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My long weekend project. A Popeye Restoration


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Well easter is here and I've got a 5 day weekend to fill, so what better to do than to restore an arcade game.

I've got an original Nintendo popeye in the works. Its quite ratty but I reckon with a lot of elbow grease this one is going to come up real nice.

So first things first some before pics.

 

http://s1.postimage.org/6gja2ojet/Perth_Sydney_trip_2010_001.jpg

 

The side art on this one is too far gone. I ordered a brand new set from arcadeshop.com to put on this cab.

 

http://s3.postimage.org/k812s213s/Perth_Sydney_trip_2010_002.jpg

 

http://s1.postimage.org/ytfgm7ckk/Perth_Sydney_trip_2010_003.jpg

 

http://s1.postimage.org/o6o4rsv3b/Perth_Sydney_trip_2010_004.jpg

 

Control panel is not too bad, some what looks to be coke stains under the perspex but this is by far one of the better control panels I've dealt with. The same cant be said for the t-moulding though.

 

http://s1.postimage.org/v9xdtjfam/Perth_Sydney_trip_2010_005.jpg

 

The marquee brackets need a good paint and the coin door has a bunch of rusted bolts and could do with the same paint treatment.

 

http://s1.postimage.org/6gpukj62f/Perth_Sydney_trip_2010_006.jpg

 

http://s1.postimage.org/6gr4vkvvg/Perth_Sydney_trip_2010_007.jpg

 

I should have got a close up of the coin door. If you look closely at ther above pic you'll see the North Carolina video game license towards the top left under the control panel. This one was on a coinop route up until 1991.

 

And of course the inside.

 

http://s1.postimage.org/o6tqjd7b3/Perth_Sydney_trip_2010_008.jpg

 

First I started with the inside of the cab. Most people dont worry about this part, but I figure its not a restoration unless you restore everything. The cab was gutted (minus the PCB cage) so I had easy access to everything for cleaning.

 

http://s1.postimage.org/6gtfkg8ja/Perth_Sydney_trip_2010_009.jpg

 

I normally start with a vacuum and then clean the inside of the game with soapy water. The wiring harness also gets a good clean.

 

A solid scrub with soapy water on the wood, cleaned the wiring harness, connecters and gave the terminals a clean with alcohol and you get a nice shiney power supply!!

 

http://s1.postimage.org/a0g23bimx/Perth_Sydney_trip_2010_010.jpg

 

Once cleaned all the internals go back in and all wires were tied up using the cabs internal wire hitches.

 

http://s1.postimage.org/dk2d1fdcl/Perth_Sydney_trip_2010_011.jpg

 

Next came the outside. I like this pic as it shows how filthy these games get over the years.

 

http://s1.postimage.org/o6wegjby0/Perth_Sydney_trip_2010_012.jpg

 

This side art was a real pain to get off. There's still a bunch of sticker goo left on the game but I'll get that off tomorrow.

I hope to strip the side art off the other side and clean both sides tomorrow.

 

More to come........

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Oh, I meant the ballpark figure of buying a Popeye project, not a completed machine.

 

Cheers!

Adam.

 

Depends on condition and the seller,

 

I would think some people who have them would want full tote odds because it being what it is.

 

Then you get some people who dont know what they have is gold.

 

There isnt any way I can give an idea of what it will cost as it depends on the seller and IF you can find one.

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nice one vissy , its great when you clean up games that have sat in sheds and wharehouses for decades.

 

please leave the North Carolina video game license on it if you can......

Definitely leaving the license on there. It gives it a bit of history and it's pretty cool to see them on there. I'm even going to leave the Thorpe Music Co Vending Service sticker on the control panel as this was one of the old companies that used to run this game on the coin op route in the states back in the day.

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Definitely leaving the license on there. It gives it a bit of history and it's pretty cool to see them on there. I'm even going to leave the Thorpe Music Co Vending Service sticker on the control panel as this was one of the old companies that used to run this game on the coin op route in the states back in the day.

 

My Donkey Kong has that sticker on the control panel too :)

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I'll definately be keeping an eye on this thread. I wonder if the one I got was in similiar condition? I have to say that I still love the condition that mine is in. I can vouch for Visy when he puts a cabinet up for sale. Your going to get something your happy with :)
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I'll definately be keeping an eye on this thread. I wonder if the one I got was in similiar condition? I have to say that I still love the condition that mine is in. I can vouch for Visy when he puts a cabinet up for sale. Your going to get something your happy with :)

 

Yep your popeye was in a similar condition. Even had the same monitor problem. If my memory serves be correct though, yours was absolutely horrible inside. I don't think even a rat would have crawled in there it was so bad.

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Wow! :o I would never have guessed that. Mine looks great inside. Plus the actual gameboard looks so clean. Plus I noticed that my backboard actually has "Donkey Kong" instructions on it so it may not always have been a popeye or it got a different door throughout the years. I'm really interested in seeing the stages or restoration. haha not that I'll be lucky enough to actually restore one of these gems.

Thanks for letting us watch this.

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How can you take 5 days off to do this Reno when I can clearly see your pavement needs repainting, the lawn needs a mow & pull out some damned weeds......:lol:lol

 

SHIT If I have to work aroun the house so do you...:o:laugh::lol

 

5 days off............really :huh:

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Lunch time. So a quick update on progress.

I've pulled the side art off both sides now. As you can see I've got a crap load of cleaning to do.

http://s1.postimage.org/z140lglez/Picture_002.jpg

 

Next I've pulled the marquee, marquee brackets, control panel and coin door off as they all need restoring.

What's left is a very naked looking popeye.

http://s4.postimage.org/tn0n542mk/Picture_003.jpg

I reckon I can make some good progress today. Hell maybe I'll even be able to paint the pavement, mow the lawn and weed the garden ;) ;)

Edited by visy
added better pics
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So all the cabinet cleaning is done. For anyone looking to clean up an arcade game here is a big insight into the process I go through.

 

First, clean the cab with soapy water and then wipe dry with a clean soft cloth.

 

Second, go over all the really bad scuff marks with magic eraser. You can buy them in Coles and they are amazing. You just have to be very careful on any areas with artwork as they are abrasive.

 

Finally, novus 2. This is a plastic polish but works great on arcade cabinets too. So far I've used it on laminate, stenciled art and printed side art. You won't have any problem with laminate or stenciled artwork providing you don't scrub too hard. Printed artwork be very careful.

The old original artwork on atari and nintendo games tend to be tough as nails and will take a good scrub with novus 2. Repro artwork is a different story.

 

Anyway the results of today's work.

 

Before:

http://s1.postimage.org/o6wegjby0/Perth_Sydney_trip_2010_012.jpg

 

After:

http://s4.postimage.org/8detc85jd/Picture_004.jpg

 

I had a quick peek at the fluorescent fixture and the starter is absolutely buggered. Anyone know what kind of starter this is and where I can get it?

http://s4.postimage.org/tn3t970n6/Picture_006.jpg

 

Here Is the original fixture it's from.

If rather keep everything original on this so don't want to slap a brand new fixture in the cab.

http://s4.postimage.org/j09jkebkl/Picture_005.jpg

Edited by visy
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Looks somewhat like an FG-7E starter.

Theres a shop called GMT lighting that sell them. My Exceleena had one of those all blacked out as well.

Link:

http://www.gmtlighting.com.au/enlarge.php?id=5196

Bought 2 from that shop for around $12 each I think (had to get it shipped to Sydney from Melbourne) and all is well now, had to replace the tube aswell though.

Edited by Jatz
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So today was paint day and as a result Ive got paint all over my hands and clothes, but things are coming along nicely.

 

I started by quickly re-gluing the laminate just above the control panel. I haven't come across a Nintendo game yet where this hasn't started peeling off.

http://s1.postimage.org/20qzdh0eu/Picture_008.jpg

 

All clamped up. I'll probably let this sit overnight so the glue dries fully.

http://s1.postimage.org/lqozsp5l/Picture_016.jpg

 

There were a bunch of marks from general use on the inside paneling near the control panel. Normally the left side is worst because most "normal" people are right handed and they hold onto the left side of the cabinet whilst playing :)

So after a light sand and masking the cabinet these panels were painted.

 

http://s1.postimage.org/33197388k/Picture_009.jpg

 

While I was at it I decided to apply the same treatment to the bottom of the cab to get rid of all the scuff marks from the game being moved around.

http://s1.postimage.org/2qaevcvx8/Picture_010.jpg

 

Next were all the marquee and bezel brackets. The top marquee bracket wasn't too bad, but the same couldn't be said for the bottom marquee bracket and the bottom bezel bracket.

http://s1.postimage.org/1o0dbfejl/Picture_011.jpg

 

First step was to get all the paint off with paint stripper to get them back to bare metal. They really showed their age as they were starting to develop some rust.

http://s1.postimage.org/20rwg7yc3/Picture_012.jpg

 

I scrubbed the marquee brackets (a lot) with some brasso and steel wool to get rid of all the blemishes in prep for paint. This took me ages and I ended up with a bunch of cuts from the top marquee bracket. So if anyone has an easier way, please do tell.

http://s1.postimage.org/1b95rea8o/Picture_013.jpg

 

On with the paint!!

All mounted and looking pretty with the marquee.

http://s1.postimage.org/20s6dg1as/Picture_015.jpg

 

Powder coating is also another option, but given that this game will see home use only and are mounted up out of harms way the bare metal re-spray should suffice.

 

Finally, the last thing I got to today were all of the cabinet and coin door bolts. As you can see from the pic below they were rusty as hell.

http://s1.postimage.org/1o0ytewzb/Picture_017.jpg

 

Given that I'm mad for re-use these were definitely salvageable. A scrub with steel wool and brasso followed by a buff with a clean soft cloth got them all nice and sparkly.

http://s1.postimage.org/ygr7e55x/Picture_019.jpg

 

Tomorrow I'm looking to get to the control panel and coin door.

So more to come.....

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