Neo-Geo MVS-4-25 v1 Restoration

Mattroid

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I just recently picked up a Neo-Geo 4-slot cabinet that just happened to be right down the street from me (I couldn't resist!). For reference, my want thread is here, and my find thread is here.

This cab turned out to be more of project than I'd hoped. However, now that I have it, it looks like it may also be more fun to work on than I expected (and realistically, it's not much).

Here's a list of things I think need to be done. If anyone can think of anything else or has suggestions, please let me know. I will likely be posting in the general restoration forums regarding how to restore the sides since this will be my first time doing that :)

  • Sides: Replace vinyl or paint and find stencils for side art. UPDATE: Still working on the vectors for the side art myself
  • Marquee: Find replacement if possible as this one has several chips and scratches. Also, maybe look into possible backlighting?
  • Control Panel: Panel is in good shape, but overlay is a poor reproduction - try to find something nicer and replace the buttons with the standard Neo colors. UPDATE: Replaced CPO with a repro from Quarter Arcade
  • Front: Remove black paint from the front coin door area - someone suggested Citristrip. UPDATE: Citristrip works well, but I haven't removed it all yet
  • Memory Card Board: Try to clean it and see if it works. UPDATE: Cleaned with Simple Green and water...it works!
  • Replace all T-molding UPDATE: T-molding bought

MS2-Cabinet.jpg
Coin-Doors.jpg


Left-Side-Art.jpg
Right-Side-Art.jpg


Control-Panel.jpg
Inside-of-Control-Panel.jpg
 
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Shoot Matt, I thought you wanted perfect. I have a working 2 slotter that would have been less work than that one.
 
having been in similar shoes some years ago with a gold cab woody neo geo 2 slot cab, first thing I did was attack the control panel. Removed all the buttons, overlay, credit display boards, and take out the screws that hold the hinge against the cab.

Strip down the pitted/rusted control panel. Use whatever you have to to get the rust bubbles out of the thing and sand it down to a smooth metal. Like this:

2996505404_eac2e4c6ba_b.jpg


I sprayed mine with 3 coats of primer.

Then I made a decision as to whether or not to powder coat all the metal on the cab black including the control panel or just a good spray paint job.

Choice is yours, either way you have a nice machine to start with, I will be watching your progress.

If you need a better overlay image to get printed up professionally, i used to know a site that was just for neo geo cpo hosting. I got it via neo-geo.com... i will try and dig it up and post it here.
 
Shoot Matt, I thought you wanted perfect. I have a working 2 slotter that would have been less work than that one.

I did! Post some pics - I still have room for one more cabinet and the wife has already said we could get another nicer one if one came along and then flip this one, which is fine with me, too.

y-u-no-tell-me-earlier.jpg


:D

having been in similar shoes some years ago with a gold cab woody neo geo 2 slot cab, first thing I did was attack the control panel. Removed all the buttons, overlay, credit display boards, and take out the screws that hold the hinge against the cab.

Strip down the pitted/rusted control panel. Use whatever you have to to get the rust bubbles out of the thing and sand it down to a smooth metal. Like this:

I sprayed mine with 3 coats of primer.

Then I made a decision as to whether or not to powder coat all the metal on the cab black including the control panel or just a good spray paint job.

Choice is yours, either way you have a nice machine to start with, I will be watching your progress.

If you need a better overlay image to get printed up professionally, i used to know a site that was just for neo geo cpo hosting. I got it via neo-geo.com... i will try and dig it up and post it here.
Very nice! If you find that site, I'd like to see it, though I don't know of a way to reproduce the overlay in a way that looks close to original. Did you finish that one you posted above? I'd love to see the end result! Thanks!

I did dig out this old CP I had in storage last night:

New-CP.jpg


For now I may just take the overlay and put it on my current CP since the CP on the cab is in better cosmetic shape than the one I pulled from storage. the overlay obviously has it's problems (rust stains, chips, etc), but I still prefer it over the repro+plexi.
 
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Did you find stencils?

I'm in the process of redrawing the logos right now - you can see my progress here and here. I have found someone who has offered to make the paint masks, so hopefully in a few weeks time I'll have everything ready to go!
 
Not as far with this as I'd like to be, but I've gotten a little bit done. The redrawn logos for the sides are almost done, and I've ordered new t-molding. This weekend I also cleaned up the MV-IC board. Here are some before shots:

Memory-Card-Reader.jpg


MV-IC+Cleanup+01.jpg


MV-IC+Cleanup+02.jpg


MV-IC+Cleanup+03.jpg


And now for some shots after a quick Simple Green bath and water hose shower:

MV-IC+Cleanup+04.jpg


MV-IC+Cleanup+05.jpg


Much better! Looks like there's some board damage after all, and I can't find my memory card to test it with, but if nothing else, it's clean!
 
Realized I hadn't updated in a while. Slow moving, but things are getting done. I replaced the CPO with a damn nice repro from Quarter Arcade - highly recommended! One of these days I hope to sand and powder coat the CP.

Buttons have been replaced, and right now I'm testing different sticks to see what I like. I think I'll probably end up with two IL Eurosticks, but I'm also trying out some Sanwas with bat tops to see how I like them.

Oh yeah, and the memory card reader works!

Close-up-of-new-CPO.JPG
 
i am confused. You went from an OLD Style CP to a New Style. and only mentioned changing the overlay, did you buy a whole new CP?
 
I want to know how you liked the Sanwa bat tops. I have a couple of HAPP Ultimates and they are garbage. I am thinking of replacing them with Sanwa bat tops, but may go the IL Eurosticks as well.

Just kind of on the fence at the moment.
 
i am confused. You went from an OLD Style CP to a New Style. and only mentioned changing the overlay, did you buy a whole new CP?
Only the overlay was changed. My CP had holes drilled for both layouts prior to me picking it up. If you scroll up and look at some of the earlier pics, you'll see the extra set of holes.

I want to know how you liked the Sanwa bat tops. I have a couple of HAPP Ultimates and they are garbage. I am thinking of replacing them with Sanwa bat tops, but may go the IL Eurosticks as well.

Just kind of on the fence at the moment.
I like both, honestly. The Sanwa bat tops are nice, but I think I'll probably keep the IL's in there - they seem more familiar to most people who come over.
 
having been in similar shoes some years ago with a gold cab woody neo geo 2 slot cab, first thing I did was attack the control panel. Removed all the buttons, overlay, credit display boards, and take out the screws that hold the hinge against the cab.

Strip down the pitted/rusted control panel. Use whatever you have to to get the rust bubbles out of the thing and sand it down to a smooth metal. Like this:

2996505404_eac2e4c6ba_b.jpg


I sprayed mine with 3 coats of primer.

Then I made a decision as to whether or not to powder coat all the metal on the cab black including the control panel or just a good spray paint job.

Choice is yours, either way you have a nice machine to start with, I will be watching your progress.

If you need a better overlay image to get printed up professionally, i used to know a site that was just for neo geo cpo hosting. I got it via neo-geo.com... i will try and dig it up and post it here.[/QUOTE/]

I freaked a bit when I was checking this thread and someone used a pic of my mvs cp to explain what they did.. Kind of flattering and freaky at the same time!!
 
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