Rock-Ola Eyes Restoration Complete! [PICTURE HEAVY!]

jimbodeanny

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Rock-Ola Eyes Restoration Complete! [PICTURE HEAVY!]

I finally got around to restoring my Eyes that I picked up over two years ago. Between other projects that have been ahead in the queue and life in general, I just haven't had the time until now. To be fair, part of the reason I haven't gotten to this is because I've just been playing the game so much that I didn't want it to be out of commision while I restore it -- which is why I've been working so fast to get it done. Eyes is easily one of my top favorite games for sure.

ANYWAY...

A little back story on this one:
This Eyes came in one of the blue Rock-Ola Jump Bug cabinets with the generic, larger side art covering up the Jump Bug art. After some research and findings, I discovered that this was most likely a factory conversion that Rock-Ola did themselves. Here's the thread where I talk about the conversion in more (pictured) detail: http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=304638&highlight=eyes+conversion&page=11















 
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The game was working when I got it, and so all I had done to it was rebuilt the K4600 monitor, rebuilt the joystick and cleaned the original CPO and bezel glass. I simply wanted to play the game! Unfortunately, all of the restoration work lied in the cosmetics and this cabinet was pretty rough. As with most Rock-Ola cabinets, the mdf was pretty beat up around the t-molding, including a small chunk/hole missing right next to the t-molding slot on the right side. The t-molding slot on the right side was in terrible shape. It was split, and falling apart. In fact the t-molding had about 50 staples holding it in, along with the inner side of the t-molding slot held in place with staples and nails. It was hideous.





The sides of the cabinet were largely discolored and looked like the previous owner had either tried to repaint, or simply had gotten while paint on them. This wasn't a huge deal as I knew I would be applying laminate.









The marquee was cracked and useless. Luckily, I found another original in decent shape for cheap. The fluorescent bulb was missing and the starter was bad. Not a big deal.



 
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After removing everything from the cabinet, the first thing I wanted to do was prep the cabinet for painting the front. Since this was a factory conversion, I decided to keep the cabinet blue, instead of black. Plus, the blue looks WAY better and, in my opinion, is how Eyes should have been to begin with.
I removed the side art and sanded the sides smooth.










After removing all of the stupid staples & nails, I needed to address the t-molding slots, which I was not looking forward to. I mean...just look at how ugly the right slot was! Also, notice the screws in the lower right corner, holding it in. ICK.







 
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I filled both sides with gorilla wood glue, clamped them, and let them sit.





The following day, I removed the clamps and sanded down the excess.












I used bondo to fill in the rest. I also filled the small hole on the side. I also had to patch a couple of holes/chunks by where the lower marquee bracket attached (and yes, I used the old, cracked marquee as a flat edge.) In the end, I used three applications of bondo to get things where they needed to be.




 
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After sanding the bondo...










Before recutting the t-molding slot, I decided to remove the old leg levelers, which were a bitch to remove due to them being rusted solid and frozen. I ended up having to pry the feet off and use PB blaster to get them entirely removed.







I was then able to recut the t-molding slot with my router, which I was nervous about as I had never done it before. It went very smooth and turned out much better than I expected.



 
It was then time to paint. I opted to rattle can the cabinet out on my balcony after talking with Shawn (Phetishboy) a while back, as well as seeing John (BLKDOG7)'s Jump Bug video. After comparing about 50 blue paint swatches and checking out Home Depot, Menards and Lowes, I finally went for Krylon's MAXX True Blue paint, which was a brand I had never used before. It definitely took some getting used to. The spray nozzel is angled slightly and the instructions recommend being a bit closer (6-8 inches) than other paints. The stuff also dries REALLY fast and recommends several coats, with only one minute between coats and all additional coats within 4 hours. Because of this, I was able to get nearly all of my painting done in one day. The following day, I very lightly sanded the front and laid a final coat on and then painted the back.
I was really pleased with how the blue came out.















 
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I also picked up a new joystick plate from Bob Roberts, sanded the black off, primed and painted it to match.





After the paint was dry, I brought the cabinet back inside and gave the inside a thorough cleaning before getting ready for the laminate. This was the first cabinet I used laminate on and it went very well. I opted for Wilsonart's Designer White with the gloss finish. I had looked at a ton of laminate samples and this one was the most appealing to me. I absolutely love smooth, glossy white.
The contact cement I picked up said 15-20 minutes wait time, but I found it took roughly 25 minutes for things to be just right. After laying the dowels, j-rolling and routing/trimming the edges, the laminate was done. I had one or two very minor hiccups that are mostly hidden with the t-molding. Other than that, I think it turned out great.











 
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In keeping with the factory conversion, I opted to also go with the larger, generic side art, rather than the tiny, triangular generic side art that most Eyes had. I was lucky enough to find out that Rich (thisoldgame) had a set of the blue side art already printed and ready to go so I hardly had to wait to get the side art. Surprisingly, I had some issues with applying it, mostly with bubbles, that I'm guessing may have been due to the laminate not providing any breathing room for the rapid tac. However, they went away after a while and all is good. I actually applied the other side, using the dry method, which seemed to work a bit better. I really dig how the art looks against the glossy laminate.











I had the control panel, marquee brackets and coin door powder coated at the local shop.





 
I went over the original control panel with a magic eraser one more time before putting it back on. I'm amazed at how nice this original CPO looks.





Installed new leg levelers and added some coin door lights. Then put everything back in the cabinet.







 
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Looks great- nice job! You guys that live in apartments and have the ability to actually own games AND do restores on them just amazes me. Talk about dedication! I'd never be as motivated as that. :rock:
 
Looks great- nice job! You guys that live in apartments and have the ability to actually own games AND do restores on them just amazes me. Talk about dedication! I'd never be as motivated as that. :rock:

Thanks man! The laminate definitely makes things easier. Restoring the Marble Madness sucked balls with all the sanding, priming and painting. I'm never doing that again until I'm in a house. I keep telling myself that this is just temporary ;)
 
Very nice. REP given.
Please update your VAPS. Eyes is presently listed with a rating of "C-".
Might want to up that to a "B+" or maybe even alittle higher. ;)
 
Very nice. REP given.
Please update your VAPS. Eyes is presently listed with a rating of "C-".
Might want to up that to a "B+" or maybe even alittle higher. ;)

Hah thanks man! Just updated my VAPS. I often forget it even exists.

looks nice. laminate is definitely the way to go.

I agree! Definitely worth it. I'm very sold.
 
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