Make Trax Restoration

Berzerk

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Donor 2013
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Location
Richmond, Virginia
Picked this cab up a while back and it was solid and in really good shape. The bottom had peeling do to sitting on the wooden bottom and being moved. Not bad, just the first 1/16 of plywood a couple inches up on the sides and front. It played blind. The top back door was replaced with a Space Invaders Deluxe top at some point and the bottom door is a little warped with a lot of mold on it. The back had been repainted Joust brown. The usual dirt and grime.

I was not planning on doing much with this because it was already in great shape. I wanted to fix the bottom and back doors of course and repaint the black to make it pop again. That's what I had in mind until today.
 

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Fixed The Bottom Of The Cab

I got the bottom done a while ago. I took a straight edge and scored just above the highest peeling along the sides and front. About 1/16 thick and it fell right off. I re-glued the bottom as well to strengthen it. Squeezed it tight with clamps. I put plastic between the cab and wood braces so they do not get glued to the cab. Works like a charm. Bottom is rock solid.
 

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I then used Bondo on the sides and front. Its very thin, just enough to replace the missing plywood. Sanded, primed, sanded again and its as smooth as a babies bottom. I got the paint matched from a large peeled piece. I also brought the leg levelers flush with the bottom of the cab. This way the cab will never rest on itself again. For the rusted leg leveler nuts I used EvapoRust like product from Lowe's, forgot the name.
 

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Decided To Take It All The Way

Now to present day. I did not think I was going to take this cab this far but could not stop once I got started today. Basically the cab is stripped and I am redoing all the metal work, screws, nuts / bolts / washers, all the black on the cab and I have removed the power supply / transformer from the bottom of the cab.

I believe the cab deserves it. Its dedicated, the artwork is vibrant, no burn monitor and the overall condition is very nice. I have already rebuilt the monitor and have a deluxe power supply kit as well. The game plays great and my 5 year old loves this game.
 

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I think I remember this one sitting on CL near King Queen county or something for a while. That CPO looks to be in great shape.

You have gone further on your restore than me. I still haven't taken care of the bottom on mine. Interesting that your board is side mounted. Mine is on a grooved shelf under monitor.

Do you have any buzz on the speaker? Mine pops pretty loud when turned on intially as well.
 
Nice! what color code and brand did you use for your repair area and how well did it match?

I wish someone repro'd the CPO and Bezel for this machine.
 
Nice! what color code and brand did you use for your repair area and how well did it match?

I wish someone repro'd the CPO and Bezel for this machine.

I got a Behr Ultra satin finish sample size from Lowe's. I still almost have a full container left. Applied with a sample size 2 inch foam roller. The match was perfect, spot on. The only thing is when I overlapped the original cab orange it is darker than the original finish in that area. So I got a darker streak running between the new finish at the bottom and the original finish at the top. I wet sanded the over lap with 800 grit and it brought it down closer to the original finish on that area. I can work it a little more and it will be perfect. You still would really have to look to notice it. But, the color is spot on, for my cab anyways.

BASE: UL223

CLRNT CL KXL RL TL
OZ 0 0 0 0
384th 5 26 215 89
 
I think I remember this one sitting on CL near King Queen county or something for a while. That CPO looks to be in great shape.

You have gone further on your restore than me. I still haven't taken care of the bottom on mine. Interesting that your board is side mounted. Mine is on a grooved shelf under monitor.

Do you have any buzz on the speaker? Mine pops pretty loud when turned on intially as well.

No popping or buzzing but I do have a problem with the volume pot. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. When I turn it down to low it just goes out. Sometimes it gradually gets louder on its own. That fix is on my list right after the restore because that music cuts right through your brain.
 
Got some things done over the weekend. All the black is done. All the metal was soaked in Metal Rescue from Home Depot and it came out great. Game did not have that much rust. Primed and repainted with satin black. Transformer board primed and painted satin white. Also, got some new leather texture t-molding from t-molding.com. Heading toward the finish. Only a couple more things to do like cut new back doors and maybe address the cracking paint in the bezel since its black and should be an easy fix.
 

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Looking good. Hoping my bob Roberts order arrives soon so I can rebuild my power supply and continue on from there. I might have to check out that "metal Rescue"
 
How do you like the arcadeoverlays.com CPO vs your NOS one?

The arcadeoverlays is likely more transparent. I can see some of the wood repair through the overlay if you look real close. I should have painted it wood like a grey or tan or something so the color under it was uniform. You can't tell a difference from 1 foot away though.

Front, back and top painted satin black.

Great progress Berzerk. Definitely post some pics of the bezel cleanup/repair you do. all my games are always missing at least one coin reject hole flap.
 
Finished up the power supply, rebuilt. Cleaned everything up and mounted everything back on the the freshly painted board and its back in the cab. I cut and routed new back doors, upper and lower. They were primed and painted satin black with a rattle can and a new lock was installed, 5/8 fit perfect. The upper was a Space Invaders Deluxe and the lower was warped and had lots of mold on it. I installed player 1 and 2 lights and wired them to the coin door lights. These did not exist on this game. I thought it would be neat to follow the look of Robotron. The buttons are a green translucent.
 

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I then went to work on the bezel. I had nothing to lose here, a lot of the black had flaked off but the orange feet were in pretty good condition. What I learned. I started with acrylics, black and orange. Brushing on glass is a pain in the ass because you have to use several coats and you still see the brush strokes through the glass. This was ok for the little bit of orange I had to do but the black was to much to brush. I took a leap of faith and scored with straight lines and razor bladed the black out. This left plain glass. I then rattle canned it with semi gloss black. It turned out extremely nice. I then rattle canned satin white over the whole thing and sealed it with satin clear coat. Very solid and it looked 100 times better.

I had a couple of hiccups along the way. I had it perfect and sitting in the garage. Opened the garage door and water dripped down on one side and it did what bezels do when they get wet. Had to score and do that section with black. Luckily it did not hit the orange feet, just black area. The directions are stuck on with adhesive, I tried to take it off and peeled black off so I stopped. All in all it looks great and even better on the game.

My advice, spray bezels. Large solid areas are easy but you would have to match the color. Small areas use an air brush and match the colors. It sticks hard as a rock and looks great through the glass. Do not score with the razor blade to hard or you will cut into the glass.
 

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I finished the game up this weekend. The rain held me up for a couple weeks because I do my painting and sanding outside. But its finally done. Coin doors installed, new back doors on, new leather texture t-molding and all the freshly painted metal. Making Trax again!
 

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