Most people don't put laminate on the sides, they just strip the old paint, repaint it and apply sideart. The art on the side is peel and stick a lot of times, because essentially it's just a big sticker. But, I have heard of people selling old sideart that doesn't have the adhesive on it anymore because they peeled it off of an old cabinet.
As far as the control panel though, if you can find one that would fit your panel, you can buy overlays that are essentially stickers. Or, if you're making a Mame cabinet and just want something standard, you can buy some peel and stick black laminate from Home Depot or Lowes...unless the stores there suck like mine and for some reason only carry the white.