Glass vs acrylic

[Benevolance]

I've noticed that people have used glass or acrylic variously for their arcade cabinets screens. And that the sheets are sometimes tinted, sometimes not. My questions are many-fold: under what circumstances would I choose acrylic over glass, or vice-versa? Why would I choose tinted over non-tinted? And if I do get the glass/acrylic tinted, how much tint is appropriate?

[Malenko]

plexiglass is cheaper and more durable against breakage.
glass is more durable then plexi in terms of scratching though, it takes more to scratch glass.

Most people tint the glass to hide the bezel better, or hide screen burn.
You dont want to tint the glass too much, the darker it is, the brighter the screen has to be.

I had glass on my MAME cab because it came with glass, if I didnt have the glass I would have used plexiglass because I wouldnt know where to go local to have glass cut.


hope I've been at least a little help

[somunny]

If you have a "Yellow Pages" around look under 'Glass' and you can find a place to cut glass for you.  I don't remember it being that expensive for a custom cut piece.  Maybe 30 or 40 bucks.

[Benevolance]

Fortunately, I have places nearby where I can buy cut glass, plexi, or lexan.

Is glass generally the preferred way to go then? I would imagine scratch resistance is more of an issue than breakage.

I know often in arcades, I've been guiltly of touching the screens as a spectator, to point out something to the guy playing or whatever. I've never really noticed whether that left scratches or not. In my head, I picture acrylic as being tough enough to withstand that, though...

So how much tint is enough tint? Are we talking 10% or 50% I'm using a 20" CRT for my display, if the monitor makes a difference in determining appropriate tint.

[Twinpanther]

It's funny.  I was looking into 1/4" glass for my rotating panel design yesterday.  For 24" diameter the local glass shop wanted $141 non-tempered and $152 Tempered.  24" square glass is $31 tempered.  Can't wrap my head around that myself.  Needless to say I'm going with Acrylic and cutting it myself.  Front Panel, CP and Marquee acrylic delivered is under $50.  Acrylic doesn't have the scratch resistance I wanted but it should do the job on my first cabinet.

[brandon]

Not trying to hijack this thread but I'm in the exact same boat... except I can't find any tinted plexi that's wider than 24" and I need a piece 26.75" x 28.. I can cut it myself no problem but I cant find a piece big enough.  Lowe's doesn't have it, Tap Plastics doesnt, and the local glass company never emailed me back either... *ugh*

[danny_galaga]

circumstance you should NEVER use perspex- cocktail cabs!

[AmericanDemon]

Glass all the way.  Easier to clean and more resilient.  After too much abuse the acrylic can fog up.  Oh wait.....  we're talking about for arcade use huh?  Uhm the same answer

[Blanka]

There's also hardened glass. You must be a real monster if you want to break that, and when it breaks, no-one gets hurt. It cannot be cut however so it must be grinded in shape, the main reason why it is little more expensive (around 40 bucks for 700x700x6mm)

[Blanka]

For 24" diameter the local glass shop wanted $141 non-tempered and $152 Tempered.  24" square glass is $31 tempered.  Can't wrap my head around that myself.

Why do you want round glass? Think different and put the rotating stuff behind a square piece,

[lettuce]

If you go for the plastic route, make sure you go for lexan over plexi, its alot more durable and doesnt shatter as plexi. Trouble is here in the UK, most DIY stores only supply plexi-glass, i guess cos its cheapers, let alone finding tinted lexan or plexi 

[Xiaou2]

Lexan scratches a lot more easily than plexi.   Plexi may be harder to work with
depending on what you are doing.. but its a much better solution than lexan.

[TOK]

Lexan scratches a lot more easily than plexi.   Plexi may be harder to work with
depending on what you are doing.. but its a much better solution than lexan.

I agree with this... Lexan/polycarbonate is easier to cut and more forgiving to drill because its less prone to cracking, but is less scratch resistant. I still use it for CP overlays because it gets relatively careful use in the home environment and I have a buddy that can usually snag free scrap sheets from work that are large enough for control panels and marquee's.

When I wanted 1/8" stuff, I tried Plexiglass and I cracked a couple pieces right away when I tried working with it just like the Lexan. I'm comfortable with either now, but Lexan is much easier for a beginner to work with. I do prefer Plexi for bezels because it seems a bit more sturdy in 1/8" thickness.

[Twinpanther]

Why do you want round glass? Think different and put the rotating stuff behind a square piece,

I had read a post on someones cabinet build on a manually rotated screen without opening the cabinet.  I liked this idea and wanted mine similar.  With the round glass it's fairly easy to just grab the knob and rotate but that can't be done with a square panel of glass.  Oh well, I'm still working on it. 

[Benevolance]

Aren't most places that offer acrylic/lexan able to cut to size before delivery? I could see how the lexan is more desirable for the control panel, where you'd be forming it and drilling holes, but aren't most montior screens just big squares?

That said, I think I will go with glass. Does anyone have any suggestions on what level of tint is desirable for glass?

[jWin]

I picked grey tinted glass for a few reasons,  it ended up being cheaper than tinted lexan or plexi, and grey makes the colors of your television look better, if I was using an arcade monitor I would likely use clear glass.

It costed 44$ for 27" by 25" by 1/4 thick tinted grey glass, but you could get clear glass cut at Home Depot for about 27$

make sure you get grey and not bronze tint

[DeLuSioNal29]

Then there is the issue of light guns working with or without tinted glass.  I've heard arguments on both ends.  So that is something to consider as well.

As far as glass prices, I remember seeing someone post that they got tempered glass for their cab for a mere $35 at this website:  http://www.onedayglass.com/

** edit ** I just got a price quote 24.5" x 21" tempered 1/8" glass (tinted or clear - same price) with seamed edge.  $32.82 (shipping is $29 for a residence and $24 for a business.)  You can have it delivered to your job to save $5.  Total price $56.82!

That's probably the route I will go.  Safety first.

~ D

[Benevolance]

I'm guessing that the issue with light guns is that it works with clear glass, doesn't work so well with tinted?

That's a good site. They're only a few hours south of me, too, and they'll ship to Canada. I'm checking with some local suppliers first, but my experience has been that anything here costs 50% more than shipping from the US. It's a little frustrating.

[Benevolance]

For anyone that lives in the Lower Mainland of BC, I just ordered from Fairway Glass. 26-7/16" x 21" tempered 1/8" clear glass with a seamed edge for $20.86. I ordered at 11 am and it's ready to pick up at the end of the day. I'm not sure if that's a special rate, though - my insurance brokerage writes glass contracts regularly with the company. But I think that's a pretty good price.

[brandon]

I picked grey tinted glass for a few reasons,  it ended up being cheaper than tinted lexan or plexi, and grey makes the colors of your television look better, if I was using an arcade monitor I would likely use clear glass.

It costed 44$ for 27" by 25" by 1/4 thick tinted grey glass, but you could get clear glass cut at Home Depot for about 27$

make sure you get grey and not bronze tint

was that tempered or just plain glass?  I'm afraid somebody will smack it while playing Golden Tee and shatter it!