In this update I get a little closer to finishing off the restoration of this 31 yr old vector classic. With the weather quickly changing here in the Midwest, I needed to finish up all the painting before it gets too cold outside. So, I’ll highlight the replacement side pieces, attach the base, and show the “bondo” work. Then I’ll move into masking and painting the game. I think the end result is truly fantastic. The game looks like it just rolled off the factory assembly line. I left off with the creation of a template for the area around the control panel as the other side of the game had some damage at that spot. The next step was to dry fit the bottom/back piece I had assembled along with the remaining lower cabinet section. I wanted to make sure everything was going to fit before I started gluing and nailing it all together. Once the fit was verified I attached the bottom/back piece to the repaired side. This would give me something to support the final replacement section. I attached it using some blocking based on the original positions from the cab (before I broke it apart). I then used biscuits and my joiner to glue the new piece in place. I immediately attached the new piece to the bottom/back using more blocking. When changing from 2″ to 1-1/4″ finish nails in the nail gun, a 2″ nail got stuck in the gun and ended up popping through the side of the cabinet. Of course my hand just happened to be in that exact spot. I took about half an inch of nail in the palm, which was more surprising than painful. I now shoot off a test nail into scrap after each size change. The nail pic shows the difference in size. You can also see how the original layer of blue painters tape has peeled up in some areas, I’ll need to redo that before painting.

I’ll let the assembly set up over night to make sure it dries completely. While it was drying I started filling in the gaps between the new and old panel. Brian Jones of gamestencils recommended Evercoat brand filler products for use with vinyl. I ordered the metal glaze product online and gave it a shot. It has a much cleaner application than Bondo, that’s for sure, but it is difficult to apply on a vertical surface. It sands easier and provides a smooth finish, but the dry times are very fast. If you’ve never used a filler before, try bondo first, it’s a little more forgiving. Next time I will use bondo for deep gaps and initial filling, followed by a finish layer of Evercoat. Should be a winning combo.

I ended up doing a few coats of filler in order to get the joint to look seamless. After the final sanding, I flipped the cabinet and tackled the damaged control panel section. I cut off the bad area using my circular saw and the saw board. I cleaned up the cut off area with a chisel and sandpaper, then used my joiner to cut a slot for a biscuit. I laminated a small replacement piece with leftover white and black vinyl and glued it into place. Once dry I positioned the router template I made previously, and cut the block to the correct shape. I just need to cut the slot for the t molding, but I prefer to do that after any filler work. I didn’t have to do as much filler work on this side as the seam was better, not necessarily a good sign as the cab may not be square, I’ll check it later.

After everything was dry and sanded, I stood the cab up and did a few final repairs before starting to prep the cab for paint. I glued down a raised chunk on the top of the cabinet, and replaced a badly offset piece of blocking where the bezel would sit. I let that stuff dry and then started to mask off the sides and internal parts of the cab. I gave the existing black laminate on the front a good light sanding so it would take the paint and then wiped everything down to remove dust.

With the prep work complete I mixed up some semi gloss black enamel from Rustoleum. I mixed it with a little mineral spirits to thin the paint and allow a nice flow through the HVLP paint gun. The first coat went on perfect, no bugs! I wheeled it into the garage and allowed it to dry for two days.

With the black nice and dry I removed the masking and started the prep work necessary to paint the white sides. Another KLOV’er had contacted me and asked for a scan of the side art. He’d been on the hunt for Vectorbeam Space War art for a few years and was willing to produce his own with a scan. Since I had to re-mask the artwork anyway, I decided to make the effort and scan the art. Here you can see my laptop and HP window scanner making quick work of the job. I sent off the scans and also provided a copy to gamestencils in case Brian chooses to make the artwork available. Limited demand I’m sure, but drop him a line if you need the artwork.

I then mixed up the white paint and sprayed a nice light first layer. I allowed it to dry (4hrs), lightly sanded and hit it with a final coat. Amazing how much better it looks with bright white sides.

I let the cabinet dry for another two days and then got it ready for t-molding. Its looking good so far. Any areas that I missed with the router got hit with the slot cutting bit. I positioned the cab on my work horses so I could remove the furniture dolly I had attached to the base. I also attached the two “runners” on the bottom. The original bottom did not have leg levelers, just unfinished hardwood runners. They would take all the abuse from moving the game around. Next it was on to the t-molding which went smoothly. I notch my corners and just hammer the molding in place with a rubber mallet. I don’t use hot glue unless the slot is too loose to hold the molding.

Here she is, with all the restoration work complete to the cabinet itself. Now I just need to put the game back together.

Tags: Restorations, Space War, Vectorbeam

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 2nd, 2008 at 12:12 am and is filed under Machines, Restorations, Space War. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.