as i've stated above, i've been working on the control panel lately and here are the results so far. originally, it looked like this with worn-off paint and some nasty scratches
player 1 doesn't look much better either
and the coin insert plate with the scratched-off "25c" text. this is going to be replaced by the word "TOKEN" later
before doing anything else, i need to scan the original art
stitched together!
my idea is to have the text silkscreened back onto the panel, but in order to do so the old text (and the scratches) have to go, so out comes acetone!
coming off nicely
a couple of cheap magic sponges later ...
... the text is gone, but the scratches remain - who would have guessed?
in order to get rid off them, i'm taping the metal pieces to a plank of wood ...
... and out comes the orbital sander!
after that, a nice round of metal polish
look how clean and shiny this is now. honestly, i've been thinking about using it like this without the brushed aluminium look, because the other metal pieces on the cabinet are also shiny (no brushed effect there), but i've decided to go for the original look eventually. what would you have done - shiny or brushed?
in order to create that brushed aluminium look, i'm taping the plate to a block of wood ...
... and then i'm slowly pulling it over sanding paper of various grain sizes!
still looking a little bit rough on the following picture, but after going over a 1200 grit sanding paper afterwards, it looks really really nice!
i did the same to the bigger piece of metal (the one with the player controls) and my idea is to take it to the anodizer on monday to add a protective layer on top. the anodizing process will also take away the shiny surface to produce a soft matte finish. however, i'm still not convinced 100% whether to do it like that or return to the shiny look!
i need some input, guys!!! it's not too late to turn back ...