CPO Installation Advice Request: Best way to 'cut' the CPO itself?

[myrmidon]

Hi All,

I just purchased a very nice CPO on Ebay for my MS-Pac cabinet that also has an iCade 60-in-1 board in it. It has a 'plastic coating' finish on the front and is sticky on the back (I am not sure who originally made it, I got it on Ebay), I have attached a picture below.

Anyway as mentioned above I want to install this on the control panel of my Ms-Pac cabinet, so being a midway cab it has a powder coated steel control panel, with the corresponding holes for the buttons/joystick/trackball.

My question is: What is the best (cleanest/nicest) way to cut holes into my CPO? Should I stick it onto my control panel, and simply use an Xacto knife or box cutter to cut along the metal holes?

Any guidance here will be much appreciated because I don't want to mess this up :-)

[BadMouth]

stick it onto my control panel, and simply use an Xacto knife or box cutter to cut along the metal holes?

Yup.
Xacto.  Install a new blade before beginning.

I  start in the center and curl around to the outside edge.

I've seen people make an X, but I fear that making straight lines could create a tear past the end of the cut.
That probably isn't going to happen with your laminated overlay, but that's the way I do it.