Repro CPO's Already Cracking at the Bend List

Phetishboy

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This thread is in no way meant to bash any repro guys out there. This thread is to finally exalt all the original factory CPO's that may be cracked at the bend, but in otherwise good shape. Most (overly anal) guys that restore these machines seem to just have to replace the original CPO's with a repro CPO even if the only damage on the original is the infamous bend crack. I have never understood this. In fact, on a few machines I have restored, I just left the original CPO's on, even with the bend cracks. Moon Patrol and Asteroids Deluxe come to mind. My factory Satan's Hollow CPO has the same issue. Perfect CPO otherwise, but cracked at the bend. I bought a repro, but could never bring myself to install it.

I just wanted to let you know that now that I have lived with some of my restored machines (and their screened repro CPOs) for a few years (no where near 30), I have recently begun to notice that some of them are already starting to crack at the bend (some in less than 3). Maybe some of those factory CPO's weren't that bad after all and many of those original CPOs that you were thinking about replacing in the near future should be given a second chance. It seems the crack is inevitable. My repro CPO's already starting to crack:

Mario Bros
Q*bert

If you have any nice repro CPO's starting to crack, feel free to add to the list. Please just list the game cpo, don't bash any companies, I really don't think it's their fault. I really think it's just the nature of the beast.
 
Think it may be an installation issue? My Qbert hasn't cracked...

Well I know that Chris25810's Qbert CPO was cracking at the bend worse than mine, and he's more of an anal restorer than I am. We of course bought the repros from the same place.
 
Interesting thread, this is something I never had thought about. It'll definitely make me think twice about buying a repro if my original is in fairly good shape.
 
Well I know that Chris25810's Qbert CPO was cracking at the bend worse than mine, and he's more of an anal restorer than I am. We of course bought the repros from the same place.

cwales also has a repro Q*bert overlay that is cracking pretty bad on the bend.

And almost forgot, his PlayChoice-10 dual monitor CPO is also cracking on the bend.
 
Centipede UR.

Not an installation issue either. I stripped, sanded, primed, sanded, primed again installed with perfect adhesion everywhere. It's cracking along the radius below the trackball (left to right).

This was an Arcadeshop repro.
 
Not a cpo, but my repro Tempest marquee was cracking badly at the bends less than a year after installation.
 
Never seen a cpo (repro or original) without, at the least, hairline cracks in the bend.

I repro all of mine. They all seem to have hairline cracks after a few years but they look a million times better than the butt scarred, torn to shreds originals that had been on there.
 
Q*bert, Millipede are the only ones that I can think of cracking so far. Think my 720 is still holding up.

Super Pac had a TwoBitScore, I forget if it was cracking and don't have it in my collection anymore. Probably was cracking.

Both the crackly ones are Arcadeshop. Was really hoping that someone would do a Millipede CPO reproduction other than them, but at this point I'll probably have to install theirs again (my new 'pede has big strips missing at the bend and around the trackball and that isn't going to work).
 
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Mappy (although it's not particularly noticeable). But I believe it could have been avoided if I had relied a little more on my heat gun. I don't think I ever used it for soft/gradual bends. It hasn't convinced me to just live with originals at this point, although in the case of my Elevator Action I'll gladly live with the cracked bend rather than going with one of the horrid EA cpo repros.
 
Are you guys clamping them around the bends for a while before installation, and heating them a bit with a hairdryer while installing?
 
you all must have played at fancier arcades than me?

to this day i really don't mind cracks and cigarette burns. seems like that's just how it was.

i'd probably set a limit if someone's name was scribed in, but weathering? nahhh
 
Never seen a cpo (repro or original) without, at the least, hairline cracks in the bend.

I repro all of mine. They all seem to have hairline cracks after a few years but they look a million times better than the butt scarred, torn to shreds originals that had been on there.

This is my original Moon Patrol CPO on my restored machine. You can make out some imperfections and small tears at the bottom bend, under the copyright text.

DSC00063.jpg


You can also see some wear spots mixed with a ciggy burn or 3 at the top bend:

P4180317.jpg


Here's my AD, you can see the bend crack damage front and center:

ADBefore-1.jpg


You'd replace those?
 
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