Mike's DK Jr project...a novice approach to a restoration

I don't plan on sanding the cabinet down to the bare wood, just enuff of a scuff so that the paint sticks. I'll then prime it and go with the DK Jr. orange.

My lower marquee bracket is in great shape (thanks again Eric), but the upper bracket is rusty and "blah." It will need a polishing and painting for sure. I want the brackets to look the same.

Sadly (as for me it never rains, it PORES!) my drill charger went. I'm in the process of fixing that and resting my poor lil toes.

But this weekend I'm excited to take this cabinet outside and get to work.

This will be my 1st project of this nature. I really want it to look the best it can. 100's of questions to come from me I'm sure, so thanks all for being patient.

Once again thanks all.
 
When I sanded mine to "rough it up" it helped reveal any ding's I hadn't noticed intitially, so it should also give you a chance to fill any with Bondo as neccesary, then sand the Bondo reapirs to keep the surface smooth and ding free for preparation prior to painting.
 
New issue, just realized that Nintendo buttons are 1 1/16" not your typical 1 1/8". My standard US buttons dont fit, nor do my 30mm Sanwas. I have two blue buttons I pulled off the CP that are good, but the other button looks like it was swapped out. One part is red, one orange. I know Mike's Arcade has these buttons. Anyone else ?
I really just need one yellow button.

thanks
 
Forecast here in the GTA says it's going to be a nice weekend.
So I fully intend on trying my luck at the bondo.
I need to get a 1/2" strip of MDF or wood cut to clamp along the back sides. I'd use that as my guide for trying to repair the back. If I get the major areas now and neglect the back I won't really care.

I also plan on painting a few of the black parts like the speaker grill and upper and lower brackets. Going to try the wire brush.
 
mike boss said:
New issue, just realized that Nintendo buttons are 1 1/16" not your typical 1 1/8". My standard US buttons dont fit, nor do my 30mm Sanwas. I have two blue buttons I pulled off the CP that are good, but the other button looks like it was swapped out. One part is red, one orange. I know Mike's Arcade has these buttons. Anyone else ?
I really just need one yellow button.

thanks
Click to expand...

Should be an orange button you're looking for (not yellow). Just keep an eye out, they're hard to find but not impossible and Mike's will fit if you can't find an original.
 
It was also suggested I sand my buttons down.
I have the existing 3 from the cabinet, however one is a combo of red and orange. The two blue are OK.

For myself, for simplicity reasons I'd like to use US buttons, so for the $0.44 they cost I might try and sand em down. If not, I'll seek out an orange and/or yellow. I have the button assembly and what not which (fingers crossed) I hope all works !


 
I started working with the bondo today (pics coming later) and its going OK. I put that stuff on way too thick at first. Sanding it down by hand is a b*tch ! I took a lil time to clean up the back. I really does need some major repair. I removed all the wood chips and cracking bits, but honestly I don't think I'm going to do even do the back.
I'll cut and install a back door but that's bout it. I never expected this thing to come out factory new, and as I work on it I see that I was correct. What I would like to fix as best I could is the parts you will clearly see. It's quite a hot day out here in Ajax and this bondo sets up fast! I worked with it for about an hour or so and did some sanding. I tapped out for the day and I'll revisit it on Sunday. I'm also going to see if I can borrow my father-in-laws sander. Something tells me that I'm not going to be able to tell how sh*tty a job I've done til the orange paint is on. None the less I'll push forward.

My father-in-law happened to be at the house today and was laughing at how crappy he thought the cabinet looked. All the dings and imperfections. I was of the mind set that once painted it was going to look good. It is indeed one of the particle board cabinets, and it is rather rough. Were they all like that ? Did they have side art ? I cant see the side art looking smooth ?

I think for myself I will try to complete the bondo application on Sunday. Even if I don't sand it all down. The following week I'll prime it and cross my fingers that I'll be able to spot any parts in bad shape. Perhaps leaving to cure I'd do the orange the following week.

For today if I do anything else it will be painting some of the black metal parts that I sanded down on Friday. I'll post the pics later.

For now it's nap time.
 
mike boss said:
It was also suggested I sand my buttons down.
I have the existing 3 from the cabinet, however one is a combo of red and orange. The two blue are OK.

For myself, for simplicity reasons I'd like to use US buttons, so for the $0.44 they cost I might try and sand em down. If not, I'll seek out an orange and/or yellow. I have the button assembly and what not which (fingers crossed) I hope all works !


Click to expand...

Those blue buttons should restore nicely. You just need the orange button part without the collar. Here's my thread on button resortation. No need to sand unless you've got some serious gouging.

http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=142631&highlight=nintendo+button
 
I appreciate that link. I'll give it a shot no doubt.
Fingers crossed I find an orange button locally to use.
Anyone know where I could find this product locally, or do I need to order it ?
 
Last edited:
After reading that button restoration I was inspired.
I went outside to look at my buttons, how clean they were, how much damage, etc. With the exception of the mixed matched orange button they are in not bad shape for a cabinet from the 80's. I had saved everything when I removed them from the control panel so I thought it would make sense to try the restoration. I'm going to call Novus on Monday and see if I can find a local seller. If not I'll hit up good ol' E-Bay.

I know the cabinet is not going to be perfect. I know the cabinet will have some flaws and what not. It is to be expected with something that old. I want it to look good as I've said before, but I'm not going to cry if it doesn't look new.

If money wasn't an object then new would be possible, but in this situation it is. So obviously I'll need to make a trade off with some stuff. I think using the buttons will give it a more authentic look, so that is very cool. If only I can find that orange part I need.........

Anyway here are some pics, only two issues I can think of. One of the blue buttons has some cig burn on it. And the orange button is shorter than the others.





 
So this is my first crack at bondo. I'm thinking that I'll ask my buddy in the Auto Body Industry if he can help me out. I'm sweating the bottom corner and bottom front where I need to build it up for the t-molding to sit properly. He's a busy guy and new father so he might not be able to help, but if he can BONUS !

The back as I mentioned has ALOTTA damage. I'd like to try and see what I can do with it. But I'm not going to freak out about it. After all it's the back, who really see's it ?

The stuff on the front, the stuff easily visible that stuff I worry about.
Anyway take two will be Sunday, I'm going to mix smaller amounts as I'm wasting a ton of the stuff. Work in smaller areas, and see what I can do to build up and shape certain areas.





 
Metal Painting

Once again thanks to qbass187 for my lower marquee bracket and CPO. The bracket was in great shape when it arrived. I did however decide I'd give it a coat or two of paint so it would match the finish and sheen of my upper marquee bracket. I sanded down some of the metal and hit it with a couple of coats of semi-gloss black paint. It's looking good. I'll use the same paint on the coin door when I remove it and sand it.

*** Unrelated to my DK Jr. project ***

My father in law came over today and said he would have no problem helping out with my bar top project. I hit a huge snag when an ex co-worker stalled me for four months on building some control panels. New to the hobby I'll be the 1st to say my skill set is limited. I read a lot and ask a ton of questions. But I do enjoy it .......... lots ! I've decided to slowly build up my tool kit so I can rely less on others. Not to mention complete projects WAY faster. Anyway the bar tops (2 of the 3) are without control panels. But I've picked up the MDF and shortly we'll get crackin on em. One done I'll paint em, wire em, and get up on the local Kijiji site. The idea was to make a few bucks to finance some other projects.

Once that's done I'll begin to document the DK Jr. restore on the blog. If you read it you will see how long it took me to complete my MAME project. I don't think this will be the same.....but ah well.

http://www.mymissiontomame.blogspot.com/





 
So today I did a lil more work on the body of my cabinet.
I also painted the control panel, and left all the painted items outside to cure in the sun. Just to get a good bake on! I definetly felt a lot better working with the bondo again today. However I still wasted on ton. I took a little longer before I started work to try and figure out how I would repair some of the more badly damaged areas. I also had to glue and repair one of the corners. The left side of the cabinet is in really bad shape, and sadly where I plan on displaying the cabinet that would be the visible side. The right side is in decent shape. However as mentioned the back of the cabinet on both sides is F.U.B.A.R . I was able quite satisfactorily to fix one of the bigger gauges in the cabinet. I inserted some plastic to protect the t-molding slot building up the bondo onto the plastic. When the bondo had cured slightly I was able to remove the plastic. Taking one end of the putty knife I was able to chip away the excess bondo building up that gauge rather nicely. I was quite proud of that repair.
However the bottom corner having virtually no channel left for the t-molding and damage on either side was not such an easy repair. I inserted plastic to protect the t-molding channel and used some cardboard taped around the corner to form the bend. I heavily applied the bondo hoping I would be able to form the corner and maintain the channel. However the repair was not to my liking.
At this point I still need to stand and think I might prime the cabinet before working again with the bondo. Hoping perhaps the priming will bring out any imperfections.




 
Corner Repair

Just a few pics of the corner repair I did.
It has major damage on both sides of the t-molding chanel. The thin layer of particle board was peeling up. I glued it down before beginning with the bondo. I also attempted to glue the opposite side of the channel as the wood was all broken and coming apart. Hoping it would create some stability.




 
Lastly for today more bondo. Got a fair amount done today along with some cleaning and painting. I'll be getting my father-in-laws sander later on today and I'll sand during the week. Giving the bondo extra time to cure.





 
Last edited:
Lot's more to do, but I'm feeling more confident with every day.
I made a promise to finish my bartop's before kicking it into full gear.
But to avoid huge down time I'm doing what I can know.
I'm happy so far with the progress. Monday I'm going to see if I can locally find
the plastic polish. Then I'll get onto the buttons. The "to do" list is ENDLESS !
But it will get done.....hopefully sooner than later !
Thanks for the kind words.
 
Thanks for all the pictures. Just do the buttons when you're watching TV or something. Really not that much of a chore.
 
I think the next thing I'll do on the DK Jr cabinet is the coin door
and coin mechs. The coin door will need a good sanding to get off the
bulk of the rust. When that is done I'll give it a few coats of the
same semi-gloss black paint used on the rest of the cabinet.
For what it's worth the interior of the cabinet as well as all visible
black areas on the outside will be treated with the same paint.

For sanding the metal of the coin door what grit of sand paper should I use ?

The coin mechs are in good shape despite the obvious scratches from people
inserting thier hard earned quarters. I was also hoping I could easily
clean up this metal by sanding it also. By sanding it and leaving it
unfishied/untreated is it more likley to rust ? Should I leave the metal plates
as is ? Sand them, perhaps clear coat them ? What grit of sand paper would
be ideal for these ?
 
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