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im really tempted to spray my antec 900 now just to prove that spraying a case will look better than powdercoating it lol 
powder coat
- Thread starter Mal X
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Soldato
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The alternative is just to buy your own enamel paint and do it yourself. Takes about a week to dry, but it's a nice effect.
im really tempted to spray my antec 900 now just to prove that spraying a case will look better than powdercoating it lol
I've seen some really nice spray painted cases but those were all things like Union Flags etc. If you just want a nice finish and you don't live in a big city, then you can almost certainly get a very good powder coated finish for less than £50 inside and out.
Soldato
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Or Enamel Paint for less than a tenner.
Yeah i know it costs more than it should but i was getting a lot of other work done to it at the same place as well at the time so i figured another few quid wouldn't hurt + i don't know any local place that would do it.
a very large spray can might work............. Appliance white
but not easy, i've spray painted often, i used to be a keen modelmaker...there's no need to cut back, polish etc...you can get a perfect finish first time, but your main enemies are dirt/ dust in the paint, plus runs.......car resprayers never do all that stuff......they get it right first time.
i wouldn't tackle spraying a case, because it has to look perfect....... the best way is with an airbrush, a large can kicks out too much paint and much more likely to run............ it's far easier to powder coat/ far less hassle.
you're either lucky or you're not............. but right now, the guy isn't answering the phone and Ferndown is a long way from me
but not easy, i've spray painted often, i used to be a keen modelmaker...there's no need to cut back, polish etc...you can get a perfect finish first time, but your main enemies are dirt/ dust in the paint, plus runs.......car resprayers never do all that stuff......they get it right first time.
i wouldn't tackle spraying a case, because it has to look perfect....... the best way is with an airbrush, a large can kicks out too much paint and much more likely to run............ it's far easier to powder coat/ far less hassle.
you're either lucky or you're not............. but right now, the guy isn't answering the phone and Ferndown is a long way from me
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Yes, it takes all the risk out of it. I always pay someone to cut my cases for the same reason.
hang around, is that a bit of grey carpet in your pc base panel
carpet is actually a very good sound insulator
Its a carpet tile from b&q cut to size. Its easily removable for cleaning and does the job really well. The case was 2nd hand and had a lot of ugly drill holes where a pump/rez had been fitted.
.yea i guessed so, i'm thinking along the same lines too, but you'd need to hoover it ..........plus seal the edges because carpet frays like crazy...stick it in place with Velcro.. but it might look a bit naffyes pay a pro to do it.............because i havent sprayed anything for a couple of years....i'm well rusty, you'd need loads of practice first.
i used to:- spray quickly and flash it off outside as quick as possible with a hair dryer..........this stops too much dirt from settling in the paint.
white is best because dust doesn't really show too much..... red is very good too....but black is the worst........you'll see all dust/dirt in gloss black.
leave 2 weeks and ``nick`` the dust out with a flat Stanley blade...pushed across a soapy surface at an angle of about 10 degrees......then polish.... no need to rub the case down.
because on a flat side panel, you might only get 5 specs of dirt in it.
orange peel?.......... yes, then you have to rub down, what i suggest above is only if you're very lucky, and you get a mirror finish first time.
I was given an estimate of £40.00 to get 3 akasa eclipse panels podercoated, i was considering getting them done white and then getting the front plastic fascia spray painted to match, then keep my dvd drive, kama bay and fan controller black.
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just had a new quote, inside/outside, and powersupply and fan controller £90
Soldato
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You seem to have ignored my earlier post. Enamel paint is less than £5 per can. A Paint Airbrush is less than £5. Just give it reasonable time to dry (or use a hair-dryer) and you've saved yourself a hell of a lot to the same end.
Can you paint enamel paint straight onto alu though?
No primer needed? I guess you would apply with an air brush? But what about the compressor you'd need for the air brush
yes, plus you have to get rid of the brushed Ally finish...which on mine is like a series of tightly spaced scratches all parallel to each other... the surface finish is quite rough......... but looks good.
you'd need to rub it down with wet and dry first.
i'd only ever do this if i accidentally scratched the case with a screwdriver.... because a scratch like this will really show on a bare Ally case, but doesn't on the thermaltake armour, because that is clear lacquer over silver metallic spray paint...just like a car..
bare Ally is a bit of a nightmare.... it's hard to clean too... water droplets show if you dont wipe them off, you have to clean the case with a totally clean rag/ glass table cleaner........ you can not clean it with ``mr muscle `` etc, it leaves greasy smears/ soaks into the Ally...............best for cleaning it is white spirit and along the grain only.....or pure Acetone.
i love the case but it definitely isn't user friendly, i would've lacquer coated the bare ally.... because it's the bare metal that's the problem, you have to handle it carefully
you'd need to rub it down with wet and dry first.
i'd only ever do this if i accidentally scratched the case with a screwdriver.... because a scratch like this will really show on a bare Ally case, but doesn't on the thermaltake armour, because that is clear lacquer over silver metallic spray paint...just like a car..
bare Ally is a bit of a nightmare.... it's hard to clean too... water droplets show if you dont wipe them off, you have to clean the case with a totally clean rag/ glass table cleaner........ you can not clean it with ``mr muscle `` etc, it leaves greasy smears/ soaks into the Ally...............best for cleaning it is white spirit and along the grain only.....or pure Acetone.
i love the case but it definitely isn't user friendly, i would've lacquer coated the bare ally.... because it's the bare metal that's the problem, you have to handle it carefully
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Assuming the OP is working, and he's on the average wage of about £26,000PA he earns roughly £12.60 per hour, of which he gets to keep about £9/hour.
Assuming he spends £5 on a can of etch and £5 on a can of spray paint he then has to buy a pack of wet and dry paper (lets add £5 for that). So before he's even started he has spent £15 just on materials. I think it's reasonable to assume he will spend the same time stripping the machine to send it off, so we'll eliminate that from our calculation, but I'd say 3 hours to prep the case inside and out isn't unreasonable. Then you apply the etch. Lets say he takes his time and does it twice (1 hour) and rubs down in between coats (another hour). Then he puts on the paint (another hour). Assuming that 1 coat of paint does a perfect job (unlikely) I reckon he's spent 7 hours (minimum) making a decent job of that case, plus £15 in materials. So, in my world where my time is my money, he has saved £12 by doing it himself and the chances are it looks ess-aitch-one-tee because he's never done it before.
There are things it's worth doing because you want to and things it's worth just paying someone to do. £90 to powder-coat the inside, outside and ancillaries sounds pretty reasonable on the above basis, I reckon. And you know the chances are when it comes back it'll look good.
[VERY OT]
DIY generally makes no sense at current UK labour rates for almost anything.
I costed up getting my garage door painted. It's wood and it needs a thorough rubbing down, 2 coats of undercoat, rubbed down between coats, painted with a decent exterior gloss paint (2 coats again) and the guy charged me £20 to do it. Now that sounds outrageous for what was, afterall about 20 minutes work over 4 days (he had a power sander). Incensed by his outrageous quote, I worked it out and the paint alone would have cost me £15 for two small tins, half of which I would have chucked away, plus sandpaper in various grades, plus brushes and something clean the brushes with. PLus my labour. And it would have looked ess-aitch-one-tee because I'm not a time-served painter. It simply doesn't stack up to DIY for me, or a lot of others.
And most of all, Mrs WJA96 was very pleased with it. Which is, after all, everything that matters.[/VERY OT]
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