Smoked Plexi

[Senator]

So, I think I f'ed up.  I got frustrated chasing down some smoked plexi, after 3 local shops found some 1/4 inch (which I think I need since it is primarily a Golden Tee machine) but it is a "bronze" color.  Anybody ever use this color?  I cant tell if it even matters, dark enough that it doesnt really show. 

Thoughts?

[ARTIFACT]

"SMOKED GRAY" is what people usually recommend... that's what I got and I like it.

I think Bronze is going to tint your screen colors quite a bit
good luck

[Kangum]

there was a long thread awhile back on the whole smoked plexie thing. I guess if you order anywhere wether it be online or at a local shop "smoked plexie" you will get bronze by default.

the smoked grey that artifact spoke of is the correct thing to ask for not smoked plexie. i think the bronze you have will fubber up your colors.

[Joystick Jerk]

Although it will change the colours a bit, you can always compensate for that if your monitor has individual RGB controls. Since the bronze colour adds a bit of red to the image, adjust the red pot until colours return to normal.

Saying that, why are you using plexi to cover your monitor? I nice piece of glass at typical arcade size can be had for less than $40 if you shop around.

[nic8612]

Although it will change the colours a bit, you can always compensate for that if your monitor has individual RGB controls. Since the bronze colour adds a bit of red to the image, adjust the red pot until colours return to normal.

Saying that, why are you using plexi to cover your monitor? I nice piece of glass at typical arcade size can be had for less than $40 if you shop around.

Because a nice arcade sized piece of plexi only costs like $20 and is much safer and easier to work with

[Joystick Jerk]

Much safer and easier to work with? It's glass... just don't fumble it and it drops into place.  I'd rather pay another $15 on top of the $20 to get something that will last infinitely longer than the plexi.

[ARTIFACT]

thats a good point actually.. im not a huuuge fan of the lexan i used... it seems so easy to scratch

they hae great tempered glass nowadays... if you're worried about someone breaking it and hurting themselves (I have a 5 year old son wh plays a ton )

good luck

[Senator]

Thanks for the info guys.  I brought the bronze plexi back.  The guys says he doesn't have gray and he doesn't want to order a $200 sheet to sell me a $30 piece of it because he has no other use for it.  He says "How about a nice piece of smoked, tempered 1/4" glass" and shows me a sample, nice stuff.  So hes gonna call me on Mon with a price.  I think I'd be just as happy with this as long as no one will put their hand thru it going for the 350 yard drive in Golden Tee.

What's good price for a 25" x 26.5" piece of this stuff?

Also, how does one go about mounting it on the cabinet - upright MK type?

[nic8612]

Much safer and easier to work with? It's glass... just don't fumble it and it drops into place.  I'd rather pay another $15 on top of the $20 to get something that will last infinitely longer than the plexi.

Well I personally would like to be able to trim it to my exact specifications and save a ton on weight.  I don't have the tools needed to cut glass and I would be afraid to have real glass as my bezel.  Plexi just seems like the best bet in my opinion.  Plexi will last like 5 years before it starts to yellow at all, and $15 every 5 years to replace a bezel seems like a damn good deal to me 

[Havok]

Get the tempered glass - that stuff will take a beating and still look great for years to come...

[Joystick Jerk]

Thanks for the info guys.  I brought the bronze plexi back.  The guys says he doesn't have gray and he doesn't want to order a $200 sheet to sell me a $30 piece of it because he has no other use for it.  He says "How about a nice piece of smoked, tempered 1/4" glass" and shows me a sample, nice stuff.  So hes gonna call me on Mon with a price.  I think I'd be just as happy with this as long as no one will put their hand thru it going for the 350 yard drive in Golden Tee.

What's good price for a 25" x 26.5" piece of this stuff?

Also, how does one go about mounting it on the cabinet - upright MK type?

I bought virtually the exact same size of smoked, tempered glass the other day, and paid $38 canadian. Mine was a bit thinner, but I bet you could get the 1/4" for the same price in US dollars.

[csa3d]

Thanks for the info guys.  I brought the bronze plexi back.  The guys says he doesn't have gray and he doesn't want to order a $200 sheet to sell me a $30 piece of it because he has no other use for it.  He says "How about a nice piece of smoked, tempered 1/4" glass" and shows me a sample, nice stuff.  So hes gonna call me on Mon with a price.  I think I'd be just as happy with this as long as no one will put their hand thru it going for the 350 yard drive in Golden Tee.

What's good price for a 25" x 26.5" piece of this stuff?

Also, how does one go about mounting it on the cabinet - upright MK type?

I just received a 21x23" slab of greylite 14 (smoked) tempered for 50$ USD.  Two other quotes were for 80$ and 114$.  I felt I got a deal, and it was delivered to my work personally.  Note that greylite doesn't come in 3/16", only 1/4".  This was news to me.

-csa

[Avrus]

Thanks for the info guys.  I brought the bronze plexi back.  The guys says he doesn't have gray and he doesn't want to order a $200 sheet to sell me a $30 piece of it because he has no other use for it.  He says "How about a nice piece of smoked, tempered 1/4" glass" and shows me a sample, nice stuff.  So hes gonna call me on Mon with a price.  I think I'd be just as happy with this as long as no one will put their hand thru it going for the 350 yard drive in Golden Tee.

What's good price for a 25" x 26.5" piece of this stuff?

Also, how does one go about mounting it on the cabinet - upright MK type?

I bought virtually the exact same size of smoked, tempered glass the other day, and paid $38 canadian. Mine was a bit thinner, but I bet you could get the 1/4" for the same price in US dollars.

I'm about to start shopping myself, any idea what a good glass place to go to for Greylite 14?

[Joystick Jerk]

Sorry, I don't really have any great spots to buy from. I just went to a local business. Check your yellow pages and you'll find loads of glass places that should give you a good deal in your own town.

[DaOld Man]

How does one go about drilling holes in the glass? (For pushbuttons, etc).

[patrickl]

How does one go about drilling holes in the glass? (For pushbuttons, etc).

Drilling holes in the glass that covers your monitor?

[mike_bike_kite]

How does one go about drilling holes in the glass? (For pushbuttons, etc).

I have the same issue - I'm building a cocktail style machine (actually it's a solid 2 foot cube) and wanted the buttons and joystick on top. I didn't think it was possible to easily drill through glass and was resigned to using something like 1/2 inch acrylic. Haven't got to that stage yet though.

Mike

[MazzMn]

This place will let you order glass and will drill holes to your specifications
http://www.onedayglass.com/

[SparkyGoBlue]

Great site.  A tinted sheet of tempered glass to fit over my monitor is only $35!

I wonder what tint of grey I should use?  The dark grey looks almost black on their website, but the light grey looks too light.

This place will let you order glass and will drill holes to your specifications
http://www.onedayglass.com/

[ArtsNFartsNCrafts]

The bronze plexi might look good if you're looking for that "nicotine stained" look of many a bar arcade machine.

[Avrus]

Wow I don't get why there's such a range in glass prices.  I just checked with a chain near my house, Crystal Glass, and they're saying $146.61 for a 1/4" tempered #14 tint 26 x 27.  Ridiculous.

[MazzMn]

Great site.  A tinted sheet of tempered glass to fit over my monitor is only $35!

I wonder what tint of grey I should use?  The dark grey looks almost black on their website, but the light grey looks too light.

I can't say, I haven't ordered from there, just read about it in the famous
Kyle Lindstrom's cocktail table plans
http://s207051075.onlinehome.us/ripplin/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/pacct-plans.pdf
From what I have read on this forum sounds like go dark grey, so that is what I am doing...just ordered from a local glass shop for similar price to this website but no shipping.

[MazzMn]

From what I have read on this forum sounds like go dark grey, so that is what I am doing...just ordered from a local glass shop for similar price to this website but no shipping.

Oops, had to end up ordering light grey...#14 gray was twice as much from this local shop for some reason

[Avrus]

Other than a strip of wood at the bottom of the glass with a 1/4" line cut along it for the glass to sit in ... no one answered the question as to how they're mounting the glass or plexi on their uprights.

[heemid]

What do you think dark or light gray? onedayglass.com seems very reasonable

[Miguelsluma]

dont want to be hyjacking topics, but since i am at the point of choosing material if have similar questions. Ive found a site (http://www.bouwplastics.nl/)  in my country which has all sorts of 'tinted plexi' (yellow orange, green etc). would the light or dark brown be the same as what you guys call 'smoked'? And secondly, would it be wise to get smoked glass if ill be using the same tv to hook my consoles on?

[Avrus]

What do you think dark or light gray? onedayglass.com seems very reasonable

Got my piece of glass from them last week.  Fast delivery (to Canada) and the glass looks great.

dont want to be hyjacking topics, but since i am at the point of choosing material if have similar questions. Ive found a site (http://www.bouwplastics.nl/)  in my country which has all sorts of 'tinted plexi' (yellow orange, green etc). would the light or dark brown be the same as what you guys call 'smoked'? And secondly, would it be wise to get smoked glass if ill be using the same tv to hook my consoles on?

No, smoked will be gray not brown.

[TelcoLou]

I wonder what tint of grey I should use?  The dark grey looks almost black on their website, but the light grey looks too light.

This place will let you order glass and will drill holes to your specifications
http://www.onedayglass.com/

I, too wonder which grey to get ... dark? Light? 

[MazzMn]

From what I have read I think people like Grey more than the brownish tint. I can't find the thread but I thought someone said that the brownish tint can discolor the games.
I ordered the light grey cause it was much cheaper at the store in my town. I like it, I have nice oak wood underneath the glass, it doesnt distract from the game. Though I felt that in one game (Duke Nukem) things were a little dark and I plan to tweak the game settings.

I noticed in the store that the dark grey sample seemed to have more glare.
Here is a new pic to give you an idea (probably looks more dark than it is from this angle)
http://ripplinriver.com/?p=67

[TelcoLou]

Ah, thank you

[jhabers]

Other than a strip of wood at the bottom of the glass with a 1/4" line cut along it for the glass to sit in ... no one answered the question as to how they're mounting the glass or plexi on their uprights.

]

I would like to know as well, any insight?

[pcb]

I bought virtually the exact same size of smoked, tempered glass the other day, and paid $38 canadian....
 

That's like $150 USD now, isn't it?

[Twin-X]

dont want to be hyjacking topics, but since i am at the point of choosing material if have similar questions. Ive found a site (http://www.bouwplastics.nl/)  in my country which has all sorts of 'tinted plexi' (yellow orange, green etc). would the light or dark brown be the same as what you guys call 'smoked'? And secondly, would it be wise to get smoked glass if ill be using the same tv to hook my consoles on?

Hello I am from the Netherlands too and you should buy the antraciet one. Antraciet is smoked. Some shops sell it as black though. The word smoked is not well known in the netherlands.

Depending on how big it needs to be have a look at acryan.nl

[Pops]

"The word smoked is not well known in the netherlands."
 Not for plexi anyway

[Miguelsluma]

dont want to be hyjacking topics, but since i am at the point of choosing material if have similar questions. Ive found a site (http://www.bouwplastics.nl/)  in my country which has all sorts of 'tinted plexi' (yellow orange, green etc). would the light or dark brown be the same as what you guys call 'smoked'? And secondly, would it be wise to get smoked glass if ill be using the same tv to hook my consoles on?

Hello I am from the Netherlands too and you should buy the antraciet one. Antraciet is smoked. Some shops sell it as black though. The word smoked is not well known in the netherlands.

Depending on how big it needs to be have a look at acryan.nl

I ordered the antraciet one a few weeks ago, a bit of a guess because at that time i was not sure if it was exactly thesame as smoked plexi. But it turned out absolutely beautifull! colours look great, both for my consoles as for my pc with mame etc.
I didnt even have to adjust the brightness or anything.

cheers!

[Ummon]

The bronze plexi might look good if you're looking for that "nicotine stained" look of many a bar arcade machine.

Actually, that color of glass could look good...except it would do the same as 'copper' or 'rose' colored shades. Gray tint just mutes the colors, and I would think light gray would be better than dark, as your monitor isn't as bright as the sun.