Project Pacman Begins

Ok, so every arcade collector must own a Pacman, or a Ms. Pacman. Why?  Because every time we have a party or get together, and I show people the game room, the first question is " Do you have Pacman"?  It's a great game anyway, it's one of those approachable games, that anyone, of any age can enjoy.  It's arguably the most popular coin-op game of all time.

This project came to me from a collector on the Village forum.  I can't remember exactly at this time, but I drove somewhere down in South Florida for this one, I'm thinking somewhere near Boca Raton.  I can't claim total restoration rights on this one.  Most of the hard work had already been done.  The control panel and coin door had already been stripped and powder coated.  The cabinet was sanded to bare wood, and the previous owner even made a new back door.

I touched up some of the cabinet with Bondo and gave it a good covering of primer.  After sanding that down I tried using spray paint to get a nice smooth finish. That was a mistake, I never quite found a color that could match the original.  So I took a piece of the side art down to Lowe's and had them match the color on their scanner.  I ordered a quart of semi-gloss oil base.  My daughter Kylie was here so I handed her the roller, teenagers are fun like that.

The original Pacman and Ms. Pacman cabinets were painted using a stencil.  I'd like to try that someday, but for now I opted to use full vinyl printed side art.  The whole kit which includes both sides and the front kick plate costs about $240 shipped.

Rich at This Old Game made a very helpful video that describes in great detail how to install side art.  After watching it, I'm quite glad I did.  I lightly sanded the cabinet down and got to work installing the vinyl.

Following Rich's instructions made the process quite simple.  It was a little nerve racking at first, I didn't want to ruin a $100 giant sticker.  I used the heat, tuck under technique.  Oh, notice the hair dryer, I have yet to lay out the cash for a heat gun.  After installing the t-molding, the whole thing started to look great, and the paint match was nearly perfect.

A few minor points I'd like to add.  If you're doing this for the first time, and you want the vinyl to look perfectly smooth, then the surface must also be perfectly smooth.  My thinking was the vinyl would hide some of the roller marks, but that wasn't what happened.  I lightly sanded the cabinet down after it dried, and there are only minor roller marks showing through the vinyl, but they are there if you look closely.  It actually looks natural, almost as if the vinyl art has been painted on, because you can see some "orange peel" through the vinyl.  

I used a foam roller, and there are different types of those, so look for the ones made for painting cabinet doors.  They are common at hardware and paint stores.

It really does look excellent.  If you're not sure about doing the stencil, or just don't have the space to paint, go for the vinyl side art.