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In Progress Rocky & Bullwinkle Shop Log

I've already invested in the ply I need and someone is cutting the gussets required too. So to be honest all that's needed now to get my cabinet back in order is a little patience and effort from me.
 
It's the 'wedge' piece which is used to support the joint where two sections of wood meet. Like this.

Gusset.jpg

There is at least one missing from my cab at the rear so i've had a few made up ready for when I start the rebuilding work. I'm also banking on needing some when I refit the top section (below the backbox) as there is no guarantee they are going to come away in one piece when I strip the section out.
 
Woah! Those things are unobtanium. Literally. Someone has parted out a machine to get that.

Ok so the postage is £17, so what. If only there was a buy it now option I woulda snapped that up right this minute. Dayum!
 
It's going to go for silly money I suspect. I've stuck it on watch anyway and will see how it goes.

General concensus on Pinside is that the spring isn't actually needed if you've got a new motor. It's only used to pull the log back to the starting position and because the direction of travel alternates it ends up moving back sooner or later anyway.

I still have the option of getting a spring made if needed but it's low priority on my list. Getting the cabinet and playfield all nice and pristine is higher up the list right now. But thanks for the heads up all the same. :-)
 
Whoa! the back end of your cab really is gnarly!! :-o

i wouldnt just load it with filler, as filling it with that much would have a tendancy to crack. I would use a router with a plunge bit to remove half the thickness of the board in the damaged area making it a uniform straight section. Then glue in a new section of wood to overlay into the removed area. Just use a fine layer of filler to get it all perfect.

With regards to the patchiness of the primer, it isnt easy getting a perfect finish with rattle cans over large flat surfaces. They just dont have the same flow/control as a proper gun. Are you going to bother painting the whole cab? Only the edges will be visible anyway, so you would save a lot of unnecessary work. And you would be able to spray the edges easily enough with a rattle can.
 
The peculiar thing is that the finish with the primer is fine on pretty much all sides apart from the front and back. This is actually not ply but MDF so i'm not sure if the patchiness isn't down to the material.

I've still not decided what to do about patching the cabinet. I have to say i'm leaning away from using filler for the reasons you describe. Your plan sounds like a much better option so i'd certainly consider giving that a go. First job is to pick up a router - I don't plan on doing a huge amount of woodwork so i'll most likely borrow one from a friend at work. Thanks for the suggestion.

As for the painting - the exterior is less of an issue because as you say you'll only see the edges anyway. So in reality on the exterior I only need the rear end painting and then the corners. But to get a really nice clean finish inside the cab I want to do the entire interior; overkill I know as it won't be seen but my OCD means i'll get pleasure from knowing it's all nicely painted. If i'm doing that then I might as well go the whole hog and do the lot.

I don't know so much about paint covereage but i'd presume 5L of paint should be sufficient to spray the whole thing with at least two coats? That's assuming of course I can find someone to spray it. As you can see i'm a long way from being in a position to paint it yet anyway so still plenty of time to find the best way to go.
 
If you buy a 5ltr tin of acrylic paint you will need to thin it down to spray it with the correct compatible thinners, but there will be enough to respray a few cabinets should you get a fleet of them :D

When i painted my MAME cab i used a 4" foam gloss roller to do it, and i think it looks really good. i used a water based satin finish paint. It isnt as smooth as spraying it as there is just a slight texture to it, but inside your cabinet with the glass on i bet you wouldnt tell. I'll try get a picture of the paint finish for you if the camera can pick it up
 
Davey D said:
If you buy a 5ltr tin of acrylic paint you will need to thin it down to spray it with the correct compatible thinners, but there will be enough to respray a few cabinets should you get a fleet of them :D

When i painted my MAME cab i used a 4" foam gloss roller to do it, and i think it looks really good. i used a water based satin finish paint. It isnt as smooth as spraying it as there is just a slight texture to it, but inside your cabinet with the glass on i bet you wouldnt tell. I'll try get a picture of the paint finish for you if the camera can pick it up
Click to expand...
The texture of paint applied with a foam gloss roller (especially a satin or matte) can be rather pleasing. Quite good at concealing minor blemishes and often quite like the original finish which on old stuff like 70s/80s arcade/pinball cabinets tended to be rather rough and ready anyway.
 
I suspect the patchiness will be down to the MDF - maybe seal it first before painting?? The "chipboard" used on the back of the head (you know - the one that tends to swell), is a bitch since you can never get it perfectly flat ready for screening unless it's replaced. Just a "best attempt" and keeping your fingers crossed that @replicas is on the ball that day when screening the back. To be fair - he always has been so far :D ;) :D
 
@Paul is right - MDF can be an **** to paint. Water-based paints always make the surface go fuzzy, especially if you "broke" the original smooth finish with any amount of sanding. You can get MDF sealant or primer. Both resist soaking in to the MDF and causing any surface swelling or fuzziness. They then stop whatever you paint on top from doing the same. Personally, @Wiredworm, considering the amount of effort you're putting in, I'd just ditch the crappy sheet of MDF on the back of the backbox and get a sheet of quality plywood in there.
 
Personally i would go with a sheet of MDF, however, sealed before installation (including edges). The only reason I say that (sorry Nedreud!!) is that if it's sealed then it prevents any future water damage affecting it. If it's ply then you get a great finish, however if it gets damp again (around the edges) then it's likely to lift as ply is basically glued sheets of wood - kind of like a thick veneer (Unless it's painted ALL over before installation to prevent dampness creep) :D
 
Paul said:
Just a "best attempt" and keeping your fingers crossed that @replicas is on the ball that day when screening the back. To be fair - he always has been so far :D ;) :D
Click to expand...
Fair point - but no screening to be done on the back of a DE table. Just a couple of labels to be stuck on after it's all painted up.

I don't think removing the back and refitting with new ply is a trivial task though so i'm a little daunted by the prospect of doing that. I suspect i'll end up spraying it as is and see how it looks once the blue is applied. I've no doubt that the light grey of the primer shows up the slightest little issue so hopefully the colour coat might be a little more forgiving.
 
You may be able to get away with sealing now, as long as the MDF is absorbant still (probably is). Sealing is easy - 50/50 PVA/water should do it i think...
 
Eek! Dissent amongst the ranks! @Paul, when I said "quality" I was thinking a decent bit of marine ply, the sort of stuff designed for outdoor use. If it's good enough for building boats it's more than man enough for the back of a pinball machine ;) But you're right, the ideal/best thing would be to prime and paint it first before fitting.

As for how hard it would be to do I guess that depends on the actual backbox. Some I've seen are simply stapled into a recess whereas others are an integral tongue-and-groove part of the construction. The back of PARAGON is ply but just seems to be a simple internal butt joint with a few "gussets" (see - I learnt something from you!) but VECTOR looks as though it might be recessed into a groove - that is the back was slid in before all four sides were glued together.
 
Given that i've already primed it and it's not taken so well I have to consider what's best to do in this situation.

I guess I could sand the primer off the back and then seal it with PVA/water before respraying with primer again? Or I could just leave it alone and see how the colour coats look once applied. The sides where the decals are going to go looks fine and has a nice smooth finish.
 
Try PVA/water, and then once dried properly then try again...

I wouldnt bother sanding again... straight over the top, however make sure it;s the back only... :D
 
It's the back and the inside. Not bothered about the inside as most of it won't even be visible once the metal back plate is back in place.

:-)
 
Youve already sealed the MDF where you have painted it, so no need to PVA it now. Dont waste your time sanding all the paint off to PVA it. If it has had several coats of primer, youve sanded it smooth, and not back through to the MDF then leave it as is until you paint the final topcoat colour. You will get a much better thicker coat of paint if you take the option of getting it sprayed properly, or going the foam roller option.

When i rollered my cab ( 18mm MDF) it took loads of coats of thick rollered on primer/paint, and sanding back before the cut ends showing the fibres was anywhere near as smooth as the original face of the MDF board
 
Foam roller? You mean the same kind of foam roller you use for glossing?

I'll keep it in mind. My ideal plan is to get someone at work to spray it - and i've got plenty of time to wangle that whilst I work on getting the main cabinet sanded and fixed up. :-)

Thanks for the tips everyone.
 
I was away last week so progress has been a little slow. Managed a couple of hours sanding last night so the majority if the artwork is now removed. Still needs more time before I can look at patching up.

Excuse the crap lighting in these pictures.

image.jpg

image.jpg

I've not wimped out yet but I have contacted a local joiner about possibly fixing the cab up for me. The missus said I'll be annoyed if it doesn't look perfect when done so I might end up offloading the job. I'll see.
 
I would offer to help but I have two left hands when it comes to woodwork :(

Looking good so far though mate :thumbs:
 
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