Grandstand SCRAMBLE video game - Restoration & Repair + Airbrushing!

I purchased this 1982 Grandstand Scramble tabletop video game from eBay for £15. It was described as ‘not working/no power’. The arcade version of Scramble was one of my favourite games as a teenager.

As promised, it didn’t work! I dismantled the game completely and was quickly able to troubleshoot the fault and repair it. However, I decided to tidy up the case a bit and this ended up becoming a complete restoration.

The case is basically two parts - the gloss black section and the painted silver section. I stripped the old, scratched paint from the silver section, sanded it smooth and airbrushed it with two colour coats and two clear coats.

After a good clean, I sanded the gloss black section using Micro-Mesh pads. These pads vary from coarse to fine (1500 - 12000 grit) and you work through the grit levels to bring the item back to an almost mirror finish. Finally, I polished the case using Novus plastic polishes. I was quite happy with the result and whilst not perfect, it was much better than when I started. Which was just as well because it took ages!

The screen sticker had a clear vinyl layer which was starting to peel/bubble and this was affecting the overall look of the game. I therefore decided to remove the top layer and protect the remaining sticker with three coats of clear coat lacquer. This was a bit of a risk as I had no way of knowing whether the lacquer would react with the sticker or the lettering. Fortunately, it was fine. Phew!

The original white lettering on the control board had long since worn away so I reapplied this using a Posca paint marker. This was definitely the most tedious part of the restoration and I spent a long time tidying up the gaps between the letters using a very fine needle.

Finally, I reassembled the game and gave it a test.

#restoration
#asmr
#repair