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Building First Cabinet

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Donkbaca:
Thanks for the advice.  Do you think I can do a gel stain on top of it to try to salvage it?  Or should I just scrap it and start over?

scream1973:
If you give it a light sanding to break through the poly then the gel might be able to get through.. otherwise the gel might be able to stick to the poly as well a lil and give you some extra darkness.

Donkbaca:
Thanks scream, I will give it a sand and try the gel.  Sorry for hijacking your thread :(

As for your project.  I think the best comrpomise is to build a slim cab with a 21.3" 4/3 screen.  The screen will be just as tall, or slightly taller than the 25-26" screen and you won't have to deal with stretched pictures or letterboxing, or any of that.  Plus, as an added bonus, these screens are super-nice.  They have better better colors and wider viewing angles then the one you have as most have superior technology.  These screens are $700+ brand new and you get a used one on e-bay for under $200.  Then you can build a slim cab, which your wife will like because it will take up less space, and you will have a really, really nice screen.

Here is a comparison of screen area between common sized 4:3 and 16:9 screens:
http://www.martijnkoch.com/lcds.gif

Here is a good discussion on 4:3 LCD monitors:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=99963.0

If you are budget conscious, I say go with the CRT, otherwise get one of the 21.3: 4:3 lcd's, you won't be disappointed, and your wife will like the slim cab better.

scream1973:
Funny thing is i have showed her some of the slimmer cabinet designs and she doesnt really care for them.. I have the space for a fair sized cabinet so am probably gonna do just that .. I have the CRT already for no cost so thats whats going into it for the first build but i know when it dies (which it will at some point) the only thing available will be LCD so i want to kinda future proof my cabinet with some additional room to put the lcd in place at a later date..

bkenobi:
Polyshades is CRAP!  I've used it for a few projects (I didn't know better) and got some good and some horrible results.  The problem with that stuff is that it's not a stain as much as a tinting agent.  You are basically painting on a thin layer of semi-transparent film.  If you try to sand it, the stuff peels off and makes a horrible mess.  It's hard to get an even coat and tends to bead up creating dark spots/streaks.

I've found that it's better to use a real stain!  Oh, and don't skip the conditioner!  Without that step, you WILL get uneven splotches all over the place.  Take the extra time and do it right.

Sand, Condition, sand, stain, sand, seal...BEAUTIFUL!

And tack cloth is very useful too!

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