Water Damaged Galaga Cabinet

moonchilddave

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I'm in the process of restoring a Galaga and have come to the point of cleaning up the cabinet itself. Now, I'm not a master craftsman when it comes to woodworking, but given enough detail and hints I'm pretty sure it's not beyond me (I'm more an electronics guy). It looks like much of the cabinet is particle board and there are some damaged areas and areas where it has swelled. Also where one of the wheels was, it has nothing but a big ripped out area in the bottom of the cabinet.

Any good pointers or tips would be greatly appreciated as the rest of the cabinet isn't in that horrible of a shape. I've been inspired by some of the other restorations I've seen and I want to do this one right, and I'd like to be properly armed before I dive in and make things worse.

Pictures of the worst areas are here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/moonchilddave/GalagaRestoration#

I've already removed all the metal pieces from the cabinet and cleaned them all up, and I've finished the control panel by stripping, painting and installing a new CPO.

I also saw where one person painted the inside of their Galaga cabinet white to brighten it up inside, what do others think about doing that as well? It did look nice! But part of me says to keep it black as it originally was.
 
A product called Minwax Wood Hardener can be used on the brittle water-damaged particle board to make it solid again. The swollen areas can then be sanded down to make them even with the rest of the panel.

I also saw where one person painted the inside of their Galaga cabinet white to brighten it up inside, what do others think about doing that as well? It did look nice! But part of me says to keep it black as it originally was.

I think most people paint the inside of cabs just to get rid of musty smells. A paint with an anti-mildew additive (like Killz) will help "lock in" the odor and prevent mold from coming back. I would clean the interior of the cab with a bleach-water solution first, then determine if painting it is necessary.

Nice job on the control panel!
 
Looks like a good option on the Minwax... Should I try to strip the paint first? Also, when I can finally get to sanding, what grit paper do people recommend for the particle board (120, 220)?
 
Also, when I can finally get to sanding, what grit paper do people recommend for the particle board (120, 220)?

To bring down the swollen stuff fast, I start with 80 and then move to 120, then 220. I have also been know to use a wood rasp to remove a lot of wood fast then switch to sandpaper to clean it up once I have removed the excess.

ken
 
just to add to what ken said, when you are about ready to paint sand the entire cab with 400 grit!!! this will remove scratches and smooth out the surfice will look a ton better!

its very similiar to when i paint a car
 
With the game I'm restoring,I start out with 80 grit,then go to 120 (sometimes) then 220. It has served me well so far although I may have to try the 400 and see the results of that.
 
Just checked your pix, looks like yours has been kicked in, too. I swear these old MDF-based quick-assemble cabinets that Midway produced are the biggest pieces of crap. Got the job done but they sure did fall apart.

I knocked out all the glued-in triangle support pieces on mine and put 1x1 board in the corners and screwed/glued all the cabinet sides together. Solid as a rock now.
 
Thanks for the tips! I'll probably be rolling it since this is my first full blown restoration and I'm no professional painter. Plus, I don't have a sprayer or compressor. I had actually considered using laminate - but that seemed a bit much. I'm all for doing things right the first time, at least to the best of my ability and resources.

Back to restoring the water damaged areas... Is it safe to use a spray-on paint remover on the raised areas or should I not worry about sanding the paint off? Just don't wanna chip anything before I hit it with the Minwax.

Dano - it does kinda look like the front was kicked in - but it's just the artwork that was removed with peoples feet it seems, the cabinet is fine there. BTW, very nice job on your restoration! Mine had a nice little smoke line rising up the board around the diodes and fuse on the PS board as well. Not to mention both PS board connectors had burn marks on them. I think I'll stick with the switcher that someone installed (as I have an aversion to fire around my games), although I'm gonna relocate it and use lugs on the wires. Seems like fixing the PS board isn't worth the effort and I've heard the parts are hard to come by.
 
All Galaga cabinets I've seen, incl mine, are made of MDF. Same goes for Omega Race. I suppose it may have been a cost decision to use that material and it's very flat and dimensionally stable. You're right, it's heavy, and it's not very durable when in contact with moisture and tends to swell.
 
Another thing.. let's say you swap in a switcher, connecting to the connector that went to the original linear p/s. You still MUST replace the connector pins on that connector, as they're surely burnt, which causes resistance, which causes heat, which causes burn, which causes.........
 
Dano - it does kinda look like the front was kicked in - but it's just the artwork that was removed with peoples feet it seems, the cabinet is fine there. BTW, very nice job on your restoration! Mine had a nice little smoke line rising up the board around the diodes and fuse on the PS board as well. Not to mention both PS board connectors had burn marks on them. I think I'll stick with the switcher that someone installed (as I have an aversion to fire around my games), although I'm gonna relocate it and use lugs on the wires. Seems like fixing the PS board isn't worth the effort and I've heard the parts are hard to come by.

Thanks for the kind words. It wasn't too hard to do aside from screwing up the paint job over and over!

The PS board is easy to fix and the parts are no big deal, but it's much easier to put in a switcher. All those boards eventually hose the diodes.

....and yes, your front panel was bashed in at one point. Look close at the top right as you face the game, just below the control panel. The quick assembly bolt/plastic thing has been broken out of it's hole. You have bondo work to do. :)
 
The quick assembly bolt/plastic thing has been broken out of it's hole. You have bondo work to do. :)

Ah, ok... yeah, I knew that but didn't make the connection. It'll be my first time playing with bondo - even though I grew up in the generation that did it to all their cars, lol!
 
Where can you find Evercoat? I looked in both an AutoZone (only had Bondo), and a True Value hardware.

Also, I have some very noob questions - as this is my first cabinet restoration I've done... Once things are sanded down nicely, how do you make sure you've gotten all the dust off? Is just blowing and knocking it sufficient? I know I don't want water anywhere near the MDF.

Also, how would you go about repairing a missing chunk such as:

http://picasaweb.google.com/moonchilddave/GalagaRestoration#5480068689126028098

Would you just cut the entire piece off, cut a new piece and glue? Or would you fill it in with the filler? Maybe add a strip on back to reinforce it? This is the piece where the handles are and where the back door meets it.
 
just fill that missing area with a filler such as p38 car body filler,basicly a 2 part filler,put enough on to cover it but not mass's of the stuff,then sand and shape.bondo is what americans would suggest,i am in uk and i dont think we can get it here,i use p38 car body filler from halfords.

you dont need to use a wet cloth,you can use a semi damp cloth,just enopugh to wipe the dust etc off the surface you want to prime/paint etc.you will have to sand down between coats anyways so it wont matter if you leave bits or small amounts of dust on the surfaces you intend to paint.

i use zinsser bin to prime my cabs/mdf etc,realy nice and its relatively easy to sand down.
:)
 
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