Dragon's Lair 2, the second one... WIP!

[DarthNuno]

Think back to the catastrophic state of the metal surfaces    





We're in a better place now   



 

[Belike]

Looks really nice, great job!

[DarthNuno]

Looks really nice, great job!

Thanks Bela

Back on this broken monitor bezel :



In addition to the broken inner corners, it's mainly this broken/missing side that bothers me the most   



Well, for now, I still hope to find a replacement bezel, so I won?t do anything except a little cleaning...





...If I still can't find another one, I'll try to tinker with it a bit to hide the issues 

Update on the monitor's protective glass, which was missing.
I just received it after three weeks of waiting. It's tempered glass that can't be cut on-site by the store.
This type of cutting requires a special process, hence the waiting time



The price is special as well: 126 Euro. 
I'm attaching the invoice to keep a record of the cutting dimensions 



Once installed, it's perfect...phew!   At this price, it's better not to make a mistake with the dimensions!



The small logo certifying that it is indeed tempered glass. 

[Andreas_AUT]

126,- uff - I think I would have considered plexi glass, even if its not "original correct".

[DarthNuno]

126,- uff - I think I would have considered plexi glass, even if its not "original correct".

Yes, I hesitated a bit when the shop gave me the price, but hey... since it's a Dragon's Lair 2, an arcade cabinet that means a lot to me, I decided to do things properly and... to hell with stinginess. 

Oh and obviously, with that kind of price tag, I measured more times than a chef tastes his own sauce before serving. 

[DarthNuno]

Alright, I'm finally posting some updates about the beast...

Weel, there's not much to be done with the side arts... sadly, they've suffered too much   



Damn, that glue must've been strong! peeling off the sticker also tore off part of the wood surface.   



The wood on the rear edge got soaked where the sticker was missing, and now it?s so fragile it practically disintegrates on contact.



I'm going to use this rotten wood hardener. I've used it several times before, so I know it works!



I need to get a flat surface again, so I'm starting sanding with coarse grit.



Then another pass with finer sandpaper (400). You can clearly see the difference on the areas that have already been sanded. 



All done! rotten patch repaired, and it's now rock-solid like the rest of the wood!

[DarthNuno]

Despite several sanding sessions, the surface still isn't smooth enough for my liking. I don't want to take any risks moving forward. So, I'm going to fill in the tiny imperfections with this product:



It's a type of wood filler, but it comes in a lighter form (almost like whipped cream) perfect for filling in all the small imperfections.
Here's the result after two coats 



I'm also prepping the edges of the cabinet, in case the T-molding is too small, by adding black paint along the borders :

[Andreas_AUT]

Nice work!

My experience with these "all in one" wood filler are the same, good for small dings and dents. But if you have to fill a bigger damage, they new "bondo" is drying out maybe too quickly and you will get crack?s again. So you have to redo that 3-4x until its nice.
So I went the path like the other guys and bought a 2 component body filler ( bondo + hardener ) and the hardest part here is to just fill it the right size - otherwise you will spend some time sanding again

But looking at your pictures again, the "one fill" says up to 10 cm and it looks rly nice. It looks like thats a better product than I have bought.

And the metal parts are looking great again, btw that coin insertion looks unknown to me, maybe some italian one?

[DarthNuno]

And the metal parts are looking great again, btw that coin insertion looks unknown to me, maybe some italian one?

That's correct. This cabinet is an Italian version, made by Elettronolo. Forza! 

[DarthNuno]

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)

[Digimon]

real nice, the vinyl looks fantastic.

[Andreas_AUT]

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

[DarthNuno]

real nice, the vinyl looks fantastic.

Yes, and so happy because I never expected to find a professional vinyl like this again ...and so close to the original material! 

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

Yeps, and speaking about the shitty one (the vinyl from Amazon)... I was wondering what use I was going to find for it? 
And I had an idea... when I saw that frame containing an original Space Ace 91 (conversion kit) marquee 



I had pulled out from my stock this frame that happened to be just the right width. Unfortunately, the back of the frame is a rather ugly natural brown. So I'm going to cover it with the sketchy vinyl from Amazon.



OK, this SA 91 marquee looks a way better now with a black background   



If you remember the road trip, I salvaged this marquee that was rolled up inside the cabinet. So yeah, it's totally legit for me to bring it up here. 
And as for that sketchy black vinyl from Amazon, I'm using it to create nice black backgrounds for frames that were way too big, exactly like I did for the SA91marquee... so in the end, I'm kinda glad I bought it too! 

[DarthNuno]

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   



 

[DarthNuno]

Here we go! Finally laying the vinyl on the second side... and it's still just as delightful to caress with the hand.   





I'm pleased to see the base repair left no visible mark behind   



This DL2 Italian edition demands a little extra effort, crafted in two distinct pieces.    I?m now turning my attention to the upper half!





The moment a brush touches my hand, resistance fades  I'm already swept away 



At last, she stands tall complete, and draped in her new gown!