fsped09 | 223 Moderator · Posted November 14, 2019 Author Share Posted November 14, 2019 Found some more before pics of the Gameboy I saved... This was a total mess, and so enjoyable to restore! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMR | 519 Posted November 15, 2019 Share Posted November 15, 2019 I'm late to the party, but for Sharpie markers on plastic I've had good luck saturating the marks with alcohol and letting it sit for a few minutes then gently scrubbing at it with a Q-tip and more alcohol. Permanent markers are usually alcohol based, so the pigment should soluble in it. The old stuff just takes a little longer to dissolve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fsped09 | 223 Moderator · Posted December 14, 2019 Author Share Posted December 14, 2019 A little guy from eBay I saved, and gave an upgrade to! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psychobear85 | 141 Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 Please don’t use magic eraser on anything, it’s just really fine sand paper 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8bitsupremacy | 208 Posted January 5, 2020 Share Posted January 5, 2020 On 10/23/2019 at 12:51 PM, Wasbi said: 100% agreed I stay away from it Bingo. Smooths out texture on cartridges and ends up looking worse than if you just left MARK's name on there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubbapauls | 250 Posted January 6, 2020 Share Posted January 6, 2020 Before/After It had the remnants of a rental sticker. It took a lot of scraping, Goo-Gone, and IPA. The game came out looking nice. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki | 4,932 Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 Got this at a goodwill today. I was shocked not just that something like that would have been there as I've not seen one publicly since I moved back here, but that they'd only want $3. I didn't take a good before pic, but as you can see the stickers are jacked up, it's stained too, battered. What isn't evident is the battery compartment is about 20% covered in a nice splash of rust. Also not visible the stickers are curled, bent, and just hanging in there. It took me about an hour and a half or so of work on this, but the second image, you'll see the after on the left (the right is my original one.) The battery box was fairly rusty in places, no power originally, after the speaker was weak and scratchy/poppy too but the screen was ok. Top sticker gone, sides detached somewhat and front too, and this is an odd variant I've never seen but the bezel inside is a sticker and it's not 100%. Gutted the thing, spent a lot of time with vinegar, magic eraser, alcohol and papertowels and q-tips. Did the minimum to test and it blinked on but suffering. So I removed removed the battery connectors and cleaned it up and removed the rust. Re-set them in place, then detached the wiring inside and re-soldered them, including a spot to each battery connector post. At this point it came to life and proper with clean and clear audio. I buttoned the thing up, and made an attempt on the stickers, and they didn't behave, so I removed them slowly, flattened them, and re-attached the with new glue and there's the result. I already owned one, the right one I've had probably a decade, the powered one is using my originals perma power pak. Notice that sticker bezel vs mine which is paint into the plastic? I'd love to fix that, but no one makes that. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drxandy | 3,225 Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 Nice work on the pac fix @Tanooki! I see that nbd $5 Wii u pad, that's a score for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki | 4,932 Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 5 hours ago, drxandy said: Nice work on the pac fix @Tanooki! I see that nbd $5 Wii u pad, that's a score for sure. Thanks. I need to research that one first. I know what it's worth as a sold for parts doorstop ($40) but I'm curious if it works but I don't have a power source, and even if i did, I don't have the base console so I doubt I could test it anyway so it's a big question. It also still has the original stylus with it still. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drxandy | 3,225 Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 Just finished a GameCube controller that had some age on it: Did a bunch of cleaning on the shell and board, swapped out with a green button set. The z button requires a little exacto knife action and stealing the metal spring out of the original part. I think it turned out nice and matchy, gonna have to do a little more work on the z button but almost there. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drxandy | 3,225 Posted January 19, 2020 Share Posted January 19, 2020 Sorry to double post but I cleaned this snes controller up this morning, full of finger fudge. It was pretty gross inside, new buttons, new membranes for everything but the d pad (need to find ones designed like the original pad, the different ones I've tried don't have the right feel or same shape as the OEM. I kinda wanna make it black to match, might try vinyl dye. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RH | 4,901 Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 19 hours ago, drxandy said: Sorry to double post but I cleaned this snes controller up this morning, full of finger fudge. It was pretty gross inside, new buttons, new membranes for everything but the d pad (need to find ones designed like the original pad, the different ones I've tried don't have the right feel or same shape as the OEM. I kinda wanna make it black to match, might try vinyl dye. That's a phrase I've never heard of and I could have lived without hearing. Yuuuuuuuuck (and I totally know what you're talking about!) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docile tapeworm | 4,198 Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 @drxandy I can’t find any aftermarket d-pad replacement pads that feel right either. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koko | 65 Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 Made a separate topic but looking to get nicotine grime off the inside of a Snes kiosk, especially the red top sign. The clear part just smudges when cleaning it, appears to be an old transparency so I don’t want to take off the powder coating. Anyone have any ideas? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drxandy | 3,225 Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 Found a wavebird receiver on the cheap so I snagged a controller off of eBay and cleaned it up. Before: After: -- I've had this crt entertainment center for a couple years now and had been meaning on adding shelving to it.. finally got started. Before: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drxandy | 3,225 Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 After: The wood is unfinished from the craft store and I picked up some aerosol based stain (have never worked with wood really before, so I'm trying to stay in my comfort zone haha) Hopefully it will match nicely, will report back with the final results. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster | 124 Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 I love restoring gamecube controllers. Of any controller for any console, it seems GC controllers are at the highest risk of having been dipped in syrup and potato chips and left to sit for 15 years, but they are also easy to take apart and work on, so it's really satisfying to bring them back from their nasty state into a serviceable piece of hardware. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fsped09 | 223 Moderator · Posted March 2, 2020 Author Share Posted March 2, 2020 On 2/25/2020 at 7:17 PM, drxandy said: Found a wavebird receiver on the cheap so I snagged a controller off of eBay and cleaned it up. Before: After: -- Love this! I've restored a few GC controllers over the years and its always satisfying. You should try to swap the analog sticks for fun next time. I found it quite nice having the C stick on the left. Nice work! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Now get brutal | 72 Posted March 6, 2020 Share Posted March 6, 2020 Here's the before and after pictures of my N64 kiosk. It needed new bulbs, lots of rust removal and minor rewiring. 4 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fsped09 | 223 Moderator · Posted March 10, 2020 Author Share Posted March 10, 2020 Latest Gameboy I did, retrobrighted using the indoor method! (see bottom pics). This was took longer but the results speak for themself! + d6aXfY3tSpiwBslQ9hIc6Q.jfif 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drxandy | 3,225 Posted August 14, 2020 Share Posted August 14, 2020 @fsped09 you inspired me to try the light box. Project in progress: Hori Xbox 360 EX2 arcade stick. Killer deal, missing the USB breakaway cable and must have sat next to a window. Bottom plate had rust, and hidden rust on the other side. I used vinegar and elbow grease, got rid of most of the rust but left with rust pitted surface, so I will be sanding next and giving a coat or two of rustoleum to protect. Back to the yellow, I read people were using 40vol hair developer. I happen to have 20vol in the house so I figured it might be safer on the plastic since 40 is strong stuff. Painted it on multiple times for hours and left it overnight for a total of 12hrs under blacklight. The only blacklight I have is this tube boi, but I made it work. Results after first session: Not bad at all, the left side of the stick still was a little yellowed so I decided to repeat the process for another 12hr run last night. More soon! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drxandy | 3,225 Posted August 14, 2020 Share Posted August 14, 2020 Here's after 24+ total hrs of the blacklight, also the rust scars on the exterior Rust scars on the inside look worse than out, sanding now. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Now get brutal | 72 Posted August 14, 2020 Share Posted August 14, 2020 12 minutes ago, drxandy said: Here's after 24+ total hrs of the blacklight, also the rust scars on the exterior ... Rust scars on the inside look worse than out, sanding now. Looking good! That extra 12 hours really helped 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drxandy | 3,225 Posted August 14, 2020 Share Posted August 14, 2020 Sanded for an hour by hand. Started with 350 grit wet then moved up to green scrubby, some 1500 grit, and finally steel wool. I probably should have used a power tool but hey. Going with this lime shade to fit the 360 theme, also had this perlecenct spray I thought would look cool over top. I tested on some cardboard how it would turn out and was pleased that it wasn't fully opaque over the lime. Wiped down with 90 isopropyl, and zapped the interior green, waiting for it to dry (sorry, bad lighting; the color is much more vibrant). 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drxandy | 3,225 Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 Exterior of the metal baseplate paint in progress: Before perlecenct: After: I have never used a cool top coat like this and i had a hard time controlling with a light touch (first attempt had speckles so I sanded lightly with steel wool and started over) I just went for it, lighter shade than I was hoping for but it has this sparkley color shift light to dark thing going on. The drying continues, humidity is up here so that extends the time it takes to cure the paint. The hardest part of painting is patience. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now