Cabinet refreshAfter much procrastination and deliberation - I decided that because the playfield etc was so nice on this machine, I had to have the cabinet up to the same level. I had the idea of producing my own decals - which is no problem, as I own the machine. But the decals or screen printed art is in VERY good condition. So the second idea I had was to replicate the success of repairing and repainting the back of the machine. It had scratches, and I experimented with the Black Knight "satin Black" paint. It is almost a perfect match.
I started by filling the cracks with polyfilla. I used builder's bog to fill those horrible holes in the front of the cabinet. I masked the cabinet and sanded the areas I was going to paint. I used some filler / primer on the areas to be primed. I let it dry in the sun for the afternoon.
Now I lost the pictures of the process I used for the head (completed previously) - But I made sure I kept the body refresh. I call it a "refresh" as I didn't painet the entire cabinet "professionally" - rather I spend hours doing prep work and experimented with a quicker method of repainting a cab without re applying the artwork.
Here's the step after filling the holes, scratches and dings ! Notice I've masked off the art areas. I used very thin 3M low tack detailing tape, and then went over it with thicker 3M tape. No cheap stuff was used.
The front of the cabinet had three extra holes on each side. I filled them and sanded it level. Now the only artwork I had to re apply was the left and right hand side decals for the front door. More on that later .. ..
Some of the primer / filler. Goes on thick and it looks a bit "blotchy" but it settles down quickly. Can't recall the brand - will note it later !
Now I apply the Satin Black - Just a thin coat to start off, then the next coat I went a bit thicker. No runs - it just went on VERY easy - without over doing it
Masking removed ;
This is the only picture that illustrates the difference between the black - apart from this - it blends in really well.
It was a bit of a risk, but I let it dry for a 3 days and the texture was consitent and uniform. I am VERY pleased with the results.
