Varsol = Satisfaction

When I removed the overlay from my control panel I was shocked by how much glue was left behind. I purchased some goo gone, let it soak for about 10 minutes and began "trying" to remove the glue. It was by no means an easy task. I got smart and grabbed the wife's hair dyer, that seemed to help a bit. But even with the goo gone & hair dryer my progress was slow...real slow ! My brother-in-law suggested I use varsol, so I did.
That with my drywall putty knife (I think that's what it is) made things so much quicker. I made great progress with very little effort, and perhaps most important in very little time. The top half of the control panel is done, I just want to give it a wipe with some more varsol and a clean cloth. The bottom is about done, but towards the lower part it seems they used some different adhesive. Perhaps a contact cement of sorts ? I'm not sure,but even with the varsol it was slow to come off. Tomorrow (Friday) I'm going to take another stab at it using the hair dryer. The heat does wonders, and I think ill be able to have the control panel fully cleaned for the weekend.
It was getting dark so I don't have the newest pictures, but I should post them in about a day or so. You will be able to see I got mostly all the glue off and its ready for paint.

Monitor Painting

I need to work on my patience,but that's another blog.
I decided I would paint my monitor bezel so it would stick out less when used in my MAME cabinet. I tried to take it apart, but it was allot more work then it was worth. I decided to tape it off and use some flat black spray paint. It turned out well, and I got no paint on the screen ! (which was great)
Only issue came when I decided to move it from the front lawn to the backyard. I thought it would cure better in the heat, but ended up making a smudge or two.
In reality you wont see that once its installed anyway, so I'm not sweating it.
The only concern I have now is that a 19" monitor is to small. There is going to be a ton of wasted space around the monitor, I really think Ill need a nice custom bezel.
When I replaced the video card to a card with a TV out the image quality went down. It would have been a huge plus if I could have had video out, as I could have hooked up an old TV. Now I will need to track down a larger CRT monitor. I don't know that ill make finding a new monitor top priority, but its definitely on the list. I'm also hoping that cutting my bezel out of poster board turns out OK. As always Ill post my results and pictures here.

You'll see the paint job is somewhat sloppy in parts. Keep in mind most of that wont be visible once contained in the MAME cabinet.

Painting Complete

I finished painting my cabinet, and I'm quite please with the results. I'm sure it could have been better, I could have taped better, or removed the t-moulding, but all in all its good ! Its a light blue so it doesn't really translate well in the pictures. The t-moulding is black, and the control panel will be painted in a flat black paint. I was able to get a hold of an old supplier and have some Hori buttons getting delivered today. My buttons don't really go with the overall scheme of the cabinet, but I don't think they will stick out like a sore thumb. They will consist of red & green buttons. Each player will have three red & three green. Player one will be red, and player two green. In total 14 buttons are on the control panel. I wanted to add more, as I have some extra yellow Hori buttons. I have instead decided to use the shifted functions on the IPAC and save myself the work. The Hori buttons themselves should save me time as the micro switches are built in. I wont need to dissect my mess of wires that was removed from the cabinet. I think as another time saver Ill be purchasing 8 more micro switches and using them for the joystick installation. Again quite simply this will be better then taking apart the mess of wires I was left with.

If I am able to find some time today Id like to tackle the control panel. Its still a mess, and covered in adhesive. Once that is cleaned and painted I can begin to install the buttons and joysticks. Ive decided to get the control panel fully wired and test it using MAME before installing it back into the cabinet. This will allow me to make any alterations needed.

Ive reinstalled the coin door and installed my old computer speakers. Ill need to add a shelf of sorts in the back of the cabinet to rest the subwoofer. This is also handy if I need to adjust the volume.

Whats Left ? Detailed Spending

Here is a checklist of what still remains on my MAME project.
Ive also included a checklist of what the project has cost to date.

DETAILED SPENDING

Marvel vs. Capcom = $75(fully working cabinet less one microswitch)
Cabinet delivery = $60IPAC = $66( $39 + $17 shipping + $10 fees)
Buttons = $12(twelve Japanese hori buttons @ $1 each)
Paint & Rollers = $20Labour = free

TOTAL = $233 * To date I've spent about 7 hours on the cabinet. I'm sure things could have been done faster, but inexperience plays a part. The machine has been fully gutted,cleaned,and mostly painted *

REMAINING WORK

Finish painting cabinet
Clean,prep & paint control panel
Install joysticks & buttons
Wire up controls & connect to IPAC
Test completed control panel in MAME
Install computer, light fixture, and speakers
Remove computer monitor bezel and paint
Cut new bezel for monitor
Install computer monitor
Install marquee

There could be more the eludes me right now, but that is for the most part what remains.

Progress

As par for the course time has been hard to come across as of late. The MAME project is well underway, however hit somewhat of a standstill. This weekend however I plan on spending some hours alone with the machine. (Does that sound nasty ?)
Painting might even be completed today, then next of the list is remove the adhesive from the control panel. Wiring up the controls is going to be a major project for me, and I think very time consuming. Its important to get the controls completely wired and test everything before moving it into the cabinet.
If things go really well, I'll be able to remove the bezel from my monitor and paint that also. As usual my progress and pictures will be posted.

Painting, Monitor, Wiring

The MAME project is coming along well, and I'm pleased with the results thus far.
The control panel has proven to be a real challenge, and the adhesive doesn't come off easily. However when time permits I plan on getting this cleaned and ready to go. For now the cabinet has been %100 gutted, the coin door and remaining wiring have been removed. Ive taped out the front and it is now ready for paint. The two sides are done, each received two coats of paint. I used a bathroom paint I had in the house that has a semi-gloss finish to it. Its a pale (baby blue) type color. The front will receive the same treatment at some point this week. Once all the painting has been completed ill move the cabinet into the house to begin wiring and set up.

I'm leaning towards using the side art from Donkey Kong Jr. Ive sent off the files to a friend who's father can print them for me. I'm waiting on the quote, then I can decide. If I don't use that art I will make my own custom art, but want that retro feel. All the files I will be using can be found on www.localarcade.com .

The monitor will be my greatest challenge. Ill need to disassemble my computer monitor (which will be used in the MAME cabinet). Its a 19" flat screen, and all be it id like 25" it will have to do. Sadly my video card doesn't support video out, and when I replaced it with a "better" card the results were poor. I'm going to cut the bezel out of poster board. Ill remove the bezel from my monitor, center it, trace it, then cut it out. Once in place ill need to hold the monitor secure, and install a shelf. I don't think this part will be easy.

Ill post the pictures of the painted cabinet shortly.

Prime & Paint

I have the cabinet about %90 gutted. All that remains are a few wires that I should get to on Friday. My IPAC came in today, and id like to begin wiring the controls on sat. (but I'm not sure if ill get the chance)Tomorrow I'm off to the Home Depot for some paint and accessories, I plan on completing the painting then. Id like to paint the sides of the cabinets with two coats. Ill need to tape off the front, then prime and paint that also. As mentioned I'm thinking about a second shade of blue, but might keep it simple and use what I have. It will come down to what it looks like painted with the tape removed.