Contra Konami Cabinet Restoration - Part 2

There was some really gnarly flaky swelling around the bottom of the cabinet and I wanted to take care of this first. Initially I had wanted to just cut off the bottom 12 inches of MDF and replace it with fresh MDF but thought I'd give something else a try instead. I basically soaked the bottom edge in wood glue and then clamped the MDF down to it's regular thickness between 2 pieces of sheet metal. The clamps and sheet metal were removed once the glue dried and it had worked out great!

Virtually every edge on the cabinet was nicked or swollen so I went around and cut off the edge at a 45 degree angle to prepare for Bondo re-edging.

Use a utility knife to remove all swollen or damaged corners.
Try not to angle cut deeper than 45 degrees.

I have seen people use masking tape attached to the outside of the edge to create a new edge when Bondo was applied. I initially used tape, but found that pieces of cardboard stapled to the edge held up better and it was also cheaper in the long run.

Use masking tape/cardboard to create a mold for your new corners. Take your time:
You want to replicate the original 90 degree angle as closely as possible.

Once the Bondo had dried it then became time to sand the mess up. Sanding the MDF created a funky looking cracked ice pattern whereever there was swelling. 

Remove the mold once the Bondo has dried and sand off and high areas. Start with low grit paper,
use Bondo to refill any missing areas or chunks that broke off, then resand with low grit paper.
Once you are confidant with your edges, gradually increase paper grit.

The next step, after sanding out all the imperfections, was to roll on some primer to check my work and then move onto painting. This is when everything started coming together. In between the Priming, Sanding, Painting, Sanding, etc, I was working on making a new back door and touching up the control panel.

Remember to prime after your final sand to check for any hidden imperfections.  I went with
Rustoleum White Enamel for paint because acrylic paint can't take (any) abuse.

Contra Konami Cabinet Restoration

I've always wanted to own an arcade cabinet. Sometime around 2005, I was set on getting an arcade cabinet and converting it into a Marvel vs Capcom machine that resembled the cabinet my friends and I used to play at Milford Amusement Center. Being young and impatient, I jumped on the first empty cabinet that showed up in the Connecticut craigslist ads and picked it up. Unfortunately, I didn't have the drive to finish back then so I put the cabinet on hold and left it in my Dad's basement (sorry Dad.)

8ish years pass. The combination of getting out of an apartment and moving into a house, and feeling nostalgic for the old arcade days reignited the spark. I started stalking Craigslist again for something resembling the old MVC cabinet of my youth. Once again, I jumped on the first reply I got from a seller. $50 and a Uhaul truck rental got me Contra in a dedicated Konami cabinet from a guy in Sumner, WA. The seller said it worked and that he just couldn't get the controls to work.

Post Hardware/Monitor Gutting

I checked out the cabinet once I got home and noticed this thing was in BAD SHAPE. The MDF on the bottom 1/4 of the cabinet was water damaged and swollen. Most of the metal (screws, bolts, nuts, speaker grills, you name it) were rusty. The isolation transformers looked scary. The cam locks in the coin doors had been drilled out, the marquee light did not work, and there was no back door to the cabinet.

I lurked on the KLOV forums for suggestions and the resounding advice was to use the cabinet as a pattern to cut a new replacement cabinet. That wasn't going to happen as I don't have the tools or know how, so I decided on giving it my all and restoring it as best as I can.

Next step: Roll it outside, and sand this beast down.