How to Re-stencil Arcade Cabinet Artwork 🎨 HVLP Spray Paint Stencils 🎀 Ms. Pac-Man Restoration pt. 9

[@TGTDE]

I'm so excited you uploaded this!! I'm I the middle of the same thing, have the same stencil set, been dragging my feet for over a year on respraying my cabinet and I also was trying to figure out how to get the best possible paint since I couldn't figure out the oil base problem either!! Love how yours came out will be watching this a bunch before I spray mine!! great job!!

[@overtimearcade]

Thanks - I hope you’re able to learn from my mistakes, and that it’s warm enough in your area to not have to wait until the springtime to paint!

[@TGTDE]

@@overtimearcade as a fellow perfectionist myself my heart broke for you on number of occasions but you live and you learn and you should still be proud I can only imagine how much work was put it!! Question for you tho, how happy are you with the colors?? On video I think they look great, I’m thinking I’m going to copy your same colors when I do mine. Would you change anything color code wise?

[@TGTDE]

Also Ohio isn’t too far from me and I believe I might be able to go there and get custom oil based mixed for my project.. if that’s the case would you bother doing that in hindsight or are you pretty happy with how the colors look in person?? If you have the correct codes to be premixed I’d love knowing what you came up with… the internet is very back and forth over what’s right and what’s not and what didn’t look good cause they had to used a different brand and suck… on video I really like how your colors came out, your comment on the yellow looked more orange in person makes me a little nervous tho..

[@overtimearcade]

All in all, I'm very happy with the paint colors I used. They're listed in the video description, but here they are again: K7725 Safety Blue Rust-Oleum Professional High Performance Protective Enamel Gloss Sunburst Yellow Rust-Oleum Protective Enamel Poppy Pink Rust-Oleum Gloss Protective Enamel The blue & pink are near perfect matches IMO. The yellow was close enough for me, but I think the Rustoleum Safety Yellow might be a bit closer... although I could only find it in full gallons which was way more than you need for Ms Pac stencils.

[@TGTDE]

@ thank you 🙏!!

[@shawncruiksh]

Charlie, this might be my favorite video of yours, yet. I loved seeing you overcome the challenges -- you did a great job, and she looks absolutely amazing! Awesome work!

[@shawncruiksh]

Also, I think you owe your wife and family a fresh driveway seal.. 😆

[@overtimearcade]

Thank you, my brother in ‘cade!

[@overtimearcade]

We’re past the point of a simple seal! It needs to be completely redone, so I’m waiting until it gets really bad before biting the bullet on that!

[@screen-o-matic]

Been waiting two years and asking Charlie "When will you finally stencil the Ms. Pac?" on KLOV. I almost feel guilty now! It came out great Charlie. Nice work!

[@overtimearcade]

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

[@slinger2112]

The frustrated sighs upon inspecting the post stencil results totally reminds me of John's Arcade! :) The front panel came out amazing. The next one you do will go smoother with everything you learned. The colors do look pretty good. Final product came out great. Well done! You mention it in the closing, I think this was the first front to back stencil video I've come across.

[@overtimearcade]

Thank you! I’m just glad it’s over! 😅

[@tedadamgreen]

Bless you buddy!! And you shared a lot for others to learn from in the most positive way. Much appreciated Congrats 👊🏻🕹️😎

[@overtimearcade]

Thanks -- I appreciate the kind words!

[@malibuman792004]

Even with the imperfections you wound up with, I still think it looks really good. If it's in a dim lit room, it will never be noticed really. I think you did an ok job.

[@overtimearcade]

Thanks - I can live with an ok job!

[@AnthonyPresley-l8f]

Nice to finally see you paint this and it turned out great!

[@overtimearcade]

Thanks! Good thing it’ll be in a dimly-lit lineup! 😅

[@AnthonyPresley-l8f]

@ yeah, that’s why I chose to just repaint my Ms Pacman by hand. I find the stencils to bee too adhesive

[@overtimearcade]

@AnthonyPresley-l8f Is there anywhere I can see pictures or video of the cabinet you repainted?

[@AnthonyPresley-l8f]

@@overtimearcade I’ll send you a picture on Facebook

[@overtimearcade]

@AnthonyPresley-l8f Thanks!

[@operationrestore3308]

I have always sanded my primer with 240 and higher grit before painting. I do thin with acetone and add a hardner catalyst. I believe mineral spirits in oil based paint can cause adhesive issues. I had an old timer tell me that once. I have never done a stencil. Your patience is superb. Great video. All my questions of stencils answerd. Amazing.

[@overtimearcade]

Thanks! The instructions on the paint can say to thin with mineral spirits for spraying - but you’d recommend acetone instead??

[@operationrestore3308]

@overtimearcade yes. I have used it on every cabinet. I also use catalyst. I've never used mineral spirits. Only to clean. If you thin to much with mineral spirits it can sag and have adhesive problems. Acetone evaporates much faster and flashes quicker. Any auto body guys I know prefer acetone with rustoleium. I even mix it at 4 parts paint to 3 parts acetone spash a few fl Oz of catalyst per full can of paint. It works well levels great and flashes faster than other thinners. Just my experience that's all. Old timers used to paint everything with oil based enamel. I thought it was crap till I tried it. I wouldn't steer ya wrong brother. When I say flashing I mean dry enough for another coat I prolly shouldn't use that term apologies

[@overtimearcade]

@operationrestore3308 Ok cool, and that’s not just with automotive-grade paint?

[@operationrestore3308]

@overtimearcade no I use that same rustoleium paint that satin black can you had but only in flat. Get ya some acetone and shoot some. 4 to 3 ratio hplv gun from harbor freight all I use. I think you'd like the finish. I mix with the stir stick and get about a 5 second stream of paint of the stick until it drips. No means an expert but it works for me. I was watching and when ya showed the patches of blue my heart dropped for ya man. I know the amount of work you did. Quick clips here and their of progress just don't give justice to the amount of work that takes place. That hurt me and it's not even my cab.

[@overtimearcade]

@operationrestore3308 Thank you for your advice and sympathy! 😂

[@tw3nz0r]

I'm never gonna do a stencil. I admire your commitment to this project. Looks amazing for what it is!

[@overtimearcade]

Thanks! It won’t win any awards, but I’m glad it’s over!

[@tw3nz0r]

​@overtimearcade I assume there will be a part 10 where you throw all the parts in?

[@overtimearcade]

@tw3nz0r Yep, all the electronics work (although I may wind up using a different monitor than originally planned), but I still need to put together the coin door and some other stuff two. So figure one or maybe two more episodes in this restoration series.

[@nataliegreystar]

Try Alkyd Enamel. It's a bit more expensive but I discovered this a year ago and it has saved my restorations. It is the best comparison to oil based, can be mixed in any color like latex paint, and it thins with water. At least the brand I used did. It adheres amazing and goes on so clean, no drips. I actually discovered it goes on better with a roller and you just layer dryer than you would painting a house paint when doing a stencil. It dries perfect and it's basically self leveling even vertical. If you need to do any tiny touch ups, just dry brush tap it on and it comes out perfect. Not sure what primer you used but enamel is not cooperative with most primers. Learned this the hard way too. Get a rake pick tool to easily remove those little stencils with less little effort. Scuff each layer with 0000 pad to be safe but instead of a normal clear sealing layer you can use something labeled specifically an intermediate clear, it's specifically made for sealing and adhering another layer for stenciling. There's also medium you can mix into your paint to make it adhere better. It seems counterintuitive but you should leave the cab rough sanded, don't go very fine otherwise it has nothing to grip to. Plan on clear coating at the end. Lastly if you're stuck with no option but spraying in the raw outdoors with wind, put up a big chunk of cardboard or prop a wood panel to block the wind as much as you can. Trying to spray in the wind is infuriating and wastes a ton of paint and time. We all learn by failing. I've done my share too.

[@overtimearcade]

This is all great advice -- thanks! I did experiment with Alkyd when touching up my Joust back last year.

[@valentino42]

Also… they are called stencil brushes because they have fairly stiff bristles and are meant for stippling paint on a stencil, not the kind of sweeping back and forth motion of a typical paint brush. This helps prevent paint from leeching under a stencil.

[@overtimearcade]

Good to know, thanks! I’m not sure I know what “stippling” means though!

[@valentino42]

@@overtimearcade Think “dabbing” vertically and not a sweeping back and forth motion.

[@richardcooper]

What a labour of love, yep after all your effort give it 2 coats of clear to lock it in and protect your hard work.

[@overtimearcade]

Thank you, Richard, for documenting how you restenciled your Joust on your blog!

[@brentwheels]

Great work! Lots of work, turned out nice!. Tip: start with a first light coat. Let the coat tack up and then spray the second coat. The tack layer will help to prevent runs.

[@overtimearcade]

Thanks - and that’s a great idea!!

[@DanielNostalgicBitz]

Im excited to finally see the ms. pac getting worked on but dang man must of been really frustrating doing that stencil work but end results looks awesome man ! cant wait too see this awesome cab finally finished 💯

[@overtimearcade]

Thanks, Daniel! I very glad I’m done painting! 😅

[@Random_BillyBob]

Awesome work, Charlie!

[@overtimearcade]

I appreciate it, brother!

[@commandtheline]

I still have John's " this is brown paint" T-shirt 😂

[@overtimearcade]

ME TOO!! 🤣

[@daveweston5158]

Nicely done! A couple of future considerations (if you do this sort of thing again); - Since you’re working on only three sides of the cabinet, it may serve you (and your back/knees) better to set up a couple of sawhorses/tables, and set the cabinet on its back… - Someone ( I think it was me) suggested some time ago, building a lightweight, temporary framework out of PVC pipe, which could then be draped with cheap plastic drop cloth to keep the cabinet covered (limiting exposure to bugs/wind-borne contaminants) while drying… Disassembled, the PVC pipe takes up minimal storage space…

[@overtimearcade]

Thanks! If the cabinet was on a sawhorse, I wouldn’t be able to paint the front kick plate at the same time as the sides since I don’t think you should spray stencils downwards, right? I have thought about buying a tent or something to use as a paint booth, but they’re usually not cheap.

[@willaimkazer9754]

That does look good.

[@overtimearcade]

Thanks

[@ScottyBrockway]

I think I would have to learn to make rigid stencils myself to avoid such problems. I suppose it's a learning experience too, and how much preparation matters. I would ask Troy about paint, he does that as his job yeah?

[@overtimearcade]

What would you make the rigid stencils out of?

[@TexasGamer915]

Good job man. I feel your pain with these stencils. If you ever do another one you have to practice laying down spray paint. The first pass should be super light. It will look like you didn't cover anything. Then you come back and do the next few passes a little heavier. Just my two cents. I've found it to work for me.

[@overtimearcade]

Thanks! I definitely need to improve my technique so I appreciate the advice!

[@operationrestore3308]

Very good monsieur

[@overtimearcade]

Merci beaucoup!

[@djdef5521]

Nice job, I think it looks great. All the imperfections won’t even be seen in the dark anyways. Did you think of maybe spraying a clear coat over everything just to seal it?

[@overtimearcade]

Thanks! I’m still debating the clear coat - what would you recommend?

[@djdef5521]

@ I’m not sure, you should ask Troy as he would definitely know what to use.

[@atariforever2002]

Charlie, dude, total respect for your perseverance. All this shows me is that I will NEVER do a stencil set lol. Oh my god.

[@overtimearcade]

Thanks! I wish I could say it was worth it, but I can’t lie!

[@slinger2112]

I always assumed they'd be easy... very informative video, Charile!

[@overtimearcade]

@slinger2112 Thanks - seemingly nothing is ever easy!

[@laugzarcade]

Awesome work! I ordered a side art set for elevator action from this old game back in June..still waiting and looks like I might be waiting awhile. wondering if I should just caught my losses and order from somewhere else?

[@overtimearcade]

I don’t think anyone else still produces stencils. It took about 18 months for mine to arrive from TOG. 😬

[@laugzarcade]

@@overtimearcade man that's a long time and I didn't even order the stencils, just the laminate kit.

[@overtimearcade]

@laugzarcade Oof… You know what they say: fast, cheap, and good - pick two!

[@Heathcliff_hensel]

When is the hot pink T-molding getting installed?😅😅

[@overtimearcade]

Sorry, wrong channel! 🧨

[@willaimkazer9754]

I think that if you are going to clear coat, You should practice first on somthing else so you know you can get it right. Also with the cabinet on it's side and let dry overnight. in a clean room. You don't want bugs and dust in that.

[@overtimearcade]

That’s it, I’m not doing it! 😅

[@PhilipOrr-yq9mn]

I've had issues with primer and paint not adhering properly. Test different makes and check if the primer is compatible wit the paint you're using. Also, different primer can affect the shade of the final base color.

[@overtimearcade]

They were both Rustoleum so I thought they’d be ok together?

[@PhilipOrr-yq9mn]

@@overtimearcade The advice about not being too smooth is also an issue. But at least it turned out well :)

[@overtimearcade]

@PhilipOrr-yq9mn Too much rizz!

[@tigheklory]

Nice recovery! I am never stenciling another cabinet with vinyl stencils!

[@overtimearcade]

Thanks! I’m certainly not looking forward to the next time myself!

[@tigheklory]

​@@overtimearcade joust was stenciled with metal stencils (they have a little overspray.). If i could get metal stencils like the original I would totally do that. Self destructing stencils suck.

[@overtimearcade]

@tigheklory Shipping rigid stencils just wouldn’t be practical though. Unfortunately.

[@tigheklory]

@@overtimearcade if they can ship pinball glass they can ship lexan stencils

[@overtimearcade]

@tigheklory They ship individual playfield glasses or only in bulk?

[@AdmrlSpeedy]

I knew bugs would be a problem as soon as you had the cabinet out in the grass.

[@overtimearcade]

Don’t I know you from Reddit??

[@AdmrlSpeedy]

@overtimearcade ?

[@michaelapplewhite4715]

Did you use latex primer and then oil base on top?

[@overtimearcade]

Nope, oil-based for everything!

[@chriscravens4915]

I think you should get the decals for the sides to cover up the mistakes on the sides…..

[@overtimearcade]

Hard pass! Lol

[@hiredgun7186]

lighter colours are a bugger to lay down , the black will almost always come out silky. what I found with blues and yellows is thinner coats about a half hour in between coats, light sanding between coats. She came out pretty good, and remember they rarely came out factory fresh, perfect. dont bother with clear , let it cure

[@overtimearcade]

You recommend a light sanding after only half an hour of drying? And no clear coat at all?

[@hiredgun7186]

@@overtimearcade why you do lighter coats, thicker you put it on , longer it takes to dry, and just a light sanding , i usually use a purple 3m pad. I paint a lot of tanks and such at work , blue and yellow , seems to work well for me

[@overtimearcade]

@hiredgun7186 Good call - I’ll keep that in mind for next time!

[@screen-o-matic]

@@overtimearcade LOL, because there will never be a "next time"!

[@overtimearcade]

@screen-o-matic I have several other cabinets in the project queue that also need to be re-stenciled…

[@willaimkazer9754]

Did you have the brown paint problem too?!

[@overtimearcade]

No, but I sprayed some of the pink paint from the rattle can into a little cup for touch ups, and the next day the remaining pink paint in the cup had separated and turned white. I wasn't expecting that!

[@willaimkazer9754]

@@overtimearcade I don't know if this still happens, But I remember old Ms. Pac-Man machines where the pimk wold fade to white over time because I saw them In arcades by the boardwalk when I used to go to the beach in the 80's and 90's. I'm wondering if you left the used paint in the cup by the garage door and left the door open afternoon. Interesting in a scientific kind of way. You sould keep your Ms Pac out of daylight. Oh, By the way, You did a good job on the touch up work.

[@willaimkazer9754]

I think they used to rattlecan the whole side and stencles too.

[@overtimearcade]

Yes, some people have done that in their own restorations.

[@willaimkazer9754]

@@overtimearcade Just think it goes with Ms. Pac-Man theme. Ya, it's probably a little crazey. I guess anything to make that game pop. Maybe yellow, or even blue t molding.

[@overtimearcade]

@willaimkazer9754 Nope, I went to the trouble of re-stenciling the artwork, so this cabinet it getting black leather-textured t-molding just like the original! 😅

[@willaimkazer9754]

I can see why people go with the full side decale art. Thet looks alomost impossible. Looks good except whre the blue peeled up. I would try to fix the peeled up part and clear coat over the whole side. Thats more work to get right, but worth it in the end. Good Luck. Ad, it does pop.

[@overtimearcade]

Thanks! Towards the very end of the original production run, Bally Midway themselves actually switched to decals so that would be legit!

[@willaimkazer9754]

Maybe pink Tee molding to make it pop more.

[@overtimearcade]

Do I look like Todd Tuckey to you?? 😅

[@ShawnsTechRescue]

This came out so good! Nice work!

[@overtimearcade]

I don’t agree but I appreciate the kind words! 😅

[@chriscravens4915]

The Decals is what I meant that you should’ve used instead of the stencils…..

[@overtimearcade]

In retrospect, I probably *should* have done that, but hey at least I got some experience!

[@chriscravens4915]

@@overtimearcadeTrue……

[@willaimkazer9754]

Wondwring if a nongloss paint for a base, spraying the stencel on and then clear coating over allthat would be better in general.

[@overtimearcade]

maybe?

[@chriscravens4915]

Why didn’t you just get the big sticker art work that goes on both sides instead of doing the stencils……

[@overtimearcade]

Because this is an early production run Ms Pac (serial no. 925) and decals were only used on very late Ms Pac.

[@chriscravens4915]

@@overtimearcade But I think it would look than the stencils bc those are a pain in the butt to do and if it were me I would’ve gone with the decals on the cabinet……

[@overtimearcade]

@chriscravens4915 In the depths of my rage-induced frustration with this project, I kept asking myself why I didn’t go with decals instead! 😅

[@chriscravens4915]

@ Exactly…..🤣🤣🤣🤣……Why didn’t you???

[@chriscravens4915]

@ Decals would’ve been so much easier and better than using the stencils…..

[@chriscravens4915]

Dude I think you should order the decals for the sides instead you doing all of that hard work and fixing all of that stuff…..

[@overtimearcade]

Too late! This ain’t a livestream!

[@chriscravens4915]

@ I’m just telling you what you should’ve done to make it look better….

[@overtimearcade]

@chriscravens4915 Hindsight is 20/20! 😅

[@chriscravens4915]

@ Yes I know but the decals would look so much better than the stencil bc those are a pain in the ass!!!

[@overtimearcade]

@chriscravens4915 Yes, a huge PITA but the only way to recreate what was there originally!

[@TruthHurtsSomet1m3s]

What an absolute disaster of a paint job. Yikes

[@overtimearcade]

Thanks!

[@3rdaxis649]

So bumpy.

[@overtimearcade]

Ms Pac was a bit of a pizza face in high school, from what I hear.

[@3rdaxis649]

​@overtimearcade lol. So I've heard. I just re-sprayed a 1973 Williams OXO and decided not to use a pre-cut stencil for a couple of reasons. The factory spray job was originally done with sheet metal stencils. This created some slight overspray here and there but was quick and easy. So to recreate this I made my own stencils using heavy construction paper and it worked a treat. And I didn't have to worry about it pealing up the paint. I think if you look closely at an original Mrs. Pacman you will also see this overspray artifact as well. Using the sticker stencils makes it too perfect. But I can understand not wanting to cut out your own with that level of complexity. Next time I would wait a few days to a week for each layer of paint to dry and when you spray it, you should thin out the paint and spray a dry dust coat first followed by a few light coats NEVER too heavy. And technically, you should be giving the previous layer of paint a "key" with some 420 grit sandpaper so the next layer has a really good grip on it but this will require a layer of clearcoat in the end. But this will also protect it. Just my two cents:)

[@overtimearcade]

@3rdaxis649 Thanks! They did all of these steps originally at the factory??

[@3rdaxis649]

@overtimearcade No because they most likely used sheet metal stencils or something similar they could just hold over the cabinets and bang out each color one after the other all in one shot. But because your kit requires you to "stick" each stencil down you have to do all of these extra steps and allow each color to completely dry.

[@3rdaxis649]

It's hard to find any documentation about how they did it at the factory just rumors' and speculation but, considering they were doing thousands of cabinets it would most definitely be a robust stencil of some kind they could use over and over again.