cocktail glass

[nelsonej]

Do people put smoked glass or plexi in cocktail cabinets, or just the clear stuff?

[Sprucemoose]

I used smoked glass that I had cut at a local glass shop for about $45.  I just brought in my cocktail top and they cut it to perfectly match it.  Looks great.

[Spartan]

I used plexi -- wish I had used glass.

[nelsonej]

what makes you wish you had used glass?

[Spartan]

what makes you wish you had used glass?

I used clear class, but I worry about its durability.  Quite frequently at parties, I'm making sure my guests are using coasters on the cocktail cab, and I do have some special cleaner for it as well, however it is a plastic, and all plastics will scratch (more than glass).

Just like my "scratch-proof" lenses in my glasses....  

Other than that, no complaints.  Of couse going the plexi route is much cheaper.  Just buy a sheet at your local home depot, and you can cut it yourself.  I used a jigsaw for the corners and a dremel for the finishing touches.

[DAmnb]

Working on my Cocktail right now and I will definatly use glass instead of plexi/lexan, dont think I will use smoked glass though, clear hardened glass should be able to take one hell of a punishment  

[JLR2000]

I used clear glass and I wish I would have used smoked.  I didn't realize it until it was complete that you can see the monitor just sticking out with clear glass.  With smoked, the table top is one solitary color when not in use, then when turned on the game "appears" out of nowhere.  What I ended up doing was I put a piece of smoked plexi in between the underside of the table top and the monitor.  It's better, but not as nice as if I got the smoked glass in the first place.  Opinions will vary, these are just my observations.....

Good Luck.

[PaulT]

I also Used Smoked Toughened glass, polished the edges and had radius's put on the corner, to keep it safe looks cool. They made a mistake and gave me clear glass not what I wanted so I had to tops for

[DAmnb]

Well my Cocktail is white and blue so the smoked glass wont do jack for my monitor  
Still its probably the right thing to choose if your cab is a black/darkish color.

[Tailgunner]

My Pac cocktail has both. Clear tempered glass for the tabletop, and a piece of grey smoked plexiglas that fits in the bezel. However the plexi might have been added when the cab was converted to hide the Pac maze that's burnt into the monitor.

A smoked tabletop would have the same effect, though it might hide any artwork on the underside of the glass as well.

[OSCAR]

All the Pac cocktails I've seen use the small, smoked plexi insert between the glass and bezel.  I'm almost positive that's they way they are supposed to be.

[kspiff]

Lots of games come with those stock, especially old Midway games it seems like.  I wish more games did..

[nelsonej]

To me, it sounds like the glass top with the smoked plexi insert makes the most sense.  That way I'd get the benefits (easy cleaning, mostly scratch resistant, show off artwork) of glass and the improvements in monitor contrast with the smoked plexi.  Thanks for all of your help!

I'll probably take some pictures and post their differences once my cab is finished.  Unfortunately that may be a few weeks since I'm doing this while finishing up grad school and looking for a job.

[iwillfearnoevil]

bump. any chance of pics. i'll be working on a cocktail cab soon it looks like

[nelsonej]

I actually got the monitor and everything installed today!

As for the glass top, I have none yet.  I'm still saving for it.  All I can say is that I get a bit of glare from the overhead lights on the monitor.  But I am building my cab in my kitchen.

It does look great when the lights are off though!  It also feels good to finally get everything working (except for a few minor setups).

[rockhopper]

All the Pac cocktails I've seen use the small, smoked plexi insert between the glass and bezel.  I'm almost positive that's they way they are supposed to be.

Is that what that rebate is for on Kyle Lindstrom's Plans?
I haven't cut this bit yet, so I'll have to see if the combination of clear glass/smoked plexi is any good, but I was hoping to just use smoked glass.