Neo Geo mini/cabaret woodgrain vinyl replacement options

ElectricDreamz

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Neo Geo mini/cabaret woodgrain vinyl replacement options

got a Goldie, and it's gonna need bondo/vinyl strip-and-replace ... anyone know what the options are to get some new vinyl and get this thing looking as close as possible to factory?
 
I just got one that is exactly the same. Sides are painted black, but the top is the original vinyl. I have a bunch of swatches coming and I'll let you know if any of them match. I'm more interested in improving the cpo, if that's possible
 
def gonna need one of those as well, as mine's chewed to hell

does anyone make repros?

I just got one that is exactly the same. Sides are painted black, but the top is the original vinyl. I have a bunch of swatches coming and I'll let you know if any of them match. I'm more interested in improving the cpo, if that's possible
 
got a Goldie, and it's gonna need bondo/vinyl strip-and-replace ... anyone know what the options are to get some new vinyl and get this thing looking as close as possible to factory?

Go and get a sample chain from your closest laminate supplier (like Wilson Art) and see if one of their woodgrains is a close enough match...
 
At some point I remember people using some 3m product as a replacement but it was pretty expensive. I've seen a few converted to look like the red cabinets and I think it was down to cost. Its been a few years though so I honestly don't remember the details.

For the overlays Someone posted on here a while ago psd and pdf files of their reproduction so you could have them printed. At the time I don't think anyone was making them. I think I still have the files somewhere(never had a new overlay made for mine).
 
I'd thought about that ... giving it the look of a full size red cab.

but I don't 100% know what my long-term plans are for it, and I'd rather it look as close to factory as possible.

I've seen a few converted to look like the red cabinets and I think it was down to cost. Its been a few years though so I honestly don't remember the details.
 
None of these are a match :(. I'm still going to try for wood look. And if we could get some cpo made up, that would be awesome. I get that it's expensive and a lot of work, but so is anything worth doing
 

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where'd you get your samples from?

I'm wondering if it's just gonna be a waste of time visiting a big box hardware store (e.g., Lowes, Home Depot, etc) looking for that laminate/overlay.

there's gotta be a good source for stuff that may not be a 100% match, but fairly damn close

None of these are a match :(. I'm still going to try for wood look. And if we could get some cpo made up, that would be awesome. I get that it's expensive and a lot of work, but so is anything worth doing
 
Yeah, when I went to redo the front of my Frogger cab, I just found my local Wilson Art distributor and they gave me a sample chain that had like 50+ woodgrain colors/patterns. There's no way you're going to find a match with a selection as small as the one in your picture...
 
I'm looking to restore 2 of these, looking to find a close replacement for the woodgrain. Also...Joe Szabo is doing the CPOs and marquees for these of which I need both for both of the machines that I have.
 
From my experience laminate is a superior product. Its hard to find quality vinyl and if you do selection of color and pattern will be small and very expensive. I bought a cab that was done in that cheaper chines stuff people have been using. I wrapped it up put it on my truck and drove home for a couple of hours. When i got home and removed the wrap it was full of bubbles. I smooth it out with a squeegee and put the game in my house. When i got up the next morning vinyl was completely of the cab on the ground.
 
could you have used some kind of spray adhesive beforehand?

From my experience laminate is a superior product. Its hard to find quality vinyl and if you do selection of color and pattern will be small and very expensive. I bought a cab that was done in that cheaper chines stuff people have been using. I wrapped it up put it on my truck and drove home for a couple of hours. When i got home and removed the wrap it was full of bubbles. I smooth it out with a squeegee and put the game in my house. When i got up the next morning vinyl was completely of the cab on the ground.
 
No doubt laminate is a superior product, but for the purist, it's wrong for this particular machine. Proper vinyl (like a 3M product) will hold up just as well as the stuff as it came with from the factory.

In your particular instance, I'd guess the lack of a quality vinyl with good adhesive, coupled with some potentially shoddy preparation and finishing of the cab prior to installation of the vinyl was the primary cause for the issues that you had.

I'm attaching a *rough* sketch based on the overall dimensions of the Goldie cab from the flyer found here -- http://flyers.arcade-museum.com/?page=flyer&db=videodb&id=4883&image=1

Image represents how pieces would, again *roughly* lay out on a piece of 4' x 8' vinyl. If the engineers were worth their snuff, this should all fit on one 4' x 8' sheet as it's super close from my quick sketch. (overall dashed box represents a 4' x 8' dimension).



From my experience laminate is a superior product. Its hard to find quality vinyl and if you do selection of color and pattern will be small and very expensive. I bought a cab that was done in that cheaper chines stuff people have been using. I wrapped it up put it on my truck and drove home for a couple of hours. When i got home and removed the wrap it was full of bubbles. I smooth it out with a squeegee and put the game in my house. When i got up the next morning vinyl was completely of the cab on the ground.
 

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No doubt laminate is a superior product, but for the purist, it's wrong for this particular machine. Proper vinyl (like a 3M product) will hold up just as well as the stuff as it came with from the factory.

In your particular instance, I'd guess the lack of a quality vinyl with good adhesive, coupled with some potentially shoddy preparation and finishing of the cab prior to installation of the vinyl was the primary cause for the issues that you had.

I'm attaching a *rough* sketch based on the overall dimensions of the Goldie cab from the flyer found here -- http://flyers.arcade-museum.com/?page=flyer&db=videodb&id=4883&image=1

Image represents how pieces would, again *roughly* lay out on a piece of 4' x 8' vinyl. If the engineers were worth their snuff, this should all fit on one 4' x 8' sheet as it's super close from my quick sketch. (overall dashed box represents a 4' x 8' dimension).

I restore my games to original as possible even thou they came with vinyl from the factory no vinyl made now is the same wood grain color. There are way more option in color and texture in laminate. Id rather have laminate in a close color than vinyl is a wood grain shade that is way off. But thats just my opinion everyone is free to do what they'd like.
 
You're right, everyone is free to do what they want, but I think this vinyl is a much closer match than any Formica / Wilsonart laminate out there that I've seen. I'd rather do laminate if there is a close option, but so far, I think this vinyl is the closest to matching the pattern period. If you have a suggestion on a laminate you think is a close match, post it so I can check it out.

I restore my games to original as possible even thou they came with vinyl from the factory no vinyl made now is the same wood grain color. There are way more option in color and texture in laminate. Id rather have laminate in a close color than vinyl is a wood grain shade that is way off. But thats just my opinion everyone is free to do what they'd like.
 

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Ive mostly laminated midway cabarets and can tell you the closest thing out there is Wilsonart Montana Walnut. But thats just for Midway i don't own a Goldie to compare all my samples to. From experience i can tell you laminates don't look the same online as the actual sample and i suppose it will be the same with vinyl. Hopefully you can ship you a sample before you purchase and if its close i say go for it. Im not sure on the size of your cab but i laminate a complete Midway cabaret with one sheet of laminate.
 
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