What's new
Can't wait to finish this restore/trade actually. Gawd, I am dragging my feet. But here are the latest pics. About 2-3 hours left on this bad boy.

IMG_1240b.jpg
 

Attachments

  • IMG_1241b.jpg
    IMG_1241b.jpg
    177.3 KB · Views: 430
Note to Self: Number your cabs. As you remove parts from your cab, label the parts to the cab number. Save yourself lots of time dummy.

Took me forever to find the underlaying wood bezel and the glass for this Z-Back. But when I did, it all went quickly from there. CP-check, monitor-check, speakers-check, test button-check, power switch-check, coin lights-check. Everything is all done now. Everything works.

Trade is going down next weekend hopefully. Here are a couple of pics before it gets shrink wrapped for the trip down to San Diego.

IMG_1249_Small.JPG
 

Attachments

  • IMG_1252_Small.JPG
    IMG_1252_Small.JPG
    523.5 KB · Views: 319
Man, I haven't updated this thread in some time. That Big Blue I started restoring at the start of this thread, I never finished. Instead, I bought a like 3 more Gen 1 Big Blue's since then. I am starting to restore a different one than the one at the start of this thread. Mostly because it is easier to get to in my current storage situation. Anyways, here are a couple of pics and where I am at with it.

IMG_1762.JPG

We are in the midsts of a warm October right now. Taking advantage of it because in Central California, it is either scorching or just above freezing. This cab had been rolled completely over with black paint. Because of that, I am forced to peel the vinyl wrapping. Whereas with the earlier cab, repair was sort of in the discussion. Anyways, found out an easy way to get the vinyl off these 3Koam cabs. Basically, you need to use good old CitriStrip. But there are two keys after that. One, you have to wrap some sort of moisture barrier on top of the CitriStrip so that it doesn't dry out and is allowed the time to work it's magic. Wax paper or cheap plastic paint drop cloth works just fine. Flayed plastic grocery bags would work too if you are in a pinch. Hard to say how long you keep that on though since weather plays a part in it. Too short of a time and when you peel, some wood substrate might come off too or it won't peel at all. Too long and the vinyl will be the consistency of wet tissue and tear off. And if you leave it on too long, it will completely dry out and you have to start over. Since all 3Koam cabs have what I think is the same vinyl wrap applied to them, I'd imagine this would work for Z-backs too. I'll know later as I have two of those I have to restore.

NOTE: The Z-back I restored above, I just sanded off the vinyl. God that was awful, took forever, and made a huge mess.

EDIT - NOTE 2: Forgot to say, don't waste your money using Premium Kleen Strip. That didn't work nearly as good as CitriStrip. On top of that Premium Kleen Strip is caustic AF. A tiny spray dabble of that stuff on your skin will burn like venon.

IMG_1763.JPG

So after all the vinyl came off, I bondo'd the first skim coat over the coin mech security holes and did some spot body filling where needed. The bottom of this cab has no leveling feet for some reason. So the bottom edges of the wood look like they absorbed some water. I debrided the wood along the bottom edge with a metal brush. Then went to Home Depot to get some wood hardener. Will drip that onto the bottom edge with a straw tomorrow. Then will bondo that edge. Would be quite momentus if I can get one coat of primer on before this weekend is over. Stay tuned.
 
Last edited:
Alright, applied the wood hardener all around the edges of the left side of the cabinet with a straw and bondo'ed up the bottom edge, rebuilding the busted corners:

IMG_1764.JPG


I must admit, this $20 random orbital sander from Harbor Freight kicks all kinds of ass for the price (less with the coupon). I have no idea how long it will last but so far so good. If you ever pick this up for one of your jobs, make sure you get the right sanding pads. Harbor Freight sells two kinds of pads. This sander takes the one with 8 vacuum holes.

IMG_1769.JPG

Was able to get a thick coat of oil-based primer on the left side of the cab. By that, I accomplished my mission for the weekend. Weather plays a part here. Temperature dropped significantly in just one day. I think I needed to thin the paint with a solvent on the first coat. It didn't self-level and I got a lot of orange peeling. I don't think that is too bad however. I am going to sand the first primer coat with 100 grit->220 grit anyway. If I have to apply a second coat however, I will definitely thin it.

*Remember guys, if painting on wood, use an oil or solvent based primer. No water based primer as it will expand the wood and ruin your efforts. Once you have the oil-based primer, you can paint over it with a water based paint.

IMG_1766.JPG

Hey hey hey, look at that rebuilt-with-bondo-corner!! (Ignore the orange peeling though :/ ).

IMG_1768.JPG

Alright, don't know how long it is going to take this to cure before I sand, but we'll see by tomorrow. Stay tuned...........
 

Attachments

  • IMG_1765.JPG
    IMG_1765.JPG
    441.7 KB · Views: 291
After two days of drying/curing outside, the primed left side of the cab was ready to be sanded. Did I say the cheap Harbor Freight random orbital sander kicks all kinds of ass? Well, here is the proof. You saw all the orange peeling i got in my previous photos right? Well they were all gone in short order; about 15 minutes of total sanding done in like 3 minute spurts while I was working from home today. This was all done with 150 grit sand paper. Since this is not going to be a finish layer, I'll skip sanding further with 220 grit.

As you can see, I did sand down to the wood substrate in some parts. I did forget to mention that while I was working on this cab about two weeks ago, it was exposed to rain!!! Good thing the rain woke me up and I was able to pull it inside and dry it off. Some damage was done but I am think I saved it. But seems there was some expanded wood in some areas. Otherwise, this is very smooth. Temps are dropping here. I am going to get another coat of primer on tonight after all the trick or treating is done. I'll be sure to thin primer to get to the consistency of cold milk to avoid the orange peeling and allowing an oil based primer's natural leveling capabilities to work it out. Then sand. If I have full coverage after sanding the 2nd coat, then this side is fully primed and will be ready for painting. If not, then there will be a 3rd coat of primer on this side.

Rains predicted for this weekend. Not sure If I can work on this anytime again soon. Stay tuned anyway.

IMG_1771.JPG
 
Welp, gave in and sanded the 2nd coat with 220 grit sand paper. Glad I did though. I could see it took off a lot of primer. That means that there were plenty of high spots that would make it harder to be smooth and flat later. I think I'll skip 150 grit altogether and go right to 220. 150 grit tends to gum up the paper pad quite often with primer. Anyhoo, here are shots of the 2nd coat of primer. Thinned it down to slightly thicker than cold milk. Still got orange peeling. Damn, doing this outside in the evening when temps are in the 60's isn't a great idea. Oh wells, just means more sanding.

IMG_1777.JPG
IMG_1775.JPG
 

Attachments

  • IMG_1776.JPG
    IMG_1776.JPG
    421.2 KB · Views: 256
I sanded the 2nd coat of primer today and am left with full coverage of the primer on the left side of the cab! So there will be no 3rd coat of primer needed. Here are some snaps:

IMG_1779.JPG


I did try to go straight with 220 grit after the 2nd coat of primer. But the cab just laughed at me. So I regrouped and hit it with 150 grit. The sanding with 150 grit was arduous compared the glide back over it with 220 grit. But both were necessary. So remember 150 grit, then 220 grit. Here is a closer snap shot of the cab glistening in the sun so you can see how smooth this is.

IMG_1780.JPG
 

Attachments

  • IMG_1778.JPG
    IMG_1778.JPG
    412.8 KB · Views: 246
Try wet sanding the cab. Use a high grit on it that they use on cars
 
Try wet sanding the cab. Use a high grit on it that they use on cars
I will wet sand when I get to painting it. Right now, I have only primed one side of the cab. Need the substrate to be a bit rough with 220 grit so the paint sticks to it.
 
Alright, here are two shots of the 2nd coat of latex paint while still wet. I had planned on not sanding between coats because I feared accidentally sanding down the the primer. But as I was applying the first coat with a 6" foam roller, I got tiny air bubble city everywhere. I sanded lightly after the first coat just to get rid of the bubbles. Then applied the 2nd coat with sponge mapping motion. I did this by using two hands. One to hold and move the handle, one depressing the foam roller so it wouldn't roll. I ended up getting what I wanted. Shot of this when it dries tomorrow. Then I have to go into hiatus since it is going to be raining this weekend.

IMG_1787.JPG
 

Attachments

  • IMG_1785.JPG
    IMG_1785.JPG
    334.4 KB · Views: 282
Alright, latex seems to level out a lot better than oil. Oil-based paint has a better reputation for leveling out (I could be wrong) but in this application, the latex did better. Must be the cooler temps, or maybe I have it backwards. I think I will add a 3rd coat without sanding before I get to sanding. I see some primer showing through in some spots. It would be disastrous to get to sanding and hit the primer. The orbital sander would drive the white primer into the blue paint, then I would be forced to prime and paint all over again. Better to add another coat to be safe. Here are some pics:

This is a side-by-side shot with an OG Big Blue that has the vinyl wrap intact. I have two such cabs with the vinyl intact and two where the vinyl is gone. The blue shade I have is color matched to a Gen 2 Big Blue cab. It is quite striking I must say. But it should be known that this intact Big Blue is much more drab than the other one I have. I am showing this one here for comparison. Someday, I will show the other one (storage is a pain).

IMG_1793.JPG

Here is a close-up to illustrate the high spot paint streak. I think I will spend the extra effort to sand by hand to avoid digging down to the primer with the orbital sander.

IMG_1794.JPG

I few more pics:

IMG_1789.JPG


Rain came last night. On hiatus for now.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_1792.JPG
    IMG_1792.JPG
    440.3 KB · Views: 353
I wet sanded the 2nd coat of rolled on blue paint to get the high paint streaks off before moving onto roll on another 1 or 2 coats of the latex paint. First time I have ever wet sanded any paint application. The process is pretty simple. I have two sanding blocks. One is a 3M block from Home Depot and one a half-as-expensive one from Harbor Freight (love that place) that is of equal quality. I loaded one block up with 400 grit to knock down the high paint streaks. The other block was loaded with 2000 grit to get the final smooth finish. Having two sanding blocks works out great since sometimes you miss spots and have to go back with the lower 400 grit block as you go along. Saves the trouble of swapping out sand paper at a cost of three extra bucks for a 2nd sanding block. Sprayed a concoction of tap water mixed with a few drops of dish soap at each sanding location I was targeting to sand and Daniel-san away I went, alternating between the wax-on/wax-off circular technique and the up and down paint-the-fence technique. Whenever the sanding block got stuck, I sprayed more of the concoction to get it moving again.

I must say, the whole experience of wet sanding sucks really bad. I think I went through 3 rolls of paper towels since you have to wipe as you go along or you'll have an even bigger mess. I still have paint drips all over the place. My gloved hands still have paint on them. To top it all off, it was arduous to boot. I dug down to the primer in some spots, so this definitely needs a few more coats of paint. Here are some pics and my verdict of where I want to go from here:

IMG_1816.JPG
IMG_1815.JPG


As you can see, the vibrant blue is gone. Even though the surface feels as smooth as a Formica counter top. I think I am going to regroup from here and put on the brakes regarding this roll on painting technique.

I was a bit unhappy with the HVLP kit I got from Harbor Freight. I felt it didn't atomize the paint well and I got some orange peeling with the Z-Back restore from above. This is why I decided to give rolling & wet sanding a try. But rolling & wet sanding isn't fun and spraying is. I am going to cover of this side of the cab to protect it and finish priming and sanding the rest of the cab. Once that is done, I am going to buy this 24 gallon Porter Cable compressor and I am going to spray, which is a whole lot more fun. I probably won't get to that any time soon, so a break from the effort is in store.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_1814.JPG
    IMG_1814.JPG
    59.8 KB · Views: 270
  • IMG_1812.JPG
    IMG_1812.JPG
    60.6 KB · Views: 268
Last edited:
Awesome job so far! I'll have to use some of these techniques when restoring my "big blue!"
 
Shit, the January 2018 release of the Darksoft Neo Geo is going to slow my plans to restore the Big Blue. Now I have to focus my attention on another 3Koam cabinet to restore: The Neo Geo Big Red.

BigReds.JPG

I guess that this is a good dilemma to have.
 
i know your pain. I have my 2 red cabs that I want to upgrade to 4 slots. I've been lazy at the led panel set up stage. I already sanded and poorly painted the cp. Need to clean up and paint the bolts, hide the holes with large carriage bolts and put in a new mvs harness.
 
Back
Top