Space Ace -> THE restoration !!!

[DarthNuno]

Painting time  :idea:

Here's the tools of the day :



I'l use satin black paint, as close as possible as the original paint.

A last shot before painting...  



First test...



... 16 hours later, Let's sand the imperfection :



I'm recoverning the 'inside border', to protect the origina vinyl from new paint :



First layer :



Beware : fresh paint  







Ok, now let's wait 24 hours the 2nd layer  

[DarthNuno]

OKey, 36 hours later, I'm applying the second layer  



... and 36 hours later, it's now all dry... I think 2 layers will be enough  



...removing the protection :



...and there it is  





I cannot resist... ACE ... Stand Up !!!      



I'm really happy with that result  



Can't you believe it's the same cab at this point      :



It's not 100% perfect, but it's fine for me  











OK... next step : to apply the vinyl  

Stay TuNeD  

[FINNY(uk)]

Bruno,

Ther is a Saying that says "YOU CANNOT POLISH A TURD" and with the restoration you are doing on the Space Ace, you have just proved that the saying is unbelievable, as you can certainly polish a turd!!!!! well done my friend, cannot wait to see her up running and finished.

Take care
-Jas

[DarthNuno]

Thanks for your comments Jason  

Time to apply the vinyl...

Let's test that first on the front speaker panel.

It looks like this :



I remove the old damaged vinyl, and I'm starting to sand with a very small grain  



and I remove all the dust, of course :



OK, here's the NEW vinyl  ( thanks again Jas'    ) :



I can't miss the thing... coz I just have the right amount of vinyl for that, and the two cab' sides  



Well, I'm not sure if the glue on that vinyl will be strong enough, so I'll use this adhesive spray :



I apply the spray...



...and put the vinyl :



I'll use this blade to cut it  



...like this  



and here's the final result :



I'm happy with the result    But I think I don't need to use adhesive spray anymore, coz' the original adhesive on the vinyl looks strong enough  

[DarthNuno]

..and now, ladies & gentlemen.. the most thrilling part : new vinyl on both cab' side  

Ok,  I cut the first side shape, slightly bigger than the true dimension of course :



... hopefully, the amount of vinyl that I have is just enough for both side, well done Jas'    

Here's the rest of the vinyl... I'll use it for seconde side l8ter :



Before applying the vinyl, I'll manually sand the side one more time with a thiny grain :



Here is how I'm fixing the vinyl. I can't do it alone, so... I'm calling "Darth Nunette"  to help me

I fix the lower part like this...



...I can now apply the upper part :



Now that the upper part is fixed, I can apply now the lower part like this :





Done    :



First side is... DONE  



... arg, I can't resist      



I'll fix it now... I'm choosing the right place for the side ( I've used some Space Ace side  pictures taken at the Jason's Lair to adjust it as best as possible ) :



Like the vinyl, I'll apply the side art sticker in two steps.

1 -> The lower part :



2 -> The rest... easy  



...and I finally remove the protecting layer :



...and there is it :




     

[DarthNuno]

OK, let's go with the other side :



...same job : adjusting the vinyl + side art appy...  

Time for T-Molding now :



...done for the first side :



For the second side, there is a problem   The trench is too large for the T-molding...    I have to find a way to fix it anyway...

[DarthNuno]

...like I said previously, the trench for the second side is too large for the T-molding :



...after trying several glues, I'm still not able to found a solution to fix strongly the T-molding in the trench, so I decide to use wood filer... again  



...and, of course, I have to use -once again- the router    Not an easy task when I have to avoid damaging the  finished sides  



Now, let's paint the trench :



...done :



To fill that trench is a very hard job    So, I'll try a last solution to fix the T-molding inside the trench...  an hot glue gun :



...closer...



Holy Jesus... THIS is the issue  

[arcadefever]

wowwwwwwwww... you did some very good progress....

 

[DarthNuno]

Thanks ArcadeFever  

OK, now I can finally fix the T-molding with the hot glue gun  

Let's start from the back of the cab :



...then the top of the cab' :



... the front, and finally the base :



and voila        



Ok, now that the major wood working is done, it's time to continue the restoration... inside the Nuno's Lair  

First stage : to pass this stairs    :



Once again, thanks to "Burt" for his help to get this cab down of the 1st floor  

This is it...







Stay TuNeD OF CoUrSe      

[DarthNuno]

Time to place the marquee.

Here's the items of the day  

- original Space Ace marquee (not a reproduction)

- new repro marquee brackets

- new neon



Now, this is the original neon :



... the original (defect) on top, and a brand new one, same than the original one : same size, same power, same voltage : 35w, 230V  



...now in location  

[DarthNuno]

Now, time to repair the bezel support. Here's the original one :



 :x completely destroyed    Nothing to do with that  

I'll make a brand new one  :idea:  Where to find a perfect template ?    



 In my Atari Dragon's Lair  of course  


Let's check for that piece inside the DL :



Ok, easy to remove    



...as I said, I'll use it to draw the perfect 1:1 pattern :





ready to cut



...a thing to do carefully is to cut that angle :





...easy, with the exact pattern to follow...



   The DL original and ... the home made reproduction...  



Ok, painting time  



...fresh paint ...

[DarthNuno]

The bezel support is now totally finished :



Now, let's have a look at the coins doors. One door is missing    The other one, on the picture, need to be paint.



Let's fix the thing. I'll put the two coins doors later, when they will be sanded & painted  



Before fixing the speakers support fully restored, I have to remove the nails, full of  rust    ...



...like this :



It really helps to have a Dragon's Lair cab close to me    



Speakers support... fixed :



The twin cabs ... very soon running together  



I can now fix these original Space Ace/DL  speakers, thanks Jaz'  



Here's the location...



Fixed, like it used to be more twenty years ago  



The end is near...  

[DarthNuno]

OK, it's time to work on the back of that cab'.

The upper part is in very bad shape, have a look :



Impossible to corret it   Too much water damages    :



Ok, no other choice than to reproduce it  :









Hopefully, I still have some pieces of new vinyl :



Almost done :

[DarthNuno]

Here's the back of the cabinet...



There is three parts to build/repro... I've already done the first one previously... so let's do the others : the main backdoor, and the bottom backdoor (the one for the laser disc player).

The original Dragon's Lair model on the left, and the replica :



I've no more black vinyl, so I'll paint it :



Let's check if it fits the cab'  :  



OK, let's go for the last part... the bottom backdoor :







I've found the perfet metal grille sheet



It's strong, and easy to cut  



A view of the top & bottom back door, finished    :



Let's put them on location    



The actual status  :

[arcadefever]

very nice...

do you have the rest ? pcb,player ect...?