Well it’s RageousX restoring a battered TE, but I sure that there people who going to stumble upon this thread for their own sticks and not have the luxury of replacement panels.
Like a old Namco or Agetec beatten to near death by another Lil Bobby Xbox.
Just sand that thing down as flat as you can then cover it up with full panel acrylic.
We have these at work. I grabbed some to clean up a grimy eBay NES and the 30 year old logo came off of the door like it was wet paint.
For the metal panel, I would just soak it in acetone. It should eat through the paint very quickly and make it so you can just wipe it off. You could always put a coat of primer on, after cleaning, to prevent it from corrosion. Then, like the others have said, new plexi and some artwork.
Holy shit, a TE for 6 bucks? What a crazy deal, does the PCB still work? I never find good shit like this at my thrift store. They always sell overpriced garbage.
Didn’t get a chance to test the PCB before I tore it out, but all signs point to it being functional. If it doesn’t work later, I’ll just throw a spare PS360+ into it. Really hoping it does though, because a TE Kitty would be a much more elegant solution.
I had to work late last night and didn’t get a chance to hit the project, so tonight it’s guaranteed more pics and updates. Basically the gameplan so far:
- Order 2000/3000 grit sandpaper + @ed1371’s polishing compound off Amazon today. Get it Friday.
- Wipe down the mid panel with Magic Eraser. Should be trivial.
- Dismantle turbo panel from PCB and very carefully Magic Eraser that. Really hoping the turbo button comes out alright.
- Try Magic Eraser on the top panel. If not, I’ll soak it in the strong stuff and scrape it off.
Like you guys discussed, I looked into the availability of TE panels and it’s really not what it used to be. At this point people are mostly gutting existing sticks for parts and not very many are being made (I think ArcadeForge.net is the only place that actually has metal panels in stock). Tek Innovations sells great plexi, but they don’t deal with metal panels. This was going to be problematic for me if my buddy ended up wanting a Noir panel (I genuinely expected that to be the case), but he compared the layouts and said he’d probably just prefer the Vewlix, so I’m much better off just cleaning up Bobby Xbox’s paint-riddled version than dropping unnecessary money on an unmolested panel. It doesn’t matter what the metal looks like when it’s done, only that it’s there for stability. This is most definitely getting art + plexi from Tek eventually (going with a full-panel TE-S style spread), so my concern is mostly just making sure the metal is clean and functional.
If I were you, here is what I would do:
Once the bare metal is exposed you are in a race to stop it from rust, have some metal primer ready (its cheap)
Magic eraser it down to metal, then score/sand the metal with 320 grit (important… or it may not adhere properly!)
Wipe down with a degreaser/lint free cloth… 50/50 water/alcohol has worked fine for me
you will see its dry before your eyes.
Then prime it.
BTW that button will clean up with the eraser. they are just plastic. You might want to use polish after to get it nice and clear.
Status update:
Took a loooooong time carefully scrubbing the top panel of the casing. We’ll start with this:
Yes, but it’s very stubborn. Here’s what it looked like before I started:
http://i.imgur.com/70Hq7xf.jpg
Here’s after a couple minutes of Magic Eraser:
http://i.imgur.com/3BW3dz9.jpg
Clearly it’s on there enough that I was able to scrub off Bobby Xbox’s paint with the wording still intact. You can see it starting to smear a little though. Let’s keep going…
http://i.imgur.com/uBYmrCd.jpg
Almost there…
http://i.imgur.com/kxvHhnG.jpg
So yes, it works. Just be persistent.
Final shots of the two pieces from the main casing after scrubbing and rinsing:
http://i.imgur.com/9d3h43Q.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/WU7Rv3m.jpg
I missed a couple light spots that were impossible to see from all the running water and smeared paint remains, so I may go back and hit this again… but most of it’s all disappearing under a full TE-S plexi so I’m gradually running out of fucks. The important thing is that most of the ridiculous crap is gone and it’s looking pretty fucking marvelous if I do say so myself.
Turbo panel next.
Turbo panel cleaned up and drying off! Hey @Feargus001100, my princess better not be in another fucking castle.
Thanks for the update, especially in regards to the tampo markings.
I tried very briefly on my SE casing (maybe 30-60 seconds?) and I didn’t see any indication of the “Headphone jack” marking coming off, so I just left it at that for now. Maybe I’ll go back to it later.
Original Eight Approved!
BOW BEFORE ME, BOBBY XBOX IS DEAD.
I present: The mostly cleaned up top panel:
http://i.imgur.com/kfQa3uS.jpg
That black base layer was a fucking son of a bitch. Magic Eraser didn’t stand a chance and it laughed in the face of the turpentine my wife uses to cut her oil paints. So I said to hell with it and went nuclear with a baking pan and her entire bottle of nail polish remover. We sure as shit are not using this for brownies ever again.
http://i.imgur.com/Jxv5sS8.jpg
The left spot that’s semi-clean was my middling attempts to dab the remover onto a paper towel and scrub down to the panel. It didn’t go very well. There were easily a few coats worth of solid black on here, long before the ink markers ever came out… all that really did was barely cut through anything. So I poured the bottle all over the whole goddamn thing and let it sit until I was able to scrape it up like seaweed and throw it in the trash. Used some more Magic Eraser to clean up the looser bits, but most of the remaining paint was honestly well beyond its capability. Throughout this process I was trying to figure out why @ed1371 kept talking about sanding it down and sealing it up, but now that the paint is gone and you can see the rust spots creeping up on the sides (there’s more on the bottom too), everything he said clicked into place. I’ll get all that shit he posted about ordered up for this weekend, and Saturday will be my day to turn this into a work of art. As for the pan, I threw out the evidence so Mrs. Rageous will never find it (it made the most satisfyingly loud commotion as it tumbled and clattered down the garbage chute of my apartment)… and she’s going to be pissed when she realizes she’s all out of nail polish remover. Sorry honey, it had to be done.
Also, the bottom panel is looking much better as well:
http://i.imgur.com/SJv3bqI.jpg
The remnants of the 12mm sticky lap stuffing thankfully peeled right off like a little bitch under constant hot water, but the brown tape left a nasty residue and the sharpie-written letters bled through onto the template in perfect view. I discovered that this is about the limit of the Magic Eraser - despite the marked up nicks, that bottom panel is smooth as a baby’s ass and will pair nicely with this Tek Innovations clear bottom artwork panel I forgot I had stashed in my spare parts.
As the final insult, add in a PlayStation PCB.
Great job dude.
I wish that I had a project like this, looks like fun and I love restoration projects.
Problem is, I’d be totally scared of bringing a mangled up stick casing into my house, especially after reading up on [this thread](360 HRAP VLX, removing plastic sides? here on SRKTT, where the OP was given a VLX by a friend and it contained a spider, a cockroach, and a bedbug in there… :\
Great job! Once you get it all rebuilt, be sure to post a before and after picture somewhere in the thread.
come on man i worked hard on that
So you are Lil Bobby Xbox?
no. im big bobby now. and im a changed man.
You still have to answer to your crime of abusing and defacing a TE like this.