1

Found this at a thrift store today for $6. Apparently, some goober thought it was a hot idea to desecrate a TE with what appears to be liberal amounts of magic marker and possibly paint of some kind? I can’t quite tell. It’s painted directly on the top panel (which I consider a totally lost cause), but I’d like to try and remove this from the TE body, side panels and if I’m feeling lucky, the turbo panel. Is there something that can safely be used on plastic to lift paint/marker/non-plastic substance without damaging the original surface? Tried a dab of nail polish remover and it seems to be a bit too acidic for the task.

http://i.imgur.com/XS3mYC2.jpg

2

wow that is so cheap, nice find. you might be better off just putting another black coat of vinyl dye over it. if the ink is raised (this happens with paint markers) you might have to sand it off first with a fine grit.

3

The panel will be the easiest part, sandblast that bitch.

4

Ink is definitely raised, so you’re probably right that it’s paint markers.

5

For the plastic parts, try soaking them in 99% isopropyl alcohol for a couple of days. If you’re lucky, afterwards you might be able to scrub off most, if not all of it, with an old toothbrush.

6

I will use some fine grit wet sand paper, something like 800 or 1000 and a sanding block to remove all that plastic paint.
After all the sanding is done, apply plastic primer and whatever color you like and then a couple of clear coats to prevent the paint from fading.
For the Turbo Panel, just clean everything with mineral spirits and some cotton swabs.

7

Sounds like a good place to start, thanks @FreedomGundam.

@PresidentCamacho I live in a tiny apartment in LA with no car prep pals. If I were home at my folks’ place, I’d take this out and have a fucking blast for sure. As-is though, I might just say fuck it and buy a Noir panel to replace it instead.

8

There’s always the old school sanding method, some 80 grit might be an ideal starting point on the metal. Would certainly save you some cash versus buying a replacement panel.

9

Paint thinner.

Put some on a paper towel and wipe that stuff off. Let the chemicals do the work for you.

Some of the other suggestions in here make my brain ache (more than the fumes from mineral spirits).

10

I would blast it with 3 coats of vinyl dye. Remove all PCBs and cords.

11

I wish I had a restoration project like this! I would start by taking it completely apart and using a Magic eraser. Those things are amazing…

then move on to sanding if needed… not coarse of course but high grit… 1500 at the lowest.
once down to plastic, 3000 grit and plastic polish…

12

I’d just buy new sides at the madcatz store or from another person here in the trading outlet. I’d sand the plastic and metal down completely and just buy a plexi cover from art. done done done.

13
14

With crappy paint jobs like that it doesn’t hurt to try packing/scotch tape first. Just leave a little hanging off to pull on and press it down over the surface, let it sit for a couple of minutes and then pull it off. If they didn’t do a good surface prep before painting sometimes it rips the paint right off.

15

Holy fucking shit, give @ed1371 a big gold star. Behold, the left side panel in the picture (the really really bad one covered in shit) after 10 minutes under a Magic Eraser:

http://i.imgur.com/K19aH2Z.jpg

Welp, I know what my next 50 minutes are going to consist of. Thanks everyone! If this thread is any indication, there are indeed many ways to skin and resurface a cat.

“Bobby”, wherever you are… next time just buy some plexi and artwork, you fucking nob. :lol:

16

Magic Erasers are like very very fine microscopic sandpaper I have known them to remove logos from controllers and SNES consoles. look up melamine foam for more info

17

Nice find.

Cleaning the turbo button is the “END BOSS” level of this game.

18

This thread is gold. Keep us posted op!

19

Certainly.

So apparently @DonPedrox’s explanation of this miracle sponge is also a cautionary warning. Do NOT use this shit with your bare hands unless you’re trying to remove your own fingerprints from a future crime scene. Had to stop after a while because of that. (I’m sure some people who use this shit all the time are like “Ha! Dumbass.” But this is literally the first time I’ve ever used the stuff. Woooo)

Before I realized I was using squishy sandpaper, I managed to clean up the right side panel, which I’d previously kinda fucked up because it was testing grounds for my nail polish experiment. Not only did Magic Eraser scrub off Bobby’s green and white goop, it also polished away my nail polish skidmarks to a mirror shine. Did I mention this stuff is fucking magic? Oh, right. They did.

The transgressions don’t end with the top panel, believe it or not. Buttons 7 and 8 were pulled, and closed up with a massive brick of styrofoam (you can kinda see it in the original photo). The four feet on the bottom are missing, and in their place this guy smacked on four pieces of random sticky 4mm’ish (12mm, holy shit!) foam. This covered up four of the six screws that lead to bottom panel access, and overlapped into the bottom of the side panels I just got done cleaning. Here’s a pic of the bottom panel AFTER I ripped as much as I could off of it:

http://i.imgur.com/8Rxl8Wp.jpg

Because of the layer cake of dust thanks to the homebrew method of turning this into a 6-button stick, I pulled every piece of electronics out and washed the hell out of the main pieces with Dawn:

http://i.imgur.com/4A9W1cb.jpg

They all still have artwork and lap foam residue on them, but I’ll tackle those tomorrow after I pick up some rubber gloves from CVS.

Here’s the isolated top panel of the magical mystery artwork:

http://i.imgur.com/y7m34Kp.jpg

Truly one of a kind. Had to be done by some kid, which means whoever put this in the donation pile is a gutless wench. Watch as one day Bobby finds this thread here, and cries when he sees that I magic erased his childhood.

The stick was a JLF with a bat top and Sanwa octagonal gate. Both that and the buttons were so trashed, I just threw them out.

For those who give a shit, future plans:

  • TE Kitty
  • Hayabusa + Kowal Octopus + 2lb spring
  • 8x OBSF with silencers
  • Neutrik RJ-45 addition

I have a buddy who gives no fucks about fighting games outside of Tekken < 4, but has tons of retro consoles that he loves to play beat 'em ups and classic arcade games on. This rescue stick will be lovingly restored, on the house, for his use and enjoyment.

20

I wouldve just threw that shit out lawl

actually I wouldve kept that stick for slamming on the ground when losing to some shitty ryu or ken player cause of stupid ass roll-back netcode on sf5. this way i dont harm my vlx when I get mad