NINTENDO CAB Blue restoration??

martimagico

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how can i revive my fade blue nintendo cab? the blue surfaces are faded and very dry looking, lots of sun damage, i dont want to paint over the original finish has anyone been able to restore the finish? were these cabinets glossy?
 
how can i revive my fade blue nintendo cab? the blue surfaces are faded and very dry looking, lots of sun damage, i dont want to paint over the original finish has anyone been able to restore the finish? were these cabinets glossy?

If it's a plywood cabinet then redoing the finish is tough. Apparently it's some sort of gel/paint used on boats. The particle board cabinets are different. Post a picture and it might help.
 
If it's a plywood cabinet then redoing the finish is tough. Apparently it's some sort of gel/paint used on boats. The particle board cabinets are different. Post a picture and it might help.

After repairing damage, I sanded, primed, and painted a plywood Donkey Kong cabinet just before I sold it a decade ago, but I'm about to do the same to another DK cabinet.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.
 
After repairing damage, I sanded, primed, and painted a plywood Donkey Kong cabinet just before I sold it a decade ago, but I'm about to do the same to another DK cabinet.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

Yeah, I get that. I'm saying the original finish on the japanese cabs is not normal paint.
 
I always thought it was some sort of laminate.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

Yeah, I had heard it was melamine but there was a guy who worked on boats restoring one and he said once he started sanding he could smell the finish and knew it was the same stuff they use on boats. Some sort of gel he said.
 
how can i revive my fade blue nintendo cab? the blue surfaces are faded and very dry looking, lots of sun damage, i dont want to paint over the original finish has anyone been able to restore the finish? were these cabinets glossy?

If it is a plywood cab then the cp latches are mounted on pieces that are the same finish as the outside.
I took one off and took it to Sherwin Williams to color match.
Those are usually in great shape and not faded.
They used the all surface oil based enamel and it was spot on.
I thinned it and sprayed with HVLP and it came out as smooth as the original finish.
I don't like gloss on cabs and the original is between flat and semi-gloss.
IIRC I used satin.
 
thanks guys, not looking at a repaint just want to revive the laminate, there are blemishes but i was hoping to just "brighten up" the original finish, keep some character.


any thoughts?
 
If you don't want to repaint it, you can try a magic eraser. If that doesn't do it, move to fine (#0000) steel wool followed by car wax or tire cleaner. If you decide to try one of these methods, you'll have to commit to finishing, as you will initially get fine scratches and swirl marks that will have to be buffed out. No guarantees.
 
If you use abrasives be careful to not go through the paint layer.
It is easier than you might think.
 
pix of before.....

opinions? restorable?

pix
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18FAC251-B524-4482-A9C2-0438B9D609B5-1818-0000010A75E14DF4_zpsa162521a.jpg
 
opinions? restorable?

pix
137605E1-B1D4-4746-951E-18317231A467-1818-0000010A85A5EEFB_zps514c7134.jpg

18FAC251-B524-4482-A9C2-0438B9D609B5-1818-0000010A75E14DF4_zpsa162521a.jpg

Well there is fading, you may be able to restore it. Your options to remove the oxidation would be to mechanically remove it or chemically with something like retr0bright. I have never seen anyone try retr0bright on fiberglass gel but it might be worth a shot in a tiny area as a test.

The other option is to rub off the top layer of oxidation with something like that cleaner wax and magic erasers. Also rubbing compound could be used. Again try it in a small spot rather than do it on the whole cabinet.

Did you try spraying so armor all on it to see if it brightened up the gel coat?
 
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