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Author Topic: What type of plexi material is best for large arcade monitors?  (Read 1217 times)

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Customcade

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What type of plexi material is best for large arcade monitors?

Have the monster dynamo 39" showcase cab with the stock plexi and plain black cardboard type junk for the actual bezel.

I got a custom made artwork bezel to replace the black one and want to order another sheet of the needed plexi type and just sandwich the new bezel between the two sheets.

I just don't know if I should go with clear or partially tinted or what material is best to go with but it does need to bow/arch a little without snapping.

RandyT

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Re: What type of plexi material is best for large arcade monitors?
« Reply #1 on: June 16, 2025, 02:48:49 pm »
If you are going for two sheets, with graphics between, I'd do clear for the front and at least lightly-tinted for the one close to the monitor.  I like to go dark for CRT's and crank the brightness, but if you have a good bezel, there's probably a reduced need to go that extreme.

Just use 3mm plexi from wherever you can get it, so long as your molding can accommodate 1/4" total windows thickness.  Also be aware that sandwiching material/print like that might result in some visual oddities, ranging from the print sagging or sticking to the plexi in spots, depending on what kind of print it is, to internal reflection/haze caused by the air-gap.  The best result would come from a print with front-facing adhesive, applied directly to the back of a window at full-thickness.  But these tend to be a bit pricey and not easy to apply.  Also consider that large sheets of 3mm material won't have the same stiffness as 1/4".  That may or may not be desirable for what you are doing.