Neo Geo MVS Refurb Part 3: Elbow Grease
I have to be honest. I am done with the project and I completely avoided taking pictures due to everything just being a huge mess. That said the refurb is just a lot of elbow grease and there is very little info to share. Here goes:
Preparation:
The Neo Geo cabinet is actually pretty easy is disassemble. The marquee is held by 4 bolts at the top and the plexi is about 7 nuts threaded directly to the marquee metal. The marquee circuit board is clipped and lifts right out and the wood panel behind it uses just 4 wood screws. For the control panel, just open it by undoing the pair of clips under the monitor and unscrew each component from the bottom. I just disconnected/reconnected each button as I went so I wouldn’t lose track. The memory card board is four small bolts then pops right out. Once that is done, the control panel will come off with 4 bolts as well. Finally, you can remove the coin mech by opening the bottom access panel on the back of the cabinet. Using a long slot screw driver, unscrew the 4-5 clips running up each side of the enclosure from behind. The entire piece will then slide right out of the front. You can remove the coin box and coin mech with a few screws.
Once everything was apart, I took the metal pieces and sanded them with a rough grade sandpaper (using a Black & Decker Mouse) then wiped them down with a damp cloth and let them dry. For the cabinet, I first sanded out the holes from the old security bar and used bondo to fill them. I then removed the T molding and used a medium grade sandpaper to smooth things out and remove the old, scratched graphics. Again I wiped with a damp cloth and left to dry. Now everything is ready to paint.
Fixing the speakers:
If I wanted to keep things easy, the speakers can just be replaced with 4 screws. Instead, I decided to replace the old, busted speakers with a left over pair of Logitech 2.1 speakers. I removed the old speakers from the marquee panel and removed the fabric grill from the front of the new speakers. I then removed the rubber pads that were used to mount the fabric grill and removed the case screws that were hidden below. I used those 4 points as the mounting points on the marquee. After measuring, I drilled pilot holes to match and ran wood screws through the marquee and into the plastic casing on the speakers. This held the speakers very well against the marquee. I then drilled a large hole on the side of the cabinet under the control area to later mount and run the cables to control the volume of the machine (after painting).
Next up, finishing the cabinet!
The Lifespan Project 