Capcom Mini Cute Clean-Up

[mattsoft]

I bought a yellow Mini Cute from friedpotatoz several weeks ago and have been cleaning it up. Attached are some pics that friedpotatoz took on pick-up.

While the cabinet worked, it had a few issues. It was a diamond in the rough. Someone had spilled something into the cabinet that left rust all the way down the inside. Lots of cosmetic damage and rust, and questionable electronics.

 

[mattsoft]

Here is where I am today and what I have done:

• Full scrub down inside and out.
• Removed rust with wire brush and vinegar. Sealed the bare metal with primer and paint.
• Most of the outside was in pretty good condition; I'm not going to repaint the cabinet or replace the artwork. I like the small dents and scratches, so they are staying.
• The foot rest had lots of rust. It has been professionally powder coated.
• The control panel box was worn. It too was professionally powder coated which will be very durable.
• I sanded the control panel, spray-painted, and replaced the overlay with a repro.
• The power supply had leaky caps so I recapped and cleaned it up. Power is solid. Replaced the 2-prong power cord with a 3-prong grounded power cord.
• Smoke-colored bezel has been polished and looks great!
• Repaired some of the wiring.
• For now, I have put a Raspberry Pi 4 with an RGB-Pi hat and OS on it. Current playlist is mostly CPS1, CPS2, and Neo Geo games.

Left to do:

• New red and blue sanwa buttons and ball tops come in this week for the OG look.
• While the original monitor looks good, there are some issues with horizontal deflection that need working on. Maybe caps?
• The speakers work but have torn cones, new ones are on order.
• Trying to figure out what to do with the wheels. The rubber wheels are warped and do not work well.
• New rubber mat for foot rest is on order.

 

[mattsoft]

Quick update, buttons and sticks are in and wired up except for the kick harness. Need to get something going for that...but it works great and hope to play a game of Alien vs. Predator tonight with the kiddo.

 

[serge85]

Just beautiful man, congratulations!