Restoring a Damaged Vewlix L

[DangerousDad]

Hey everyone. So not too long ago, I became the proud owner of two Vewlix’s, an L and an FC, that I got for a very fair price on an AS-IS basis with the expectation that no refurbishing, cleaning or repair had been done beforehand. I started firsthand with the L and will probably start the FC in July or August (that'll be its own post)

I held off on making the post for awhile but I've done so much now that I'm forgetting things so might as well get started. I figured this might be a unique perspective due to damage and age now... 2024 marks sixteen years since the Vewlix L was introduced (the twentieth anniversary is coming up fast!) and some of these machines have been ridden pretty hard. What's kind of funny is that this is probably the same age of an Astro City if you bought one in 2010 (for any old-timers out there)

Let me preface this by saying that I’m an absolute beginner when it comes to arcade machines, vewlixes, and even restoration/handiwork in general. Everything I did required research and deliberation and had to go and buy some new tools. I know for sure I did some things wrong (especially when it came to painting), and hope that some knowledgeable people can set me straight, for me and the others who will read this in the future. I’ll link the inspiration posts that helped me as well. I hope that maybe my post will answer some newbie questions. I'll try go more in depth where I haven't seen other guides do.There are going to be some places where I just stop and push it off until later (such as making the wrist panel 100%) just because I don’t want the project to languish a bit (and I still have that FC to work on)

The L had some damage during shipping. What I believe might have happened was that the control deck was still installed when it was put in the shipping container, and then was somehow shifted in such a way that it was pulled hard enough to pop some of the rivets out and permanently dent the top part from the inside out.

Amazingly, the control deck itself was unharmed, but still pretty rough:

On the backside, there are hardcore scratches into the paint and the bottom backside has been punctured into the metal itself. Scratches won’t go away without sanding and painting probably. On the bottom, those are some hard paint chips that will probably need filler of some kind.

The display has some serious flickering issues when it boots up but the image will eventually stabilize if you give it some time to warm up. I’m curious enough to poke around in it to see if I can fix it but I am also planning to replace the monitor (currently testing an LG 32GP850-B) with a Hadouken-Arcade bracket.

Quite some yellowing on the plastic trim on the outside, when I get to cleaning it, I'll make a decision about whether to paint it or not. As you will see in future comments, I am... not a great painter. Until then!

 

[DangerousDad]

Reserved for Materials List

 

[DangerousDad]

Since the body was a concern (like, did I buy something I can’t fix? Lol) I started there. I wanted to disassemble and clean first before doing some serious work. Didn’t want to shove my face into a cobweb or pile of dust. Followed that one guide that’s floating around on the web for a disassembly. When it came to wiring, I just pulled the whole thing out at once so I didn’t lose the connection paths. Some of the clamps ripped out, and I bought replacements for when I reinstall since plastic is brittle. Taito used a variety of sizes and types, so to save money just get the middle size (they only really use a large one for the back near the noise filter)

Let me tell you: people aren’t kidding when it comes to the amount of nicotine tar that are on these machines. Everywhere. Nearly every square inch, even in spots you wouldn’t expect. The machine didn’t come with its lower back panel, so safe to assume it piled on in there from the back. I'd say the bulk of the time I spent was scrubbing, late at night, sometimes wondering how crazy I was to do this instead of just playing video games on the living room tv. Having a beer in the garage working on something tangible after a day of corporate bull feels good though.

My approach to handling cleaning has been to use Krud Kutter and 409. With a large surface area that has noticeable dirt, I’ll do 409 first, then Krud Kutter, then 409 again to clean off the Krud Kutter. If it’s smaller, I’ll start with Krud Kutter (little bit at first to see how it reacts) then finish off with 409. I tried Simple Green initially but you gotta rinse that out good with water I find. You got to really get in there, especially the bottom and get the entire inside for it to feel clean.

I never did a garden hose with the whole body since I was concerned about the damage but I really wish I would have. It took a really long time and a lot of paper towels to get everything scrubbed out.

For adhesive residue (like the cable ties that ripped out as I was pulling cable, or I just got rid of because of how brittle the plastic was) I used Goo Gone. Store delivered the wrong kind, but spray bottle worked okay.

I haven't done anything with the exterior plastics yet but plan to just do soap and water.

 

[trashedcabs]

Looks fun! Since you have it stripped apart, try Super Clean in a pump sprayer diluted 4:1 for cigarette residue. Wear gloves and rinse with a hose after, then blow dry with an air compressor or leaf blower. We haven't found anything that cuts through that stuck on crap as well as that. It usually doesn't require scrubbing, and you'll be amazed watching the brown water flow away.

 

[DangerousDad]

Probably the most interesting topic in this thread is solving the bent metal.

Once things were cleaned up, I started working on figuring out how to solve the issues of the bent panels that the control deck sits on top of. I was concerned at first when I wasn't able to make it flush with the rest of the chassis by putting all my bodyweight on to it. A close inspection revealed that the core issue was that the rivets that held the top to the chassis had popped out. Some had fallen down into the bay below, but some had gotten stuck in the crevice between the two metal pieces. I pried it open a bit and extracted the rivets and from there the metal was able to meet so that I could see myself getting rivets through.

I bought a cheap rivet gun (the cheapest actually) that came with its own rivets and used the middle size. I have to go back and look up what size they were. But I knew I wouldn't be able to get all the holes in there, so I prioritized the ones close to the front on the sides. I pressed my knee into the panel to bring it down and then held the rivet gun upside down against the hole until went in. I messed up on one rivet but was able to just drill it out and start over. Side note: Riveting is super cool and want to find more things to rivet.

Before:

After:

Comparing it to the FC I have that had a perfectly straight panel:

As the metal clamped together from the rivets, I wasn't able to get all the holes filled, and it was impossible in the front near the center, resulting in a dip that I'll have to do place some kind of filler on top. Also, rubber washers on the bolts that hold the control deck to the body to level it correctly. It came out pretty nicely, and when I tested it out with a leveler it looked level with those additions. I don't really have the tools or knowledge to bend steel, so I definitely prefer to take the easier route there.

It won't look totally right, and a discerning eye will probably see the differences but it's playable for sure! I'll show more pics of it with the control panel on once I get to that part.

 

[DangerousDad]

Looks fun! Since you have it stripped apart, try Super Clean in a pump sprayer diluted 4:1 for cigarette residue. Wear gloves and rinse with a hose after, then blow dry with an air compressor or leaf blower. We haven't found anything that cuts through that stuck on crap as well as that. It usually doesn't require scrubbing, and you'll be amazed watching the brown water flow away.

Nice, haven't heard of that degreaser! Just read a couple writeups of people using Krud Kutter on their astro cities and being amazed by the results. It did just wipe off for the most part... it's just finding all the nook and crannies. Nothing like coming across a spot you thought you cleaned, noticing it's a bit off, and then wiping off a whole towl of brown lol

 

[trashedcabs]

For that dip, you could try hitting it back into place with a rubber mallet and some wood. The wood is to distribute the load more evenly.

 

[DangerousDad]

For that dip, you could try hitting it back into place with a rubber mallet and some wood. The wood is to distribute the load more evenly.

I thought about that... but you'd probably have to hit it from inside-out... and then the portion where the bolts go is pulled outwards due to the accident. I gave it a brief try also and the steel is very strong (and reinforced by a riveted bracket) I might revisit it at some point, but I'm too nervous about messing it up. I'm just thankful that I can get it straight with minimum work too lol