Just Bought DK Jr. -- Need Restoration Help!!

broseph123

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A week ago I stumbled upon an ad for a used, but working Donkey Kong Jr. cabinet for $200 dollars. After consulting a friend of mine who fixes cabinets and pinball's, I decided to go ahead and pick this up.

The outside isn't in fantastic condition, and I'm having trouble finding some parts. Most important is some replacement option for the original orange laminate, which is peeling and falling off all over the place. Does anyone know where I can get more of it?

Also, the joystick is kinda sticky and annoying to deal with....I may try to clean it up but I may end up having to get a new stick and some buttons while im at it. If anyone could help me find those too it would be appreciated :)

Oh and was $200 a good price?

Here are some pics:







 
The cabinet looks pretty rough,but hey it works! $200 is not bad at all! I got mine for $150,but it does not work at the moment. Not sure where you can get the laminate,(I think it's actually melanine) but thisoldgame.com has some orange vinyl that when applied properly looks pretty awesome.
 
Wow, how did you get that heavy cabinet to stick to the wall like that? ;)

I think most people just paint their Nintendo cabs. The original finish seems like some sort of enamel (at least on mine) rather than laminate/vinyl.

mikesarcade.com carries most of the joystick parts. However, yours may just need a good cleaning. My DK Jr. joystick felt similar to how you described yours. I took it apart, cleaned everything, sprayed the middle pivot/bushing thing with brake cleaner, lubed it, and now it feels like new. Mike's carries the buttons too, but they're just regular 1 1/8" buttons that have been trimmed down to fit the 1 1/16" holes on DK control panels. So if you don't wanna pay $5 each for buttons, just buy some regular $1 blue and orange short leaf buttons and trim them with a dremel.

$200 is a very fair price for a somewhat rough but working and complete DK Jr. in my opinion.
 
That is a decent price for that machine....Game board, and monitor both look good, that is a plus. Just a lot of TLC and cosmetic work.
I would become good friends with Bondo and a palm sander! :) good news bondo is cheap!
Do a search on these boards for "donkey kong restoration" people restore these cabs all the time. IMO a really fun cab to restore! You'll get a ton of ideas by reading though other's restorations. I have done quite a few of these, if you need any specific info feel free to PM me. I'd be glad to help....
If it were me, I'd bondo/sand it smooth, zinser bin primer it, and roll on a nice paint!
New t-molding, new CPO and side art that thing would look like new!!! IMO I'd put the replacement nintendo buttons on if it were me......
 
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I think you did quite well for your self! I Paided 325 for mine and it needed alot of stuff done too it allso. There where other people that where trying too buy it from out from under me for like 450

Thank goodness the seller stayed with the first price i don'nt know what i would do without my DKJR Machine!
 
yeah, $200 is a good price for a working DKjr. Even with teh cosmetic flaws. Just sand it down, prime & paint and it'ff look great. There's tons of threads in this section of the forum sgiving instruction on how to do it.
Good luck.
 
Someone around here is reproducing the original style T-molding. Be sure to pickup a roll!!!

Not bad for $200.00. Take lots of photos and notes before you take it apart. Strip it, bondo up the bad areas then paint it with oil based satin (if possible). Then if you are up for the challenge get some orange vinyl from this old game to simulate the laminate!
 
A few things!

First off, I'll also chime in that you got a really good price. I paid $200 for my DK project, and while it's in slightly better condition externally, my monitor needs some pretty extensive work.

It's hard to find a laminate that matches the color and thickness of the original stuff; Formica makes one that's a pretty close size-match, I believe, but it's a fair bit "redder" than the DK Jr. orange. It's a lot easier to get a good color match by going the paint + vinyl route. You can get the vinyl at: http://www.thisoldgame.com/products/donkey-kong-jr-orange-vinyl-kit

Your T-molding looks shot, but luckily, "someone around here" (;)) is indeed selling a reproduction. I just grabbed a roll this week, and it's great stuff, worth every penny. http://www.chompingquarters.com/store.php/products/true-flat-nintendo-t-molding

It also looks like you're going to need a new marquee (I think I see a chunk missing out of it), and you definitely need new instruction art. The aforementioned Mike's Arcade sells both an instruction card set (complete with the "insert coin" sticker) and the marquee. http://www.mikesarcade.com/cgi-bin/store.pl?action=search&category=Game+Artwork

Finally, I'd strongly recommend giving your buttons a good thorough scrub before replacing them. Soap and warm water is a miracle cure sometimes, you might be surprised how well buttons clean up.

Good luck with the restoration, and take lots of pictures for us. :D
 
Also, the joystick is kinda sticky and annoying to deal with....I may try to clean it up but I may end up having to get a new stick and some buttons while im at it. If anyone could help me find those too it would be appreciated :)

Take your joystock out, and clean the inside bearing out with WD40. Then Clean all the crap out of it with a rag. Then lube it up with 3 in 1 gear oil. It will be like new.
 
thanks for all the great advice guys :D

I'm gonna head down, take some more picks, and respond to some individual replys in a bit.....be back to edit this posting soon

*edit*

This is a pic of the joystick, I was unable to remove it from the CP for a full cleaning but was able to get pretty far in with Q-Tips and 3-in-1 oil so that its much better now



It's hard to find a laminate that matches the color and thickness of the original stuff; Formica makes one that's a pretty close size-match, I believe, but it's a fair bit "redder" than the DK Jr. orange. It's a lot easier to get a good color match by going the paint + vinyl route. You can get the vinyl at: http://www.thisoldgame.com/products/donkey-kong-jr-orange-vinyl-kit

Great idea! :D Can you suggest the correct paint/primer/etc. that I should be using? Preferably something I can grab at Home Depot or Lowes when I go to get a new light for the Marquee :p

Your T-molding looks shot, but luckily, "someone around here" (;)) is indeed selling a reproduction. I just grabbed a roll this week, and it's great stuff, worth every penny. http://www.chompingquarters.com/store.php/products/true-flat-nintendo-t-molding

Ill probably order this today or tomorrow....once I get the orange siding ordeal taken care of :p

Finally, I'd strongly recommend giving your buttons a good thorough scrub before replacing them. Soap and warm water is a miracle cure sometimes, you might be surprised how well buttons clean up.

Sorry to sound ignorant about all this (which I am) but how exactly do I remove the buttons?



Thanks for all the help!!!
 
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And here's a few random pics of the interior of the cabinet.....its filthy (vacuuming in an hour or so)



 
Great idea! :D Can you suggest the correct paint/primer/etc. that I should be using? Preferably something I can grab at Home Depot or Lowes when I go to get a new light for the Marquee :p

You can ask ten different collectors that and get ten different answers. :) I like rollers, so I use plain ol' Kilz primer and Behr paint. Get the shortest NAP roller you possibly can, and use a few REALLY light coats to "build up" your coverage instead of slathering it on. With Behr paint, I find that going a shade darker than what I really want gives me the best results.

Now wait five minutes and someone'll tell you that Kilz sucks, Behr sucks, and you need to buy a sprayer. :D

Sorry to sound ignorant about all this (which I am) but how exactly do I remove the buttons?

If memory serves (golly I preface a lot of posts that way), you remove the switch (the black rectangular bit with all the connectors and contacts) from the button assembly, then you remove the button assembly by unscrewing that funky six-sided metal nut. Someone correct me on that if I'm wrong.
 
Now wait five minutes and someone'll tell you that Kilz sucks, Behr sucks, and you need to buy a sprayer. :D

Kilz sucks, Behr sucks, and you need to buy a sprayer. Sorry I'm late. ;)

Actually, Kilz is fine, although I prefer Zinsser BIN primer and even Lowes Valspar paint is better than Behr in my opinion. I've had back luck with Behr not adhering well to some surfaces, so I avoid it now. Some people love it though. Spraying is best, but the 4" white foam rollers do a decent job too.

To take the buttons off, just unscrew those hexagon-shaped nuts (pal nuts) and push the button out the top of the control panel. You don't necessarily have to remove the switch or its holder.
 
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To take the buttons off, just unscrew those hexagon-shaped nuts (pal nuts) and push the button out the top of the control panel. You don't necessarily have to remove the switch or its holder.

Only thing is, as you can see from one of my pictures, the nuts are VERYYYYYY rusty and I cant get them to unscrew. This is preventing me from dismantling the CP :( any advice?
 
Try PB Blaster, that stuff is black magic when it comes to rusty parts. Any auto supply store should have it for like $5.

Just picked up some PB Blaster from Home Depot as well as a few swatches of Bher paint... I'll put up some pics in a bit (still having trouble deciding between "Volcano Blast" and "Strikingly Orange")

I ALSO just bought a DK pcb from Ebay for $50....woot! :D

Link : http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280561037370&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

^^does that look like a legit unmodded original?

**Is is possible for me to put both the DK and DK Jr. boards into the cabinet and be able to switch between them....maybe with an I/O board or something?**
 
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