Pac Man SN# 36519 Restoration

mindbinge

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So I'm going to attempt to fix this thing up. This is the first full blown resto that I've done, so I'm pretty much lost and trying to find my way home here.

-SN # 36519
-26,000+ plays showing on the meter
-missing parts: Marquee, Monitor, One Coin Mech

The good:
-looks to be in overall "ok" condition
-bezel is in pretty good shape
-looks like pretty much everything is there as far as wiring and boards, although not tested yet.
-control panel looks to be all original.

The bad:
-moisture damage on bottom edges, top, and bottom panel.
-power supply board is looking pretty bad and is untested.
-needs t molding
-needs new monitor, old one is missing in action.
-needs leg levelers
-coin door wiring looks like its been monkeyed around with
-it has been converted to a Pac Man Plus and will need to be converted back to a regular Pac Man.
-back door is missing in action

To do list:
-remove and clean everything inside
-strip down the cabinet to bare wood
-primer and paint cabinet
-refurb the coin door
-clean up/refurb/replace the power supply
-convert and test boards
-replace leg levelers
-replace t-molding
-spot repair/refurb bezel glass
-replace missing marquee and lights
-replace missing monitor
-replace control panel/refurb as needed
-replace missing back door
-replace locks
-order new key chain
-order stencils for artwork

...will add more if i think of anything else.

Feel free to jump in and give me some advice if you see anything you have some input on...

Before Pics:

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FYI your power supply/bottom board doesnt look bad at all. Is it soft/swollen? How bad is the art?

not really swollen, there are some places on the sides and the top looks pretty bad...looks like just a stain on the bottom.

I have everything stripped out now, going to sand it down and get started on the bondo tonight hopefully. Will bring the power board upstairs and work on that tonight once the kids are asleep. Going to Radio Shack in a few to get the fuse blocks and a couple of other items before they close.

Here are some pics of the cabinet:

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here are some pics of some problem areas:

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here is a pic of the front, artwork was actually in good shape here, you would think the kick panel would be bad.
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update and a question:

Got some Citristrip at Home Depot (even though it showed not avail locally online?)...this stuff is as great as everyone says it is...very impressive....I put on what I thought might be a light coat with a 3 inch paint brush and let it sit for an hour....and it took almost everything off...i did another light coating of it just to get everything else, although i probably could have just left it for the sanding, i wanted to kinda play around with this stuff a little just to see what it would do...so the right side is now stripped clean down to the wood and I have not touched sand paper yet...impressive.

It started raining so i will have to finish up stripping the rest tomorrow (i hope) and then maybe get some sanding started.

Question for those that have done this before...should i strip the black area around the monitor down to the wood or just sand it and primer it then paint over it? It's in pretty good shape and there are no deep scratches or anything damaged in that area.

Should I plan on using satin black glossy or a flat black paint for that area?

Going to work on the harness and power block tonight for a few....will have some more pics tomorrow.

**Also picked up some MinWax Wood Hardener for the top and the bottom of the cab....took the leg levelers off and it is a bit rough on the bottom...should be ok with the hardener applied.
 
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all stripped down now and started sanding the right side...there is a LOT of wood damage on this thing...going to try to finish sanding and begin bondo tomorrow. There will be a lot of bondo work to be done...not looking forward to it at all.

Been a good day though, got a Time Pilot for $50, managed to clean out some space and move some stuff around when i took a break from sanding...and stripped off part of my Berzerk cabinet left side and found the original artwork still on there...not good enough to save though sadly...I have 60 in 1 multi plans for that one anyway...it's borderline burn pile material as it is.

Will add a couple of pics of the sanding tomorrow...don't feel like fooling with it tonight.
 
I would just replace the side thats water damaged with new plywood. That would be easier than all that sanding and bondo.
 
I would just replace the side thats water damaged with new plywood. That would be easier than all that sanding and bondo.

both sides are water damaged and I've already got the right side about ready to bondo...it's just the top ply layer that was damaged...mostly at the bottom and a couple of places on the side...once you start sanding you can really tell where the problems are...i basically started out by just peeling off as much as I could get to peel off all the way around on both sides...it looked pretty bad, but once i was able to start sanding it...i hit is with 60 grit and it took care of it...i'm going to go over it once more with 120 or so before i bondo it...that should have it in pretty solid shape i think.

I like the idea that it's the original cabinet and I plan on keeping this thing forever...so...it's a labor of love at this point...i was really excited to get it and I hope I can do more of these in the future...maybe just not as damaged lol. This is my first one and it's going to always be special to me...the amount of work i'm putting in to it only makes it more special lol.
 
still sanding....couple of pics...you can see the extensive damage to the right side wood here....and the top is still rough, but getting better...about to slap the hardener to it soon.

This is taking longer to get the sanding done than I thought it would.

must have been a lot of dust floating around in the first pic...sorry.

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Looking good! I am following your thread closely as I am about as far along in my project as you! My cab has no water damage like yours, but will require plenty of bondo.
PM me sometime, I'd like to hear the details of a few parts of your resto......
 
Looking good! I am following your thread closely as I am about as far along in my project as you! My cab has no water damage like yours, but will require plenty of bondo.
PM me sometime, I'd like to hear the details of a few parts of your resto......

the water damage is what is slowing me down so much...if it wasn't as bad as it is i could have been done with the sanding by now I think...i wanted to make sure i got all of the bad wood off of there, and if you look at the pic of the right side after sanding, i found a huge knot in the plywood that was rotted under the top piece of ply...it's been that way since new...so...that really sucked...i have the top, right side, and kick plate done now and ready to bondo...working on the left side tonight and hope to finish it up tomorrow...should start the bondo on Sunday...hope to be doing primer early next week. and have the paint done by the end of next week...still working on getting some parts i need to finish it up...once i get everything done i will get the stencils...going to do that last so i can just move it and put it up when its done...i dont want to be messing up my work fooling around with it after i get the side art done.

thats the game plan anyway...not sure how long it will take to get it actually completed.
 
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