Contact paper or Polyurethane??

[CthulhuLuke]

Well folks, I've thought of another alternative for the overlay of my control panel instead of the month long process of waiting for that damn polyurethane to dry, using contact paper!  I was just wondering what everyone here's opinion is about contact paper, if it will last the fighting game beatings we'll give it, if it's good for a very large control panel?  I've used Polyurethane on my last controller, so I know that that works well, it's just a ---smurfette--- to apply and sand and dry again, apply, sand, KILL! i mean...
 -thanx
   -CthulhuLuke

[johnpurs]

I have contact paper on my control Panel. It's been on there about a year and a half. It has held up fairly well but I don't think I'd use it again. I was thinking about using Mylar or "pinGaurd" on future projects because it should be much more durable. You can get it from pinball suppliers likehttp://  http://www.decoratorsupply.com/pinball/laminate.htm It's affordable and supposedly scrastch resistant. It may work pretty well.

[darkmanx]

i wouldnt use just contact paper by itself for the top of the panel. personally i am looking into laminate, but i did buy some contact paper off of ebay. there isnt a really good selection in stores...they are mostly floral designs and usually the only decent one they have is the black/white marble. i put some on a test piece of wood...one thing is if the surface isnt COMPLETLY smooth you will get bumps. also it seems pretty durable but i would put some plexi or something over it because if it gets bumped by something sharp it is going to rip. i am thinking of using laminate on the sides of the cabinet because they just dont make contact paper that big and i dont want seams. and for the cp top i am either going to just put an overlay or a nice laminate, maybe with some very thin lexan over it, or maybe just the laminate.