CP Questions

[Tahnok]

I have been working on my CP a lot lately. I hit a snag though when I ran out of quick disconnects. So until then I have been working on some of the other parts of my CP. A few things though have snagged me again though:

How should I color my CP? I have heard of everything from house paint to contact paper to plexi (well, not plexi. My panel was not designed to use plexi). I am mainly thinking either spray paint or house paint. I need something that will stand up to public bashing. Any ideas (no graphic overlay)?

How should my buttons be mapped out? I have a 6 button layout for both players. Should it be like this

123
456

or

456
123

? (I think this has been asked before, but I can't find it)

How can I lock my CP closed? I am planning on using a piano hinge on one side and a lock on the other (preferably a key lock, not combination).

Thanks for the help!

[Tiger-Heli]

How should I color my CP? I have heard of everything from house paint to contact paper to plexi (well, not plexi. My panel was not designed to use plexi). I am mainly thinking either spray paint or house paint. I need something that will stand up to public bashing. Any ideas (no graphic overlay)?

Vinyl from www.partsexpress.com is popular, but I think only available in black or wood grains.

How should my buttons be mapped out? I have a 6 button layout for both players. Should it be like this

123
456

or

456
123

? (I think this has been asked before, but I can't find it)

Yep, been asked a lot.

123
456
is better for Street Fighter
456
123
is probably better for classics, but it really doesn't matter as you could pick either one and just re-define your inputs in MAME for the "other" games.

[SideShow Rob]

I tried three thick coats of gloss black paint, covered with three coats of clear ultra-tough gloss varnish...but the surface was still able to be marked with jewelry - metal watch straps in particular.

In the end , rather than continually touch up the control panel, I covered the top with loudspeaker cloth cover. This was a black, glossy thick vinyl material that was non-adhesive. I covered the entire surface with liquid nails, attached an oversized piece of cloth to it, let it dry for 24hrs, and trimmed it to size.

So far, this has been fine - 2 player Track and Field thrashings have not made a mark on it - and there are no finger print smears to wipe away either.

As for the button layout...my six buttons are layed out as:

123
456

But as Tiger-Heli says, you could map individual games to your tastes...

[pointdablame]

My guess is no matter what paint you use and how careful you are, just paint is going to get scratched up pretty good.  I'd look into some type of vinyl covering or laminate or something of the sort.

Paint may not be so bad though depending on who uses your machine, so maybe it's worth it to give it a shot and try something else if it doesn't work out well.  Otherwise... vinyl is probably a better bet.

[Lilwolf]

456
123

to start off with.

Then create a cfg (the new ctrl) file that swaps them... and use that for all SF games and the like.  

btw, this problem is why I started jfront.  It will automatically change the mame defaults based on different settings... So I could setup 2player 8way 6button games and from that point, it would be setup all the others.  And 4way games one shot.

but I nixed it for the new version... but that was because I really beefed up the control panel swapping in the frontend.

[RayB]

I've been told that melamine paint is what you need for a hard scratch resistant surface.

And if your CP is metal, you should probably bake it in the sun or oven.

[Apollo]

If your CP is metal get it powder coated.

[Tahnok]

What about the contact paper LUSid speaks of on his page? I don't have enough time to order the vinyl right now (though it does look good for a future project). Does contact paper hold up well and look OK?

Edit: Oh, and does anybody have any ideas for locks (read bottom of first post). I really don't have a clue as far as what type I should buy (padlock, barrel, door, etc).

[RayB]

Barrel Lock. You can find those almost everywhere.