The Best Material for an Arcade Cabinet: Why MDF Looks Good Until It Doesn’t

If you’ve ever walked into a hardware store and seen a smooth, flat sheet of MDF, it’s easy to think, “Wow, this looks perfect for an arcade cabinet.” It’s clean, it’s uniform, it cuts like butter on a table saw — what could go wrong?

The short answer: a lot.

MDF, melamine, and particle board look great when they’re brand new. But there’s a reason seasoned builders and long-time woodworkers reach for cabinet-grade plywood instead. When you start cutting, joining, painting, and — most importantly — using the cabinet, you quickly realize why material choice isn’t just about looks. If you’ve ever wondered what the best material for an arcade cabinet really is, it comes down to more than appearance — it’s about strength, weight, and long-term durability.

Real-world difference: cabinet-grade plywood holds strong where MDF crumbles. Plywood edges stay solid and clean — MDF splits, chips, and fails under stress.

MDF and Melamine: Pretty Faces, Weak Bones

Let’s start with MDF. On paper, it’s easy to love. It’s cheap, it cuts easily, and when you sand it, it gets that smooth, even look that makes beginners think, this is going to turn out amazing. But that smoothness comes from what’s inside — pressed wood dust and resin. It’s soft because there’s no real grain, no fibers, nothing for screws or glue to bite into.

Tighten a screw too much, and you’ll feel it — that dreaded moment where it suddenly starts spinning and never stops. You’ve stripped it. And when that happens, you’re not just dealing with one bad screw; you’re dealing with a joint that’s never going to hold tension again. Multiply that across an entire cabinet, and you’ve got a recipe for a wobbly, short-lived build.

Melamine is another one that tricks a lot of DIYers. It’s particle board wrapped in a plastic laminate — shiny, slick, and it photographs great. But once you start cutting it, you’ll find out fast why it’s not made for angled cuts or detailed work. The laminate chips, edges blow out, and even if you hide those with T-molding, the core underneath is fragile. Screws pull out easily, edges crush if you over-tighten, and if any moisture sneaks into an exposed corner, it swells like a sponge.

Why Cabinet-Grade Plywood Is the Best Material for an Arcade Cabinet

Now let’s talk about cabinet-grade plywood — not the rough OSB you see on house siding, but the good stuff: maple or birch veneer, layered cross-grain, glued under pressure. When you drive a screw into plywood, you’re biting into real wood fibers, not compressed dust. You can feel the difference instantly — it holds tight, stays tight, and doesn’t strip out when the cabinet flexes a little under load.

Plywood has spring. It’s strong yet lighter than MDF, which means your cabinet won’t feel like dead weight when you move it or mount it on a wall. A ¾″ maple plywood cabinet is solid and rigid, and when you play, it feels solid too — that’s not just a build choice, that’s part of the arcade experience. That’s a big reason why builders agree that cabinet-grade plywood is the best material for an arcade cabinet — it feels solid, looks professional, and holds up through years of play.

And paint? Paint loves plywood. You can use water-based or oil-based paint without worrying about swelling or bubbling. With MDF, the first coat of water-based paint usually raises the fibers, and suddenly your “perfectly smooth” surface turns into something that feels like sandpaper. You end up sanding, sealing, sanding again, priming again — and still, it never quite looks right.

Plywood takes finish like it was made for it — because it was. It’s what cabinetmakers, luthiers, and furniture builders have used for decades, because it lasts.

Durability That Actually Matters

Let’s be honest: when you build or buy an arcade cabinet, you’re not thinking short-term. You’re building something that’s going to live in your game room, your basement, maybe even get passed down to your kids someday.

At Simple Arcades, we’ve seen what happens when cheap materials get put to the test. Our cabinets get packed, shipped across the country, and sometimes handled rougher than we’d like. We’ve had freight carriers literally throw units off trucks — and while it makes us cringe every time, our maple-plywood cabinets survive it. A few scratches, maybe a cracked corner, but the cabinet itself? Still rock solid.

If that same arcade had been built from MDF, it wouldn’t just crack — it would explode into pieces. MDF can’t take impact. It’s too dense and too brittle. Once it snaps, it’s done.

That’s why we don’t use it. Not because it’s cheaper or easier, but because we build for people who want their arcade to last. You don’t buy a custom arcade every few years. You buy one once, and you expect it to hold up — not just for you, but for your kids, your friends, and everyone who walks up to play.

The Bottom Line

If you’re a DIYer thinking about materials, here’s the truth: yes, MDF is cheaper. You’ll save maybe $40 or $50 on a project. But that savings disappears the moment your screw holes strip, your panels swell, or your cabinet starts to wobble.

If you’re a buyer comparing builds, pay close attention to the materials list — and even closer attention when a manufacturer doesn’t list it. When a company skips over what their cabinets are made from, that’s usually not an accident. It’s like a car company bragging about “lightweight construction” but never saying what metal it’s made of. Ferrari and Corvette proudly talk about carbon fiber because it’s strong, light, and proven. You should expect that same level of honesty from anyone selling an arcade cabinet.

At Simple Arcades, we call our material cabinet-grade plywood for a reason. “Cabinet-grade” isn’t a fancy marketing term — it’s an industry standard. It means the plywood has multiple cross-laminated hardwood layers with minimal voids, consistent thickness, and a smooth furniture-ready face veneer (typically maple or birch). It’s what professional cabinetmakers use for high-end kitchens and furniture where both strength and appearance matter. It’s cut cleaner on a CNC, holds screws tight, and takes paint or laminate beautifully.

That’s why we use ¾″ cabinet-grade maple plywood in every build — CNC-cut for precision, hand-finished for strength, and shipped ready to outlast everything else in its class. Because we’re not just building a box of buttons. We’re building something meant to last — and we’re proud enough of our materials to tell you exactly what they are.