Painting my mouse, problem

[Incubi]

Hi everyone, this is my first post, and I have to say, all your amazing mods tempted me very much to mod my pc. As I have never done any modding before, I thought I should start by painting my mouse.
My ideal paint job would be black gloss (or matt, havent decided yet) with a tribal stencil or hand painted design in red.
There is just one problem, my mouse hasn't got any buttons, it just has a curved piece of plastic. Below are two pictures of my current mouse, and what I would like it to look like (badly drawn on paint)(i would like a better tribal design lol).
http://pic.piczo.com/img/i163987562_64617.jpg
http://pic.piczo.com/img/i161416481_5560.gif
Questions:
Will the curve on the mouse make the paint crack as it moves to click?
How should I go about painting it?
What paints do I need?
How should I apply a tribal graphic?
Is there any way of changing the color of the scroll wheel?

[Incubi]

umm... thanks a lot everyone for all your help -.-
I've now sanded down the mouse, and going to paint it tonight. Found a few helpful guides on the net, but none of them answer a few questions I had, like will the paint crack on the bendy bit, and how should I apply a graphic?
Thanks again...
Incubi

[onelegout]

If you are painting with spraypaint in light coats, you will not have any problems with cracking paint.
To apply a tribal graphic you can either use a vinyl sticker, a slide-on transfer, or a stencil. googling these terms will bring up all the information you need :)
I don't know about the scroll wheel but I wouldnt think that paint would adhere to the rubber. I expect that you would need some type of dye or stain - maybe others can help you with that
Peace
H

[Incubi]

Thanks a bunch, onelegout :D ! I take back my sarky comment on post #2 :)

[Malatory]

If you use Vinyl Dye on the Mouse and wheele. It would bend with the plastic. No sanding needed (unless you wanted the texture removed.

Then graphic that you want would be good to use a stencel or sticker of some kind.

EDIT: there are times when a post shows up and maybe we miss it or it is one of those time we are at work and can not read everything.

[Incubi]

Thanks also to Malatory! :D
I know I sound nerdy, but I've just got home from school, and Mum is making me wait until she gets home before I can spray paint my mouse :rolleyes: . Don't blame me! Im only 13!

edit: Oh and I just noticed, in the additional options for an advanced post, rating a post. Why would you rate a pos?

[Malatory]

Just take it apart 1st .. wouldnt want to get paint on the inside or the bottom where your Mum would let you do anything like this again. :)

[Incubi]

lol, I did to that, and my mouse case can be taken into two parts on its own, so I painted the bottom red and the main curvy bit black. Actually, I need to go down now, to check if the paint is dry.

[Malatory]

Just realized your about 7 hours ahead of me. so aprox 9pm for you. Letting the paint dry for a couple of days will keep it from sticking together.

Plus once you are done a good clear coat will be needed.

[Incubi]

kk thanks :) Know where I could pick up some clear coat?

[onelegout]

In my experience, letting the paint dry for 2 days or so is only neccesary if you are using glossy paint. If you are using matte paint, it should be fine as soon as it is dry.

[Incubi]

lonelegout- thanks for all your help along my project :D you too Malatory :D
Ok then, done the tribal design, and Mum has got the clear coat on her way home from work, I'll probably post a few pictures in a few hours!

[onelegout]

lonelegout- thanks for all your help along my project :D you too Malatory :D
Ok then, done the tribal design, and Mum has got the clear coat on her way home from work, I'll probably post a few pictures in a few hours!
no problem! that's what this community is for! :) One last point with the clear coat - do VERY thin layers, and lots of them. When I say thin, I mean lightly dust it with the paint holding the can far enough away that the clearcoat settles on the surface instead of 'spraying' onto it at speed. Wait at least an hour between each coat - you will want to do many coats this way, and by doing this you will acheive a nice even finish. If you go for one thick coat you will get an uneven finish even with drips and sometimes it turns a little cloudy or yellow
Good luck! post your results! :)
H

P.S. I live in chichester! What school do you go to? :D
Edit: dont worry Im not a paedophile :D

[Incubi]

I've done the final coat, and will put my finished mouse back together and take pics tomorrow.
To PS: I go to Oaklands School in Waterlooville
To Edit: Lol, ok

--Edit--
thought i should upload a couple of pictures on the production process. (sorry about the quality, i should buy a new camera)
http://img50.imageshack.us/img50/6439/casemouse00119rf.th.jpg
http://img372.imageshack.us/img372/1056/casemouseboth00163ii.th.jpg

[Incubi]

Sorry to double post, but the clear gloss felt quite tacky, so I'm letting it dry until tomorrow. I'll take pictures then.

--Edit (only 1 hour later)--
Woah! Only an hour over the radiator really cleared things up. Here's a pictures of my first project!
Thanks again for all your help...
http://img376.imageshack.us/img376/9246/finished00240cy.jpg

[onelegout]

looks grand for a first try kid. Im not too sure about the design myself; I would have kept it black and red but thats just my opinion, as long as youre proud of it thats what matters eh? :)
So whats the next project gonna be then? :D

[Incubi]

Thanks for the feedback :)
I think the next project is gonna be my case, but I'm going to do a LOAD of research before I go anywhere near it.

--Edit--
What modding books do you suggest I buy?

[onelegout]

What modding books do you suggest I buy?
Our very own paul capello (Crimson Sky) has a fantastic book on this. I could not find it on an english site but im sure somebody could point you in the right direction! :)

[Incubi]

Oh I've heard a bit about that one, apparently very good. Couldn't find it on amazon.co.uk, but amazon.com are doing it. Quite a dilemma though, torn between this:
http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/science/6fd6/
and this
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0789731924/sr=1-1/qid=1138953653/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-9877064-3416867?%5Fencoding=UTF8
lol thinkgeek.com has some wicked stuff!

[Incubi]

STDP, but just bought the Antworks thing (thinkgeek.com url) on ebay for not much, so dilemma sorted :)

[tybrenis]

Hey mate, nice mod. I'm only 14 myself, good job for a first timer.

I highly recomend Paul's book, I own it myself, it was one of the first things that turned me on to modding.

[Incubi]

Thanks :)