Damaged Duo-R Paint job - thoughts?

[wyndcrosser]

So, I have two Duo-R's now, both that I've saved from the depths of abuse from their original owners on Ebay.

The one I'm talking about in particular had it's sides cracked and deep scratches all over it, besides having the need for a new laser, capping etc. Because of this damage, I thought about cleaning it up and painting it black with a similar glosse it has already in its basic white color. After that I'd do the same purple stencil lettering on the front and change the LED to purple.

So, thoughts from you guys? Why I'm asking is, let's say I want to get rid of it (probably not lol) in 5 years, would this kill any potential resale value?. I wouldn't call it killing a console, as the damage is really bad, but it can be fixed with some "bondo" and time.

Wynd

[Ninja16608]

I have had great success fixing plastic on consoles. Do you have some pics to see if it can be repaired? if the cracks are small enough they can be sealed but if too large it becomes a huge pain. Painting them can sometimes make them look rougher than they really are as the paint will highlight the imperfections more. I also have a great method of removing dings and gouges depending on how deep they are.

[schweaty]

repair the cracks, bondo, sand, then paint (multiple coats)

[Ninja16608]

repair the cracks, bondo, sand, then paint (multiple coats)

Careful about the bondo you use, some will melt plastic :-)

[Desh]

Although many may disagree with me, I say paint it.  I've picked up many discarded consoles at garage sales and thrift shops that were in horrible physical condition and repainted/customized them. 

Most of these older consoles have textured outer plastics (I'm not sure about the duo-r as I've never seen one in real life) that sometimes don't look great repainted, especially with a gloss finish.  I basically handle it as if you were painting a car.  I start with an abrasive sanding (400-600) grit to knock down the texture of the outer plastics.  Once these is done imperfections and dips from the molding process can show their ugly face.  I fill these and other possible scratches, chips or gouges with standard car body filler.  Then I sand in stages from 800 to 1000 to 1500 grit (the 1500 being a wet sand).  Prime the shell with duplicolor plastics primer followed by another 1500 wet sanding stage.  Then I usually spray with 2-3 coats of duplicolor 2x spray paints.  Depending on how well you spray you may or may not have to do a 1500 or 2000 wet sand stage after painting.  Once the paint has dried for a day I then spray 2 coats of rattle can clear coat.  Once the clear is dry a 2000 grit wet sanding stage for ultimate smoothness.  Then I use automotive wax/polish.  After the final wet sand I use Turtle Wax scratch removing polish.  After that I use Meguiars Gold Glass carnauba wax and hand buff it out with a clean microfiber towel.

This is not a quick process but delivers the best results and the finish should last forever.  I am awaiting a pretty beat up looking TG16 I grabbed online in the mail so maybe I'll post step by step with pictures as I already have plans for it.

Whatever you decide, good luck!

[MrFulci]

From 2007. I had to search to find it, I recall this from when I was hanging around here more often. - http://www.pcenginefx.com/forums/index.php?topic=3025.

It's a Duo-R that was painted black. Photos there, also.