Now the other side of the cabinet. We are starting from here :



I peel off the sticker, expecting to do the same job as on the other side of the cabinet... I was wrong!    This Dragon's Lair 2 decides to mess with me a little more  Look what I find after removing the sticker.   



Rotten, moldy, broken...  



Guess we've got to break it more before we can fix it! 



The area to repair is now too large to use just wood filler.
No, I'll need a piece of wood with the same thickness as the side of the cabinet.
But wait...I've got an idea?   I'll do a graft, or rather, an hybridization.    I still have an old board that once belonged to a ...Starblade  , with a few leftover parts...



Time to carve out the perfect donor piece for the graft   



A generous dose of this rotten wood repair compound is absolutely needed.



Let the graft begin!



Wood glue, nails...



I smooth out the nails with the grinder, let everything dry, then it's time for the wood filler... 



I patch it all up...



Time to bring back my trusty old router 



Since I drove nails in vertically, it's impossible to make a continuous groove    I'll deal with that later... 



Now that this area is repaired, I can sand the rest of the side and fill in the small imperfections to get the smoothest surface possible before applying the new vinyl :



The thickness of the wood has probably shifted after all those years spent outdoors, so I'm prepping the edges in case the T-molding ends up being too small :



Brush in hand, and knowing the surface would be covered anyway...I just couldn't resist, guys   



 

Wow, a difference between these two like night and day!

Alright, now we're tackling a big task: installing the vinyl on the sides.
But before installing it, I still had to find the right vinyl. If I lived in the US, I would've jumped on the Black Vinyl (Morocco style) from QuarterArcade, but I need to find something 'locally' or risk blowing the budget. So I spent a few days searching and finally went with a vinyl from Amazon that, on paper, should do the trick...



No luck! This vinyl turned out to be absolute garbage: no texture, doesn't stick, and way too thin... So I went back to searching for a few more days and finally found the holy grail, right here



Here's a comparison of the two vinyls. On top: the Amazon junk. Below: the holy grail of Atari-style vinyl.



Just to be clear, this is a quick test for illustration purposes, on an unprepared surface. It really shows how thick the bottom vinyl is, how well it sticks, and most importantly how it has the same texture and grain as the vinyls Atari used back in the '80s and '90s. 

Honestly, I was starting to lose hope of finding a vinyl of this quality! ... and so true to the original. 



Okay, time to dive in...



Cut's done. Seriously, this vinyl's so thick and sticks like a charm I didn't even need the surface to be that smooth.



The photos don't do justice to the quality of this vinyl...it's just perfect!



... and I can't stop running my fingers over it. 



I just have to share this great find with you  it's from a site based in France. Here's the product description:



But here's the most important part, which explains the quality: it's a certified product for public spaces, so we're talking about professional-grade material here 


Decorative adhesive film for furniture, suitable for use in public spaces thanks to its fire-retardant certification and excellent VOC test rating.

Easy to apply without requiring any downtime for the premises - a practical and efficient solution. Offers elegant, refined decoration with a high-quality surface that withstands nearly all forms of wear and tear.

Direct link to the product : REV-1K (for the record, this isn't a sponsored post)

Bruno !!!
Now you need a CPO withOUT the skill level selection !

Damn it, yes, you're right...    OK, I'll manage that! 

...and 19 years later, my European Space Ace finally looks like the European version I knew when I was young! 



I finally have a marquee with the Atari logo printed on it 



...as well as the square sticker bearing the Atari logo 



Thanks to Barry from arcadeartrepro.com for printing this for me!