Painting help

[Nagoshi]

Okay so basically I was surfing the worklogs and went on the HP-Server from Defyant (nice work ;)) and I felt in love with this color finish :

With the Fans ready and the painted front touch dry ..the front of the case can be fitted up for a looksee :)

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y165/Defyantmods/HPResurrection%20SERVER/IMG_4104.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y165/Defyantmods/HPResurrection%20SERVER/IMG_4109.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y165/Defyantmods/HPResurrection%20SERVER/IMG_4114.jpg

Id like some help to get this finish, I really love the way the black reflects the lights, and I never painted anything in my life (except at school, but this doesnt count much, eh) so I dont know a sh!t about painting. Its like telling to someone who doesnt know what is RAM to go in his bios to overclock his computer... im a noob :)

Altho right now I did not began the modding I wanted to do, but its coming soon, I must plan to have some cash to buy probly a 120mm fan, probly a PVC tube for a blowhole, paint, and all other stuff Ill need for this :)

[Rankenphile]

The best start would be to read through this thread (http://thebestcasescenario.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1358), which will give you a good primer (no pun intended) on the basics of painting.

The real basics of painting are: clean it, sand it, prime it, sand it, paint it, sand it, paint it, sand it, paint it, sand it, clearcoat it, sand it, clearcoat it, sand it, buff it, wait eight weeks, wax it. Always use very light coats, always let them dry thoroughly. Take your time, and you'll have show-quality paint jobs every time.

[CanaBalistic]

To me that doesnt look like paint at all (i know it is but...) It looks just like a jiffy marker. They have that slight purple reflexion to em.

The idea with the sanding is to ruff up the paint so the next coat really sticks well. if you sand through to the primer below its pretty much a do-over

I Get decent results when i pre sand to smooth then apply paint. but it all depends on how nice you want your paint job to be.

If you fallow ranken's technique you should get a final result that would make funk master flex jealous.

[Nagoshi]

Okay so thanks for the answers :) I did look in the thread you told me to read and I still got some questions :

Primer/Paint/Clearcoat : gotta need help on this, I dont have a clue of what it is (im from Quebec so my english is not top-quality, and I dont know much about english's product names so sorry ^^;) What kind/information I need to use/know bout this?

Wetsand : I suppose its using wet sanding paper?


crazybillybob said:
Pick up some 2000 grit. It works better for the final color layer, and clear coats.

My rule of thumb 2-3 coats primer then wetsand with 1000, 2-3 coats of color then wet with 1000, 1 top coat of color wetsand with 2000 (lightly you just want to smooth out the orange peel), then 3 coats of clear wetsand with 2000, then 1 light coat of clear, buff and polish NO WAX. Let it sit for 30-45 days Then wax.
How much I need to sand the thing? How much time I need to let between each coat/sanding and stuff? What kind of wax I should use? Are these steps the same for plastic and aluminium panels?


Ima read thru the worklogs for steps on how I will paint the thing, Ill get some infos on how to use the products and everything but Id like more infos on what Ive wrote in this post, so I won't take 1 year to paint my front panel ^^;

Thanks alot for your patience and sorry if my questions are dumb!

[Rankenphile]

Okay so thanks for the answers :) I did look in the thread you told me to read and I still got some questions :

Primer/Paint/Clearcoat : gotta need help on this, I dont have a clue of what it is (im from Quebec so my english is not top-quality, and I dont know much about english's product names so sorry ^^;) What kind/information I need to use/know bout this?

Wetsand : I suppose its using wet sanding paper?


How much I need to sand the thing? How much time I need to let between each coat/sanding and stuff? What kind of wax I should use? Are these steps the same for plastic and aluminium panels?


Ima read thru the worklogs for steps on how I will paint the thing, Ill get some infos on how to use the products and everything but Id like more infos on what Ive wrote in this post, so I won't take 1 year to paint my front panel ^^;

Thanks alot for your patience and sorry if my questions are dumb!


No such thing as a stupid question.

Primer is basically a base coat that goes on before the paint. Usually it is a medium grey, but it also comes in black, white and other colors (rarely). It provides a good surface for the paint to adhere to, and prevents chipping, peeling and other bad stuff.

Paint is self-explanatory, for the most part, but you'll want to make sure that your paint, primer and clear-coats are of the same type - only use latex with other latex, enamel with enamel, etc. For your purposes, a good enamel paint would probably be the best bet, but someone who has a bit more expertise may correct me on this if I'm wrong.

Clear coat is basically a sealer spray that goes on clear and protects your paint job from scratches, dings, etc. It also provides the rich, glossy finish. It is best to put on a few layers of it, over the course of a few days, with some sanding in between to smooth it out a little.

Waxing is important if you want the super-high-gloss finish. To do this, simply get an automotive wax (think TurtleWax for your car) and apply it following the directions. Do not put this on for at least four to six weeks after your last coat of paint, however, as the paint will out-gas for at least that amount of time (vapors will seep from your paint), and the gas can get trapped inside the wax finish, creating a very nasty fog look that will ruin your careful paint job.

I would allow at least four hours, if not twenty-four hours, before sanding at all. You want the paint to be completely dry - not just dry to the touch. It smooths your finish down, getting rid of the "orange peel" (slight bumpy texture that can result from paint drying slightly before it reaches your surface, creating tiny bumps all over) and allowing for a smoother, richer finish.

As far as wetsanding goes, I'm really not an expert on that, so I'll let someone else take care of that part of your questions.

For great examples of some of these techniques, read through some of Defyant's worklogs, he has a great eye for detail and really takes his time when it comes to creating a very smooth finish and high-quality paint job.

[crazybillybob]

Wet sanding, This I can help you with.

We'll start with the primer layer. Make sure the primer you buy is wet sandable (Rustolem and others make it), It goes on a little thicker to let you take that bit of the top to smooth it up.

The sanding part. Get a bucket or bowl (bath tub depending on the size of your part) fill it about 1/2 way with warm water. Now take your 600grit Wet/dry sand paper (it's important that the paper say wet/dry, if it's not made to get wet the paper backing peels off way before your done) and put it in your water make sure it gets good an wet (may take a few mins with a fresh piece of paper). Now get the area on your part that you going to start sanding wet. If it's a small piece and I can submerge it (like it's all metal or plastic with not electrical parts in it) I toss it in the water too. Now start sanding slow small circles never stay in the same spot of more then a few seconds, you can always go back and take more off but adding it is more work! If the surface your working on is flat use a sanding block, cause no matter how good you think you are we'll see the bumps and valleys left by the pressure of you fingers, if it's a curve use a piece of pipe or some thing else that's close t the same size as a block. in odd areas that you have no choice use your fingers. You'll know when your done when the area feels smooth, almost slippery when it's wet. When you reach this point, rinse the part with clear water, dry it off with a lint free towel, and Let it sit over night (preferably in a warm dry area...NOT HOT, just 70+ degrees F or about 20+ degrees C). Now before you apply the first color coat wipe the whole part down with Alcohol (I use denatured, but rubbing alcohol works in a pinch), wait about 30 mins for the alcohol to flash off before you paint. Also don't touch the part with your bare hands once you wipe it down. The Oil in your hands will keep the paint from sticking. Paint with the top coat, wait 15-20 mins do another top coat, (if your only doing 4 color coats stop here skip to next wet sanding) for 6 to 8 coats of color (crazy but needed for some jobs), wait 15-20 do another color coat, now let the paint dry over night. Once dry your going to use the same technique I explained above but you want to use 1000Grit paper. Then do the same color coat phase, wet sand with 1000 again (you can use 1500 if you can find it), now do the same as color coat but use the clear, the trick with clear is to lay 3-4 coats, then wet sand with 1000(1500) and lay very thin last coat over the part. If done right it will look almost like you buffed it. Now let the part sit for 48-72 hours then buff. once buffed let it sit for no less the 45 days (60 to 90 if you can) then wax with a car wax.

Hope this clears some things up, if not post the Q's we'll try and answer them. I know that the Grits are different in Europe, so if there not the same in Canada ask your local hardware guy they should have a chart or know what the cross ref are (sorry that's the one thing I don't have here).

CrazyBillybob

[Nagoshi]

Thanks for your time :) Yea you've cleared quite much things in my mind now.

Some more questions (yeah again T_T)

What kind of paint/primer/clear coat to use? Enamel? Latex? Any pros/cons for them?

I dont know wat kind of grit we have here, but when Ill have some time Ill go to the shop facing my house and grab some information about prices and products I could use.

Basically, what I am going to paint, is this :
http://www.pisschrist.net/uca/Frost/compshots/p4frontshot.jpg
It is not flat, so I will need to do the sanding with my hands.

After finishing the painting and stuff, can I use the computer case before waxing it? Like, while waiting for the ~45 days, after how much time the vapors won't be toxic anymore? Cause while Ill be waiting for the 45 days, Ill surely have my new computer pieces, and Ill need a case for them... maybe I could wait some time so we can't smell the paint anymore, then use it.

When you say warm water for the wetsanding, how warm? around ambient temp?

Hmmmm for now I cant think of more questions, Id really like to begin with the modding soon, but for this I need to buy a 120mm fan and other components. My father told me they have a dremel where he works, and he works near the house so Ill ask him if I can go there and use the dremel and other tools to mod my front panel. Ill also paint the stuff there, its like a big well-vented factory, they painted alot of things recenly andI never smelled vapors so it could be one nice place to paint my stuff. Only thing, its alot dusty (its a black earth ''potting soil'' company so there's dust anywhere) but it should not be a problem when Im painting.

[Cevinzol]

What kind of paint/primer/clear coat to use? Enamel? Latex? Any pros/cons for them?

Whichever you choose stick with one type for all layers (ie. latex primer & paint). Some would even recommend going with only 1 manufacturer since they design their coatings to work together.
For example don't put an enamel clearcoat over latex.

Some Pro & cons:
Enamel will give you a harder finish but is less flexable and can chip off if bent.
Latex cleans up with soap and water.

[CanaBalistic]

You can bake your case to reduce the time it takes for the paint to dry. Ill also sugjest you remove the rivits in your case and paint each piece individually. This also helps if you've got a smaller oven in your house. Now for metal its super easy. The hard part is hanging your piece from one of the oven racks. Bake the sucker on hi for 10-15 min then let cool. For plastic its a tad bit trickier. You have to heat it as much as possible without melting it. I found that puting it in for 5 min then leting it cool then reheating works well.

This is what auto body shops do when painting cars. It drasticly reduces the time needed for the paint, primer, and clear coat to harden and cure.

[Nagoshi]

Thanks again :D

Well I dont plan about bending my computer case alot so enamel or latex should both works. :P But Ill try to stick with only one brand for all my work.


Cana-Balsitic wrote:
Ill also sugjest you remove the rivits in your case and paint each piece individually.
Haha, theres no rivets in mine, everything is hold with bolts and clips :P But be sure Ill take out the whole thing and paint them one by one.

Baking my stuff after painting it? Hmm.. interesting idea.. would a normal oven works? :P

Nobody told me about painting aluminium/steel so Id say its probly the same as plastic... im looking for more infos on that.

Also Ive just got a superb idea about my I/O panel that will be fit in my 3.5'' bay (2USBs, headphone/micro jacks, power/reset, power/HDD LEDs) and with a little door that will hide all this stuff :P (the door will actually be the 3.5'' empty panel) Plus, a 120mm fan SHOULD perfecly fit in my front panel's space (Im planning to make a blowhole, its gonna be a tight work :D)

I cant wait to begin the work!!

[crazybillybob]

The Steps I discribed will work for metal, and plastics. As this is your first painting job, I would stay away from the oven bake trick. It's really easy to toast your finish. Once you get this one under your belt then try changing the way yoou do things (Just my 2 Loonies)

Crazybillybob

[Rankenphile]

I'm going to go with CBB here and recommend staying away from the oven, especially with your first mod, and especially since this case has a lot of plastic in it. If you want to help accelerate your paint drying, look into getting a radiant space heater - the fanless kind with the parabolic dish. They are quiet, put out a surprising amount of heat and are easy to use directionally, so you can sort of aim the heater at your stuff. Find a good, dustless area where you can hang your painted pieces, set up your heater and aim it at the parts. Have a fan on low somewhere in the room to help circulate the air gently, so that it doesn't fry stuff, but it has to be a dustless area or you will end up with all sorts of little bits sticking to the surface of your case as it dries.

One of the tricks that I've seen work well is to spray the room down with a cheap squirt bottle full of water, set on mist. This will help to keep dust and other airborne particles down. Do this about five minutes before you paint, taking care not to get anything you will be painting wet.

A couple of side notes - if you do use a space heater to help with the accelleration, don't do it in the same room you painted in - the fumes can create a fire hazard, and adding a space heater in the mix is not usually a good idea. Also, keep a close eye on the space heater - don't just turn it on in your garage and leave the room for hours on end. Just like in the room you paint in, the room with the heater does need to be ventilated, as the painted pieces will fume for a long time, and are quite toxic.

Fumes are bad. Fire is bad. Fumes are dangerous. Fire is dangerous. Treat both with care and respect, because both can hurt you if you do not.

[Nagoshi]

Okay so basically no oven, and I need a way to blow some air (hot if possible) on the painted stuff, without sending dust on them? thats ****ing perfect, i live at like 1km of a huge black earth potting soil company... can hide anything black under brown dust during a good windy day of summer.

Ill see if I couldnt hand the stuff in my room, I know thats going to stink but normally during summer I leave the window opened and a fan running in the room. Or maybe in the basement, altho it's generally fresher than in the house.

[Rankenphile]

you don't need a way to blow hot air on them at all, it's just a way to help speed up the process. I don't recommend leaving freshly-painted things in your bedroom, however. The fumes can, and will, cause you harm.

[Nagoshi]

okay...

what Id need to do is to heat the pieces without blowing much air so theres less dust going on it? and I know thats not necessary, but I dont wanna lose all my summer doing it... ^^;

[Rankenphile]

Honestly it isn't going to speed up the process a LOT, but will help shave an hour off each step, or so.

What you will want is a parabolic space heater. It looks like this:

http://www.heatershop.com/images/lw_model_sun1_small_157_201.jpg

You can find them for around $50 at lots of places - any big-box store like Fred Meyer, Wal*Mart (god forbid), Target, Home Despot, etc. etc. should carry them. They direct heat in one direction, without using a fan, using a radient process - basically they have a heating coil and a parabolic dish (like a radar dish) that aims the heat in a specific direction. Set the heater back far enough that it isn't going to hurt anything (at least 5 or 6 feet), turn it on, give it about 10 minutes to warm up completely and wave your hand around where you will be hanging your pieces to dry. It should feel quite warm, but not "hot". Then hang a piece of thin metal, similar to a panel from your case, or plastic if your case is made of it, and leave it there for another ten minutes. Check it every minute or two to make sure it isn't hot to the touch, but is being properly warmed. If you're all set, go paint and you're good to go.

Make sure the heater isn't near anything that can catch fire, and isn't going to tip over or anything.

I wouldn't worry about losing your entire summer just painting a case. It shouldn't take more than a week, two weeks tops, to get a high-quality paint job, and you can work on other parts of the mod while the paint dries.

[Nagoshi]

Okay thanks for the info :)

Yea I forgot that I could work the case and paint the stuff at the same time, and makes the corrections if needed... I think ima get my IO panel set there first, Ill need to re-wire my 2 USB jacks to my internal front USB (you know, these pins on the mobo that you jack on the front usb... well mines were using a plug that you would jack on one usb slot at the rear... doing this, you only move 2 rear USBs to the front), fit my HDD/Power LEDs in it, fit my Power/Reset buttons in it, make the power/reset buttons, make all this fit in the little panel, make the little panel fit in a 3.5'' bay perfectly, find the color theme (probly black with red lighting), blowhole in the front, fit a 120mm in the front, and probly an exhaust on the side for the CPU (with a 120mm fan).

Thats alot of things, but should be fairly easy to do, if I take my time to do everything :) Thanks alot for everyone's help! Youve cleared alot of problems for me :)

[nil8]

If you're getting your components too early, I would consider buying another cheap case to throw them in until you get your mod done. No reason to go without a box because you're modding.

Plus, then you have another case to throw your next idea at.

I've painted a few things somewhat successfully, I've never used any type of heater. I've always gone either the slow dry method or talked to the local auto body shop. If they're cool (and most of them are), they won't mind throwing your teeny case in their oven with a car they're working on for like 20 bucks.

[Nagoshi]

Well I dont know anybody that works at local auto body shop so :(

Ill see about the next case, I did not thought about this idea... but I could just throw my pieces in my Pentium2 case. okay, this case is freaking ugly, but it could be a temporary solution :)