The game has been called a “world under glass”. And indeed, the action in pinball occurs just out of reach under a protective layer of glass. Clear, scratch-free, clean glass makes any game of pinball better. From time to time you might need to replace your pinball machine glass. Here is everything you need to know about pinball machine glass.

Isn’t glass just glass? Nope!

For safety, tempered glass should be the only glass used in a pinball machine. Any new modern pinball machine will come with tempered glass installed.

If you buy a used machine, it’s important to determine if the glass is regular old plate glass that can break into large, sharp pieces, unlike tempered glass which breaks into hundreds of small, less harmful pieces.

Better to suffer from a small cut than have a limb severed off from a giant glass Samurai sword.

Very old machines might have had plate glass originally or the glass might have been replaced by a previous owner. An unscrupulous operator might have tried to save a few bucks or unknowingly someone might break a glass, and head down to the local glass shop picked the cheapest option and installed plate glass in the machine.

Tempered and a normal glass break in an absolutely contrasting manners. When a tempered sheet breaks, the glass does not spread all over its surroundings. It breaks in a unique way, into small and relatively harmless pieces.

This type of glass is frequently used in areas where human safety is a top priority. A normal glass, on the other hand, is much more fragile and breaks into big uneven pieces that are extremely dangerous. Consequently, this glass is used in multiple appliances and is often considered as a “safety glass”.

How Does One Tell Plate Glass from Tempered Glass?

• Tempered glass has smooth edges because the edges get sandblasted.
• Look for a stamp identifier for authentic tempered glass

Which type of glass is more durable?

Tempered glass is more durable than regular glass, but it isn’t unbreakable. Be careful around the corners and edges where it is weaker. Setting pinball glass down on a corner against a hard concrete floor can cause it to explode.

Defects and scratches can also weaken it. I had one piece fresh out of the box explode in my hand with a loud pop as I moved it from a cold room to a warm room! It must have had a defect from the factory and the change in temperature made it expand and then POW!

Where can you buy replacement pinball machine glass and how much does pinball machine glass cost?

I usually order my replacement glass from Pinball Life in the two-pack – https://www.pinballlife.com/standard-tempered-playfield-glass-shippable-2-pack.html

Shipping the glass will run you over $50 per piece due to the cost of the shipping container and shipping itself.

You can usually pick up glass at a pinball show. Always good to have on hand as you never know when a pinball machine will come home with you and I guarantee any old pinball machine will have scratched-up glass. Buying glass in person should be around $35 – $56 a sheet for the standard tempered pinball machine glass.

You can recycle the old glass or try selling it for $20 on Facebook Marketplace. People seem to like to use it for making seed starting boxes.

What is the size of replacement pinball machine glass?

Standard pinball cabinet tempered playfield glass measures 21 x 43 x 3/16 inch thick and is used on most manufacturer’s pinball machines.

Playfield glass for Wide Body pinball machine measures 23-3/4 x 43 x 3/16 inch thick tempered.

For something really special you can get High Definition Anti-Reflection playfield glass

Standard size pinball cabinet Anti-Reflection HD tempered playfield glass measures 21 x 43 x 3/16 inch thick and may be installed on most manufacturer’s pinball machines.

A premium product upgrade found on many Stern Limited Edition pinball machines that protect the playfield and increase game visibility on any machine.

Expect to pay $250 or more for a sheet of this special glass.

How you remove the playfield glass?

Every era and pinball manufacturer had their own way to remove the glass but basically, you need to open the coin door and then release the lockdown bar.

You can then slide the glass carefully towards you and then set it carefully on something soft like a towel and lean it against a wall out of the way of traffic.