I've built a coffee table using an old Jungle Princess backglass. It may be hard to tell from the photos, but there's a piece of clear tempered glass that sits on a 1/4" ledge about 1 1/2" above the backglass, so that nobody is putting their cocktails directly on the vintage glass. I want to spill-proof the tempered glass, so in case one of said cocktails gets knocked over, I can mop up without liquid escaping down into the table.

The most foolproof solution would probably be to run a bead of silicone around it, but I need the tempered glass to be removable. So my next thought was weatherstripping or (more appropriately) pinball machine "beer seal". But since I don't put drinks on my actual machines, I've never been in the position to test whether beer seal is actually waterproof. Both options seem like open-cell foam, which feels like it would just absorb, rather than repel - no?

The ideal feels like it would be something squishy like silicone, that would sit on the ledge, but then squeeze around the edge of the glass to fill the gap. Suggestions / experiences?

If anyone's interested - the ultimate plan is to install score reels, lights, and have the whole thing controlled by a little Linux computer. (I tried controlling the score reels with some large relays hooked up to an original pinball transformer, but so far haven't gotten them to advance totally consistently.)

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Drip edge - like for a roof? Isn't that a ledge that extends past the edge, allowing the liquid to run off - in this case, onto the floor? Unfortunately, the glass is recessed inside the "hood" - the angled wall that runs around the table. So there's no route for the liquid to escape. (The idea was that if you stood the coffee table on its front edge, it would be the shape of a pinball back box.)

And yes, I'll admit that this table is not strictly a pinball machine. But I figured Tech was the appropriate forum - considering that answers arrived at here might be useful to folks for their games, as well. In fact, I considered anti-rattle tape as one solution - but again, figured it wouldn't be waterproof.

The drip edge thing is interesting, though... i.e., a t-shaped rubber/plastic strip that I'd insert into the gap between the glass and the hood, that would overlap the glass slightly. Rather than a strip that would sit underneath the glass edge. Hard to make the corners watertight, I imagine. And I'm not sure where I'd get such a beast, specifically sized to the gap that exists.