How to maintain your home arcade machine
You've taken the plunge and decided to treat yourself or a loved one to an amazing retro arcade machine. Keeping the shine is really important, especially when a brand-new arcade machine isn’t cheap to buy!
All our machines are built using toughened safety glass, which means that they are extremely simple to keep clean. They also keep dust and grime away from the important components within the machine, especially the monitor.
Cleaning arcade machine glass
Lets start by cleaning the glass. This could be a glass top on a cocktail or coffee table arcade machine, or it could be the vertical glass on an upright style arcade machine. You will need a microfibre cloth, ideally a specific glass cloth works the best. Next you will need a glass cleaning product, anything that you would use to clean your homes windows such as Windolene for example well. Simply spray the cleaning product onto the glass surface. Leave for a few seconds and then wipe away, ensuring all of the fingers prints and other marks have been removed. You may want to give it another wipe to ensure the surface is moisture free.
Cleaning the arcade cabinet
Our most popular wood choice for arcade machines is a black melamine veneer. Over time, you may notice that this surface becomes a little dull. The best way to bring this back to its lovely new shine is by using a silicone based car dash shine product. The aerosol versions work the best for this.
Please do not do this if you have an oak or white veneered finish. If you have a white veneered finish, you should simply wipe this down with a damp cloth to remove any marks.
The oak veneered machines use real oak, so we suggest, if at all possible, to not clean them with any cleaning products. In the very worst case, you may want to lightly sand the side and apply a thin layer of Danish oil. This should be a last resort, as oiling a machine that is built can be very difficult to do well.
Cleaning your control Panel
If you have a control panel which has graphics on it, then these should be laminated and a wipe with a damp cloth should be more that enough. However if you have a plain metal control panel, which is a brushed stainless steel, this can sometimes acquire finger marks over time. The best way to get rid of these is by using a stainless steel cleaner. Apply a small amount to a clean cloth or rag and gently wipe over the surface. Then use a clean part of the cloth to remove the excess and bring up to a lovely shine.
Cleaning or servicing the internals of your arcade machine
Inside of the arcade machines that we build there are very few, if any moving parts. Usually the only moving part is the fan. So, there is no need to clean out the inside of the machine. It may be useful, if you have a machine that does have a fan on it, to hoover out (from the front of the machine) any visible dust that you may see accumulating on the fan itself.
Hopefully those little tips have helped to keep your brand new arcade machine in tip top, gleaming shape!
If you have any questions then you can also reach us by emailing sales@thedepot.uk or give us a call on 01538 767779.