NEO-GEO MVS 25-4 Restoration: Day 1

My name is Geronimo, and as an avid arcade gamer, there is no other stand-up arcade game that had more wow factor, in my opinion, than the Neo-Geo line of arcade games. Though I spent more days in front of a Street Fighter II machine growing up and hundreds of others, the Neo-Geo has a special place in my heart and captures the peak of gaming in the early 90's for me. It's always been a dream of mine to have a fully functional arcade game in my home, and because of my limited space, I can't think of a better option than a Neo-Geo arcade cabinet.
So my first objective was finding the right cabinet. A quick check on Craigslist and I immediately found two. One was a little too beat up for my taste. The 2nd, a MVS 25-4 version 3, had a few important details going for it; a new screen and a fairly solid condition of the wood cabinet. Big props to Lonny at SecretStorageAuction.com for answering all my questions, being so hospitable and finally hooking me up with the right cabinet to get my dream project started. (Lonny is doing some amazing things for the classic Arcade and Pinball community).
The cabinet was delivered and I spent the rest of the day and night cleaning the exterior panels and inside walls and components. This was a large task as it was caked with dust inside and the wood was slightly moldy. Fortunately I picked up some Mold Armor from HomeDepot and got the cabinet cleaned up as best I could with a light cleaning solution.
Some of the major tasks will be:

Repainting and patching wood panels (touch up on logos)
Repainting and refreshing graphics on control console.
Replacing console overlay, current one is corroded with rust
Replacing Sticks and Buttons
Replacing Screen Bezel (current one is bent)
Replacing Coin Doors
Cleaning up wiring

To be faithful to the Neo-Geo fan community, I am focused on restoring this cabinet to its original condition, or as close as I can get. Here are some shots of its original condition before I make any modifications:

(Cabinet left) As you can see it's it fairly good condition. Especially as far as the wood paint goes.

(Marquee) The Marquee was is in awesome condition. The light was not hooked up, but I can deal with that later. Also it was locked and I don't have the key. May drill out and replace the locks.

(Cabinet right) Some scuffing on the panels and the console plastic is corroded in spots. This console will be repainted and rebuilt.

(Under Console) The paint will be stripped and the memory card and headphone sticker will need to be replaced. I will likely create my own as close to the original as possible.