That probably is the best idea. My hope is that the cabinet(s) will not have to rest on them much, but also had the thought that if they did the paint would be subjected to scratches.

I was not 100% sure what to call them, but a "furniture glide" appears to be the proper term. A quick search of "Prong Furniture Glide" on E-bay brings several options, I have not taken the time to check thru the local Home Depot.

I managed to fill, sand, and spray the (hopefully) last fill primer coat on the cabinets today. I dodged scattered rain showers all afternoon so did not take extra time for pictures. . . but I think you know what the cabinets look like in primer by now.
I'd like to finally get some dark blue sprayed this week. . . if my schedule and the weather cooperate!

This is one of the first sets I saw on E-bay -- I have not measured my originals but I think one inch is close?

ebay.com link: 8 Nail 3 PRONG 1 Furniture Chair Base Glides Feet Metal AMP FENDER VINTAGE NC

pasted_image (resized).png

Took the plunge into my can of dark blue basecoat today. One last pic of the cabinets in primer gray.

5J5A0013A (resized).JPG

Three or so coats later. . .

5J5A0016A (resized).JPG

This is my first time using this basecoat/clearcoat system. My past projects have mostly been single stage.
I know I have a window of time that would allow me to add the next color without any special preparation, but I was not sure how long I need to wait before I can apply stencils. My schedule does not help either being so unpredictable, so on top of today's basecoat I applied a couple quick shots of intercoat clear. I will need to scruff the surfaces before applying the next color(s)/clearcoat, the intercoat clear will provide a buffer and hopefully prevent me from scruffing thru basecoat into primer.

5J5A0015A (resized).JPG

A sunlit view of the front. As much as I filled, primed, sanded, etc. several small imperfections still remain. I could probably keep filling/sanding for weeks!

5J5A0017A (resized).JPG

In the end I am happy with how things are looking so far. . . the next big step will involve stencils.

Just about all this stuff is toxic.
I will attach a copy of the Technical Data Sheet -- note at the upper paragraph it specifically states not to use as a topcoat/clearcoat. The Safety Data Sheets are available on Valspar's House of Kolor Website. It was about 10 pages long so I chose not to add it here.

SG100.pdf

Today was a day I have been both looking forward to and dreading at the same time.
I busted out the stencils from Pinball Pimp (Thanks PinballPimp !).

5J5A0020A (resized).JPG

I had been looking forward to using them because I want to see progress on the cabinet. I was not looking forward to the application/painting in fear of doing something wrong. This was my first time using the Pimp's stencils.

Step One. I started with the upper cabinet. Fathom alternates first colors on the upper and bottom cabinets (light blue first on upper and green first on bottom) so I decided to focus on just the upper cabinet today. It was smaller so if I did something wrong it would be a smaller mistake, right?
I masked everything off except the sides accepting the stencil.

5J5A0024 (resized).JPG

Step Two. Carefully I peeled the backing from the stencil as directed on the Pimp's website and applied to the cabinet. The first set went on well enough. I had a few small air bubbles here and there after pressing everything down but the did not cut into the painted areas so I was not worried about them.

5J5A0025A (resized).JPG

Step Three. Peeled the outer holding layer off. . . looks good at this point.

5J5A0026 (resized).JPG

Step Four. Add some turquoiseish paint:

5J5A0032 (resized).JPG

And I let it dry overnight. Just Kidding!

I started peeling the stencil off not long after setting the paint gun back in the shop. All I could think while peeling the stencil away was that I was about to throw away $30 ($15 for each side). . . but the pattern left on the cabinet was worth it!

5J5A0035 (resized).JPG

One of my many faults is that I tend to be very heavy when it comes to paint application. No exception today, pulling the stencil revealed noticeable edge lines between the two colors. Once the light blue was dry to the touch I added a couple quick coats of intercoat clear. This helped melt the edges a bit and would do so to a greater extent once I scruffed the surface for the green layer.

My intention was to leave things at this point for the day, but I had mixed up a bit more intercoat clear than I needed so after running some errands I decided to come back and make the push to add the green layer. I scruffed the intercoat layer up (really did not need to for paint adhesion but I wanted to knock my paint edges down some) and I applied the second set of stencils.

I struggled a bit more with these. If you look back at the first pic you will see a box with an X at the top right corner and a box that retained light blue paint at the bottom left corner. The second set of stencils had openings that fit over these boxes for proper alignment. . . I had a heck of a time achieving it. I think in the end it turned out ok, but lets just say I don't recommend anyone hire me to apply their stencils at this point in time.

I sprayed the green and pulled off another $30. . .here is the result after spraying on the leftover intercoat:

5J5A0041A (resized).JPG5J5A0042 (resized).JPG

There are a couple spots that could be better. . . but at the end of the day I keep looking at the cabinet and smiling. My thick paint layers almost give a 3-D effect (that I kind of like!). I still need to add the clear coat, hopefully that will give the metallic a bit more pop.

I will probably take more time between colors with the bottom cabinet. . . maybe have time to start the green later next week.

I truly appreciate everyone's kind words. I have been away from the shop all day but will admit to having those pictures up on the laptop most of the morning.

Don't forget Keith, I've seen some of your work. If anything it has inspired me to do better!

Despite the warmer weather I spent time today painting the cabinet legs/brackets/etc. I used some of my single stage paint that is usually sprayed on tractor rims. The silver is definitely shades lighter than the original gray, I will have to see them on the cabinet to decide if they are too distracting.

5J5A0106 (resized).JPG5J5A0109 (resized).JPG

I thought it too hot to work with stencils on the lower cabinet, but I did move forward with putting the clear coat on the upper cabinet.
Say, who is that handome guy on that pinball machine?

5J5A0091 (resized).JPG

View of the side in the outdoors.

5J5A0095 (resized).JPG

Back in the shop.

5J5A0117 (resized).JPG

There is some orange peel that I may try to compound out in some areas. . . but overall I am happy with the result.
I tucked everything in the corner to let the paint cure and thought the legs reflected in the top of the cabinet was worth the picture.

5J5A0121 (resized).JPG

Next week looks to be a busy one at the office and out of it; painting the stencils on the lower cabinet is next when I can fit it in!

Last week was a busy one indeed, here is a pic from the "out of it" part. Brother-in-law and I traveled out to Washington State to hike around Mount Rainier a couple days. That is at Camp Muir at just over 10,000 feet elevation. I'm the one wearing boots.

5J5A0244A (resized).JPG

I started work on the first stencil for the bottom cabinet today. Starting at the front, I cut a piece of shipping foam to fill the coin door opening.

5J5A0561 (resized).JPG

I then aligned the first stencil up as best I could with the front panel. Notice that I cut the upper corners down to just the stencil itself to better align. I taped the stencil across the top to hold it in place.

5J5A0562 (resized).JPG

I flipped everything up, then pulled the backing off the stencil.

5J5A0563 (resized).JPG

Holding at the two bottom corners I folded the stencil back over keeping it taught as it came into contact with the cabinet. I used my driver's license to smooth out the wrinkles. . . somehow I lost the squeegee that was sent with the stencil kit. The occasional bubble/wrinkle did not bother me as long as they did not carry into the area to be painted.

5J5A0564 (resized).JPG

This technique worked well on the front panel, so I moved on and tried it on the sides.

Ah, yes, the sides. I did struggle a bit more here -- a second person or a third arm really would have been useful but as I had neither available I pushed forward. Things were going smooth, first side all lined up and taped up.

5J5A0565 (resized).JPG

The problem came in after I had flipped the stencil up and pulled off the backing. Part of my tape hinge pulled free so I spent about 30 minutes trying to line everything up again with the sticky side exposed. At one point part of the stencil folded over onto itself and I thought I most certainly was going to have to order another one. . . but somehow I pulled everything apart and managed to get it in place.

5J5A0567 (resized).JPG

I learned my lesson and used stronger tape for the other side; I managed to get it on in a fraction of the time.

5J5A0569 (resized).JPG

Front corner alignment looks good.

5J5A0568 (resized).JPG

And then there was paint. Green Paint.
I had my usual hiccups and obstacles but after the paint gun had been emptied and the stencils pulled I thought the lines looked good. I sprayed in cooler temperatures today out of the sun and I believe that helped keep the paint from sticking to the stencil edges/provided smoother lines.

5J5A0570 (resized).JPG

Corner alignment acceptable.

5J5A0573 (resized).JPG

Finished the day off with a couple quick coats of intercoat clear. Rather than try to push forward with the second color as I did on the upper cabinet I am choosing to give the bottom a longer cure duration. I am sure I will need the extra time to apply the next set of stencils anyway!

5J5A0575 (resized).JPG

It should be fairly obvious which game we are working on at this point!

Applied the last set of stencils today.

Alignment was key -- Pinball Pimp provides markers on the first stencil that help line up the second, I elected to remove those markers though in order to spray the intercoat clear (the marker would have left an outline in the clear).

I used my tape across the top hinge technique, measured up/down/left/right, and remeasured a couple more times before attempting to apply the stencil.

The application actually went well this time. Zero bubbles or wrinkles on the front panel and only a few on the sides.

5J5A0578 (resized).JPG5J5A0576 (resized).JPG5J5A0579 (resized).JPG

There was only a slight spot or two on the letter "scales" where the new blue went a bit over the edge of the green, but looking back at the original the art presents the same way so I'm good with it.

Mixed some paint, sprayed the cabinet, and pulled off the stencil.

The front looks good. The coin door trim will cover the areas that do not continue into the coin door opening.

5J5A0586 (resized).JPG

Corners look to match well enough.

5J5A0582 (resized).JPG5J5A0581 (resized).JPG

And the sides. The metallic in the scales looks fantastic in the sun. Should sparkle even more once the clear goes on.

5J5A0580 (resized).JPG5J5A0587 (resized).JPG

The tail is my favorite image on the cabinet.

5J5A0590 (resized).JPG

So far I am very happy -- another big Thank You to PinballPimp for having these stencils available. I'm sure I will be back for other sets. . . . I just hope not too soon as applying these gave me several more gray hairs (but that was me stressing too much, not the stencil's fault )

One more scuff down and some clear coat then legs can be attached -- cannot wait!

Thanks for the positive vibes.

Right now the metallic on the bottom is muted by the lack of the clear topcoat. Once it gets sprayed on the basecoat should show a bit more life. Hopefully I can capture the effect in pictures. . . or I can get the game to a show or event where Pinsiders will be able to see it for themselves.

It was another beautiful weather day here today. Even though I had to work this morning I made time this afternoon to apply the clearcoat to the bottom cabinet. All the sides received a scuff down to provide a good foundation on all layers for the clear.

5J5A0592 (resized).JPG

Bottom side first -- cannot forget to clear that bottom edge!

5J5A0593 (resized).JPG

There is that guy again. . .

5J5A0598 (resized).JPG

Front showing a bit more sparkle.

5J5A0600 (resized).JPG

Each side after about three coats.

5J5A0594 (resized).JPG5J5A0601 (resized).JPG

The clear has really added some life to all three colors. The shade/metallic of each changes depending on where you look at the cabinet and how the light hits it. I took a couple close ups in the shop that I will post next.

As promised a couple more closer ups in shop lighting, plus one more reflection picture that I noticed as I tucked the cabinet away for the night.

5J5A0619 (resized).JPG5J5A0605 (resized).JPG5J5A0621 (resized).JPG5J5A0626 (resized).JPG5J5A0628 (resized).JPG

As you can see there definitely is some orange peel. I will test buff out a couple areas tomorrow to see if I can smooth it out some. I am super happy with how the light blue "scales" look over the green letters -- exactly the effect I wanted to achieve.

About all I had time to do yesterday was check out some legs.
So far I am not hating how the silver looks against the cabinet, but I will need to see it along with the stainless to make sure it is not too much.

5J5A0631 (resized).JPG5J5A0638 (resized).JPG

Also did some unmasking to see how the inside held up. No overspray but a lot of sanding dust! Had to set the transformer plate in to see how it would look, the top glass slide is resting in there too for now until I can find/polish/install the screws.

5J5A0637 (resized).JPG

Green legs could look nice. You have to admit the green is bright/noticeable; if I paint the legs that color I wonder if that would be the first thing people pick out vs. the artwork on the cabinet itself.

I like the classic look of Fathom and want to keep it somewhat close to the original vibe. I want to be careful not to cross the line that puts me into the "ugly powder coated games thread" -- if I've not crossed that line already.