Who does the best restorations out there (for customers?)

Orrimarrko

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Does anyone do restorations for other collectors?

Ok, so we all know that there are some folks who do OUTSTANDING work on cab/electronic restorations out there.

Between the skills it takes to do the cabinet restore to spec, and the technical ability to do everything as good or better than when the electronics were new - it's obvious that some restorers are better than others.

What I'm wondering is, of the people who do the best work out there, who does it on commission?

It's a given that most restorers will do the work for themselves, but what about for others for cost plus a fee?

What I'm not looking for are those websites who offer "complete restores", but the only thing replaced is the cpo and cap kit. The cab still looks like crap.

I'm looking for the kind of restore that looks like new from top to bottom, but doesn't use cheap graphics or parts, etc.

If anyone knows of any, please let me know. Links/info are appreciated. I knew a couple of folks who did amazing work, but they don't have the time anymore.

Thanks,
Steve
 
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I would like to know the same thing. Although i like to restore games myself, in some cases, maybe i would seek someone to fix it up (rare game). Of course, the outcome would need to exceed anything i could ever dream of doing.

In the pinball world there are many top class restorers - High end pins for one (Chris Hutchins). He does spectacular work, an effort that cant be matched by most.

Always wondered why the video game world didnt have the same service?
 
People will do the best work if it's for themselves IMHO...

It's hard to do a blanket question like that because for some of these machines you could be looking for a rare part for a long time and it's hard to give a "customer" a timeline like that.

Classics vs different era games vary from one game to another on how hard it is to restore.
It's hard to do a business unless you are getting loads of reprint art all at one time. Then you have liscensing issues if it's a real biz.

DPtwiz builds all new cabs but you would need to send it to someone else for finishing to get all of the rest of the parts into it.

Arcade shop builds cabs and some guys out there do china clones but no one really build commercial "you pick what you want restored" restoration arcade cabs.

It's too hard to price that out unless you have a restoration project and have all of the parts ready to go.

Your best bet is to know what you are looking for and put out some feelers for a top quality restored piece for sale. This will increase your chances to buy it. Paying top dollar also forces good stuff out of guys collections when they get a little bored of their minty cab.

Lastly expect to have to ship this cab to you.
 
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Everything depends on the time spent. I had an interesting conversation on the telephone about a year ago with Darin at [url="http://phoenixarcade.com]Phoenix Arcade[/url]. He had been contacted by famed Formula 1 racer Michael Schumacher. Seems Shu wanted a FLAWLESS Defender game. Flawless inside and out. The price tag was, as I recall, something like $20,000. That didn't scare him-but he wanted perfection. Darin said he wound up making very little per hour on it. I believe him. Great can be done in a week or two. Flawless takes an eternity.

I put 200 hours just into hand-painting all the graphics back onto a Pac-Man machine. It's my hobby and, as such, I would lose money selling these machines--or make about 50 cents an hour. So as Prairied1ll0 said, we'll definitely go the extra mile for ourselves, but there's no way I can see to make this profitable. Not unless you can line up a LOT of Michael Schumachers.

The time spent provides diminishing results however. I attached photos (below) of my restored Pac and DK. These are "over restores" meaning the end result is better in some ways than the day they were built. Certainly externally. I was able to do this in a few weeks. Had I spent months, they'd look pretty much the same.

Other than the time and techniques, using the highest quality products is a must if you want the best "over-restore" results. Like automotive paint and filler products-the kind that the better body shops would use. NOT the stuff you can buy at the discount auto parts chains. But you can get pretty decent results with other paints for a lot less and they'll be ok for home use.

So...if you want a flawless game, look to spend over $10G. If you want damned fine, there are many members here who can do that. But it still won't be cheap.
 

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I think the problem is that video games these days dont cost enough to warrent such a service. Pins Do.

Its gotta be a labor of love...

Take my berzerk for example. I started out with a decent cab but wanted it to be factory fresh looking.
Lets say I charge $30 an hour for my restoration services (In reality I'd probably charge $50
and hour).

So I paid $300 for a non working Berzerk.
Then capped the power board/changed molex's 1 hour.
Then sent boards off for repair 1 hour disassembly/packaging.
$140 in board repair and postage
Strip cabinet of all parts - 1 hour
Disassemble (coin door) & Sandblast all metal parts - 2 hours
Prime all metal parts - 1 hour
Paint all metal parts - 1 hour
Sand cabinet down to bare wood - 3 hours
Buy stencil $65
Buy NOS marquee $80
Bought Perfect 360 joystick $40
Bought Repro CP $90
Repair/Replace damaged wood bits - 2 hours
Bondo and resand cabinet - 2 hours
Prime cabinet - 2 hours & $20
Paint cabinet - 3 hours & $10
Buy replacement monitor with no burn $150
Rebuild monitor 2 hours and $40
New Speaker $40
Misc Bits $50
Reassemble cabinet and boards - 3 hours.
I'm probably forgetting something so another $100

So I am going to be into it for $1125 cash
and 24 hours @ $30 = $720

Oh and thats no profit.. so double that.

Is a factory fresh Berzerk worth $3690 to someone but me? If so please PM me:)
 
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Ok, perhaps I should rephrase the question.

We all agree that this is a hobby. Some people get more enjoyment out of restoring cabs than they actually do playing them at this point.

Paying the kind of money for a common game like you guys are talking about is ridiculous.

What I'm talking about is if there are guys in the community that do outstanding work, but would be willing to do it for other collectors.

Not for free, but not as a business.

For example, if you (working with them) were to locate a cab that cost $300-$400, but needed some work. Take it all apart, clean it up, sand/strip/paint or whatever. New side art/CPO/marquee, etc. Monitor repair, working board set, all of the electronics, etc.

Would it be unreasonable to expect to pay $1500-$2000 for something like this?

Profit not necessarily being the motivator for the person doing the work. Sure, there would be some, but the satisfaction of doing something they love doing, and for another collector in the hobby.

That's what I'm asking - is there anyone around who does (or would) do something like this?

Pinball is completely different (IMO.) The pricing supports something like restoring for profit. Buying a machine for $3500 and restoring/shopping it out completely and then selling it for $9500 is not unheard of, depending on the title.

Video games don't sell for that kind of money.

Sorry - I should have been a little clearer in my original post. I figured that somewhere in this huge community there would be someone who loves to restore games to awesome condition, and then either sells them, or would do so on commission - even if the profit wasn't that much.
 
I think the problem is that video games these days dont cost enough to warrent such a service. Pins Do.

Its gotta be a labor of love...

Take my berzerk for example. I started out with a decent cab but wanted it to be factory fresh looking.
Lets say I charge $30 an hour for my restoration services (In reality I'd probably charge $50
and hour).

So I paid $300 for a non working Berzerk.
Then capped the power board/changed molex's 1 hour.
Then sent boards off for repair 1 hour disassembly/packaging.
$140 in board repair and postage
Strip cabinet of all parts - 1 hour
Disassemble (coin door) & Sandblast all metal parts - 2 hours
Prime all metal parts - 1 hour
Paint all metal parts - 1 hour
Sand cabinet down to bare wood - 3 hours
Buy stencil $65
Buy NOS marquee $80
Bought Perfect 360 joystick $40
Bought Repro CP $90
Repair/Replace damaged wood bits - 2 hours
Bondo and resand cabinet - 2 hours
Prime cabinet - 2 hours & $20
Paint cabinet - 3 hours & $10
Buy replacement monitor with no burn $150
Rebuild monitor 2 hours and $40
New Speaker $40
Misc Bits $50
Reassemble cabinet and boards - 3 hours.
I'm probably forgetting something so another $100

So I am going to be into it for $1125 cash
and 24 hours @ $30 = $720

Oh and thats no profit.. so double that.

Is a factory fresh Berzerk worth $3690 to someone but me? If so please PM me:)

Sorry, but to use your example, the profit is the hourly rate.

If you feel your time spent on this is worth $30/hour, then that's the profit.

That's the rate you charge for the service, and would be money you made over and above the cost of the parts. That's the "labor", and you wouldn't make that if you weren't doing the job.

Think of it that way.
 
Well then make the hourly rate $60:)

Okay either way.. Its worth $1800+? To a fellow collector? Doubtful.

I personally think whats much more valuable to this community
is the folks who make reproduction parts, cabs, artwork, etc.

For the more popular games you can essentially build a brand
new looking game for less then that kinda cash.

Mike


Sorry, but to use your example, the profit is the hourly rate.

If you feel your time spent on this is worth $30/hour, then that's the profit.

That's the rate you charge for the service, and would be money you made over and above the cost of the parts. That's the "labor", and you wouldn't make that if you weren't doing the job.

Think of it that way.
 
Well then make the hourly rate $60:)

Okay either way.. Its worth $1800+? To a fellow collector? Doubtful.

I personally think whats much more valuable to this community
is the folks who make reproduction parts, cabs, artwork, etc.

For the more popular games you can essentially build a brand
new looking game for less then that kinda cash.

Mike

LOL - fair enough.

However, what I've found is that the majority of collectors here (and all over, really), like to buy games cheap, and then fix them up like new.

As you mention, by the time you have all of your parts, etc, and spend the time doing it, it would end up costing a lot more than the $400 you bought it for.

Sure, some people don't care about condition as much, as long as it's working.

However, there are a number of people who would pay $1800 for a beautifully restored cabinet (not one made from scratch), with the electronics in primo condition.

I know I would, and know for a fact that there are others like me.

People like myself don't have the time, the ability or knowledge to do it. Quite honestly, though I would feel an enormous sense of satisfaction in restoring something to that condition - I just don't have the desire to do so.
 
I hope i am understanding you correctly - more of a courtesy restore, like something for a friend (or fellow member here)?

If time WASNT a factor, than yes, I am sure many in this community would provide this "Service" (those that like to work on games), out of love for the restore. I would for a fellow Klov'r provided i was given a little extra for the materials and actually had some time left over. I really enjoy doing it.

But, 100 percent of us i am sure have other duties, time is money, bills to pay, etc. I know in my "off time", if i restore a game, its going to be something i had my mind set on (and my list never ends!).

Maybe when the mean age of this community retires in 30 years we will all be swapping restores.

In a way, when one restores a cab and later sells, this is the inadvertent way of getting it done (provided the seller is providing what the buyer wants :) ).
 
People who build near perfect arcade machine for a business are almost impossible to find.

Why becuase you can not making a living selling near perfect/perfect mahines. The market will not support them.
 
Orrimarrko has a good point.. it could be done on a VERY small and selective scale. My guess, if you started waving 2k around. someone skilled in restoration would probably step up depending on the job and the amount of work required.

It would be more of a hobby business then a real business. Side money basically.
I'd be suprised if they got more then 3-4 jobs a year given the cost, but for someone with all the tools and skills.. it may be worth their time.
 
Orrimarrko has a good point.. it could be done on a VERY small and selective scale. My guess, if you started waving 2k around. someone skilled in restoration would probably step up depending on the job and the amount of work required.

It would be more of a hobby business then a real business. Side money basically.
I'd be suprised if they got more then 3-4 jobs a year given the cost, but for someone with all the tools and skills.. it may be worth their time.

2k time 4 jobs a year. 8K a year equal hobby not a business. Laughs.
 
2k time 4 jobs a year. 8K a year equal hobby not a business. Laughs.

No one said "business".

I'm not looking for a business, or to start one.

All I said was that with the large number of people who restore cabs (very well), there has to be a few who do it out of love for what they're doing, and wouldn't mind doing it for $400-$500 over cost of parts/cab.

It's a hobby thing. Maybe they do it for a little side cash; doesn't really matter.

They're not relying on the income, but it's a little extra for the effort/time involved.

Anyway, perhaps I'm just an optomist.
 
No one said "business".

I'm not looking for a business, or to start one.

All I said was that with the large number of people who restore cabs (very well), there has to be a few who do it out of love for what they're doing, and wouldn't mind doing it for $400-$500 over cost of parts/cab.

It's a hobby thing. Maybe they do it for a little side cash; doesn't really matter.

They're not relying on the income, but it's a little extra for the effort/time involved.

Anyway, perhaps I'm just an optomist.

I have done favors like this for friends that are local. Trust me it's never considered a business.

It just another project laughs. Current project that is being geared up is replacing all the sockets in a galaga with machines sockets with by pass caps in them. 29 sockets is not very fun to replace but it's something you do once to make sure your motherboard is less likely to failure.

I have used a thermal camera to take snap a shot of boards. Given enough time one can see where failures will occur before they happen.

Re capping a Monitor is always better to do before it breaks down.

Some of the machine I sold in the past had extra motherboards and tools (A Mutifunction screw driver / nut driver and plastic monitior tools). Extra montior boards that had already been tune up for the tube.
There are things that will wear with time. New control panel with new joysticks or rebuild ones and a DVD on how to replace all said parts.
Not to mention the UPS system to filter out the noise that comes from the AC line.

And we haven't even talked about making the cab look pertty yet.

My best advice..

Find a game you want on this forum and ask if I gave you an extra 400 to 500 dollars. What can you do to bring your game closer to perfection? You have to consider that most people who collect and love these games know where extra parts can be had, Maybe a place where new art work can be had or Who there local go to guy to get a monitor recaped. What funny issues your game or monitor has.

People who love thier games know things like. Never flex a Pole position motherboard. While building a steel frame around the board does sound extreme. It something you do cause you just know what trouble can happen if someone unknowing pushes a chip down causing traces under roms to break.

Ask buy get involded with the forum. Most on here are willing to give you a a hand. Just along as you don't want to install a chair in a star wars cab laughs.
 
and wouldn't mind doing it for $400-$500 over cost of parts/cab.

The only motivation is to make money to put back into the hobby or to do it for your own pride and a gem in the collection.

No one is going to do a good job at only 20 hours for a restoration. No one with skills is going to work for $10 per hour. It's a sad fact... you'll probably have to spend a couple of grand to get a super high quality restoration.
 
There must be a market for higher end games, because every time i see a game on CL the people say that this game is going for $ 1,500 - $ 2,000. Then they want only $ 1200 for their crap condition machine.
 
The only motivation is to make money to put back into the hobby or to do it for your own pride and a gem in the collection.

No one is going to do a good job at only 20 hours for a restoration. No one with skills is going to work for $10 per hour. It's a sad fact... you'll probably have to spend a couple of grand to get a super high quality restoration.

Sorry, but there are people out there who love doing it, and aren't in it for the money.

They are more than willing to help out a fellow collector for $400 or so.

Not saying these kind of people are growing on trees, of course. Just that they exist, so don't say that "no one" will do great work for little money.

I knew of two such people, but neither of them do restorations anymore.

I'm not trying to debate the pros and cons, what's involved, whether someone should or shouldn't do it, etc.

All I was asking was if anyone knew of respected restorers in the community who do restorations on commission.

That's all. If you don't know of any, no worries. If you do, and want to share the info, that would be great.

Thanks.
 
To quote the great Gordan Gecko...

"What's worth doing is worth doing for money" (or Pride)

Had to throw that in.
 
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