(Topic ID: 85152)

Would You Restore A Machine Full Of Mold?

By Linkage

10 years ago


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    #1 10 years ago

    Sadly, I would.

    I have done it with Arcade Machines, and while it is not fun, it is not the end of the world. That said, I would not do it now unless it was some sort of crazy holy grail. Maybe because I have enough arcade projects as is without getting into moldy cabs. Case in point, I just turned down a bunch of stuff that was basically free because I didn't want to deal with the mold.

    Anyways, I don't have a ton of pins and they aren't easy to find locally. So I am willing to put the elbow grease in.

    These are from a bulk body only find where I intended on stripping the cabs. I knew some had mold, but wasn't too worried if I was just stripping play fields as they were pretty much unaffected. However, it looks like I might be able to find a bunch of heads for them so that kind of changes things.

    Anyways, here is a quick glimpse of what I have to deal with:

    IMG_0298[1].JPGIMG_0298[1].JPG
    IMG_0299[1].JPGIMG_0299[1].JPG

    Am I nuts for even bothering with this? No wood rot, but lots of mold. Plus rust.

    Plan is to spray everything inside with bleech and water solution let dry, than Spray 9 (cleaner and degreaser that kills mold), let dry, vacuum and clean, strip all parts, clean all parts, sand inside of cab, seal inside of cab.

    Do the normal restore cleanup and by then hopefully have a nice non moldy cab.

    Thoughts? Suggestions of dealing with mold? I see surprisingly few posts about mold here.

    #2 10 years ago

    Do I think you're crazy? A bit, but that's the default around here.

    I wouldn't suggest bleach for this both because it will aggravate the rust issue and because it's not so great on porous material like wood. Yes, it'll kill any mold it comes in contact with but it'll only get the surface and you may find yourself having to repeat pretty soon (there's some molecule size thing where bleach is too big to get in the cracks). I'm not an expert but some other options that should kill just about as well are borax diluted with water, baking soda diluted with water, vinegar, and tea tree oil. What I don't know is how each of these would affect rust and I'm sure each has it's own negatives but I'm sure none are going to be as bad as bleach.

    #3 10 years ago

    It depends on the title.

    #4 10 years ago

    go with the white vinegar not bleach

    #5 10 years ago

    Do this outside or in a garage with open doors to the outside and wear a mask or you WILL get sick.
    I restored a game that was covered with black mode because it was super rare, and even with a mask I got a resp. infection. It also took me 5 months to replace all of the rusty crap and rewire the game since the corrosion got in the wires. Be careful, mold spores are nothing to mess with. They are microscopic and travel in the air flows so keep things well protected.

    #6 10 years ago

    To each their own but i wouldn't.

    #7 10 years ago
    Quoted from huzzahmatt:

    Yes, it'll kill any mold it comes in contact with but it'll only get the surface and you may find yourself having to repeat pretty soon (there's some molecule size thing where bleach is too big to get in the cracks).

    That is why I normally sand after, when I have done it before.

    Quoted from luvthatapex2:

    Do this outside or in a garage with open doors to the outside and wear a mask or you WILL get sick.

    Yeah, outside is a definite and I will wear a wear a cartridge mask plus coveralls.

    Also, when I say bleach I mean super diluted. Since I am going to spray 9 anyways, vinegar might be a better idea.

    Quoted from roc-noc:

    It depends on the title.

    Nothing super rare unless you count 9 Ball. Pic in question is a Joker Poker.

    3 weeks later
    #8 10 years ago

    All depends on price.

    Just factor in a couple more days of stripdown/clean and it's no different from anything else. Hoover off 95% of the mould then attack with a cloth dampened with a water/vinegar mix. Then use a toothbrush for the hard to get to places.

    Actually, I guess it depends if you want a profit (in terms of time spent) or do this as a hobby. Some of us just do it for the love.

    #9 10 years ago

    FWIW, that looks more likely to be mildew and not mold.

    #10 10 years ago

    I've heard cheap vodka is good for cleaning mold too. Buy a bottle of good stuff for yourself to make the job more enjoyable

    #11 10 years ago

    Make sure the respirator cartridges you buy are certified for mold abatement work, or else some of that nastiness could get through. This page has good advice:
    http://www.epa.gov/mold/whattowear.html

    #12 10 years ago

    definitely about the vinegar (acetic acid), it'll radically change the Ph, shock and kill the mold. then the cleaning and a final spraydown of vinegar.. then I'd go a couple coats paint with whatever kilz or resist additive, and a 1/2 lb sack of dessicant to pull moisture from it forever after. not too much worries about the rust and corrosion that need cleaning off and maybe coating. up to you how deep to go with it, like cleaned up vs restore job, to me it looks cleanable enough without a total stripdown and get to the playing.

    #13 10 years ago

    To save a game from the landfill, I would do it.

    #14 10 years ago

    I would recommend using Benefect or Concrobium to get rid of mold, benefect is made from Thyme oil so its safe to breathe and work with, BLEACH is no effective at killing mold. I just completed a 30k mold remediation project so I have done a ton of research on Mold.

    #15 10 years ago

    "not effective"

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