Possible to sand down to wood on nintendo cab?

barrysfarm

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I'm about to start working on restoring a nintendo cabinet (DK Jr), and i need to do a little bit of bondo work, then prime, then cover in This Old Game's orange vinyl.

Is it necessary (or even possible) to sand all the way down to the bare wood on the nintendo cabinets? Or is just getting the melamine(?) good enough? The game has a couple light gouges, and the corners are a bit chipped, but nothing major.

Last year I restored a DK cabinet and I just got the blue melamine smooth, and created new bottom front corners out of bondo, and it turned out pretty good, but I just painted. I didn't use the vinyl kit. But that was when I lived in an apartment, and I had to do it inside and took a few short cuts. Now that I have a garage, I'm fine with putting in any extra effort.
 
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I'm about to start working on restoring a nintendo cabinet (DK Jr), and i need to do a little bit of bondo work, then prime, then cover in This Old Game's orange vinyl.

Is it necessary (or even possible) to sand all the way down to the bare wood on the nintendo cabinets? Or is just getting the melamine(?) good enough? The game has a couple light gouges, and the corners are a bit chipped, but nothing major.

Last year I restored a DK cabinet and I just got the blue melamine smooth, and created new bottom front corners out of bondo, and it turned out pretty good, but I just painted. I didn't use the vinyl kit.

I would never sand down to the wood on a Ninty cab. Ever. You can feather the bondo into that baked enamel finish pretty well.
 
when you feather the bondo into the baked enamel and then vinyl over it is the bondo going to show thru? i'm guessing you need to bondo then paint then vinyl.
 
when you feather the bondo into the baked enamel and then vinyl over it is the bondo going to show thru? i'm guessing you need to bondo then paint then vinyl.

Bingo. You most definitely have to paint before applying the 2ml vinyls.
 
This is the steps that I'm thinking of taking:

Step 1: Remove hardware, t-molding.

Step 2: Sand enamel finish. I'm thinking something in the ~80 grit range with my orbital sander.

Step 3: Bondo scratches, and corners. Sand once dry. Still 80 grit? Repeat step as necessary.

Step 4: Prime, Prime, Sand (150 grit), Prime, Sand (220 grit) How high should I go?

Step 5: Apply vinyl.

i need to remove some side art that's there... don't worry... it was converted to a superman at one point, ok to just sand it off? Or should I use some kind of chemical agent?
 
This is the steps that I'm thinking of taking:

Step 1: Remove hardware, t-molding.

Step 2: Sand enamel finish. I'm thinking something in the ~80 grit range with my orbital sander.

Step 3: Bondo scratches, and corners. Sand once dry. Still 80 grit? Repeat step as necessary.

Step 4: Prime, Prime, Sand (150 grit), Prime, Sand (220 grit) How high should I go?

Step 5: Apply vinyl.

i need to remove some side art that's there... don't worry... it was converted to a superman at one point, ok to just sand it off? Or should I use some kind of chemical agent?

Whoa. 80 Grit? On Ninty enamel? Hellz No. You'll be creating tons of scratches and ruining a perfectly good, smooth surface to paint and apply vinyl to. I would also skip the primer. Or just spray primer onto the bondoed areas to seal them. Just bondo, sand the bondoed areas with 120, then 220, (then spray primer those areas) then sand the whole cab with 320/400, then roll or spray on oil-based paint the same color as the vinyl you are applying. I've restored a few Ninty cabs with this method.
 
Whoa. 80 Grit? On Ninty enamel? Hellz No. You'll be creating tons of scratches and ruining a perfectly good, smooth surface to paint and apply vinyl to. I would also skip the primer. Or just spray primer onto the bondoed areas to seal them. Just bondo, sand the bondoed areas with 120, then 220, (then spray primer those areas) then sand the whole cab with 320/400, then roll or spray on oil-based paint the same color as the vinyl you are applying. I've restored a few Ninty cabs with this method.

Ok. That sound great to me. Much easier than what I was going to do. Any idea what color paint the DK orange would be? I'll have to roll it. I don't have access to a sprayer. I've got the major hardwares stores within a couple miles. However, we can't get oil based paint anywhere around here.
 
From this:

P1010001-2.jpg


To this (Paint):

SSL11136.jpg


To this (vinyl):

SSL11477.jpg


And this (paint):

mariobroscab.jpg


To This (vinyl):

SSL11487.jpg
 
Those look really great!

I've seen them before, but they look practically brand new.

Think I'm safe bringing in a sample of the vinyl and getting it color matched? Also, what type of paint did you use?
 
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I disagree with not primering. I painted my DK Jr. cabinet. Sanded the melamine to rough up the surface so the primer/finish would bite. Fill scratches, dings, etc.. Primer, sand primer, very fine sand, get it slick. Make sure entire primered surface is scuff so finish will bite to it. Paint.

Not saying mine is 'the best', but the end result far exceeded my expectations. I sprayed mine outside and the finish looks good. The decals are on it now, but don't have a pic of that. Slicker than it looks in the pics, the way the light is hitting it. Couple of pics I have here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/63638655@N00/sets/72157624623462610/
 
An update and some questions:

I've painted on 2 coats of the orange, and it's really plasticy smooth, and looks and feels really good!

How long should I wait for the paint to dry to apply the vinyl? A few weeks?

Anyone know where i can get one of those credit card sized squeegees locally? I haven't had much luck in the big hardware stores, but maybe i'm not looking in the right part of the store.
 
i think if you buy your vinyl from rich at tog you can purchase a squeegee as well. i can't find them on his site now but i remember seeing them somewhere..
 
An update and some questions:

I've painted on 2 coats of the orange, and it's really plasticy smooth, and looks and feels really good!

How long should I wait for the paint to dry to apply the vinyl? A few weeks?

Anyone know where i can get one of those credit card sized squeegees locally? I haven't had much luck in the big hardware stores, but maybe i'm not looking in the right part of the store.

Let's see what it looks like. Maybe you won't need vinyl if it is as smooth as you say it is.
 
What's your take on the vinyl vs. paint? Which is closer to the original finish when all is said and done?

The vinyl looks pretty close, but it's no where near as durable as an oil-based paint. You can scratch (and puncture in some cases) the surface of the vinyl with your fingernail. It would take quite a bit more to mar the oil-based paint. I have done 2 Nintys in vinyl and will probably do at least one more. It definitely looks nice.
 
I actually already have the vinyl. I purchased it a few months ago, so I'd like to use it. Purchasing a squeegee locally would be preferred. I'd place another order with this old game, but i'd prefer not to pay the shipping.

I noticed that the paint and the vinyl don't match. The vinyl is a slightly deeper orange, and it's probably more accurate. Another reason why i'd like to use it.
 
The vinyl looks pretty close, but it's no where near as durable as an oil-based paint. You can scratch (and puncture in some cases) the surface of the vinyl with your fingernail. It would take quite a bit more to mar the oil-based paint. I have done 2 Nintys in vinyl and will probably do at least one more. It definitely looks nice.

I see. You're definately right about it looking nice.
 
I actually already have the vinyl. I purchased it a few months ago, so I'd like to use it. Purchasing a squeegee locally would be preferred. I'd place another order with this old game, but i'd prefer not to pay the shipping.

I noticed that the paint and the vinyl don't match. The vinyl is a slightly deeper orange, and it's probably more accurate. Another reason why i'd like to use it.

I would think if you lined up 50 original games with the original finish, you would see some variation, especially if the serial numbers aren't close together. The most accurate way to get an authentic color woul be too pull a chip from a place that isn't faded (under the coin door, etc.) and have that color matched. It would be most authentic to that particular cab.
 
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