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Yeah, baking soda would be like using Ajax or something I'd imagine. Very abrasive. Not good for glossy finishes.

Unfortunate. But I'm glad it's getting a repaint and should end up better than ever!
 
Yeah, baking soda would be like using Ajax or something I'd imagine. Very abrasive. Not good for glossy finishes.

Unfortunate. But I'm glad it's getting a repaint and should end up better than ever!
Yeah, thanks!

Everything is coming together! Muhahahahaha! :D

I can already see myself buying another Vewlix to do this again! L, AMI, or a Diamond. Probably not a C because the F already has red accents. Maybe a Black, but one would probably be hard to find and it would probably not need to be restored.

If it wasn't for @Hadouken Arcade and his universal bracket, this would be more of a pain.
 
UPDATE:

- Finished repolishing the white (and one black) plastic panels and marquee with the Novus system. I did this by hand and the results were a minor improvement. If you were to do this with a drill and polishing pads you would get a better result. My plastic panels were already in decent shape so this was an experiment. Honestly, if your plastic panels are in good or decent shape I would not bother doing it. If I were to do it again, I would only do it with a drill and polishing pads to get a better result and speed things up.

ALTERNATIVE, for these pieces, the final step for most people (including myself if I do this again) can be to soak them in a tub with Simple Green for like half an hour and then wash and brush them off with something non abrasive. Then Novus 1 can be applied if you want and you are good to go! :)

- Considered using something to remove the yellow tint from the white plastic (luckily only my top piece has a yellow tint), but after some research decided it wasn't worth it because it seems the yellow tint comes back after some time. So will be leaving it as is, not an issue for me.

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PROGRESS LOG:

- Completely disassembled the cab except the feet (parts detached disassembled as well); took pictures and separated screw, washers, etc in ziploc bags/cling wrap with small notes to document what went where.

- Used Goo Gone to remove all sticker residue (a few of the wire holders that were stuck inside the cab had fallen off or were about to fall off and they left behind sticky residue; can be replaced easily)

- Used canned air and sponge cloths to blow/wipe away all the dust and grime (you're not going to get everything, some spots are too hard to reach)

- Finished wiping down the ENTIRE Vewlix body with Simple Green and Magic Erasers (outside, inside, bottom). Used Brasso on the feet/wheels. Wiped them down with Simple Green and paper towels. Applied lube to the feet bearings. Reattached the feet and wheels. Wiped down the body (outside, inside, bottom) and feet with IPA.

- Finished cleaning cleaning things as outlined in post 17.

- OPTIONAL: Repolished plastic panels (main side pieces, control panel side pieces, top plastic and acrylic pieces, and marquee). I also repolished the two plastic black pieces directly above and below where the monitor sits because they had scuffs on them, but this is completely unnecessary (wanted to see what would happen with Novus and matte plastic). Soaked everything in a tub with Simple Green for a few minutes to soften up the remaining Novus residue. I then hosed everything down (in the shower; messy) to wash away the Novus crud and Simple Green. Dried things off with a towel/waited for things to finish drying and then applied the Novus 1 finalizing spray. This is optional because you can do the ALTERNATE method as described in post 24 and end up with something as good in most cases.
 
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SMALL UPDATE:

Oh my goodness! Went to the body shop today to pick up the Vewlix, and I was stunned at the job this guy did! Like I was asking him about it and a part I thought he had not painted, he actually did paint! I could not tell a difference. I said screw it, let's do the whole thing! I'll be picking it up next week!


If anyone around Boston needs a professional to do an amazing job at a fair price, let me know and I'll send you the details! :)
 
SMALL UPDATE:

Picked up the Vewlix! It looks great! Here's a couple of pics:

https://imgur.com/a/FZC3Odu

As requested, the guy only painted the parts of the Vewlix that will be visible when cabinet is fully assembled. In the first pic, I put on the rear panel to show the proximity of the paint jobs. In the second pic, the top part where the control panel mounts has not been painted because it will not be visible.

I thought about getting the removable panels repainted, but I'd rather get them powder coated if I ever do that.
 
Yeah, the guy first said his paint would be shiny because he does cars, but I told him I was looking for something 'flatter' so he bought this paint.
 
SMALL UPDATE:

Didn't notice at first, but some spray paint got on the feet. :( I already cleaned them, but I got some paint stripper, soaked the feet for about 30 minutes and then cleaned it off. The paint came right off! :) Used Brasso on the feet again, Krud Kutter, and then Simple Green to finish them off. Oiled the bearings with some lube and they're good to go! Also, got some replacement stickers from ebay user arcadeobsessed. Here's some pics:

https://imgur.com/a/c7kb6Q8

The following pics are of the plastic panels ready to be put on. They are polished, but it's hard to tell in the pics. The marquee only came with the frosted acrylic main piece, but I ordered a front cover for it, so it should look good with the lighting. Also the monitor I got, and the Vewlix laying it's side waiting for its feet! ^^

https://imgur.com/a/9OBSV7t
 
Awesome progress, @ABTmRw. The cab is looking great. But those $100 dollar, single-sheet replacement labels really rub me the wrong way. I may finally just redraw them myself and post them here to save some people money. No issue with you buying them of course as I don't believe there's currently another option (aside from the 100 yen stickers), but hate when people artificially drive up prices to such a ridiculous level.

Looking forward to seeing the cab all back together and standing upright again soon.
 
Awesome progress, @ABTmRw. The cab is looking great. But those $100 dollar, single-sheet replacement labels really rub me the wrong way. I may finally just redraw them myself and post them here to save some people money. No issue with you buying them of course as I don't believe there's currently another option (aside from the 100 yen stickers), but hate when people artificially drive up prices to such a ridiculous level.

Looking forward to seeing the cab all back together and standing upright again soon.
Thanks! You are totally right! That would be awesome.

Next time I won't remove the stickers when cleaning since there really is no need. Unless of course it needs to be repainted.
 
UPDATE:

- Brassoed the locks tangs! Then used Simple Green and paper towels on them. Also, started putting the Vewlix back together.

https://imgur.com/a/4kdDeMh

- Ordered a reproduction 2 player control panel from a member in Brazil (it will be a while before I get it; will setup the Vewlix for 1 player while waiting). Did not order from Taito because his look good and are a lot cheaper. If it turns out not as expected, then I might order one from Taito (and some other stuff).

- I have the monitor and the monitor bracket so that is good to go. However, I decided to get a new piece of glass cut for the monitor frame as an experiment. It was about 90 bucks, but I have to wait a couple of weeks to get it. Should have done it sooner, but didn't think it would take that long. Oh well. :|

- Ordered 2 Brook Universal Fighting boards, Sanwa joysticks, dustwashers, shaft covers, buttons, and all necessary wires and cables.

- Really, this thing is almost ready to go. All the cleaning/restoration has been done at this point. It's a matter of putting all the pieces together now. Furthermore, I plan on creating a sister thread to showcase the Vewlix when it is all done and it will have lots of pics and a video of it running so people can get a good idea of how this whole restoration/learning experience went. This thread is helpful for me to track my progress and it may help other people who want clean or restore their cabs. I'll of course keep updating this thread until I'm done and I will update it when I am done, but the sister thread will go over the whole thing in detail inside and out because of the internal and external customization (mostly internal because the point was to keep it looking like a well-maintained arcade veteran Vewlix). Also the point was to keep the cost down, but it turned out a lot had to happen, so oh well. Future restorations can keep the cost down. The sister thread will break down the cost of pretty much everything that was bought for the cab.

- Also, I modified some previous entries in the 'Progress Log' (below) for documentation purposes, so the most current one will be the 'correct' one.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PROGRESS LOG:

- Completely disassembled the cab except the feet (parts detached disassembled as well); took pictures and separated screw, washers, etc. in ziploc bags with small notes to document what went where.

- Used Goo Gone to remove all sticker residue (a few of the wire holders that were stuck inside the cab had fallen off or were about to fall off and they left behind sticky residue; can be replaced easily)

- Used canned air and sponge cloths to blow/wipe away all the dust and grime (you're not going to get everything, some spots are too hard to reach)

- Finished wiping down the ENTIRE Vewlix body with Simple Green and Magic Erasers (outside, inside, bottom). Used Brasso on the feet/wheels. Wiped them down with Simple Green and paper towels. Applied lube to the feet bearings. Reattached the feet and wheels. Wiped down the body (outside, inside, bottom) with IPA.

- Finished cleaning cleaning things as outlined in post 17. Used Novus 2 and 1 to repolish the chrome coin insert piece (did not strip the paint, was gentle). Cleaned the lock tangs with Brasso and then Simple Green and paper towels. Removed the circlip from the coin door button and used Brasso and steel wool on the button. Reattached the coin door button.

- OPTIONAL: Repolished plastic panels (main side pieces, control panel side pieces, top plastic and acrylic pieces, and marquee). I also repolished the two plastic black pieces directly above and below where the monitor sits because they had scuffs on them, but this is completely unnecessary (wanted to see what would happen with Novus and matte plastic). Soaked everything in a tub with Simple Green for a few minutes to soften up the remaining Novus residue. I then hosed everything down (in the shower; messy) to wash away the Novus crud and Simple Green. Dried things off with a towel/waited for things to finish drying and then applied the Novus 1 finalizing spray. This is optional because you can do the ALTERNATE method as described in post 24 and end up with something good in most cases.

- Removed the original monitor from the monitor frame. Separated the frame into all of its separate pieces (body, two side pieces, top piece, and bottom piece). Used Goo Gone to remove sticker residue from the frame pieces (let the Goo Gone sit for a while). Cleaned all the pieces with Simple Green, Magic Erasers, and paper towels.

- Ordered new glass from a glass shop (OR clean the glass). I did not clean my glass, but post 3 in this thread has good information on how to clean it. The side of the glass facing the LCD screen is normal and can be cleaned with glass cleaner, but the side of the glass facing the player has an anti-glare coating and needs to be cleaned differently. Another option is to remove the anti-glare coating on the glass like shown on post 392 in this thread. My Vewlix F glass coating was not removable! (The coating is different somehow and can not be peeled away as described in that thread). Ordering new glass will differ between shops, but you basically get the height, width, and thickness and ask the glass shop to cut a piece that has decent clarity and durability.
 
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SMALL UPDATE:

- Figured I'd write something, so it doesn't look like I abandoned this thing. If I did abandon it, that would be detrimental to the project, so the only way I'll give up is if I get incapacitated or something! :D

- New glass should arrive next week! The monitor bracket is modified and ready to go!

- Bought a dremel to modify the top speaker boxes to install new speakers like @jassin000 did here. Will be modding them this week.

- Bought an a used Dell OptiPlex 9020. Came with an i5 and 7GB of RAM (was supposed to come with 8GB, but the seller messed up so I had to order a new stick and work on getting a refund). Bought a GTX 1650 Low Profile and a 1TB SSD. Took apart the entire thing, cleaned everything with Goo Gone, Simple Green (where applicable, like the outside of the case), IPA, paper towels, and compressed air (50% of the job was blowing away dust). Applied new thermal paste. Put everything together and installed Windows 10. Ordered a USB Wifi & Bluetooth 2-in-1 adapter (Optiplex has no Wifi; Bluetooth is for headphones). Once I get the Wifi adapter, I'll install all the drivers, updates, software, emulators and games I'll be using.

- The reason I'm not including the OptiPlex work in the "Progress Log" is because it is technically outside the scope of a Vewlix restoration. A lot of people have their own solutions for PCs inside candy cabs and others use consoles. I will only be using the PC for emulators and games (mostly the Tetris The Grand Master series, but 1TB can hold a lot of roms!) :)


 
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SMALL UPDATE:

- Got the glass today and it's great. Put together the Vewlix monitor frame using the universal monitor bracket. I finally have everything in my apartment to finish the Vewlix! (minus the 2P panel, stools, and marqee). Should be done next week!

- When putting the monitor in the frame, the settings are not going to be accessible so it is important to get them the way you want them. I use this site for my monitors to change/verify their settings: http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/
I had to go into the settings menu and look up some of the settings on google because I did not know what some of them did. A lot of the settings I turned off because they seemed like they would hinder gameplay or picture quality. Professional video calibration would be ideal, but some calibration is better than none. :)
 
UPDATE:

COMPLETE!

- Here's the album along with descriptions: https://imgur.com/a/IBLiYkw

- I consolized the Vewlix F, and I plan on making a post to detail what the consolization entails. Feel free to ask any questions in the meantime. People restoring their Vewlix obviously do not have to do this. They can simple wire everything up as before. Because I consolized, I did not clean the original Vewlix monitor, speakers, power supplies, or wiring. If doing a restoration, I would recommend replacing the monitor and speakers. The power supplies can probably be cleaned with some IPA, paper towels, and canned air. The wiring can probably be cleaned with some IPA/Simple Green and paper towels.


- Mistakes:
- Do not use baking soda or anything abrasive to clean the Vewlix F body! Simple Green and paper towels/Magic Erasers works great!. If you want to test a cleaning solution, test it on a removable panel that will be easy to get repainted. Repainting the whole body worked for me because it came out great, but I would not have done it if I didn't mess up part of the finish with the baking soda.
- Don't use Goo Gone on the wooden boards or they might get stained. Wiping them down with some water and paper towels worked for me.
- Do not remove the stickers (unless you are going to repaint the Vewlix)! You can lightly clean the stickers with paper towels and a little bit of Simple Green to preserve the original arcade look.
- When removing the feet to clean, use the original feet bolts. I replaced mine and they were not quite the right size and one of the bolt holes broke when installing the feet: https://imgur.com/a/ANghvqn

- Further restoration options:
- You could get the other panels repainted/powder coated. Would only do this if they were in horrid shape.
- You could repaint the side and top plastic panels and get new decals printed. Would only do this if they were in horrid shape.
- You could get new casters from Taito. Might do this in the future, but of low priority since they work fine.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PROGRESS LOG (COMPLETE):

- Completely disassembled the cab except the feet (parts detached disassembled as well); took pictures and separated screw, washers, etc. in ziploc bags with small notes to document what went where.

- Used Goo Gone to remove all sticker residue (a few of the wire holders that were stuck inside the cab had fallen off or were about to fall off and they left behind sticky residue; can be replaced easily)

- Used canned air and sponge cloths to blow/wipe away all the dust and grime (you're not going to get everything, some spots are too hard to reach)

- Finished wiping down the ENTIRE Vewlix body with Simple Green and Magic Erasers (outside, inside, bottom). Used Brasso on the feet/wheels. Wiped them down with Simple Green and paper towels. Applied lube to the feet bearings. Reattached the feet and wheels. Wiped down the body (outside, inside, bottom) with IPA.

- Finished cleaning cleaning things as outlined in post 17. Used Novus 2 and 1 to repolish the chrome coin insert piece (did not strip the paint, was gentle). Cleaned the lock tangs with Brasso and then Simple Green and paper towels. Removed the circlip from the coin door button and used Brasso and steel wool on the button. Reattached the coin door button.

- OPTIONAL: Repolished plastic panels (main side pieces, control panel side pieces, top plastic and acrylic pieces, and marquee). I also repolished the two plastic black pieces directly above and below where the monitor sits because they had scuffs on them, but this is completely unnecessary (wanted to see what would happen with Novus and matte plastic). Soaked everything in a tub with Simple Green for a few minutes to soften up the remaining Novus residue. I then hosed everything down (in the shower; messy) to wash away the Novus crud and Simple Green. Dried things off with a towel/waited for things to finish drying and then applied the Novus 1 finalizing spray. This is optional because you can do the ALTERNATE method as described in post 24 and end up with something good in most cases.

- Removed the original monitor from the monitor frame. Separated the frame into all of its separate pieces (body, two side pieces, top piece, and bottom piece). Used Goo Gone to remove sticker residue from the frame pieces (let the Goo Gone sit for a while). Cleaned all the pieces with Simple Green, Magic Erasers, and paper towels.

- Ordered new glass from a glass shop (OR clean the glass). I did not clean my glass, but post 3 in this thread has good information on how to clean it. The side of the glass facing the LCD screen is normal and can be cleaned with glass cleaner, but the side of the glass facing the player has an anti-glare coating and needs to be cleaned differently. Another option is to remove the anti-glare coating on the glass like shown on post 392 in this thread. My Vewlix F glass coating was not removable! (The coating is different somehow and can not be peeled away as described in that thread). Ordering new glass will differ between shops, but you basically get the height, width, and thickness and ask the glass shop to cut a piece that has decent clarity and durability.

- Reassemble everything using the disassembly guide and your own documentation. Once everything is together and setup, wipe the exterior metal with IPA and the side and top plastic pieces with Novus 1 if needed. Wipe down the glass as described in above paragraph. From here, what you do is up to you!
 
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Looks awesome, thanks for sharing! How did you mount your UFBs? Hard to tell.

Also, what other panel did you buy that you ended up not using?
 
- Do not use baking soda or anything abrasive to clean the Vewlix F body! Simple Green and Magic Erasers works great!
Just a heads up, but melamine foam (magic erasers) are also abrasive. It's similar to a very fine sandpaper.
 
Just a heads up, but melamine foam (magic erasers) are also abrasive. It's similar to a very fine sandpaper.
Was going to say the same thing... It will dull the shine of plastics and paint because yes it is a micro sandpaper.
It should ONLY be used as a last resort to remove stains accepting it will cause some minor damage itself.
 
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