Steps to take in restoring a Galaga?

animesuperj

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I picked up a Galaga cabinet, without a pcb, over the last weekend for $50. I've been wanting a Galaga for a while now, and figured the price was good.

Overall, the cabinet is in great shape. The cabinet is solid, great side art, great marquee, control panel only has a slight rip or two (art still looks great). The only issue with it is: 1. it's missing the board, and 2. one of the previous owners (not who I bought it from) apparently left it by a pool.

Since it was left in a humid area, the metal has started to rust. I've already started to take a wire brush to some pieces, and plan on cleaning most of it up, using something to remove it further.

My main question, is because a lot of the metal has started to rust (under side of the control panel is bad, screw heads are bad, some pieces are fine though), what else should I worry about when trying to restore this? I'm not sure if the power supply works, so I need to test that. I don't just want to assume things are working without fully testing it, but are there any points I should check/replace just to be sure [monitor/wiring/etc...]?
 
heres some great stuff.

OSPHO rust treatment:
http://www.ospho.com/

we used it on dumpsters. brush it on wait 30 minutes then paint. awesome stuff, with the leftovers id brush it on my springs and frame, etc. chemically changes the rust from continuing its cancer like actions.

i use it on games but i sand before painting then even hit it again then paint.
 
galaga

Use a wire wheel with a drill to remove rust and perhaps some naval jelly.

If the screws can't be removed normally just drill out the heads carefully and buy new ones from Bob Roberts. Bob has pretty much all the stuff you will need. Phoenix arcade has the best CPOs and art work. Quarter arcade has new metal control panels.

Wiring - If you are planning on buying a real galaga board keep the wiring if it's good. Otherwise buy a 48 / 60 in 1 and switch to JAMMA wiring.

Post some pics. Take a look at my site it has a lot of Galaga restoration projects on it.

good luck
 
Thanks for the tips so far guys. I was planning on buying a real Galaga board. I hoping the wiring is good. Is there an easy way to tell if it is or not?

I'm going to start taking pictures of the project. I'd like to document the entire thing from beginning to end and see how it all turned out.

splattergatz, I'll have to check my local ACE to see if they have the ospho stuff in stock. That looks like it should work pretty well for what I'm trying to accomplish.

Also, I've been wondering if I should just replace the power supply with the power supply conversion kit and harness along with it from Bob Roberts. I was figuring since I don't have the board, I'm not sure if the wiring/psu works, and if I'm replacing a lot anyway should I just go ahead and do this? Thoughts on keeping what's there and rebuild or getting new psu kit + harness?
 
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+1 for Ospho, I use it alot. I have 7 gallons of it in the garage now.
I have a car in the garage that has been stripped to bare steel for almost 5 years and its still rust free. Not only does it kill rust but it helps prevent rust from coming back.

I wouldnt bother with the original power supply if its not working. If its working keep it but if its not just put a switcher in it. Galage runs great on a switcher.
I have a good working bootleg board if you decide not to buy an original board. Gameplay is identical and its a more reliable boardset.
 
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Use a wire wheel with a drill to remove rust

thats a great idea. then hit it with the OSPHO. that way you scrape away the unwantedness and then STOP any new unwantedness dead.

i'd send you my extra gallon but its expensive and i dont think i can send it through the mail anyway because its hazardous.

check your local ACE HARDWARE. thats where i got mine but i had to buy 4 gallons.
 
Riptor: I'm not sure if the power supply works or not, and I'm just wondering if since I have to replace a lot anyway; should I just go ahead and run a switcher in it since it'll run better.

Also, I'll keep that in mind about the bootleg board. I'd like to keep it all original, but we'll see as I go along with the repairs.

I'll probably pickup a wire wheel and some ospho this next week and start to attack the rust on this thing.
 
Riptor: I'm not sure if the power supply works or not, and I'm just wondering if since I have to replace a lot anyway; should I just go ahead and run a switcher in it since it'll run better.

Also, I'll keep that in mind about the bootleg board. I'd like to keep it all original, but we'll see as I go along with the repairs.

I'll probably pickup a wire wheel and some ospho this next week and start to attack the rust on this thing.


The only problem I've had with bootleg boards is the freeplay settings. I have a couple of Gallag boards and when they have the "Galaga" chips on them, they refuse to work properly as far as freeplay goes. You have to coin them up once, play a game... THEN they go into freeplay mode... kind of annoying. Probably a simple ROM fix, but it's beyond me.

I spent months try'ng to work on my actual Galaga boards... in the end, I just built an adapter and put a Gallag board in... works good enough... less to worry about too... no custom chips to fall apart for example. But, the freeplay thing really annoys me.
 
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