Starting my first proper case project.. some advice please.

AtreuS

AtreuS

AtreuS

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Hi all...

Ive been building pcs for years but so far my "projects" have only involved drilling holes and spending silly amounts of time cable tidying :p

I have just obtained a second hand thermaltake Mozart TX from the MM and my plan is to strip it down, paint it black inside and then soundproof with foam. Then build up a fan only system using my specs below but keeping to a black, blue, and possibly silver colour scheme. Down the line i will add water cooling as this case has space for 120.3 and 2 120.2 rads... so lots to play with.

This will be a long term thing as im short on the cash at the moment and this case will need 10 fans! ( im planning on lots of fans at super low speed for good airflow but minimum noise and vibration.

So far ive stripped the case right down as far as it will dismantle but have already hit on the first problem. The previous owner had fitted lots of the akasa sound proofing mats to the insides and its all going to need to be removed before i can paint.

This stuff is almost impossible to get off using your hands, so whats the best way? i was thinking a wire-wool drill end attachment and a trusty power drill :p i dont have a dremel and cant really afford to buy one atm.

I have a nice back yard so noise and mess isnt an issue. So will a wire drill bit attachment do the job do you think?

When i do manage to get all the gunk off whats the best way to get a nice matt black interior? ive never painted a steel case before so i dunno the best approach. I would assume i would use the drill and elbow grease to sand down the bare metal and then slap 2 or 3 coats of spray on primer. Leave for a few days and carefully apply coat after coat of paint with maybe a top coat sealer?

Any advice apprectiated. I will post some pics later to show what im dealing with so far.

Most people give their projects names so something like "Black ice" should suffice... black and cold :D

My ideal plan will be:

Paint insides black

Install soundproofing foam on major surfaces

Fit black 120MM fans throughout, possibly with a couple being blue LED fans. Buy ac ryan black fan mesh grills for both sides on all fans ( depends on noise ). I already have a nice zalman black alu 6 stage fan controller so all fans will be speed controlled though that.

Possibly fit a http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CM-003-LL for gfx cooling.

I have a http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-057-TR&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=787 fitted atm and with the lian li i could probably run this passive.

Fit one or maybe two blue cathode lights for atmosphere.

Then add to the build as money allows.
 
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LukeTW said:
The Lian Li BS-08B PCI Cooler is rubbish, i had it for 3 days and i just sent it back because it was useless.
Click to expand...

In what way? the fans too slow or just not the right size etc? If the fans can be changed for better ones the actual housing itself could be useful.

My plan would be to have the extractor close to the gfx and heatsink and not have fans on the heatsink itself but use the extractor to pull cool fair from the front case intakes down over the heatsink and then straight out of the case.
 
Slow fans, but you can change them.

I changed them but there was still no difference, i could feel no hot air coming out the back of it. It even made my gfx temps higher :eek:
 
Use a stripping knife to carve up the sound matting. A wirebrush attachment will just get all gunked up with the rubber and adhesive.

When spray painting, you want to sand it down, do a layer of etch primer, sand that smooth, sand that smooth. more etch primer, then smooth that, layers of paint, sand out any imperfections, lacquer it, buff it. It's a long winded process lol...
 
knightrider. said:
Use a stripping knife to carve up the sound matting. A wirebrush attachment will just get all gunked up with the rubber and adhesive.

When spray painting, you want to sand it down, do a layer of etch primer, sand that smooth, sand that smooth. more etch primer, then smooth that, layers of paint, sand out any imperfections, lacquer it, buff it. It's a long winded process lol...
Click to expand...

Yeah i thought that the wire brush would get all gooey myself. I suppose i can use a stripping knife to get as much as i can off and maybe use the drill as a sander to remove the last bits as well as start the prep for the undercoats.

Im not after perfection :p Just so that you cant see silver metal inside. Most of the visible surfaces im going to cover with foam matting afferwards anyway. Im aiming for a totally black interior with the only real colours being the mainboard, gfx card and so on.

And thanks for the information Luke. Ill have to relook at the airflow under the gfx card. Maybe a few of those mesh back plates would be enough to prevent any heat build up.
 
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Well ive begun stripping off the matting and my god this stuff is evil to remove. The glue is a nightmare to get off and the matting takes ages to scrape away.

Ive tried wetting it and letting it soak in an attempt to make the glue unstick a bit but to no avail. I am having to resort to meticuluosly scraping each and every square inch with a large flatheaded screwdriver. Once its off im down to a nicely scratced metal surface ready for sanding :p

Its got matting on just about EVERY surface as well.... but i have to get it off so i can spray, even if half of what i scrape off is going to be fe-foamed later on. Trying to spray with the foam in place is simply a no-go.

This could take some considerable time :eek:
 
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Get some IPA and let that soak in. You can also get glue remover in DIY stores that will do much the same thing, but in an aerosol usually. Other than that it just is bloody hard work :P
 
Well most of the foam is off now but the glue residue is a nightmare. What am i looking for when i goto B&Q to get this stuff off? spray on glue remover or does it have a specific name?

I read in the motors section about some stuff called "sticky stuff remover" im assuming this would do the trick?
 
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Well ive finished getting ALL the glue residue off and have used wet-dry paper to get a nice surface all over.

Im off down to the powder coaters this afternoon to pick a colour and leave it with them.

He quoted a price of £20-30 which suprised me :p ive seen prices of well over £100 quoted at other online shops thats do custom pcs.

Im going to see if he can do the panels as well while im there. The removable backplate im going to wet spray as i want it a different colour. Ive taken some pics of the work so far and when its back from the coaters in a few days ill be doing a build log.

It will be nice to see this case back to its former glory again!

edit: Well its at the powder coaters now. Hes doing the main case, the aluminium front panel and both side panels in a nice matt black. The silver aluminium front has to go in an etching bath first but he reckons it will come out great. Ive decided to let him do the removable back plate as well... i was going to go for another colour but i cant be arsed wet spraying tbh :p
 
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