Ms Pacman Restore Advice?

zeethree

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I want to restore a Ms Pacman machine I purchased several years ago. I posted a few
pics here to show how it currently looks.

I see posts and sites of people restoring either with the sticker which looks like is going to be at least $200 to $300 bucks or really making a project out of it - sanding it down and getting a stencil.

The stickers seem to get bad press - that they don't look the same - and i know sanding it down and completely re-doing it is the right thing, but I don't know that I'm up for a big project like that!

Mine is most definitely not in the best of shape - but not horrible.
Has anyone just ever "touched up" their machines? Any advice on just getting some paint and a nice paintbrush and just filling in the missing spots? Paint markers? or is this going to look awful.

I'm open to suggestions and advice!
 

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It's hard to make suggestions when it seems as if your not sure what direction you want to go in. Restoring a game to like new is very rewarding and it's a lot of fun. Time consuming yes, if you really want to do it right. If your looking to just do a quick cosmetic fix and you don't mind spending the money, use the stickers.

If you want to experiment, try and get a color match and paint the bad spots like you said. If you decide to go in a particular direction, I'm sure that you will get more detailed advice.

If your looking for what people think, I think you should restore it to like new. Sand and stencil, repaint the coin door, get a new CPO, rebuild the joystick, put a new cap kit in the monitor and rejuv it. That's what I think.

Have a great time on whatever you decide.
 
I just bought a MsPac today (thanks, Robomayhem) that's in similar shape - nothing really bad, but scuffed and faded. I was also wondering if anyone had experience with touching up spots. If I can get good results with that, that's obviously what I'd prefer, since it's a lot less work, but if the only way to get it to look good is the stencil route... well, I guess I might have to invest in some new equipment...
 
Stencils are the way to go! Nothing looks sweeter than a total resto using stencils!! Probably not for beginners though, but hey, ya gotta start SOMEWHERE!! :) Good luck!
 
The stickers seem to get bad press - that they don't look the same - and i know sanding it down and completely re-doing it is the right thing, but I don't know that I'm up for a big project like that!

Which stickers do you mean, Phoenix's or Two-Bits ?

I think the Phoenix one's look very good. (See the thread where I asked for pictures of finished machines with those).

Also, before applying the stickers you will also have to sand and make the sides and front even because else any uneven parts will show.

Still, I have decided to go with stickers. The stencils are about the most complicated ones in the arcade hobby, and I don't have the time for it.
 
Consider that some of the original Ms Pacs (later run) had sticker sideart. I believe those were particle board cabinets and slightly different, but it wouldn't be like putting sticker sideart on a Robotron.
 
i did something like this .I tried to go the cheap route since i dont have money for stencils or stickers.I tapped off the side art and repainted the blue .I did as much as I could for what I had .Turned out pretty good not fantastic but considering that all i invested was about $40 in paint and supplies not bad.I wish i would have gotten the yellow a little darker .but it works for now until I can go the stencil route.Time consuming but cheap.Heres some before and after pics.
 

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Sticker it. If you plan to keep it or off it, stickers are better then nothing and the next person may not have the skill to even do stickers.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Ms-Pacman-Medal...tem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3caf0ce8f8

An alternative is like what phatchit suggests. Art supply stores carry many panits and you can mix and tint all you want. Mask off and around things, and brush on the paint if you want. A low budget choice of course but if it fits the need, why not.
 
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I have been touching up the paint on my Ms. for the last two months. It is a very long and time consuming process if you want to do it right. Hindsight I could of done the stencils in a few days, but I like the results I am getting from touching it up.

I feel the stickers don't have as much character as the paint on wood.

I still have to cap the monitor and install yellow t-molding that I bought.
 

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The yellow t-molding should look good. I'm a stickler for original, but I'll probably put pink on mine if I ever get around to restoring it.
 
I've done several touch ups using partial stencils and masking tape. The results are well worth it and you can always strip and re-stencil it down the road if you get ambitious.

For touching up the black lines, I've found a Testors Paint Pen works very well. For the cab colors, I used the paint codes from Apollo's site and they blended especially well with the originals every time. The blue is tough to match and it came out great.
 
I hope to re-stencil my Ms Pac-Man and Pac-Man cabs someday. Both have enough work needed to the cabinet that just touching them up isn't really an option. I guess since mine are both pained originally (don't think Pac-Man cabs ever had vinyl even on late production cabs) that's how I'd prefer to restore them.
 
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