looks pretty nice i will say. acetone or not.
 
i used mostenbachers (not positive on the spelling) graffiti remover and it worked great...i did an MK II but i don't have pics of the before and after, but here's the centipede i used it on also
 

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I have a Pacman cocktail that was painted black , would Citristrip be safe to use to preserve the wood grain underneath the black paint ?
 
I have a Pacman cocktail that was painted black , would Citristrip be safe to use to preserve the wood grain underneath the black paint ?

should work if it's a fake veneer, test in an inconspicuous spot first.
 
I scored a Mortal Kombat II dedicated (still with original serial plate) and I've been putting it back together. The control panel and front graphics were PRISTINE under black vinyl overlays... I just stripped those off with a hair dryer and a scraper. The sides have been sloppily painted black and fortunately it seems one section was painted poorly because the sideart is visible undernearth... I was able to get the paint to flake off and expose it, but it seems like that must have been the touch-up paint when they ran out of the "real paint" because the "real paint" doesn't want to go anywhere. Any suggestions on how I can get this stuff off? I'd love to save the sideart because the exposed part looks great!

My apologies if this has been asked and answered... I struck out trying search terms.

I got my mortal kombat 2 with a blitz conversion and rhino lite chip guard painted
on both sides, I had no choice but to remove with industrial stripper then take
the warped side art off. Sides look like brand new stripped but now I need a side art set.
 
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