For those that dont get out on the forums much heres a little special project I did for a fellow collector whos top notch restorations go far and beyond the norm. You can check out that full resoration over at CoinOpSpace. So how could I resist a chance to not only help the cause “saving the planet one game at a time”  But give this restoration something no other had…

This project had also started with the now infamous Ram Controls and claims of “high altitudes and cabin pressures” made the inks fall off the panels. 
So  I just couldn’t resist the chance to put on my Myth Busters cap and put my mad skills to the test.
I only had this panel for about 2 weeks.
the first week it sat in its box while I tried to get an original panel to color match to.
A BIG thanks goes out to CJ/OregonArcade for lending me both his CP and Bezel pieces.

So with the original panel in hand I got started.  Vectorizing the art, color mataching, and prepping the screens the rest was all in the wrist.

Missile Comand  is 5 colors and spent about 30 min each morning screening each color.
so by Friday she was all finished and the proof is in da pudding

But the real test was about to begin and find out if the stories of cabin pressures, high altitudes, Earths gravitational pull,  and God knows what else has/had any effect on the silk screened inks at Mach3 transits.
So boxing it up I shed a tear and wrapped this baby up nice and tight and sent her on its way.

So what does this all mean??  Originally the plan was to offer this as a regular service at ThisOldGame.com  By sending in your freshly painted or powdercoated original control panel and I would rescreen the art back onto the panel as it was originally done by Atari BITD.

However…There was still enough intertest dispite the recent “Scam Controls” fiasco. So I teamed up with another collector Troy Akey/ aka Takeman who took on having all BRAND NEW metal control panels fabricated and screened out of Chicago. I supplied my artwork and screened color samples to help with the effort.

These were done in a limited qty as a pre-order and are just about finished. For those that might have missed the boat on this and are interrested in getting a panel please contact us at sales@ThisOldGame.com

Im currently revisiting the Asteroids control panels which were done in the same fashion.

First let me say vinyl is NOT a shortcut to paint, prep and practice are key and results may vary.
Things to have on hand before you start:
-Nice clean preped cabinet.
-Vinyl from ThisOldGame.com : )
-Patience
-Squeegee and slip cover/or a roller*
-NEW Xacto knife and blades
-Bottle of warm soapy water (even when applying dry)
-Scissors
-Heat Gun
-Tack Cloth
-Alcohol (the isopropyl type not the Jack Daniels kind)

 * more on the roller later. this first tutorial was done with a squeegee but later found a roller that does wonders and will post a follow up in Part3.

If you unsure of how the vinyl will look or cover your cab repairs, cut and test it. Different vinyl colors will be more opaque than others and you will have to at least prime and paint the cab anyway before applying the vinyl.
The vinyl will simply give you a more uniform sheen and in some cases especially with Atari cabinets that’s how it was originally done.

This cab was stripped of its original vinyl sanded, primed, and fine sanded smooth again.

Youll want to work in a warm clean space your garage or shop aint gonna cut it here, warm because vinyl is brittle when cold and you dont want it crackin or tearin when you laying and forming.

Lay the cabinet on its side and let gravity do most of the work. Wipe clean with alcohol especially if its a painted surface or you used other cleaners/chemicals on it to removed reisdues. Tack cloth that down real good.
and we’re ready to start.
Measure out a piece and center it up you want several inches over hang all around.

We’ll be applying this DRY and 100% bubble free Lets Roll!
To start peel back a few inches of backing from the vinyl and stick down along bottom edge of cab.

Now we’re doing this dry but here’s a little trick bottle of warm soapy water to spray the TOP/Surface
of the vinyl this will reduce scratching and help the squeegee “glide” without sticking which cause bubbles in the first place.

So basically we’ll be squeegeeing the vinyl up the cab about a 1/2″ at a time. The roll back of the backing will help keep the vinyl up off the cabinet while your working and almost peel itself back as you go.

Now thats done you could take the easy way out and trim to the cab and call it a day.
But Wheres the Fun in that??

The Vinyl Adventures Continues…

stay tooned for vinyling Part 2 The edge.

Now I’m sure everyone has got their own technique on installing a cpo I thought Id share my own.
Patience is key from prep, to clean and to the forming.
Now I’ve read alot of posts over the years on the forums about painting, not painting, primers, bondos, etc. well for starters the original panel were all done differently depending on its manufacture so that’s a good place to start. For Example Atari’s Cps were powder coated Black where as Midways were just primered. They were also fabricated differently which lead to problems with the cpos cracking and wearing in spots for studs and welds around the joystick.
Like the patron said to the burlesque dancer…Lets start stripin’!!!
Midway also used a thick Black padded adhesive to help hide these flaws and strips like butter with some citrus strip
and the easiest panel I’ve ever stripped.

Now the Midway control panels were fabricated a little differently than most and the cpos had the tendency to crack around those dropped areas. This is also why they used the thicker black adhesive to help hide and cushion those metal imperfections.
So for this reason I opted to bondo and fill in all the Midway fab defects to help prevent future problems.

Then I primered  WHITE.

Why White?
The silkscreening is generally somewhat transparent and the white base will keep the colors bright and even.
I wish I had done this with my Crystal Castles as it was quite noticeable going down on that black panel : (
gave it a nice finishing sanding and wiped it clean with some Alcohol the new CPO is ready for install.

First its always best to apply any art in a warm enviroment. Cold temptures will make vinyl brittle and cpos wont adhere as well.Its also recomended the surface temp of the panel be prewarmed so break out the heat gun and get it warm to the touch.

Place the cpo on the panel and hold into place with the buttons is usally the easiest for alignment.

Then peel back and cut off 4-inches just enough for most of that facing side up to the first bend.

Pull tight and apply to the panel pushing firmly with finger tips across and up about an inch at a time.

If you get any bubbles you cant push out DO NOT TRY TO LIFT THE CPO BACK UP
Once finished take a needle and pop it the polycarbonate will “self heal” pretty nicely and you’ll never notice it.
This will also keep you from ruining a nice new Cpo.
First step complete and Ill let this set up overnight with clamping down the small bend at the bottom. with some clamps and angle.

 you should NEVER rush an pplication and with cpos the more bends the longer it could take to form. So once thats had a chance to adhere and form flip and peel back some more of the cpo for the bend and top half and work in the same way. Now the cpo is in place and the buttons are removed at this point so when folded back you should be in the same place you started.

For the top fold, a little trick. Take your time on any sharp bends Don’t just try to fold and try to press into place its just going to spring up and pop back off and weaken your adhesive.
Instead slowly work in a crease by applying a little heat and bending the cpo back and forth a little
once you’ve got a nice “flap” you can fold it over and stick it down with very little effort

clamping and letting it set overnight for a good stick before continuing.

While that’s setting up a polished the shaft on the buffer and sprayed some tire cleaning foam on the dust washer the foam gets in the cracks and really cleans it and giving it a nice new black shine. rinse and a like new washer with zero effort.

Next up was to reassemble and repopulate the panel with the joystick and new buttos.       I also applied a strip of 1/4 foam weather striping this makes for a nice tight fit for the Cp to the glass and will prevent shifting.

Last Step: Reassemble, step back and admire a job well done.