painting an Astro City monitor bezel

[chinitosoccer]

I'm planning to paint this Astro City Bezel, as you can see in these pics it has tiny scuffs all over it, I already got some car paint but since I have never worked on fiberglass before I decided to look for advice first,

I haven't done anything to it yet... I was thinking about sanding it over but I don't know if I need to remove the old paint completely or just sand it a bit to get a rough surface and then apply the black paint, or primer, any advice??

 

[Teddy KGB]

It's not much different than repairing a fiberglass boat or car body panel. Sand it down first, then apply bondo (they make a specific filler product for plastics/fiberglass) to fill the gaps and deep scratches. Sand to a smooth finish then apply your primer and paint, sanding and/or wet-sanding with a hight grit paper (2000 or so grit) between paint applications. Good luck.

 

[chinitosoccer]

Thanks, I'm already doing some "patching" on a few rough spots on the back of the cab, that will serve for practicing my painting skills.

 

[Jassin000]

Not trying to be a negative nancy... But I would highly recommend that you leave it alone, or seek a replacement bezel all together.

My narrow world view is that it's criminal to paint a candy cab in any way, no matter what the reason (I also have some scratches/dings) for doing so. Oddly enough I made/own a frankenblast (ECZ's words) MAME cab. So if you simply must... Do what you will.

 

[chinitosoccer]

Not trying to be a negative nancy... But I would highly recommend that you leave it alone, or seek a replacement bezel all together.

My narrow world view is that it's criminal to paint a candy cab in any way, no matter what the reason (I also have some scratches/dings) for doing so. Oddly enough I made/own a frankenblast (ECZ's words) MAME cab. So if you simply must... Do what you will.

This is the "cab" that 'm going to paint:

What do you say now?

 

[cornerstone]

Is that really the same bezel as in the first picture?

I would suggest bathing it in febreeze as the first step.

 

[chinitosoccer]

Yes, it's the same one, the first photo was taken under the sunlight and the 2nd one under artificial light.

 

[Jassin000]

Wow, I'd say that cab is so jacked... You're going to spend more on restoring it then you would pay ordering a newish one from Ken.

 

[Chempop]

But there will be 1 more cab in the world, surely a noble cause!
I'm also thinking of painting my bezel, but first I'll try novus scratch remover and see where that gets me.

 

[300wins]

Wow, I'd say that cab is so jacked... You're going to spend more on restoring it then you would pay ordering a newish one from Ken.

Except the guy isn't not in the USA. So shipping a cab overseas isn't exactly cheap.

 

[wataru330]

Dat Aero!

 

[chinitosoccer]

That Aero City was already sanded down to a shiny metal and got the first coats of primer applied, it has its original Nanao MS8 monitor which is, incredibly, in perfect working condition, and I also got a 2nd MS8 monitor which is missing the yoke, all of this including the destroyed Astro city from the photo for $100..well $50 actually because the other $50's went in transportation expenses.

So... the only money that I will be spending to get this things working again, will go for the control panels, paint and new wiring.

 

[wataru330]

Love it man.

That MS8 is my favorite. STG games on Aero City are outstanding!

 

[Chempop]

That MS8 is my favorite.

Over MS9? If so, why?

I ask because in the last group buy I had a choice between an Astro City with MS8 or MS9. Honestly, I thought the MS8 looked better, but I decided to go with the MS9 cab for other various reasons. All I really know is that MS9 has more pot adjustments and perhaps is easier to find parts for. I'm wondering if the MS8 has any advantages, or if it's something to consider if I ever feel the need to grab a spare chassis to have on hand (assuming it would be compatible with my tube).

 

[chinitosoccer]

So are these chassis interchangeable? the only reason that I can think of for preferring an MS8 over the MS9 is that the MS8 came with 26" Toshibas which are better suited than the 29 tubes for low res 15khz games IMO.

 

[wataru330]

MS8 on the Aero = the best lo res I've ever seen in person, save BIGTIME'S MVU-4-25. I never thought to ask what that cab had in the way of monitor/chassis.

 

[chinitosoccer]

update!! I'm still waiting for the new panels from akihabarashop, and the repro side arts are taking forever to get them done, at least I got this thing working:

 

[arcade game]

Congrats,looking really good already
Can't wait to see the final restoration

 

[Chempop]

Coming along nicely! What's wrong with the panel currently on it, looks decent to me.

Also, if you find a source for illumination panels please let me know. Mines faded to hell and would love to replace it with a nice and vibrant colored one as seen here.

 

[chinitosoccer]

Thanks for the kind words guys.

Mines faded to hell and would love to replace it with a nice and vibrant colored one as seen here.

View attachment 8632

Yes, mine is faded too, I would like to replace it, problem is the original seem to have been printed using some kind of metallic paint.

 

[K-2]

Wow! This is looking amazing so far!! Keep it up, love to see what's cooking with that Aero too!