I recently completed my very first restore! Did I do a great job? Ehh---not really
Am I happy with it? Oh yeah! 
The only thing I haven't done is tinted the glass and do the memory card slot board/decal. I'll never use it and the tinting doesn't bother me so this isn't a total complete restore.
This restore may bother people in that it has orange peal texture on the paint, the red paint doesn't match exactly, and I used gloss paint for everything (personally I think it pops more this way and looks great).
Something I must bring up to new comers of this hobby is when they say take your time with sanding to make everything smooth/even, there is a reason for it. Admittedly I have bumped wood areas and I could have spent more time fixing it. I rushed it and now will have to live with it. When the cab looks that good, take the time to make it perfect! Also everyone talks about getting perfect edges using bondo. I could have done it but honestly I kinda like the chipped edges, it gives it character. Though when you put on brand new t-molding it looks sloppy. So yes, you really want to get it done, its not just some elite collector's thing.
With all of this said, I'm really happy with the end result. I believe this was a good beginners restore to do. I bought the side and front decals from Pixel8Arcade (https://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=362795&highlight=neo+geo+decal) and it looks really great! I messed up applying the left and right player arrows not realizing the left arrow was shorter then the right though the sizing of everything is accurate.
I bought the replacement cpo from http://collectedit.com/shops/toomuc...control-panel-overlay-cpo-beautiful-repro-166 (looks good, the red is a little faded looking I think) and the marquee art from http://www.arcadeoverlays.com/neo-geo-4-slot-video-arcade-marquee-2-piece/ (The red is much darker in person. The sizing was much bigger than the original, you have to cut out the marquee holes yourself, and the adhesive is on the back rather than the front... I ended up taping it behind the plexiglass for cleaning reasons... It looks sloppy and I would recommend looking for the decals else where unless you don't mind applying it to the front), and the el panel replacement lights from http://glowhut.com/a6-electro-luminescent-panel-with-leads-and-connector/ (I think they look great though the downer is the wires make it a bit crammed and the panels are a bit bigger then the originals).
I want to thank Partygt, Pixel8Arcade, KidVidiot, otsep, ShaunDBurch, DBrunner, ultra7350, bfuehring, and the rest of the Klov community for helping me through my first restore and making it possible!
I've learned so much from all of you as well as working on this project. I look forward to improve my work with future projects.
The only thing I'm not sure what to do in the future is dealing with the inner black laminate. I had to use bondo to fix chunks of wood missing on the edges though while sanding it down, the inner laminate either started to peal up or it wasn't even in general. I tried hard to continue sanding to try to make it as even as possible but it didn't have a gradual effect. I finally said screw it and spray painted it, called it a day. Is there a way to fix this though? I don't see taking apart the whole cabinet in order to relaminate the whole thing.
The only thing I haven't done is tinted the glass and do the memory card slot board/decal. I'll never use it and the tinting doesn't bother me so this isn't a total complete restore.
This restore may bother people in that it has orange peal texture on the paint, the red paint doesn't match exactly, and I used gloss paint for everything (personally I think it pops more this way and looks great).
Something I must bring up to new comers of this hobby is when they say take your time with sanding to make everything smooth/even, there is a reason for it. Admittedly I have bumped wood areas and I could have spent more time fixing it. I rushed it and now will have to live with it. When the cab looks that good, take the time to make it perfect! Also everyone talks about getting perfect edges using bondo. I could have done it but honestly I kinda like the chipped edges, it gives it character. Though when you put on brand new t-molding it looks sloppy. So yes, you really want to get it done, its not just some elite collector's thing.
With all of this said, I'm really happy with the end result. I believe this was a good beginners restore to do. I bought the side and front decals from Pixel8Arcade (https://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=362795&highlight=neo+geo+decal) and it looks really great! I messed up applying the left and right player arrows not realizing the left arrow was shorter then the right though the sizing of everything is accurate.
I bought the replacement cpo from http://collectedit.com/shops/toomuc...control-panel-overlay-cpo-beautiful-repro-166 (looks good, the red is a little faded looking I think) and the marquee art from http://www.arcadeoverlays.com/neo-geo-4-slot-video-arcade-marquee-2-piece/ (The red is much darker in person. The sizing was much bigger than the original, you have to cut out the marquee holes yourself, and the adhesive is on the back rather than the front... I ended up taping it behind the plexiglass for cleaning reasons... It looks sloppy and I would recommend looking for the decals else where unless you don't mind applying it to the front), and the el panel replacement lights from http://glowhut.com/a6-electro-luminescent-panel-with-leads-and-connector/ (I think they look great though the downer is the wires make it a bit crammed and the panels are a bit bigger then the originals).
I want to thank Partygt, Pixel8Arcade, KidVidiot, otsep, ShaunDBurch, DBrunner, ultra7350, bfuehring, and the rest of the Klov community for helping me through my first restore and making it possible!
I've learned so much from all of you as well as working on this project. I look forward to improve my work with future projects.
The only thing I'm not sure what to do in the future is dealing with the inner black laminate. I had to use bondo to fix chunks of wood missing on the edges though while sanding it down, the inner laminate either started to peal up or it wasn't even in general. I tried hard to continue sanding to try to make it as even as possible but it didn't have a gradual effect. I finally said screw it and spray painted it, called it a day. Is there a way to fix this though? I don't see taking apart the whole cabinet in order to relaminate the whole thing.

