Any reason for a glass screen?

[dkubarek]

I have a flat screen CRT monitor for my cab I'm building and planned on not installing a glass or plexiglass screen in front of it. I am cutting MDF wood and slipping the monitor through. Then I'm either going to use caulk to seal the imperfections or jam black weatherstripping around the monitor. Other than it looking less like an arcade cab is there any reason for using the glass?

[captainpotato]

Some machines (Gauntlet, for instance) don't have it anyway.

My understanding is that a lot of people use tinted glass/perspex, which enhances the colours.

It's also a good way to hide any shoddy workmanship around the screen

[tomdotcom]

Basically every arcade out there has a glass front..that's reason enough??

[ghettodish]

I don't use a glass screen, but I might get one soon. Smoked glass would really help cut down the reflections from the other lights inside my house.

[spacies]

And plexi scratches over time.
Glass is much better IMO.

[SavannahLion]

And plexi scratches over time.
Glass is much better IMO.

Glass tabletops still scratch, especially from that silly wife who insists on wearing her gaudy diamond ring. 

[dkubarek]

ghettodish,
For your cab I could see how the glass would help a lot. My screen will be positioned at 10 degrees. it's for 3 kids ages 3 to 10 and they don't look down at much at this point. But if I had it set up just like a computer monitor, would it be better or worse to have plexi fitting over it? I like the plexi idea because I don't have to cut a hole for the monitor but I don't want any weird effect from having plexi in front of the monitor. I just figured the monitor would show true with nothing in the way. Also, I gotta go plexi cause I don't want glass on something for kids. Thanks all for the help!

[protokatie]

Also, I gotta go plexi cause I don't want glass on something for kids.

Tempered glass would be the way to go for that. If plexy breaks, it is still sharp, and can be fatal (although nothing like un-tempered glass). When it comes to authenticity, aesthetics, and safety: Just go with tinted, precut tempered glass. Tempered glass is rather hard to break, and when it does break, it forms a bunch of small beads that wont do to much damage to anyone.

[TOK]

I think its going to look unfinished with no bezel at all. Plexi bezels are always carved up with initials and profanities In The Wild, but I think it's fine for home use.

When you clean it, don't wipe it while its dry. Over time you'll get very fine scratches and swirls. Use a couple drops of dish soap in a spray bottle full of water. Mines a couple years old, and still looks great with minimal care.

[daywane]

And plexi scratches over time.
Glass is much better IMO.

Glass tabletops still scratch, especially from that silly wife who insists on wearing her gaudy diamond ring. 

when I was in High school, My mother looked at me and asked what kind of bugs eat glass?

none I said.
she asked then why are all the drinking glasses breaking so smooth  ( like cut)

It only took one look. I said Mother put your hand in the glass like you are washing it.

Yep it was her ring 

[CheffoJeffo]

And plexi scratches over time.
Glass is much better IMO.

+1

 

As far as safety goes, I have a fair number of machines and 3 kids (currently aged 8 years and under, but I have had the kids and machines for a while now). I trust tempered glass WAY more than I trust plexi. Regular glass never makes it out of the shop and plexi gets replaced with tempered glass if I have it available in the appropriate size.

You can hit tempered glass with a hammer and nothing happens. If you do hit it hard enough to break, you get chicklets. Same can't be said for plexi.

Just be careful when you set tempered glass on edge ... it's easy to shatter that way and, while still safe, it can be expensive. 

[daywane]

the edge part is TRUE!
My younger brother was rolling a log (we heat our homes with wood) into his truck, just behind the driver side.

Log just taped the side of window.
Cracked it into 100 pieces.

He is laid off and we both use his truck for wood. His truck is much larger and more powerful than mine.

I paid to fix his window
$250.00

[acevedor2]

I use Lexan.  Costs more than plexi or glass, but it is way stronger.  I figure if you they use it for bullet proofing, I am probably good to go with it in my cab 

[dkubarek]

About how much would lexan cost? I thought of using that, too. It's about 22" by 22". I'm starting to think that just cutting a hole in the wood, slipping the monitor through and caulking or puttying the wood won't look "finished" as mentioned. So, if I use something transparent, do I paint around the monitor area with spraypaint? I'm good in photoshop and have access to a large printer, so I might design a bezel, print it and Exacto the center.

[Jimbo]

I put 6mm tinted toughened safety glass on mine.. Its heavy, but looks great, and really *makes* the cab, imo.

[dkubarek]

Do you get any weird effect from the tinted glass being a distance from the monitor? Mine is flat, so it would be minimal. But my local glass guy said tinted glass might look weird unless it was flush against the monitor.

[TelcoLou]

Do you get any weird effect from the tinted glass being a distance from the monitor? Mine is flat, so it would be minimal. But my local glass guy said tinted glass might look weird unless it was flush against the monitor.

I have 1/8" tinted tempered glass that sits ~1.5" away from my monitor screen, and no weird effects at all.

[SavannahLion]

I use Lexan.  Costs more than plexi or glass, but it is way stronger.  I figure if you they use it for bullet proofing, I am probably good to go with it in my cab 

Just because Lexan is bullet proof, doesn't necessarily increase its scratch resistance. Lexan is well known for its poor scratch resistance (apparently more so than Plexi). If you don't buy Lexi with a scratch resistant coating you'll be in the market for a replacement before too long. If you get Lexan, get something like MR10 or something similar or take extra caution when cleaning the Lexan.

Then there's bisphenol A leeching, might have some interesting side effects with the formaldehyde. 

[Visitor Q]

I plan on smoked glass when I get around to it, my only concern is light guns.

[Ummon]

Lexan is strong, but it's soft. For bullet-proofing, you want materials that will absorb kinetic energy and disperse it. Anyways, most cabs had glass. But by the 90s, particularly fighter games, they often didn't. Candys generally don't, either. They both have bezels over bare monitor. As for distance, recall that DK's bezel/plexi combot is at least 60 degrees from it's monitor. Most bezels of golden age games are about a couple inches distance from the screen.

[jasonbar]

Are there vendors who will print onto a lightly-tinted glass?  I know I can get plexi bezels with artwork printed on them, but does anybody do glass?  Or is the trick to get 2 thin pieces of glass & sandwich artwork between them, perhaps w/ clear glass in front of the artwork so the art isn't dimmed, and tinted glass behind the art, for better aesthetics of the screen?

Thanks,
-J

[captainpotato]

Are there vendors who will print onto a lightly-tinted glass?  I know I can get plexi bezels with artwork printed on them, but does anybody do glass?  Or is the trick to get 2 thin pieces of glass & sandwich artwork between them, perhaps w/ clear glass in front of the artwork so the art isn't dimmed, and tinted glass behind the art, for better aesthetics of the screen?

I'm thinking of just getting the artwork printed on vinyl, cutting out the centre for the screen, and sticking it on top of tinted glass. Don't know if it's common practice to do this, but I cannot think of a reason why it wouldn't work (although I wait to be corrected here ).

[borals]

After I finished my arcade I was worried it didn't look slick enough.......................untill I added the glass, then it looked PRO as!

Glass really give it a profressional look imo.

[RandyT]

To answer the original question, I would say yes.  There are "reasons" for everything

But if you are asking for a compelling reason, then I would say no.  Plexi holds up fine in a home environment and is much easier to fabricate.  It's safer too.

The only times I would say glass is a must is, like one person mentioned, you plan on using it for a cocktail top or if your cab will be in an area hit by direct sunlight for any duration of time during the day.  I can't imagine anyone wanting to have a cab beaten by the sun like that, but if you don't have a choice.....Plexi, like any plastic, will dull, yellow or become brittle with exposure to intense UV.  In those cases, go with glass.

I've had the same sheet pf dark plexi on my cab for years and it still looks like it did the day I installed it.

RandyT

[SavannahLion]

Or is the trick to get 2 thin pieces of glass & sandwich artwork between them, perhaps w/ clear glass in front of the artwork so the art isn't dimmed, and tinted glass behind the art, for better aesthetics of the screen?

Automotive tint? Reverse print (or whatever it's called) a piece of art. Attach it to the glass. Then attach the tinting on top of that. Flip it over, install and voila!

With care, automotive tint comes out very well. I have 8+" of very dark tinting on my truck windshield and everyone thinks it's stock. 

[Ummon]

Why would you reverse print it?  This is the same as a CP with plexi, except you add tint in reverse.

[captainpotato]

Why would you reverse print it?  This is the same as a CP with plexi, except you add tint in reverse.

So the glass is on top, followed by the image, then the tint. The image sticks to the glass, not the CP, so it's the reverse of a CP.

[RandyT]

If using automotive tint, you need to do a very good job with it.  Any extra application fluid, bubbles, etc, might wreak havoc on the image in the form of strange moire interference patterns (at least that was what I saw when doing this type of thing with a monitor in a different application.)

You might want to avoid polarized stuff as well.

RandyT