Liquid Plastic Bezel

[deepblue]

Hey Guys - we're struggling with the bezel on our arcade build - it is not a standard arcade monitor, but a non-standard 27" Sony CRT from way back. We're not satisfied with using cardboard and thus far it's been a challenge getting the angles and curves correct to do it with wood or another type of material.

So - we just ordered this product:
http://www.smooth-on.com/Urethane-Plastic-a/c5_1120_1209/index.html

Liquid Plastic - essentially we're going to lay the cabinet on its back, cover the CRT and inside panels with plastic, and pour this specialized resin mixture in for a custom fit...then cut out the viewable area, sand, paint, etc. Here's a video of how it works:


Has anyone ever tried this approach for creating a bezel? It might be a total mess in the end, but we're going to give it a shot. The other thing I was going to try was shaping\sanding\painting some spray foam.

[Chadwick]

Interesting...

Take lots of pics and share!

[Bender]

they make a dence foam for sign making that  might work too you can carve to and saw it sand it like butter and then you can paint it pretty slick stuff, I've alwasy wanted to use it for something

here is a sample

[deepblue]

they make a dence foam for sign making that  might work too you can carve to and saw it sand it like butter and then you can paint it pretty slick stuff, I've alwasy wanted to use it for something

here is a sample

Is she included?

Yea - this was my original thought - I was going to take a spray foam that I could slice and sand down, then potentially use some filler for any holes - then paint it. Still might be what we do, we'll see how the liquid plastic works out.

[cmoses]

This looks interesting, just not sure I want to pour liquid on my monitor even covered in plastic.  Good luck and please take lots of pictures/video. 

[CathalDublin]

Wow the samples an Irish site

[RandyT]

I'm cringing at the thought of what I am pretty sure will happen   That stuff isn't cheap, and it flows nearly like water, so it's going to go everywhere.

If I might make a suggestion, don't pour it directly over your cabinet/components.  Use the face of the monitor, or some other material, to make a positive of what you are shooting for.  They make thick silicone that can be brushed on.  Once that is done, you can make mother mold with plaster.  Carefully pull off the silicone, place it in the mother mold and then pour in plaster to make your positive.  After that, you can experiment to your hearts content, without worrying about trashing your components.

If you have some resources, you can also just model the positive in 3D and send the file to a business who does 3D routing.  You can then use that as a casting positive.  Or if making a one-off, just model the part and have machined out of wood.

RandyT

[drventure]

I've used stuff similar to that liquid plastic before (it was epoxy resin). I made a hardwood desk whose center portion was recessed slate tiles, and I poured that stuff over them all to seal it, but just high enough to come up to the level of the wood frame, but not actually spill over onto the wood itself.

In the end, it worked out great, but it was an utterly nerve wracking experience. Mess up, and i was going to have to rebuild the whole desktop (that stuff doesn't come off).

Plus, what was said about it being like water is spot on, not quite that thin, but thin enough that it'll run through any small cracks. And things better be absolutely level or it'll pool to one end or the other.

Finally, one thing that helped me. Once it's on and starts curing, you're likely to start seeing lots of bubbles form.

Most will pop on their own, but I took a standard butane torch and just waved it (very lightly!) over the surface to pop the rest. Came out glass smooth with no bubbles at all.

[Donkey_Kong]

I'm cringing at the thought of what I am pretty sure will happen  

Me too! I would be scared to have smooth cast 300 anywhere near a nice cabinet in it's liquid form! :Yikes!

Try and do whatever it takes to work on it separate from the rest of the cab, if possible. Good luck.

If you need any help with the smooth cast hit me up. I've poured a lot of it. Also, we could maybe carve you something from wood as Randy suggested. Just let me know.

[ghettodish]

just curious..

Happ sells 2 kinds of 27" bezels. Those won't work for your monitor?

[deepblue]

Thanks for the feedback guys. Don't worry, no harm will come to the cabinet - I've spent too much money and time on this thing to ruin it. We'll see if it is possible to make a mold or perhaps wont use it at all...just want to experiment and I wasn't sure if any of you had tried it before.

I have to think the standard bezels from Happ are for arcade monitors of specific proportions and measurements - and trying to fit them over the Sony TV won't look like a factory finish (which is what we're after).

Once the freaking weather warms up here we'll take a few more stabs at this - foam and liquid plastic attempts will be well documented with pics/video for your enjoyment.