Diamond Plate LCD

[NocturnaL]

Hello everyone, it's been quite a while since I've done a mod and actually finished it. So I thought this would be a fun little mod to get back in the flow with.

What we have here is an older 17" Dell LCD monitor that I will be modding into a complete new frame and stand. I've only started posting one or two mods on this forum, One of them being my "tank case mod." Long story short, that mod is no longer possible to finish. So let's start fresh with this small project.

Here is the model of the Dell I will be working on.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a151/Ear1Simm0ns/Mods/Diamond%20Plate%20LCD/1704fptt.jpg

Thanks for a good friend of mine, who also posts here on TBCS (CollinsTheClown), I have some sketchup mach ups made so you can better understand the design of this mod.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a151/Ear1Simm0ns/Mods/Diamond%20Plate%20LCD/DSC00157.jpg

Here is an exploded view of the LCD without the stand. (We are still working on that design.)

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a151/Ear1Simm0ns/Mods/Diamond%20Plate%20LCD/Exploded.jpg(The blue piece in this picture represents a frame of plexiglass)

Here is a top view

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a151/Ear1Simm0ns/Mods/Diamond%20Plate%20LCD/Combined.jpg
I have chosen to use hex-bolts to keep this LCD together. You might be thinking the hex-bolts are an eyesore, but I'm going for a more rugged industrial look for this mod. So I think they put a nice touch on the mod.

And here is a view of the back of the LCD

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a151/Ear1Simm0ns/Mods/Diamond%20Plate%20LCD/Combinedbottom.jpg
Once we have designed the stand for the LCD, it will be connecting to the back end.

[NocturnaL]

Now we have begun disassembling the monitor and buying the necessary materials.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a151/Ear1Simm0ns/Mods/Diamond%20Plate%20LCD/DSC00137.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a151/Ear1Simm0ns/Mods/Diamond%20Plate%20LCD/DSC00140-1.jpg

There was a little bit of prep work required to the back of the LCD. The old stand mounting system and a few other things needed to be cut off and sanded.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a151/Ear1Simm0ns/Mods/Diamond%20Plate%20LCD/DSC00143.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a151/Ear1Simm0ns/Mods/Diamond%20Plate%20LCD/DSC00154.jpg

After the prep work was finished, we took a drive to home depot to check out their diamond plating, to get a cost for this project. Apparently they only have 12"x24" sheets, this was too small for our project. We required at least 14"x16", so on the way home we stopped at a True Value. Luckily, they had a monster sheet of diamond plating that was actually not much more expensive then the tiny sheet home depot had.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a151/Ear1Simm0ns/Mods/Diamond%20Plate%20LCD/DSC00148.jpg

Due to my work schedule, and CollinstheClowns work schedule, this will be a weekend project for us. We will get as much work done as possible on weekends, but this project will be finished!

[Datech]

Looks like it will be a nice little mod! Is the plexi for anything besides a spacer between the diamond plating? Maybe throw some white LEDs in there to give it an ice glow...

[NocturnaL]

Looks like it will be a nice little mod! Is the plexi for anything besides a spacer between the diamond plating? Maybe throw some white LEDs in there to give it an ice glow...

That's exactly what I had in mind. I plan on using a very soft grit sand paper on the plexi to give it a frosted look, and mount 2 blue LED's on each side of the frame to give it a nice glow.

[Dragonblood]

I'm doing a monitor mod myself and was trying to figure out how to hold the screen as there's nothing on the outside edge. Your plexi frame is an awesome idea! I'll have to give that a try.

[DonT-FeaR]

looking fward to another monitor mod..

this reminds me of that mod...

cinematography... i think.... with the dual 22s...
:P only cuz of the dimond plate lol

[NocturnaL]

looking fward to another monitor mod..

this reminds me of that mod...

cinematography... i think.... with the dual 22s...
:P only cuz of the dimond plate lol

I remember that mod. Diamond plate is a pretty touchy material imo. If you use too much, it tends to look a bit tacky. So I don't think we'll be using any of the diamond plate on the base. Most likely all Plexi

[DonT-FeaR]

/\ yeah it does tend to look tacky if over used i agree..

[NocturnaL]

While driving to work the other day I saw a jobbox on the back of a guys pick up truck, it was diamond plate, but a smoked looking charcoal black. I think i might test some paint out on some extra diamond plate to see some results.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a151/Ear1Simm0ns/Mods/Diamond%20Plate%20LCD/blackpiecelg.jpg

Here is a picture of what I might be talking about

[pcclan]

hope you can fix the pics but i love the idea

[DonT-FeaR]

yeah black diamond plate will look much better imho

[NocturnaL]

Ah Darn, I totally forgot moving pictures around in photobucket messes up the tags. Problem will be fixed shortly. Sorry for the mishap!

[NocturnaL]

yeah black diamond plate will look much better imho

Black Diamond plate with some red or blue leds mounted into the plexi frame would look great. I think I'm going to head in that direction.

[Collinstheclown]

Black Diamond plate with some red or blue leds mounted into the plexi frame would look great. I think I'm going to head in that direction.

How about both with a switch? Hell I got some RGB's we could throw green in the mix... or even put in some pots and have a full range of color. For those moments when your feeling like pink or yellow or something.
:banana:

Me <3 LEDs. :) We could do sound reactive maybe, knowing what the monitor is gonna be used for.




-CollinstheClown

[NocturnaL]

How about both with a switch? Hell I got some RGB's we could throw green in the mix... or even put in some pots and have a full range of color. For those moments when your feeling like pink or yellow or something.
:banana:

Me <3 LEDs. :) We could do sound reactive maybe, knowing what the monitor is gonna be used for.




-CollinstheClown


Sounds good to me, I'm gonna have to give you a call this weekend, you free?

[altec]

Wanna send it my way when your done? It matches my desk! :D

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a269/Mrjunior/100_1505copy.jpg
(Old picture, floor is now clean!)

[Collinstheclown]

Ha, I was gonna get that desk too... Nice DP mod. :)




-CollinstheClown

[NocturnaL]

Wanna send it my way when your done? It matches my desk! :D

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a269/Mrjunior/100_1505copy.jpg
(Old picture, floor is now clean!)

Would love to, but I'm actually building this monitor because I need it Haha

[DonT-FeaR]

thats a sweet as desk!

this lcd would suit hell well lol..

good work

[NocturnaL]

The 3/4" plexi for the frame has just arrived in the mail today. Hopefully I will get a chance to head over the clowns house to do some cutting and paint testing. More updates to come

[Twigsoffury]

make sure to ruff up that D-plate before you go and paint it.

We paint that plate at work all the time. If you leave it with that polished finish it'll flake off in a couple months :(

ought to be cool and extremely heavy.

[NocturnaL]

I actually did some test pieces on saturday, without primer or a clear coat on it, and it actually looks really good. You don't think it will stick even with a clear coat ontop? I was using an ultra flat krylon fusion black paint.

The plexi is actually heavier then the diamond plate, so we'll have to build a pretty sturdy stand

[msmrx57]

The problem with paint not sticking is it needs either a mechanical(scuffed suface) or chemical(ethching primer) bite to adhere. So a shiny polished surface without using an etching primer it will flake sooner or later, depending on how much it gats handled. Even painting an already painted suface you would need to do the same prep work to get lasting results. This should be a very cool 8) mod so I'd hate to see a paint problem muck it up for you. You can use a scotchbrite pad or fine steelwool to scuff the surface as sandpaper would be a pain around the diamond areas. Good luck and can't wait to see how it turns out.:up:

[NocturnaL]

The problem with paint not sticking is it needs either a mechanical(scuffed suface) or chemical(ethching primer) bite to adhere. So a shiny polished surface without using an etching primer it will flake sooner or later, depending on how much it gats handled. Even painting an already painted suface you would need to do the same prep work to get lasting results. This should be a very cool 8) mod so I'd hate to see a paint problem muck it up for you. You can use a scotchbrite pad or fine steelwool to scuff the surface as sandpaper would be a pain around the diamond areas. Good luck and can't wait to see how it turns out.:up:

Thanks for the kind words of wisdom! I have various sanding pads that are very high grit, which I normally use on my gundam models, but I think they will work just fine for the diamond plate. We will most likely have more updates this weekend with actual work added to them!

...Stay locked

[iandh]

You should have it powdercoated gloss black. The surface tends to be more durable and is basically trouble free. If you go into a one man powdercoat shop and make nice with the owner, it will probably end up costing the same as paint, primer, and supplies but with a lot less hassle. I can't imagine a shop charging more than $20-30 to coat the two pieces we are talking here.


Great mod BTW! I hate diamondplate and I actually like this.


Scotchbrite pads as mentioned in the post before are a good idea if you still go with paint. I would personally use the maroon (medium I think) pad.

[NocturnaL]

You should have it powdercoated gloss black. The surface tends to be more durable and is basically trouble free. If you go into a one man powdercoat shop and make nice with the owner, it will probably end up costing the same as paint, primer, and supplies but with a lot less hassle. I can't imagine a shop charging more than $20-30 to coat the two pieces we are talking here.


Great mod BTW! I hate diamondplate and I actually like this.


Scotchbrite pads as mentioned in the post before are a good idea if you still go with paint. I would personally use the maroon (medium I think) pad.

haha, I think im too lazy to actually search for someone in my area to do that. I've tried finding a local car shot / paint shop to paint a bike frame for me, Didn't have any luck with that. I'll do the painting myself, but will run some test pieces first.