Is it some sort of blasphemy if...

[Evil Ivan]

I want to remove the perfectly good silk-screening (might be paint, now that I look at it, again) from the slightly scratched glass of my MAME-conversion cocktail cab. I haven't found anything to indicate that an '80s Merit/Pit Boss/Phraze Craze screened glass is of value to anyone. I might be mistaken; and if it were something cool/collectible/in demand, it would be different story entirely. But it's boring, black, with a gold trim stripe, limits viewable area somewhat and I'd rather put my own artwork under there. Maybe somebody in the Puget Sound would be willing to trade? I doubt it, at least this year. Don't really care to ship it, either. I have had bad luck shipping glass before.

That being said, does anybody knew a good method to get the silk screen off? Somebody on here mentioned media blasting (sand, actually), which seems a bit excessive. I would think there is some sort of chemical I could use to forgo needing to polish the glass afterward, automotive paint thinner, for example.

Well, thanks in advance.

[shardian]

A large razor blade made with a handle for paint scraping.

[ChadTower]

He's scraping glass... better to use a plastic scraper at the harshest. 

[CheffoJeffo]

WTF would you even consider further killing what you already describe as a scratched piece of glass?

OTOH, I don't want to buy it nor even pick it up, so my vote doesn't count for much.

FWIW, the advice that I have always received from folks who works with glass is to *never* scrape it when dry.

[Evil Ivan]

It's not unusable, just not pristine.

As for scraping ALL of it, simply not that motivated and it's not worth my time. The screening covers all but the control cutouts and a 1" border. I've also scratched tempered glass with razors, dull ones are less likely, but more dangerous to the operator.

All in all, it's not critical that I do it anyways, I could make a cardboard surround that fits the screen better, and/or forgo doing any underlay art. Plenty to do otherwise, really, it can wait.

[SavannahLion]

Probably be easier to remove this glass, sell it then buy a new, fresh piece of glass to work with.

[SirPeale]

You can't scratch glass with steel.  Stainless or otherwise.  Glass is harder than steel.

If you're worried about breaking it (glass is very fragile) then use a bit of 'lube' as mentioned - a bit of water.  It's not a 100% guarantee, but it'll help.

If you're gentle, you'll be fine.

[ChadTower]

You can't scratch glass with steel.  Stainless or otherwise.  Glass is harder than steel.

So what about all of those pinball machines with scratched up playfield glass? 

[CheffoJeffo]

I chatted with one of my glass friends last night and he explained that, when you use a scraper on dry glass, even one so fine as a razor blade, you end up trapping abrasive material and then you push it along the glass.

The obvious example that he came up with is that you would never use steel wool to clean glass. The steel won't scratch the glass, but the junk you catch in it will.

His advice was to use simple dish soap and water when scraping glass clean.

EDIT: For spelling

[SirPeale]

You can't scratch glass with steel.  Stainless or otherwise.  Glass is harder than steel.

So what about all of those pinball machines with scratched up playfield glass? 

There are plenty of other materials that are harder than glass, but steel isn't one of them.  Someone playing with a ring with certain stones in it would make it scratch.

[Xiaou2]

Funny, because glass cutters use a small METAL wheel to Score glass...

 Glass Can be scratched by steel.

[SirPeale]

Metal impregnated with a harder cutting agent, such as diamond dust.

Another source of scratches on pinball glass: sand.

[TOK]

Gee, I hope Genesim weighs in on this issue.   

I wouldn't scrape it at all as a first step. Try a chemical stripper like Zip Strip. That paint/ink might curl right up after 10 minutes and you could hose it off.

[Evil Ivan]

I wouldn't scrape it at all as a first step. Try a chemical stripper like Zip Strip. That paint/ink might curl right up after 10 minutes and you could hose it off.

Pretty much what I was thinking.

[Evil Ivan]

Just so everyone knows: I have decided, I will not alter/modify/destroy the glass/printing/'artwork'.

It's growing on me since I've spent some time playing on it this week. Consequently, the Merit logo is a good place to set a beverage.

I also realized: it's the only thing on the machine that allowed me to confirm it's original make (the pseudo-Pac-Man-ghost-M-thing logo.).  That would just be disrespectful to a cab that obviously lived a long hard life in some bar, somewhere. Kinda like hacking-off some part of it's 'soul'. Or, taking for granted the efforts people put into documenting old arcade machines, no matter how seemingly unimportant.

Guess I've become more concerned with the 'should I?' as this project progresses. Besides, I plan to scratch-build an upright, or maybe a PC-gaming cabinet, after I finish this; I can flex art on that.

Thanks for everyone's input, even the people who voted 'lynching'  , I wouldn't have made it this far without this community.

Cheers.



Edits for grammars and stuff.

[northerngames]

I used the strongest fingernail polish remover with cotton balls it took a few hours to clear a marquee but it did the job after alot of elbow grease.