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Working on a Sega Blast City

Thomas said:
Both sides under the control panel base were cracked:

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Applied Bondo filler then sprayed with paint to seal it:

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I put some white paint on the front to cover the crack. It's not a very visible area but I might try to make it look better later.

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For the rust, and there was a lot, I soaked the metal pieces in vinegar for a few days:

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I've learned that soaking in vinegar and then rinsing isn't enough. To prevent "flash rust", something I'd never heard of until recently, I should have rinsed the parts in baking soda to neutralize the vinegar, then rinsed in hot water, then dried immediately. I didn't do this step but I did do the next step below which is much more important.

After removing the rust I sprayed everything with either CRC Heavy Duty Corrosion Inhibitor or CRC 3-36:

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The Heavy Duty Inhibitor has a strong smell that lingers for weeks and it stays a little bit tacky. It also gives the metal an amber color. Other than that I think it will work well. The 3-36 I'm not too sure about. I saw a video where someone tested it outside and the results were good so I guess I don't need to worry.
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isn't it pure vinegar too aggressive with the metal? for how long did you leave it?
 
Hackcell said:
isn't it pure vinegar too aggressive with the metal? for how long did you leave it?
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Yes, it's aggressive and will take off all the rust and plating. Takes about 2 days of soaking. I recommend not using the CRC Heavy Duty Corrosion Inhibitor. It stays slightly tacky even after curing. Check my Net City thread for a better product that I found. Or pay to have the metal pieces re-plated. Or if you're feeling adventurous you can try a re-plating kit to use at home. Or if the rust isn't bad the best solution is to ignore it.
 
Thomas said:
Yes, it's aggressive and will take off all the rust and plating. Takes about 2 days of soaking. I recommend not using the CRC Heavy Duty Corrosion Inhibitor. It stays slightly tacky even after curing. Check my Net City thread for a better product that I found. Or pay to have the metal pieces re-plated. Or if you're feeling adventurous you can try a re-plating kit to use at home. Or if the rust isn't bad the best solution is to ignore it.
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mind to share the link of the net city thread?
 
Man this thing is incredible... only problem is that I would be afraid to touch it after all that fine work
 
JSN_ said:
Man this thing is incredible... only problem is that I would be afraid to touch it after all that fine work
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I want to say I don't worry about it, but the truth is I'm afraid of other people touching it. Even more so with the Astro City. Every time someone plays on my Astro I think about how they might scuff the doors with their shoes or scratch the control panel with their watch. I'm trying to get over it.
 
Thomas said:
I want to say I don't worry about it, but the truth is I'm afraid of other people touching it. Even more so with the Astro City. Every time someone plays on my Astro I think about how they might scuff the doors with their shoes or scratch the control panel with their watch. I'm trying to get over it.
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I would say if you could bring it back from its terrible condition, a touch up down the road should be a walk in the park..
 
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Thomas said:
The original volume control is a 100 ohm linear rheostat and that won't work for the new sound system. I replaced it with a 25K ohm logarithmic potentiometer.

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The reason the potentiometer wires are removed and separated from the AMP UP connector is because I was getting a lot of hum and buzz noise. I can eliminate the noise by not grounding the potentiometer and line converter but then I get an oscillating noise. So either one or both needs to be grounded. I was able to minimize, but not completely eliminate, the buzzing noise by routing the potentiometer wires away from the AC wires that go to the front power switch. I also needed to add electrical tape around the potentiometer and mounting hole to prevent contact with the monitor frame which was also causing buzz/hum. And lastly I switched from a 50k potentiometer to a 25k for additional noise reduction. I could put the potentiometer down by the amplifier and away from the monitor to eliminate the noise but I like having it in the original position under the control panel. The noise isn't too bad and really only noticeable when game music is silent.

I used AMP UP 3 pin connectors to route the potentiometer wires separately:

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The original knob fits over the new potentiometer (needed to file the inside slightly). Electrical tape was added to prevent the potentiometer from touching the metal frame that is not earth grounded and is connected to the monitor:

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Routed the wires over the terminal board to keep them away from the power wires as much as possible:

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And here's how it all looks:

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hi! I have so many questions!! are you still using this setup?
 
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