Project: Need your thoughts/ideas

mishima · 1 Apr 2007 at 18:03

Got some of those 120mm mesh panels on the way, also going to purchase one of these filing trays, and use the metal off it for the rear exhaust fans. It will help tidy up that area a bit and I can use it for other areas too:

mishima · 2 Apr 2007 at 15:35

With some helpful tips from caeteez I will be purchasing some sprays soon, I would like the outside a matte black colour, but I'm undecided whether to go for a black gloss, or matte inside or whether to go for a different colour, perhaps white as a constrast? What do you think?

Messiah Khan · 2 Apr 2007 at 16:33

Go for white.

caeteez · 2 Apr 2007 at 17:30

I had an idea for a White and Black case a while back, but never followed it through.

Was going to be pure white on the outside, matte black on the inside and have all the grills/rads etc backlit in red.

gt_junkie · 2 Apr 2007 at 19:04

gt_junkie said:
I had a server case recently and had decided to go for a gloss white finish externally with a green led/cathode theme inside. Unfortunately i got 2 Zalman fatal1ty coolers for my GX2 and as they were red i went red for everything and ended up painting the case gloss black.

I think blatant green lighting inside and a clean white case with subtle external green cues - hdd and power led's and possibly a green led fan controller too!

gt

Exactamundo! :cool:

Just what i suggested earlier! Would look awesome in white!

gt

gt_junkie · 2 Apr 2007 at 19:15

mishima said:
Got some of those 120mm mesh panels on the way

Posted today fella so you should get them by Wednesday i would think!

gt

mishima · 2 Apr 2007 at 22:40

Superb GT. I couldn't possibly do the case white, all my components are black + its a beige case and its not much of an improvement lol. I'm set on black for exterior, I think I may try white inside might look funky!

Initially I'm not going for a window on the panels but I may change my mind.

mishima · 3 Apr 2007 at 13:46

Just been out and bought some sprays for the case, bought some Hammerite Barbecue Matt Black (acts as primer, undercoat, overcoat). Thought I would test it out on an old optical drive bay cover of an old case. Did as instructions said, shook the can for around a minute, then another 3 minutes and made sure I was 15cm from the bay cover and sprayed in strips. The paint then dried and each minute as it dried these large cracks appeared. What am I doing wrong?

Messiah Khan · 3 Apr 2007 at 13:49

Did you clean the surface before painting? How cold is it outside?

pcAnywhere · 3 Apr 2007 at 13:50

Was the surface clean and clear of grease etc? Was it cold when you sprayed the can?

Damned - too slow!

mishima · 3 Apr 2007 at 13:51

Thats one thing I thought it might of been, the coldness. There is a slight breeze and its around 7C. The surface was cleaned yeah.

Messiah Khan · 3 Apr 2007 at 13:55

Yeah, possibly the cold then. It might also be worth giving the surface a quick sand with some wet and dry, then clean off any dust. This will help the paint bond better.

caeteez · 3 Apr 2007 at 14:35

Yeah I was going to say, did you sand down the surface?

mishima · 3 Apr 2007 at 15:05

I didnt nope

I'll have another go some other time I was just testing to see the results, could do with a nice warm day really - ideal to do it outside!

caeteez · 3 Apr 2007 at 17:18

It was cold when I did my last spray job, but I did it in the garage with the radiators on to bring the temperature up.

If you sand that plastic you will find the paint will stick like **** to a blanket. Unsanded plastic is like pouring water on glass, it'll just run off. Once its sanded slightly it will give a nice surface for the paint to tack onto.

mishima · 5 Apr 2007 at 12:58

Just done a quick test with the Hammerite - heated the can and primer over the oven hob (I know I shouldn't) and the results look very pleasing. The finish on the steel though is quite rough think this is cause its matt finish:

caeteez · 5 Apr 2007 at 14:29

Holy crap watch out man, you dont want to be blowing your hand off from an aerosol explosion lol!

When I said it should be warm I didnt just mean the paint. The ambient painting area should be warm, i.e. the room, the paint and the surface should all be warmish. Well, room temperature and above, but obviously not overly hot.

mishima · 5 Apr 2007 at 22:58

haha, I know it was only slightly warm not hot don't worry. I know what you meant I was just getting the paint in the aerosol warm it helps so my dad said.

mishima · 6 Apr 2007 at 13:22

Small update:

After removing the HDD cage (the HDD is going into the optical bay 5.25") I needed a cage that would be able to host one device rather than a big cage with 4 slots that are un-needed. I didn't want to cut up the existing cage, so I asked my dad if he had any metal I could use and we had a look and found some suitable steel in the shed. This metal is flexible but strong so it was ideal. Used a vice and cutting pliers. Here it is and against the stock cage:

I will be slotting in a cardreader-usb drive here

(Floppy is for testing purposes)

caeteez · 6 Apr 2007 at 13:24

You still doing the inside of this case white?