Day 20 - Painting Begins

Firstly, I fixed the dimples on the arcade cabinet caused by the screws protruding slightly on the facing side of the cabinet sets (in future either get them 3mm smaller than the depth of the wood or make sure not to over countersink them - 3mm smaller really means I'd have to screw from the outside in and fill every hole). I shaved them with my block plane, sanded then filled.

The speaker and subwoofer holes are finished.

The speaker holes were created by using the router (after this picture was taken the errors on the left hole was corrected with filler - this was my first attempt, I got better on the second :) ).  The majority of this panel will be hidden (i.e. the speaker holes will be centre). The black panel behind the speaker cover, btw, is the first coat of paint on another panel.

The subwoofer was done by making a hole (using the jigsaw) large enough for the speaker to fit through from the inside and the cover is removed and placed on the outside of the panel. This is why I bought this sub-woofer - to allow it to be exposed easily and to have a removable grill.

The two pictures to the right show the subwoofer.



Where I'm up to is this: all panels now have three layers of primer/undercoat and three layers of black paint. The bare MDF was sanded with 600 then 1200 grit, each primercoat was sanded with 240, 600 and finally (to be done) 1200 grit paper. The black paint was left to dry for a day between coats and sanded with 400,600 and 1200 paper.

All coats were put on with one load of paint and not over painted, so the coats could be added gradually to form the finished coat.

Hopefully by the end of the weekend the paint will be fully dried and the final 1200 grit sanding done. I've no idea yet whether this will mean another coat is required (i.e. if sanding with 1200 will spoil or enhance the finish). Each layer was done using a brand new gloss 4 inch roller each time.

It'll then be assembled ready for the side panels. I was going to keep them separate to allow for transport and spraying, but I think I'll use vinyl.


 
The black paint was by the same firm as I got the MDF primer and is a kind of matt based gloss. Well, it's a solvent based paint with a matt finish. I bought it because of the matt finish and it wasn't water based/emulsion so it would have some strength and depth to the colour.


The primer I used (see previous blog) and this paint is absoloutely lovely.




Almost forgot to mention: the glass has arrived, it's 1mm too wide so I may have to adjust the wood somehow to avoid having big gaps everywhere.

I don't know the percentage of light it allows through but it is grey tinted and adds a layer of quality to the picture below - I tried Galaxians on my tablet (using the MAME emulator for Android) and without the glass it is bright and shiny (somehow like an over exposed picture), but behind the glass it seems to have more contrast, more vivid colours and the game just looks better with that hint of brightness removed.

I'll post a video/set of pictures over the weekend.

Special thanks go to my mate Ahsan who's feeling left out because he hasn't been mentioned as a contributor or inspiration source yet.