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Polishing the 7800 metal strip


Bratwurst

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Scotch-Brite green scour pad to give the surface a soft haze and break down the scratches, then finished with grade 0000 steel wool, the finest steel wool you can get. I masked the plastic and either half of the metal strip with 3M masking tape to preserve the color strip. You only buff in one direction and replace the steel wool often. For crevices around the lettering I used a small brass bristle brush then buffed with torn tufts of steel wool.

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Amen! And just how do these things end up so used and abused anyhow? I mean, how does one go about scratching stuff like this all to hell without going out of your way to? Guess the people who ruin optical media by "normal" use would have the answer to that. Proud to say in this instance, that I just_don't_get_it.   ;)

 

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18 minutes ago, save2600 said:

Amen! And just how do these things end up so used and abused anyhow? I mean, how does one go about scratching stuff like this all to hell without going out of your way to? Guess the people who ruin optical media by "normal" use would have the answer to that. Proud to say in this instance, that I just_don't_get_it.   ;)

I think those people must store their consoles in concrete boxes underneath a pile of sharp rocks and rusty razor blades, right next to their optical disc collections.

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Best advice I can give to anyone looking to try is don't press down hard while you travel in one straight direction, be gentle, let the steel wool do its thing and eventually you get there. Practice on another piece of aluminum you don't care about. I did rub a small amount of Corrosion-X into the metal with a microfiber cloth after I took those pics and it blended even better with the remaining metal along the colorstrip that wasn't polished, but be careful you don't get that stuff on the plastic.

 

I'm of the mind to just get a self adhesive vinyl rainbow strip and buff out the original color line, but I haven't found anything yet that would be close enough to the look.

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...and this is potentially one way these consoles get so beat up, that people need to create threads on how to repair.   ?

 

7800.jpg

 

Bottom of the RF shield is still on, so at least the prickly solder side of the board isn't digging in to the plastic and metal - but still. That's gonna leave a mark Gene!  lol

 

 

 


sg-jesse_ventura.thumb.jpg.f5bbaa1d144eeed0cc64ed99091a9b9b.jpg
 

 

 

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I don't know... I can see that that swirls you had and deep scratches aren't as seen. But the finish is now much duller than it was before and now I see horizontal pattering across the entire metal plate that is more noticed with the duller finish. 

 

I guess at least the surface looks more consistent across the top now but I'm not sure I like the duller finish. Unless that is just how it looks in the light from your shots? Can you do a top down shot on it like you did for your before picture?

 

 

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1 hour ago, -^CrossBow^- said:

I don't know... I can see that that swirls you had and deep scratches aren't as seen. But the finish is now much duller than it was before and now I see horizontal pattering across the entire metal plate that is more noticed with the duller finish. 

 

I guess at least the surface looks more consistent across the top now but I'm not sure I like the duller finish. Unless that is just how it looks in the light from your shots? Can you do a top down shot on it like you did for your before picture?

Here is a shot from above with a flash in dim lighting:

 

YBjRVIn.jpg

 

I certainly haven't claimed it's a factory finish, it's not a mirror, but that can be achieved if you want to put the time in with a cloth and paste. If the strip can be detached from the shell without bending it (difficult as thin as it is), a pass with a large enough buffing wheel would get there easy without having to worry about wearing into the plastic.

 

In my mind, personally, a significant improvement over what I got and it looks better in person. Would I have done it to a panel in better condition? Certainly not! But if I wasn't happy with the results I woudn't be posting them here. I'm leaning more and more towards taking out the color strip since it's missing paint here and there anyway, just have to find the right rainbow spectrum pattern. Or I may just have it printed myself.

 

 

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You can remove the metal plate pretty easily actually... You just have to find the means to re-adhere it back down to the plastic shell afterwards. 

 

I use a citrus based cleaner in some instances called De-solv-it. I've only ever found it sold at Wal-Mart and I have literally like 3 bottles of the stuff can use a single bottle for YEARS as you don't need much. But...that stuff pretty much eats all glues and adhesives but doesn't harm plastics that I've found. I removed a badly bent up metal plate from a 7800 once by placing the top shell on an old towel and just spraying the heck around the metal plate with the de-solve-it. About 10min later the plate pretty much just slid off the thing.

 

So that is one method. Just again it might take some of the paint off the strip and you would have to get some strong double sided tape strips or something to reattach it back down. Also very important when using the stuff that you fully rinse it all off of course. You end up with a nice citrus clean smell from it all too as a bonus!

 

 

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2 hours ago, PacManPlus said:

The problem is, the relatively inexpensive 3D scanners aren't high enough resolution, and the ones with good resolution are VERY expensive.

 

Find a hacker space in your area, their equipment is usually tits. ;)

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FYI - I did this technique on a really beat up Atari 5200 metal strip.  It actually created all new brush marks in the metal strip.  Mine did not come out as shiny as the original strip was.  Also, I could still make out the old scratches and dents but they were masked by new horizontal lines.  

 

To me, it was debatable whether it looked any better.  However, it it did not look like the original strip.  I am usually very good at this stuff, but I may not be as skilled as Bratwurst.

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On 1/24/2020 at 6:54 AM, PacManPlus said:

If I had a 3D scanner, I'd take the shells, scan them in and print them.  Glow-in-the-dark 7800 anyone?

 

The problem is, the relatively inexpensive 3D scanners aren't high enough resolution, and the ones with good resolution are VERY expensive. 

 

Um....to go with my GITD Baby Pac Man? Yes please.

 

BTW, my kids kids were a little freaked out when they turned out the lights in my basement (for some game, likely "bang foreheads together in the dark", my son is a champ of that one) and something in Dad's entertainment cabinet was glowing bright green! "Dad, what is this? Did you leave something on? If we did that we'd get in big trouble!"

 

Also...why has no one come up with an aftermarket metal strip yet for 5200s and 7800s. Seems like there is enough demand!

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