The Simpsons restoration showcase

Pitas_arcade

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I Just finished a Simpsons restoration. Here's the process. (Picture heavy)22996806-CEB5-4B82-90F9-2C3F758A306A.jpegHere is a picture of what I was working with. I took a bunch of detailed pictures of the inside electronics and carefully removed them and put them Storage containers. Once everything was removed I laid the cabinet on a dolly and applied Citrus strip. There must've been at least five coats of paint on each side. I let that sit for 45 minutes and got to work with a paint scraper. That removed most of the paint. I applied a second coat and got the rest of the paint removed. I then started sanding both sides with 120 grit sand paper.7F89FE40-17A4-4850-9618-5BBA1DE92E03.jpeg
The front of the cabinet needed major help. There was a small crack in the top right corner. I was able to repair it with a piece of 3/4 plywood. I glued and screwed into place. E3F2289E-77A7-45DB-9B95-1E4FD434DC43.jpegI put a bunch of wood Hardener in the crack. It was super solid so I started filling holes and gouges with bondo.D3A60FB2-0D5F-4873-A1FF-B24FCEE9CCCC.jpeg
Once the front bodywork was done I moved to the sides. With More bondo,wood Hardener and a bunch of sanding it was ready for laminate! Before I installed the laminate I primed and wet sanded the front of the cabinet. Then applied 4 coats of black semi gloss spray paint.2577A22A-A9A3-4D7C-98CD-F2DC29020174.jpeg Now it was time for laminate. I used 3M fast bond contact adhesive and white gloss vertical grade laminate. I cut the basic shape of the cabinet out with my jigsaw so the sheet was easier to maneuver.BA17433B-64B5-45F2-B685-21ADAFEB4AA1.jpegThe laminate went on very smoothly. I used a j-roller to get everything Adhered properly. I let both sides sit for a few hours before routing the edge's. Routing the edges was super satisfying.83059ADF-C257-4FF9-817D-0CC4EEFAF166.jpeg
I then painted all of the edges, top and the back of the cabinet black. It was now ready for side art! I brought the cabinet into the living room to install the art. The side art was from This Old Game.384D0E47-46DB-4BD0-B9D6-D967D29D9372.jpeg
Installing the side art was very stressful. I used the wet method and it went on nicely. 8BE0AA18-3E8E-4731-B657-2FF6657B4756.jpeg
The next step was to install the electronics. I rebuilt the monitor, replaced the switching power supply, replaced the marquee light fixture and installed new speakers. I then installed coin doors they were in nice shape to start with so they only required a disassembly and deep cleaningD2507849-2DF1-4B2E-BC29-F1C64FDE4DC7.jpeg
 
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The control panel was the last step. It needed a lot of help all of the corners for blown out and there were deep gouges in the wood. After using a bunch of bondo I got it looking
Presentable. I then Applied several coats of primer and wet sanded. After wet sanding I did several coats of semi gloss black spray paint.4D7AC38E-1B58-42BE-B977-B0BAC4E53048.jpeg
The same bondo treatment was done to the top of the control panel. It was also primed and wet sanded. I used a CPO from Szabos arcades and had a piece of Lexan cut to protect the overlay. All the joysticks where rebuild with new grommets and the top of the joysticks were polished. And the rust from the shafts were removed. I installed new buttons and got everything dialed in. 1581DC49-4147-4297-934C-D62EE6BB97D8.jpeg
Here is the final result!45EA4A80-573C-4846-94C0-5521A6B8D67B.jpeg
The red buttons next to the green joystick were replaced with the correct ones after I took this picture. Overall I learned of useful restoration skills on this project and I am going to attempt a few more restoration projects this summer!
 
Hell of a restore. I really think you did a great job And it looks great! I cringed a little when you said you wet sanded a particle board cab. But looks like it was sealed first.

Any reason you choose to labor with the citristrip process over just sanding it down? Seems like something lengthy exercise if there was no plan to persevere anything.
 
Hell of a restore. I really think you did a great job And it looks great! I cringed a little when you said you wet sanded a particle board cab. But looks like it was sealed first.

Any reason you choose to labor with the citristrip process over just sanding it down? Seems like something lengthy exercise if there was no plan to persevere anything.
Thanks man! I bought the Citrus strip to see if I could save the original art underneath the black paint. But it turned out whoever painted it black removed the artwork. I got the paint removed relatively fast with the citrus strip without any fumes or dust. It probably would of taken me longer to sand down the entire cabinet. So the Citrus strip was worth it for me. The wood that I wet sanded was primed with several coats of kilz 2 primer and then sanded so none of the wood was water damaged.
 
nice, yeah i noted if it was sealed that is good. i personally would have done a small test area to see if there was any art. then done sanding...again back to liquid on the particle board cab. but, you look like you know your way around tools so best advised in practice. i blame johns arcade for this citristrip ketchup pouring practice.
 
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