paint advice

silvereagle

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Just wondering what some of you guys recommend in terms of paint when restoring a cabinet. Mine has some sort of a thin vinyl I am planning on sanding right down to nothing and using some auto filler to cover the imperfections.

Should I use latex or oil and what sort of shine should I aim for?

Thanks
 
I just finished the base pewter silver paint on my Robotron project. I got a very slick finish and am satisfied with the results. I did the cabinet work, filled scratches with wood putty, sanded, primer, sanded, primer, sanded...

Before painting, you want a very slick surface. May not need to go so far as wet sanding the primer, as you would on a car, but the finish will only be as smooth as the prep work.

For the finish, I used semi-gloss latex, mixed about 85% paint, 10% water, 5% Floetrol. I added a tiny bit more water to thin some more. Sprayed it from a cheap siphon feed HVLP gun, powered by a 33gallon 6HP airless compressor. You can use a smaller compressor, I just wouldn't bother with a pancake type. You need the air volume to keep up with the gun.
 
Just wondering what some of you guys recommend in terms of paint when restoring a cabinet. Mine has some sort of a thin vinyl I am planning on sanding right down to nothing and using some auto filler to cover the imperfections.

Should I use latex or oil and what sort of shine should I aim for?

Thanks

Sanding through the thin vinyl should be fine. It will possibly leave you with a smoother surface than if you tried to peel it off anyway.

Most people here who can get it, use oil based paints. They seem to be more durable and go on smoother. Most who use oil based paints apply it with foam rollers and foam brushes (for doing edges).

As far as finish (shine), satin tends to be the fav. That is what I have used on my 4 resto's and I wouldn't use any other finish.

Hope this helps, but know that you will always get conflicting opinions when it comes to a subject like paint.
 
I used latex as it cleans up really easy and getting the color to match was really easy too, but mostly because this is my first pinball restoration. I then used PolyCrylic over top to give it a super shine like the original oil based paint. I am really happy with the results.
 
This MP cab I just finished was done with oil based paint. The base coat, as well as the kickplate, back doors and roof were rolled with foam rollers, the stencil coats were sprayed from rattle cans. I then finished it with a coat of Turtle Wax:

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While I prefer spraying, this Moon Patrol is proof you can do a beautiful restoration job using rollers. While someone set up to spray would do it no other way, the roller technique avoids the issues with weather, wind, overspray, cleaning the gun
 
While I prefer spraying, this Moon Patrol is proof you can do a beautiful restoration job using rollers. While someone set up to spray would do it no other way, the roller technique avoids the issues with weather, wind, overspray, cleaning the gun

Exactly. Though I know the first day I set up to spray there will be no turning back. But really, with rolling, technique is everything. I have seen some really crappy roller jobs in my day. I have done it this way many times, always refining the process as I go. See the reflection of the concrete stress cut in the black kickplate?

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It's damn hard to get paint that smooth with a roller, but with a little skill and patience (and a little Penetrol), a good finish can be achieved. BTB, I fluctuate between Satin and Semi-gloss finishes. Some stores and paint brands in oil don't come in or carry satin, so semi-gloss is the next best thing.
 
I wish you were my next-door neighbor Spy. Then I'd have you spray all my cabs while I reclined on a Roman couch and ate bunches of grapes.
 
I don't think I've ever chimed in on any of the hundreds of painting threads on here, but a HUGE advantage of latex for me is the lack of bad fumes and easy clean up. Premium latex paint plus primer with a foam roller works just fine IMHO.
 
i was going to ask you phet what type of black to use for cabs. I'm doing a qbert this weekend or next. i was going to go with a oil based satin black, and if they don't have that use semi gloss? i seen on your qbert you ended up putting vinyl on the front was there any paint specific reason you did this?
 
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i was going to ask you phet what type of black to use for cabs. I'm doing a qbert this weekend or next. i was going to go with a oil based satin black, and if they doing have that use semi gloss? i seen on your qbert you ended up putting vinyl on the front was there any paint specific reason you did this?

No, not really a paint issue, more like a surface/finish issue. No matter how many times I bondoed/sanded/bondoed/sanded, etc, I could not get a finish smooth enough to my liking. Then when I put the adhesive backed lower marquee on the cab, the mis-matched finishes bothered me even more. I happened to have a roll of the Happ textured vinyl here and low and behold, the finish was a near perfect match to the finish on the lower marquee. I butted the top edge of the vinyl up against the bottom edge of the lower marquee, and now it looks like one continuous piece of vinyl, save for the seam you can't see unless you bend over and look for it (how many times has Fritz used that phrase?).

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I always use Rustoleum Oil-based Satin or Semi-Gloss Black paint, depending on what they have when I go to Menards.
 
i see what you mean, from the pictures it does look like one continuous piece. i have vinyl left over from my system 1 cab from rich but the texture prolly wont match, i'll have to look around at happ and see if i can find some. i just found a complete qbert wire harness with the interlock and original service panel, so my black jammatized qbert project can move forward.
 
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