OCD Alert: Galaxian paint restore..is it worth it?

elekTRONarcade

Active member
Joined
Aug 2, 2011
Messages
1,346
Reaction score
24
Location
Milton, Florida
Hey guys. I just bought a Galaxian last night that, for a 32 year old machine, is in unbelievable shape, save for a few dings, scratches and minor paint wear spots. I cleaned the hell out of it last night to remove the nicotine stains, which went mostly well..but as I cleaned it, I started to notice the art had a few more worn spots and scratches than I initially saw once the nicotine was gone.

Would it be worth it to even try to attempt to match the still-mildy-stained paint and touch up the cab, or should I just get over my OCD and leave it the hell alone? My biggest concern is, that with the paint colors now slightly off due to the staining, I'd hate to go with the standard color codes for Galaxian only to have a very noticeable difference in color. I have no way of grabbing swatches from the current paint without physically taking chunks out to match up.

Any suggestions, aside from "Leave it the hell alone"? lol
 
Hey guys. I just bought a Galaxian last night that, for a 32 year old machine, is in unbelievable shape, save for a few dings, scratches and minor paint wear spots. I cleaned the hell out of it last night to remove the nicotine stains, which went mostly well..but as I cleaned it, I started to notice the art had a few more worn spots and scratches than I initially saw once the nicotine was gone.

Would it be worth it to even try to attempt to match the still-mildy-stained paint and touch up the cab, or should I just get over my OCD and leave it the hell alone? My biggest concern is, that with the paint colors now slightly off due to the staining, I'd hate to go with the standard color codes for Galaxian only to have a very noticeable difference in color. I have no way of grabbing swatches from the current paint without physically taking chunks out to match up.

Any suggestions, aside from "Leave it the hell alone"? lol

First I'd try touching it up (mix and match your own paint against the cab), and if that fails, Rich at this Old Game offers full reproduction side art. The only difference is that the matte white vinyl he uses is not textured. If you are truly OCD and want to faithfully replicate the texture of the original vinyl, roll (yes roll) 2 or 3 coats of Polyurethane on the bare cab sides before installing the side art. After installation, hit the sides with a hair dryer or heat gun on low setting to get the vinyl to conform to the orange peel texture of the poly coats. Done.
 
Eeek...vinyl....a dirty word. I'd hate to cover up the gorgeous original art with a mere repro. I'm still kicking myself for doing that to my Ms. Pac-Man. I can try to mix/match colors...what sort of paint would you suggest? Model paint, or acrylic art paint?
 
Not this cab..believe it or not, its all painted, which was surprising. I double checked it last night and sure enough, its been screen printed on over a white base.
 
Not this cab..believe it or not, its all painted, which was surprising. I double checked it last night and sure enough, its been screen printed on over a white base.

This is correct. The material the Galaxian cabs were cut from has a white vinyl surface. The artwork was screened on top of that.
 
This is correct. The material the Galaxian cabs were cut from has a white vinyl surface. The artwork was screened on top of that.

The vinyl is peeling back at the top on mine. Was the vinyl installed on the plywood and then screened? Could have been. It's still vinyl glued to the outside of plywood though. I could peel mine off in one sheet. I believe Nutballchamp installed Rich's repro artwork and it looked great.
 
That's the thing guys...even the base is painted. There was one small broken chunk I removed from the bottom of the kick plate and when I examined it, it was white paint, not vinyl. Maybe this is from an early run before they switched to vinyl, like Ms. Pac-Man. There's absolutely no lifting anywhere, not even around the area where the broken chunk was. I know vinyl when I see it, and this definitely isn't it :-D
 
Post us some pictures of it if you can. I am in the middle of restoring a Galaxian myself. It was converted to Ms. Pac and someone thought it would be a good idea to paint over the original artwork. The vinyl peeled right off and left nice wood underneath. I would like to what exactly you have.
 
The vinyl is peeling back at the top on mine. Was the vinyl installed on the plywood and then screened? Could have been. It's still vinyl glued to the outside of plywood though. I could peel mine off in one sheet. I believe Nutballchamp installed Rich's repro artwork and it looked great.

Yes, you can peel it off, but it's on there pretty good (use a heat gun). Nobody at Midway applied the vinyl... the cabs were built from vinyl covered plywood.
 
Post us some pictures of it if you can. I am in the middle of restoring a Galaxian myself. It was converted to Ms. Pac and someone thought it would be a good idea to paint over the original artwork. The vinyl peeled right off and left nice wood underneath. I would like to what exactly you have.

Absolutely, I'll snap some tonight when I get home. Maybe this is a prototype cab or something else entirely. The T-molding is the black faux leather textured type, and not the standard green and is original to the cab. When I opened the rear access, the cab had basically never been opened and was as pristine as the day it rolled off the floor. Even the manual/schems were still sealed in a manila envelope and had never been opened.

EDIT: Another thing about this cab I thought strange was, it had absolutely no means to transport it easily, i.e. no top handle, no vent hole/handles and no wheels.
 
Last edited:
These cabs are basically identical to the original pac-man cabs. There are no wheels on the bottom, just leg levelers. There should be vent holes on the back of the cab, on the top and some in the back door.
 
Also, what it the serial number on you cab?

Here is mine
010.jpg

013.jpg
 
Wellllllllll.....I was both right AND wrong. And I can freely admit when I'm wrong lol. The cabinet is a hybrid of sorts....the sides are white vinyl, but the kickplate area (where I examined the broken chunk) IS painted white. Mea culpa. Thanks to Spyridon, matt, kawy and Phetish for setting me straight :p
 
bumping this thread to ask what is the best way to prep an original cab for repro side art? i assume the original vinyl has be stripped off first (then bondo, sand, etc)?
 
bumping this thread to ask what is the best way to prep an original cab for repro side art? i assume the original vinyl has be stripped off first (then bondo, sand, etc)?

Yes, you'll need to remove the vinyl. Bondo any areas that need it and sand smooth. Then put a coat of white primer on it. Give the primer coat a light sanding before the artwork goes on.
 
Back
Top Bottom