This is my first time posting altough I've been lurking for several weeks.
I'm in the process of building a MAMETM cabinet and am debating what to do for the control panel. It is an AP3 cab and I'm planning to have a fairly standard contorl panel layout (2 8-way sticks, 6 buttons per player, 1 trackball, 1 spinner).
My debate is what to do for control panel graphics: wood burning or vinyl CPO?
The cabinet will be stained and varnished wood and part of me believes it will look better if I burn a few classic characters (pac-man, space invaders, et cetera) into the control panel and apply a nice glossy topcoat than if I simply stick on a layer of vinyl. Since this decision is holding up everything at this point I'd like to get some opinions as to what I should do (yes, the cabinet is already constructed and I've been fighting with this for a week trying to decide what to do before I start drilling and finishing it).
Has anyone wood burned their control panel? Do you like it? Do the grooves detract from it? What did you use for a topcoat? (I tried searching but couldn't come up with anything)
Thanks in advance for any hint or suggestions. And a big THANK YOU to everyone for contributing to such an excellent online resource. I wouldn't have a clue what the next step would be if not for this board.
Thanks!
NanoMonkey