OP
OP
I had this plate and a control panel powder coated at the same time. The shop I went to had a $80 minimum charge. So that is what I paid.
Pole Position cockpit restoration
- Thread starter Jaydon
- Start date
Man you are doing a great job on restoring this cabinet. Reminds me of my Spy Hunter cabinet restoration. Lol
For powder coating I use C&S in Redlands. They are not fast but they do a great job for me and have several pin ball customers as well.
I haven't used the laminate process yet. I bet it will give you a nice smooth surface for the side art.
Looking forward to seeing this all come together.
For powder coating I use C&S in Redlands. They are not fast but they do a great job for me and have several pin ball customers as well.
I haven't used the laminate process yet. I bet it will give you a nice smooth surface for the side art.
Looking forward to seeing this all come together.
OP
OP
Thank you. It is turning out nicely. I am almost done with it.
I tried C&S one time. I showed up at 11am and they were closed. From what the neighbor told me, they show up at 6am and are done by 10am. I guess no one was managing the store front that day. I might have to try them again.
OP
OP
Let's discuss the most pain in ass part of this restoration, the "bad side". This is the side that almost made me walk away from purchasing this game. Back then. what I first saw was the cracked back and some rot on the bottom. There was a lot more damage than I anticipated. And for some reason, the arcade gods did NOT want this side repaired. I'm going to discuss each repair in a separate post. Just a reminder, this is what if looked like originally.
If you look at the bottom, you can see a part of the cabinet that looks like it has broken off and was screwed back on. Here is a close up of that area.
My original thought was to repeat what I did on the other side. But the rot extended a lot further down the cabinet.
So new game plan. Lets try and tackle 2 repairs at the same time. In hindsight, this was probably not the wisest decisions I've made. Here is the area I marked off for removal.
Using a template from the other side, I cut the replacement part.
I cut out all the rot (and some perfectly good parts of the cabinet)
And after a test fit, some minor tweaking of the replacement piece, I glued it into place. Here is the end result.
If you look at the bottom, you can see a part of the cabinet that looks like it has broken off and was screwed back on. Here is a close up of that area.
My original thought was to repeat what I did on the other side. But the rot extended a lot further down the cabinet.
So new game plan. Lets try and tackle 2 repairs at the same time. In hindsight, this was probably not the wisest decisions I've made. Here is the area I marked off for removal.
Using a template from the other side, I cut the replacement part.
I cut out all the rot (and some perfectly good parts of the cabinet)
And after a test fit, some minor tweaking of the replacement piece, I glued it into place. Here is the end result.
OP
OP
Next up, the front corner. It was the same ol, same ol. No need to explain. Here are the pictures.
Phetishboy
Well-known member
Nice work this is looking pretty sweet.
TheYeti
Well-known member
OP
OP
Here is how I tackled this crack.
I need to take you back in time. Right after I removed the side art, I made some rough measurements for the area that needed to be cut. These measurements were from the bottom edge.
While I was working on the "good side", I used these measurements to mark off the area of the back that I needed to copy. I placed some particle board over this unbroken back curve, making sure to go a few inches beyond my measurements. Using a flush router bit and router, I made a template of this curve. Sorry. I didn't take pictures of this step.
So now lets move forward in time. I have the good side repaired and laminated. The cabinet has been flipped over and I'm looking at the crack going down the back. I realized that in order to cut out that broken section, the back of the cabinet is going to have to come off also. Notice where the purple tape is. If I were to cut across that tape, even with the depth of the blade set, there is a chance I could cut the back piece. It was loose to begin with, so off it goes.
I have this paint scraper that bought years ago when I was doing my first restoration, my Paperboy. Over the years of using it to spread bondo, then sanding off the bondo from the blade, the blade had progressively gotten thinner.
I use this blade to slice through and break away glue that s holding 2 pieces of wood together. I mark the depth of the supporting wood block with some tape.
Then using a mallet, I tap this blade between the 2 pieces of wood. Move the blade down and repeat, making sure to avoid nails and screws.
Eventually, enough of the wood glue is broken that is frees the 2 pieces with minimal damage.
I need to take you back in time. Right after I removed the side art, I made some rough measurements for the area that needed to be cut. These measurements were from the bottom edge.
While I was working on the "good side", I used these measurements to mark off the area of the back that I needed to copy. I placed some particle board over this unbroken back curve, making sure to go a few inches beyond my measurements. Using a flush router bit and router, I made a template of this curve. Sorry. I didn't take pictures of this step.
So now lets move forward in time. I have the good side repaired and laminated. The cabinet has been flipped over and I'm looking at the crack going down the back. I realized that in order to cut out that broken section, the back of the cabinet is going to have to come off also. Notice where the purple tape is. If I were to cut across that tape, even with the depth of the blade set, there is a chance I could cut the back piece. It was loose to begin with, so off it goes.
I have this paint scraper that bought years ago when I was doing my first restoration, my Paperboy. Over the years of using it to spread bondo, then sanding off the bondo from the blade, the blade had progressively gotten thinner.
I use this blade to slice through and break away glue that s holding 2 pieces of wood together. I mark the depth of the supporting wood block with some tape.
Then using a mallet, I tap this blade between the 2 pieces of wood. Move the blade down and repeat, making sure to avoid nails and screws.
Eventually, enough of the wood glue is broken that is frees the 2 pieces with minimal damage.
OP
OP
You might remember from an earlier post that I found out that the space under the seat had been used by a colony of mutant space mice as their restroom. I thoroughly vacuumed that space with my shop vac, or so I thought. When the back came off, the horrors began.
Clean up, isle 1.
Back to the crack. Here is the rough area that I was thinking about cutting out.
There were only 6 screws holding that piece in place. Once they were unscrewed, I was able to remove the entire side/top section.
Time to cut the broken part off.
I used the template from the "good side" to make a copy of this broken piece, using the tape as my upper and lower boundaries.
Even with all the measuring and double checks, I had to cut this replacement piece a total of 4 times!! Parts would just not line up correctly. Eventually, I created a perfect match,
Time to glue.
Clean up, isle 1.
Back to the crack. Here is the rough area that I was thinking about cutting out.
There were only 6 screws holding that piece in place. Once they were unscrewed, I was able to remove the entire side/top section.
Time to cut the broken part off.
I used the template from the "good side" to make a copy of this broken piece, using the tape as my upper and lower boundaries.
Even with all the measuring and double checks, I had to cut this replacement piece a total of 4 times!! Parts would just not line up correctly. Eventually, I created a perfect match,
Time to glue.
OP
OP
With everything lined up and looking good, it was time to glue and clamp. Of course, I used biscuits. I also used the existing support (the white wood shown in the post above) to help hold this replacement in place. I just placed some parchment paper between the support and the pieces I was gluing to make sure they didn't get glued together.
I had to get creative with the clamps again. But it worked.
While I was working on this side, I decided to plug the holes someone put in for a lock
I decided to make my own plugs using particle board in order to keep the material consistent.
I think this side is ready for laminate.
The arcade gods laughed and said onto thee "Foolish mortal. You shall NOT have it that easy."
I had already laminated one side. What could go wrong?
Somehow, when I was pulling the dowels out and rolling the laminate down onto the cabinet, I must have not have gone back and forth evenly from the place I had just adhered the two materials. I don't know how, But when I got to the left side of the cabinet, the laminate had a crease in it. There was no way to roll it out. I wish I had taken a picture of it. The only thing to do was to peal off the laminate I just glued down. With help from my son, we were able to get all the pieces off with minimal any damage to the cabinet.
Now I had to order new laminate and remove all the glue. Some of you are thinking I could just reapply a new layer to reactivate the existing glue. but there were tiny shards of the laminate that was imbedded in the glue. Mineral spirits, scrappers, and rags where my tools. It took a couple of nights to get it all off. It came off like this.
I had to get creative with the clamps again. But it worked.
While I was working on this side, I decided to plug the holes someone put in for a lock
I decided to make my own plugs using particle board in order to keep the material consistent.
I think this side is ready for laminate.
The arcade gods laughed and said onto thee "Foolish mortal. You shall NOT have it that easy."
I had already laminated one side. What could go wrong?
Somehow, when I was pulling the dowels out and rolling the laminate down onto the cabinet, I must have not have gone back and forth evenly from the place I had just adhered the two materials. I don't know how, But when I got to the left side of the cabinet, the laminate had a crease in it. There was no way to roll it out. I wish I had taken a picture of it. The only thing to do was to peal off the laminate I just glued down. With help from my son, we were able to get all the pieces off with minimal any damage to the cabinet.
Now I had to order new laminate and remove all the glue. Some of you are thinking I could just reapply a new layer to reactivate the existing glue. but there were tiny shards of the laminate that was imbedded in the glue. Mineral spirits, scrappers, and rags where my tools. It took a couple of nights to get it all off. It came off like this.
OP
OP
Victory!!
OP
OP
OP
OP
Thank you.
OP
OP
Question time.
What would you do in this situation?
1) Clean it. Do a little touch up paint and leave it alone.
2) Fill the hole, bondo, mask the stickers, prime and paint.
3) Cut out the stickers, fill the hole, bondo, prime and paint, apply new vinyl, glue the stickers back.
Also, to anyone that has used Szabos replacement plexiglass, can you just bend the plexi in place without it breaking? Or do you need to heat it up?
What would you do in this situation?
1) Clean it. Do a little touch up paint and leave it alone.
2) Fill the hole, bondo, mask the stickers, prime and paint.
3) Cut out the stickers, fill the hole, bondo, prime and paint, apply new vinyl, glue the stickers back.
Also, to anyone that has used Szabos replacement plexiglass, can you just bend the plexi in place without it breaking? Or do you need to heat it up?
When I did my plexi I put the plexi in the sun for a 20 mins or so and then with the cabinet outside as well just start with the two screw up top. Wait 5-10 mins then do the next set of screws and rise and repeat until your done.
Nice woodworking ..
Well done ..
That is how you replace crappy particleboard.. Great stuff when kept dry IMHO.. But turns to crap when left wet.
Still 1000x better than MDF.
Well done ..
That is how you replace crappy particleboard.. Great stuff when kept dry IMHO.. But turns to crap when left wet.
Still 1000x better than MDF.
OP
OP
Here is the door after a little cleaning with some isopropyl alcohol, magic eraser, and clorox wipes. I'm kind of leaning towards just doing a little touch up paint instead of a full vinyl replacement. Thoughts?
If it was mine, I'd leave it alone and move on. Yes to touch up, no to vinyl replacement.
MrGorf
Well-known member
That is some real nice woodworking on this restoration.
That laminate looks great.
Really impressive job.
That laminate looks great.
Really impressive job.
