When is laminate appropriate?

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When is it OK to rehab a cab with laminate, as opposed to painting? I suspect that some eras of games would look strange with a perfectly laminated cab, and should only be painted. Are there any guidelines on this?

The one I'm doing now is an Area 51 / Max Force, and matte black Formica seems fine for this (looks great, actually). But what about a Joust-to-MultiWilliams conversion?

Thanks,
John
 
I've seen a cab where someone took a ratty old Ms. Pac, then put black laminate on it and made it a Galaga. It looked really good, too.

I say that if the cab is already non-original (repainted or damaged to the point where an entire bondo/repaint is necessary) and you have no intention of restoring it back to the original game (MultiWilliams), then do what you want...
 
I'm usually for sticking to original materials, but I'd sub laminate on plywood for any Atari front being replaced. I have to make a new front for my 720, as it was kicked in and is gone. May have been vinyl, not sure, but I'll be doing it in laminate, like the older stuff like Asteroids.
 
Laminate can give a very clean, very professional feel to games. It is easy to clean, and looks/feels sharp.

If you are doing a conversion game, it can be great. However, it can crack on the bottom and sides, so if you do laminate, I like to put the corner protectors on the bottom to prevent cracking when you move the game.
 
Also, if doing a multi, conversion, custom, etc.. I say anything goes. I want to build a scaled down, 13", bartop type, miniature cabinet for JAMMA/testing. I think black laminate on the sides would be perfect for an application like that.
 
IMO never!

Here's one that I got....I have no idea why they didn't just pull the vinyl and paint it black??

http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=156866

Damn Andy, I would have just put another layer of Formica on that bad boy! Don't they make 2" T molding? ;-)

In all seriousness...it looks like someone really cheaped out on the laminate on your Paperboy, and maybe it was 20 years ago. This modern Formica (the counter-top thick stuff) really seems bomb-proof. I'm hoping that this Area 51 / Max Force I'm building will last longer than I do.

John
 
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