Plexiglass Screens

[Tecil]

The used cabinet I picked up had a glass screen in front of the monitor, but I would like to replace this with a piece of smoked plexiglass.

Any recommendations on where to pick this up from?

[dmsuchy]

Just bought mine from Menards, 24'' X 24'' for around 13 bucks.

[Tecil]

Don't have one of those around here.  Just Lowes and Home Depot.  Depot didn't have anything and I haven't had a chance to check Lowes yet.

[nighthawk2099]

You can always just get regular plexi and get the limo-tint film and put that on the backside of it... Worked great for me.

[Mr. Dude]

I hear a ton of people here going the smoked Plexi route.  Does the monitor image show through ok with smoked or tinted plexiglass?  I was going to go the clear plexi route but am unsure now because so many people here are using smoked.  

[Tecil]

Smoked is more for the pure arcade feel as that is what most cabinets use to cut down on glare.

[Santoro]

I hear a ton of people here going the smoked Plexi route.  Does the monitor image show through ok with smoked or tinted plexiglass?  I was going to go the clear plexi route but am unsure now because so many people here are using smoked.  

IMHO smoked plexi dramatically improves the quality of the picture you see.

[nipsmg]

If you have the $$, call a local class shop and get a piece of glass cut, smoked & tempered.  I got a 25x27 in piece of glass cut, smoked, and tempered for like $43.

Yeah it's more expensive than plexi, but so worth it, in my opinion.

--NipsMG

[Santoro]

If you have the $$, call a local class shop and get a piece of glass cut, smoked & tempered.  I got a 25x27 in piece of glass cut, smoked, and tempered for like $43.

Yeah it's more expensive than plexi, but so worth it, in my opinion.

--NipsMG

I completely agree.  (Though I am pissed that I got taken for the same thing at $75  )

[PhoneGuy]

I had a 28"x23" sheet of 1/8" smoked plexi at a plastics shop for $26. It was the darkest they had. It looks darker in my basement than it did in the well lit shop.

Pros:

Cabinet looks better. Can't really see into the cabinet even without a monitor bezel unless the back of the cabinet is open.

Most games look better through the smoked plexi. Better contrast. Easier on the eyes.  


Cons:
The smoked plexi seems even more reflective than the clear plexi.

The static from the monitor quickly attracts a lot of dust that sticks to the plexi. The dust is much more apparent on the dark plexi.

Centipede is harder to play. In the game there are no lighted borders to identify the bottom of the player area. With the dark plexi I can't see the edge of the monitor which I use to tell how far from the bottom I am.  Also on certain screens where the bullets are dark blue it's somewhat hard to see them.  This is the only game I find that the dark plexi is distracting.

[allroy1975]

If you have the $$, call a local class shop and get a piece of glass cut, smoked & tempered.  I got a 25x27 in piece of glass cut, smoked, and tempered for like $43.

Yeah it's more expensive than plexi, but so worth it, in my opinion.

--NipsMG

I completely agree.  (Though I am pissed that I got taken for the same thing at $75  )

Or shop around even more....Like PhoneGuy said... I got a front and back for my bezel (because I was afraid the tint would take away from the artwork) for $50 total.  That was something like 25x29 1/8" of smoked and clear tempered.  The price for clear and smoked were just about the same.  

BTW have you guys found that once you tell someone WHAT you're doing with whatever you're buying (either at the glass store, or the hardware store or the grocery store) they seem much less willing to help?  for example, when I got my glass, I askes a pretty basic question...something like do you have a thin frame that could pinch these together?  and the guy almost yelled at me about how they make windows and not arcade games...or something like that.  lol...if they ask what its for tell them you're making windows.  It'll keep them nice.  

Allroy

[KrispyTheClown]

BTW have you guys found that once you tell someone WHAT you're doing with whatever you're buying (either at the glass store, or the hardware store or the grocery store) they seem much less willing to help?  for example, when I got my glass, I askes a pretty basic question...something like do you have a thin frame that could pinch these together?  and the guy almost yelled at me about how they make windows and not arcade games...or something like that.  lol...if they ask what its for tell them you're making windows.  It'll keep them nice.  

Allroy

That's when you just go somewhere else.  If they make glass, what should it matter what you're using it for?  When I had a piece cut, I told them what it was going in, and they didn't seem to change their attitude at all.

[Stingray]

I found a local place that sells nothing but Plexi, I had no idea there were such places. I got two clear pieces for my marquee and two pieces, one clear one tinted for my bezel for about $20. When I told the guy what it was for I ended up chatting with him about arcade games for about 15 minutes. He was unaware of MAME and was facinated by the whole BYOAC concept.

-S