John's Arcade Forum - Classic Arcade and Pinball Collecting and Restoring Discussion Forum - RETRO MAME - Nintendo Vs Forum

Hey Guys I have a Mortal Kombat 2 that im restoring and I dont want to pain the front of the cabinet black.  I have removed the old vinyl to repair holes from lock bars and other stupid crap.  How should I prep this surface to best hold the vinyl on? 

Also where is a good place to purchase vinyl?

Thank you in advance

Hey Steve,

I'm a former sign guy and used to apply vinyl every day, all day, by myself, real sign guy. (Ok...that's like a bad joke from Kevin Hart). Basically, you want to make sure the surface is clean. If it is metal or even laminate you can use some denatured alcohol on a rag to remove the oils/waxes or whatever. If it is a freshly painted side then just make sure you wipe it down with a tack cloth before you apply any vinyl. If it's old paint and you're covering it up and you've removed the old vinyl as you have said, use some Goo Gone/Goof Off to remove any of the adhesive residue until it is smooth with your hand. Then wipe it down with denatured alcohol or Windex and reapply the new vinyl.  Just be careful when using denatured alcohol as it will eventually eat through paint if you use too much of it or rub the paint too hard. 

As far as purchasing vinyl, are you going with a plain black? Or graphics?   If it's just plain black, any local sign shop will have the vinyl you need. Have them pre-mask it for you so it's easier to work with when covering a large area.  If you need any further instructions on how to work with the vinyl just let me know, I can help.  If you're local to MA I can help with the install too.

Hey Mr. Dude.  It had vinyl on it and I removed it so I have to get the glue off and then fill holes with bondo and sand it down.  Once I have smoothed it and sanded it all down and its smooth can I apply directly to the wood?  Should I prime it then do it?

You can apply vinyl directly to wood, but it may adhere better if there is a primer/paint on top. The key is to making sure the surface is clean. Take a scrap piece of vinyl and test it on a freshly sanded piece of wood that has been cleaned and see how it holds up. It is the dust/dirt/oils/waxes that cause vinyl not to stick well.

Thanks man ill give it a shot!