repainting the nes gold cartridge zelda

[mas]

Does anyone know how to repaint the legend of zelda gold cartridge? I got one and the paint is very worn and i can see the black color under the gold. I dont know what to use or if its even worth it and just get a better copy or get a gray copy instead. Any thoughts would help out thanks.

[Hobie-wan]

I've seen gold 'chrome' spray paint in stores before. You'd need to get the cart clean and be very careful to mask off the label, but it should be possible.

[Ziggy]

Well it's not like gold carts are rare or anything, so if it really bothers you, might as well just get another one. But if it were mine, I'd keep it and do a number of things. Most likely, I'd just get the rest of the gold finish off and keep it black. Black Zelda NES cart, it would probably look good. If you wanna repaint it, you're gonna have to get the rest of the gold paint off anyway. Apparently it's easy to get the finish off without damaging the plastic. I have a friend that was telling me an easy way, let me ask him for you (if you choose to do this).

If you respray it, there's lots of talks of spraying plastic here on the forum. I always recommend Krylon Fusion but they don't make a gold color. So I couldn't even recommend a paint to you. I've used some badass spray primer before that seemed to bond to anything. If it were me, I would prime it then spray it gold. But like I said, my first choice would be to get the rest of the gold finish off and then keep it black.

[mas]

Thanks ziggy. Once again you gave me advice. Im going to sand it down and make it black and maybe this weekend i will find a nice gold cart or get a gray but i wont go out of my way on price or so.
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[Ziggy]

I just asked a buddy of mine, he said he uses GooGone to remove the gold finish from under the label. Said it comes off easy. I would assume you can use it to remove the finish from the entire cart. I wouldn't sand it though. The NES carts are slightly textured, sanding it will mess up the texture. I would try GooGone first. Maybe use something that'll rough it up a little without messing up the texture. Like the rough side of a dish sponge.

Hobie, any ideas to remove the rest of the gold finish? Maybe some of that magic electrical contact cleaner?

[Hobie-wan]

Hobie, any ideas to remove the rest of the gold finish? Maybe some of that magic electrical contact cleaner?

Nono, the magicness (magicosity?) of it is that it usually won't disturb most paint, and only some if you really scrub at it.

[jeffro11]

You can always go to the automotive section and pickup some spray primer, and automotive paint (yes they come in spray cans as well!) and have fun with that. Youll need a clear coat to protect it though.

[Weekend_Warrior]

Well it's not like gold carts are rare or anything, so if it really bothers you, might as well just get another one.

I'm just going to agree with this.

[Ziggy]

You can always go to the automotive section and pickup some spray primer, and automotive paint (yes they come in spray cans as well!) and have fun with that. Youll need a clear coat to protect it though.

This guy said he used automotive paint, and it's definitely one of the better paint jobs I've seen (video game related): http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopi ... =nes+paint

Since the color of the cart is suppose to be gold, and gold is usually suppose to shine, then a finish like that would be cool.
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mas, just so you know, it's gonna take time to do this properly. If you don't mind spending the time, go for it! But when people try to rush painting, the outcome is almost always horrible. The work isn't hard, but you need patience.

To do it properly, you're gonna need a security bit or some other way to open the cart (like the melted pen trick). If you don't already have a security bit, it might be a good idea to pick one up anyway. It'll be good to have besides this little project, like being able to clean dirty carts easier and more thoroughly. But yeah, you'll need to open the cart up and set the PCB aside, especially if you're gonna spray it.

So once you have the cart apart, you're gonna wanna tape off the label. Use painters tape to cover it and an X-acto knife or box cutter black to trim around the label. Painters tape is probably the best thing to use though since it'll come off easy, other tapes might damage the label (though those labels are ridiculously strong). Oh, don't forget about the back label as well. You could always replace the labels, but if the original ones are in good shape why spend the extra time?

After you have label taped off, spray GooGone all over the entire thing. Let it sit for a few minutes to let it soak. Then get to work on it with the rough side of a sponge or something similar. My guess is the gold finish will start flaking off pretty easily. You might get to a point where you have to spray more GooGone on and let it soak for a few more minutes then start scrubbing again.

My guess is you'll be able to get the finish off this way, but if it's not working, then you'll have to use something more abrasive to get the rest of the finish off. Like I said before, the cart has a slightly textured surface so if you use sand paper it'll mess up the texture. And since it's textured, sandpaper wont be able to get down into it to get the finish off without sanding it flat. But let's not get ahead of ourselves here, I think the GooGone will be enough to get it off.

After it's off, you're gonna have to give the cart a good bath. The GooGone is pretty oily, and it stays on pretty good. I use dish soap and warm water to get the GooGone off. If you're gonna spray the cart afterward, you have to make sure it's COMPLETELY clean. Especially free of GooGone.

[flamepanther]

I know a little (very little) about this thanks to also being a fan of vintage Transformers toys, which often lose the silver and gold chromed finish from various parts. Take the shell apart and strip all the paint off like people have said...

...but gold paint you can buy in a store *won't* cut it. You need to look for a fabrication shop can vacuum plate the two halves of the plastic shell with a chrome finish (it won't be very cheap). Then use a glossy transparent yellow paint (not gold!) on top of the chrome. That should give the effect you are looking for.

I guess what I would be most careful with is the label. Not sure how best to handle that part.