Sega Net City Restoration

[Thomas]

I also sanded and polished the doors. The Spraymax 2K satin clear changes from nearly matte to nearly full gloss after it's polished (the data sheet even warns against polishing because the satin finish will be lost). Makes me curious about the paint formula. After sanding the three doors there were some ugly spots remaining that didn't cure properly due to me spraying too heavy. I left the rear door as is and polished it since it's in the back and not noticeable, but re-sprayed with gloss clear on the two front doors, then sanded and polished them.

At the same time I also painted my two Blast City doors that I didn't paint last year. I thought I had convinced myself that it didn't matter if the three doors were a different shade of white but as the months went by it started to bother me.

I gave the light cover a Novus treatment. Like any polish, this product really doesn't remove any scratches unless a powered tool is used or you spend a very long time and a lot of energy rubbing by hand. I polished by hand and while none of the scratches were removed, the shine and gloss was restored.

The metal sides ("frame cover SD") seem to be aluminum with a clear coating. I sanded the surface to remove the light scratches in the clear part, then polished with metal polish. To remove all of the scratches I would need to sand off all of the clear and I don't think the metal will look the same without it. Plus that would be a lot of unnecessary work since most of the scratches were in the clear. I think I used 1000 grit only.

On the bottom pieces where the legs attach ("hoof") I only used polish to make them a little less ugly. These seem to have a silver paint or other type of colored coating so I didn't sand them. For fun, I mixed some paint to fill in the scratches on a few places on the side stickers.

 

[Thomas]

I repainted the black border around the instruction cover glass (same way I did on the Blast).

The coin mechanism wasn't accepting 100 yen coins. When I received the cabinet it had a 50 yen sticker on it, so I tried 50 yen and that went through. I adjusted the metal piece that restricts movement of the second pivot arm/pendulum so that 100 yen would be accepted. But when I tested 50 yen again it also went through. This doesn't matter for home use but got me curious. My Blast City has the same model coin mechanism (AD-81P) so I compared the two and found that the space between the two arms of the first pendulum (cradle) on the Net measured 21mm while the Blast measured over 22mm. These measurements match the diameters of 50 yen and 100 yen coins, respectively.

Both mechanisms are labeled as 100 yen so at some point the pendulum cradle in the Net was replaced with a 50 yen size (I saw an old auction for one so this is something Asahi Seiko sells). The arms of the cradle can be bent to enlarge the space so that 50 yen coins pass through it and are rejected. But it's difficult to bend them just right so that 50 yen is rejected every time and 100 yen is accepted every time. Nickels have a similar size and are also accepted sometimes if the pendulum cradle isn't perfect.

Earth ground locations according to the manual:

NOA-1701 - AC bracket
NOA-1601 - one wire from the AC bracket connects to the floor of the cabinet base
NOA-1101 - one wire from the floor of the cabinet base connects to the cabinet frame right side
NOA-1102 - one wire from the floor of the cabinet base connects to the cabinet frame left side
NOA-1451 - one wire from the cabinet frame left side connects to the I/O board base
CQN-1055X - two wires from the I/O base connect to the control box hinge, one on the lower part of the hinge and one on the upper
control panel - two wires connect from the I/O base to the AMP UP connector panel for controls, then one wire from the AMP UP connector to the control panel


Here is the final product:

Summary of stuff:

control panel: alberto1225
levers: Seimitsu LS-40 with SS plate, Seimitsu LS-55 with Kowal Flat Plate Converter
buttons: Sanwa OBSN30 orange and OBSF30 vermillion
ashtrays and keyrings: gateninety.com
locks/key: Sega 5575, Yahoo Japan Auction and Tops/Sophia-corp
lock tongues A.K.A. tangs A.K.A. cams: Yaton
screw caps and new old stock emblem sticker: arcadeinvaders.com
speakers: Focal Auditor RCX-100
cabinet paint color: SunfirePro basecoat color map 18 18S6647
bezel paint color: SunfirePro basecoat color map 18 18S5448
light tube: FL20SS D/18F3 and FG1E starter, Yahoo Japan Shopping
marquee and move strip: original, jp.mercari.com
convergence strips: eBay crtsolutions
capacitors, fans, thermal pads, connectors, etc: digikey
coin slot: Tops/Sophia-corp

 

[Thomas]

After nearly two years the trio of Cities is complete at last:

 

[Wildpumpk1n]

Good job, she's back from death, I have to capkit my power supply too

What do you use to clean the PCB, the wet paper? Interesting

 

[Thomas]

Good job, she's back from death, I have to capkit my power supply too

What do you use to clean the PCB, the wet paper? Interesting

That is a Kimwipe. I dip a toothbrush in isopropyl alcohol and brush over the Kimwipe to remove flux residue.

 

[advans14]

EXCELLENT. mind sharing the paint code on the color you used for the blast city? I realize it differs from game to game, but I like the shade you went with.

 

[Thomas]

EXCELLENT. mind sharing the paint code on the color you used for the blast city? I realize it differs from game to game, but I like the shade you went with.

I sprayed the Blast City control box and doors with Sherwin Williams SunfirePro Premium Basecoat color map 18S6725. Not a perfect match. Close enough.

 

[CPZ - SAVEYOURGAMES]

Awesome work, please begin with another one

 

[Thomas]

Awesome work, please begin with another one

No more space. Three is the limit. If I move to a bigger house and have space for a fourth (a diamond blue vewlix would be nice) I'll try to find one that requires less work.

 

[Asobu]

Digging the color matched stick/buttons with the cabs. Green/Pink never made sense with the Blast imo.

But now you need the Sega City and Aero City to complete the City collection lol

 

[CPZ - SAVEYOURGAMES]

No more space. Three is the limit. If I move to a bigger house and have space for a fourth (a diamond blue vewlix would be nice) I'll try to find one that requires less work.

ok sell one and start again...... eheheh

 

[Adrick]

it was perfect @Thomas , one question, the grey bezel, can you explain me the process you did to repaint it?

 

[Thomas]

it was perfect @Thomas , one question, the grey bezel, can you explain me the process you did to repaint it?

I scuffed it with a maroon scuff pad, or maybe grey. Can't remember. Grey is probably best. Then sprayed adhesion promoter followed by primer. Then sanded the primer. Then sprayed base coat, then clear coat. Lastly, sanded and polished.

I wrote details about painting plastics here: https://www.arcade-projects.com/threads/working-on-a-sega-blast-city.20583/post-345779

And details about painting and polishing bezels here (ignore the first part about sanding off old paint and using body filler; the Net City bezel only needs a quick scuff followed by adhesion promoter): https://www.arcade-projects.com/threads/working-on-a-sega-blast-city.20583/post-343415



By the way..... painting and polishing the bezels to look like glass was the most difficult part of this project for me. You might be happy with a few quick coats of cheap grey spray paint from a hardware store.

 

[SC-Ultra]

Awesome thread. Very impressive work with the paint (and monitor). I would be curious to see a close up shot of how it dried/adhered to the plastic. I tried to paint a bezel and just really wasnt happy with the result, spent hours getting it all off but this paint you used looks more appropriate than what I found. Maybe some people just weren't meant to paint haha

I ran into the same interference issue trying to use unshielded speakers. If you don't mind drilling mounting holes these sound great and the amp could drive them no problem. https://www.ebay.com/itm/134231108333

 

[kikaso]

Digging the color matched stick/buttons with the cabs. Green/Pink never made sense with the Blast imo.

It’s a really nice subtle touch

 

[Thomas]

Awesome thread. Very impressive work with the paint (and monitor). I would be curious to see a close up shot of how it dried/adhered to the plastic. I tried to paint a bezel and just really wasnt happy with the result, spent hours getting it all off but this paint you used looks more appropriate than what I found. Maybe some people just weren't meant to paint haha

I ran into the same interference issue trying to use unshielded speakers. If you don't mind drilling mounting holes these sound great and the amp could drive them no problem. https://www.ebay.com/itm/134231108333

Here is a close up shot. No adhesion issues. I painted the Astro and Blast bezels last summer and those are still good-as-new.

As for the speaker interference, it might not be something to be concerned with. The speakers are mounted further back and not directly below the front of the monitor and that makes a big difference. If they were mounted flush with the front of the screen, that would cause obvious discoloration. I only noticed a small distortion because I was holding the speaker in my hand and moving it into position while looking at a test pattern on the screen. Even in vertical mode with the monitor closer to the speakers it might not be a problem. I added shielding to the speakers because I didn't like having even a tiny amount of interference.

 

[SC-Ultra]

Here is a close up shot. No adhesion issues. I painted the Astro and Blast bezels last summer and those are still good-as-new.

Very Impressive. Please come to Wa and paint mine.

 

[JohnRambo'sKnife]

Any advice on removing the Net City emblem in the bottom center of the monitor cover? You mention peeling away the rubber part, but I am having trouble with starting an edge since it is recessed and I am afraid of causing damage to the think plastic surrounding it.

 

[Thomas]

Any advice on removing the Net City emblem in the bottom center of the monitor cover? You mention peeling away the rubber part, but I am having trouble with starting an edge since it is recessed and I am afraid of causing damage to the think plastic surrounding it.

The rubbery part pulls off fairly easy. Cut it somewhere away from the edge then use a spudger to peel it off. Use a heat gun to make it easier. The sticker underneath can be peeled off with a razor blade.

 

[Adrick]

The rubbery part pulls off fairly easy. Cut it somewhere away from the edge then use a spudger to peel it off. Use a heat gun to make it easier. The sticker underneath can be peeled off with a razor blade.

I did the same