Peripheral painting

[SKDgarbage]

Hello everyone, I recently tore apart my G15 keyboard to clean it (after a year with cats around it was a mess) but after looking around online for a guide to breaking that monster down I found some pictures of painted ones and decided I wanted to give it a try. I decided I wanted to paint the silver part blue and decided my mouse should match. So I replaced my old orange and silver G5 with the newer blue and black one (and an extra thumb button WEE!). I wanted to airbrush them so I can mix my own shade of blue. Can anyone recommend a good primer for them? The mouse is a little different finish than the keyboard.

http://razetheworld.com/blog/wp-content/gallery/computerpics/top.jpg

The black spots on it are rougher and kind of high spots on it. Should I sand it down then primer it for a better result? And what kind of finish would you guys recommend? Thanks in advance for any tips or advice

BTW some really beautiful and sick mods on this site. Very inspiring to a rookie.

[ContraptionMaker]

Welcome to Modding! Just be warned this hobby is VERY addicting! Not even rehab helps! :D
Anyway, I'm not a great painter but I'll share what I've learned. Sand. Sand and Sand some more. No matter which primer you use it will show every flaw in your surface. When painting plastic it helps if you use a paint or primer made for plastic. It will stick to the surface much better. I've used both Krylon and Rust-o-lium brands of canned spray panints and they work well. Krylon seems to have a few more choices in colors and textures though. They also have metallic paints that will make it look like plated metal. Try and hang the parts form a wire when spraying so you can cover all sides. Most important use several light coats instead of one haevy coat, this will let the paint dry better and prevent runs. For a mirror finish wet between sand each coat. When spray make sure to keep the sprayer moving across the length of your part and spray past the edges. Let the paint cure thourghly before handling and it will scrape off pretty easily until fully cured. As a last step you might want to consider a clear coat to help protect your hard work.
Well that's most of my spay paint knowledge. Like I said, it's pretty limited and I'm sure there are people here that can give you lots more info on mixing, using an air brush or sprayer and just general tips, but maybe this will get you started.
Agiain welcome to TCBS and modding!

[SKDgarbage]

That's a good start thanks! I just realised I still have some Citadel miniatures primer from my warhammer 40k days ;) by any chance has someone tried that yet? And about how fine of sandpaper should I use? Anyone up for a quick crash course on wet sanding?

[ContraptionMaker]

That's a good start thanks! I just realised I still have some Citadel miniatures primer from my warhammer 40k days ;) by any chance has someone tried that yet? And about how fine of sandpaper should I use? Anyone up for a quick crash course on wet sanding?
BlueOnBlack posted a great one here:
http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14390
It's about polishing plexi, but the same principles apply.

[SgtM]

Primer really depends on what kind of paint you're going to be using. If you're using a uro AB paint, then make sure you get that same brand primer (House Of Kolors, Kustom Shop, et al). If you're using a waterbased paint (Createx, Auto Air..) then any rattlecan primer will be ok. I've even used AA on sanded plastic without primer, and it came out ok.

:edit:
http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13235

[SKDgarbage]

wow, that case painting guide answered pretty much everything. Wish I'd seen it sooner. Thanks for pointing it out SgtM! After those videos I've got a bit of a shopping list to run out and pick up. Hopefully by this weekend I'll finally have my keyboard put back together and looking better than ever with a new mouse to match. I'll take pictures of it all along the way for you guys ;)

[SKDgarbage]

The finished product! Thanks for the help everyone :D
http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16679