Broken AES Shell - fixin' n' paintin'

I just picked up a cheap AES locally, with a broken shell and a supposedly dead mainboard. Either I can get the system working again, or I will use the shell to consolize one of the small MV-1C motherboards, if Analogue and Omega haven't already snatched every available one for sale...

Regardless if the systems ends up as a working AES or a consolized MVS, the case needs to be fixed and painted. So here's hoping that someone here can help me recommend the proper glue, filament and paint (possibly primer too) needed for this project. Preferably something available in the EU with shipping to Denmark

I've heard good things about vinyl paint for these kinds of paintjobs, and as far as I understood this paint doesn't necessarily need a primer, for it to stick properly...?

Pictures here:





As you can see, there is a pretty big hole in the unit. Shouldn't be hard to fill and sand down so it looks flush again. What I thought I'd do was to glue some flat pieces of plastic on the inside of the shell, to support the cracks, and to make it easier to add the filament. But I'm not so sure which glue will work best here, as it shouldn't give in if someone pushes down on the system. The screw-holes for the cartridge connector, also needs to be glued back on, so the glue should be strong enough to hold these too.

As for the filament, I'm used to using Chemical Metal, which does stick fairly well to plastic. Unfortunately it doesn't get the exact same texture once painted. Although I'm not sure if that's a problem with vinyl paint.

Any help will be appreciated

 

I've made similar repairs to plastic.

I would suggest that you get a fiberglass resin repair kit.

On the underside of the console, sand the areas that are cracked - you just want to roughen-up the surface so that the fiberglass cloth/resin adhere well. Wash the console - dry it and apply the fiberglass (prep it - per the manufacturer's instructions) over all the cracks and holes. Let it cure - this will give it structural strength and it will allow you to add plastic filler on the top-side of the console. Use a plastic filler to fill in all the cracks and holes on the topside of the console. Online automotive stores carry plastic repair kits for damaged plastic such as this. You can also use a filler like JB Weld. Not sure if these products are available to you - but you get the idea of what to use as a filler.

Once the filler cures; start sanding. Use a 150 or 200 grit to work the high spots then move on to finer grit sandpaper... gradually work up to wet sanding with a 3000 grit sandpaper. Make sure you sand the whole console so that you have the same texture (smoothness) as on the repaired areas.

Paint: Paints used for plastic do work, but I've had mixed results with them. I would suggest that you buy automotive paint that has a hardener. It will make your console more resilient to scuffs. You can also use a clear top coat in a gloss or semi gloss finish to further protect the paint. If automotive paint is not available to you ... you could look into local auto repair shops in your area, ask about having them paint your console. These shops always have a little paint left over from jobs that they do. I have utilized them in this manner.

An alternative to paint; hydro-dipping (water transfer printing). This provides excellent protection for your console and looks nice. There are many different colors and patterns available. YouTube has a lot of videos on this. This online store offers kits and there are others online. You could look into seeing if anyone in your area may offer this service.

Hope this helps ...

 

Thank you, that was a great help! I haven't had much time to look into the components needed, but I found this on ebay: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DLXBD044-...es_ModelKits_ModelKits_JN&hash=item19e331b657
Do you think that would work nicely as a filler?

As for filling the hole, don't you think it would be best to glue some plastic behind the hole, so the filler has proper support, which will make it much easier to apply.

When using the resin repair kit, should this be applied to both sides of the case, or just the bottom? Is the resin strong enough to glue the piece of plastic behind the hole, and will it be strong enough to fasten the screw-holes too? Is this something that I should use plenty of, or just a very little bit here and there? I know that for some types of glue, less is more

 

Yes, that filler should work.
As for filling in the hole; the fiber glass cloth will cover that. You can also contour the cloth around the screw peg to strengthen it.
When applying the fibreglass cloth, apply it from the underside only.
Once it cures ... then add the plastic filler on the top side.
Please utilize YouTube; to see videos on how to work with and apply fiberglass.

 

Hi, I'd suggest you to use melted abs instead of plastic putty to cover the holes "aesthetically", with the help of the fiberglass cloth applied from inside.
Here's a guide made by the famous modder "lovablechevy" (the image links are gone)
http://www.bacman.co.uk/home/melting-abs-to-use-as-filler/

Anyway I tried this myself on a DS -> GBA mod and worked fine
Basically you just have to put some pieces of ABS plastic (I used a broken alarm clock) in a glass jar, pour some 100% pure acetone on it, let it soak for a while and the plastic will melt to a nicely spreadable "putty".
This spread will bond chemically with the surrounding plastic when applied!

 

Thank you very much for that suggestion too However, having no experience with strong chemicals like acetone I think I'll pass on this for now, and try the other suggested method first

As for the fiberglass repair kits, it does seem like this is something that's widely available in Denmark. What I need is a kit with fiberglas cloth, resin, hardener and a brush for applying it, right? I've seen youtube videos where they drill holes in the material to make the resin stick better, but that's probably not needed here, right? And will one layer of fiberglass cloth be enough, or should I fold it a couple of times to make it stronger?

 

The kit ... Yes.
No, you would not need to drill holes for this, just roughen up the underside as per my original post.
I would double-up on the fiberglass sheet - I would suggest cutting two sheets; if you use one sheet and fold it, you may have some trouble flattening out the fold.

 

Well it's a strong solvent, but it's mostly harmless. You just have to be careful not to inhale directly its fumes when opening the jar, but as long as you don't drink it you'd be safe

EDIT: the images of the tutorial are now working again

 

Maybe I'll try that next time. I have already ordered the glassfiber kit and the filament

I'll order the paint later once I know how this turns out. The water transfer technique looks really neat, I'll have to look into that.

 

So far the results are pretty good. It looks like a mess on the inside, but at least it's sticking nicely I've got the top sanded down a little, but I'm still waiting for the filament to arrive so I can't get any further now.

One thing I didn't take into consideration is that the top is bend a little bit upwards. Must have happened when I held the pieces together when applying the fiberglass. It doesn't show, but as a result the very front of the unit doesn't properly align with the bottom, so you can press this part down a little. Again, this can't be seen, but I wonder if I can fix it by heating the piece with a hairdryer?

 

So here's the current status. The glassfiber looks really messy, but it sticks well, and feels really strong

(Some of the drops are actually water, as I had just cleaned the case )


On the outer side it looks much better The plastic filler works really well, but also sands much easier than the Neo Geo, so it's quite hard to get exactly level. But I've managed to make it feel really smooth, and you can't see any differences in height when looking at it.




Before I move on, I still need to determine if the system actually works or not. If it doesn't I'll widen the cartridge port to fit MVS cartridges. And I obviously won't paint it until this is done

 

Nicely done ... Good job!

Looking forward to seeing it with paint.

 

Thanks! As for the bend in the plastic, I'll try to add some more fiberglass underneath, while holding it in place as the resin hardens. Should be strong enough to hold it in place, and I'd like to avoid heating, and possibly ruining the plastic :/

 

A friend of mine sent me a game to test the system. Really nice of him

To my surprise the system actually works! :O

Here it is hooked up to my BVM with composhite. Apparantly it's black and white because the monitor doesn't have a NTSC decoder built in. I thought it had, so that puzzled me for a while:


But who gives two fucks about composhite, right? Here we have sync and the green channel hooked up (that's all I could be bothered to solder that evening), but it's proof that it does work fine:


Hurray! ...though I was looking forward to making a consolized MVS :/ I have no interest in collecting AES-games, as I already own 18 games for the MVS. I could buy a converter, but those doesn't work very well, and causes disgusting flickering in the scaling. On the other hand I don't want to ruin a working system just so I can make the MVS console.

Either I should sell the AES motherboard (Serial: 022377 if that even matters anymore) so I can modify the case without sacrificing hardware. Or get a converter. It's a tough choice :/

 

I'd say converter!
You already saved that poor AES, don't give it away now

 

Yeah you're probably right Wouldn't hurt to have the system, if an interesting AES game came up for sale

I seem to recall that there was a converter made by a French guy, that didn't have the scaling issues at all. Furthermore it was a lot cheaper than the regular ones. But as far as I could understand he has since vanished, and a lot of people on neogeo.com never received theirs. Those who did, confirmed that it was working very well.

I wonder if there are other options, at an affordable price? I know I could ask this at neogeo.com, but that place scares the hell out of me