B-day present: Project Sister1

[Foxtrot9000]

alright so i was sitting on my ass reading around and for some reason i decided case modding kicks ass, so i searched for a site about it. fast forward 5 min, i find myself at the gates of TBCS and the first link i click on is the mars city project. "holy ****" is all i can think to myself, that is amazing. now I'm inspired! head spinning with ideas what should i do? who for? what money?! in the confusion my eyes land in the corner of my room, there sits a e-machines athalon 1800+ ready to go (less a mobo). great i think now what to do with it? i look to my blinking outlook icon and find out that its my sisters birthday on the 15th. or should i call her my currently computer-less sister? and so it was born! my project, although not super impressive, is to paint a nice case for my sister and get it running. and here we are.

here are a couple of pics of what im up against:
http://www.gelfandnet.com/pics/project%20sister%20one/face.jpg
http://www.gelfandnet.com/pics/project%20sister%20one/overview.jpg
i figure the first order of business is to get rid of all the stickers and sand a bit. the front one took about 20min and these tools deff. helped.
http://www.gelfandnet.com/pics/project%20sister%20one/sticker.jpg
http://www.gelfandnet.com/pics/project%20sister%20one/thumbnail.jpg
http://www.gelfandnet.com/pics/project%20sister%20one/scraper.jpg
this left me with this which the super de-gooper took care of with almost no effort.
http://www.gelfandnet.com/pics/project%20sister%20one/stickerglue.jpg
http://www.gelfandnet.com/pics/project%20sister%20one/supergooper.jpg
http://www.gelfandnet.com/pics/project%20sister%20one/stickergluegone.jpg

with the case completely void of stickers it was on to the next step of making it up i go, this sanding stage? i figured that sanding this asshole would let the paint stick better. man was i right, but i did make one big mistake. i sanded very unevenly. i learned later that this adversely effects the finish.

http://www.gelfandnet.com/pics/project%20sister%20one/sanded.jpg

with that done i figured i should gets me some paint. to the autopart store i go!! i had seen some colour shift paint there the other day and wanted to buy it but couldn't think of a reason for it. now i have that reason.

20 bucks and ten min later i had it!
http://www.gelfandnet.com/pics/project%20sister%20one/paint.jpg

and what a bonus, it has everything i need!
no now im all reved up to paint but im not sure how exactly to go about it or what i want it too look like in the end. i figured since its supposed to be for my sister that i want to personalize it a little. i eventually came to the conclusion that i want the names of the bands she like all over the case along with the names of out family members. heres where my torture begins.

armed with a fake smile i approach my sister with a piece of paper and a pen. she has seen me working and so far has not a wisp of an idea as to what im doing. or conversation goes something like this.

sis: hey lane what the heck are you doing on the kitchen table?

me: school project. say, do you wanna do me a favour and write down the names of your favourite 6 bands?

sis: that's a weird request, what for?

me: school project, just do it (mean look)

and that's that. i have the list and now all i have to do is figure out how to get the names on the case. i eventually decide that i will print off the logos, cut them out with an exacto knife and then tape them to the primed case (since the primer is an ok looking black (lucky me)) then i will place painters tape over the cut out logos and cut out the letters again with and exacto knife (again)

with my plan ready i set off on priming the case.
prep
http://www.gelfandnet.com/pics/project%20sister%20one/thinner.jpg
http://www.gelfandnet.com/pics/project%20sister%20one/thinnerwipe.jpg
http://www.gelfandnet.com/pics/project%20sister%20one/setting.jpg

due to the weather i had to be quick about my painting. paint will not stick when the surface is cold.

http://www.gelfandnet.com/pics/project%20sister%20one/primer1.jpg
http://www.gelfandnet.com/pics/project%20sister%20one/primer2.jpg

as i was saying about the cold =(

http://www.gelfandnet.com/pics/project%20sister%20one/dontpaintincold.jpg

lets fast forward a bit. thinner id on and dry, now comes the most tedious thing i have ever spent 5 hours on a Saturday doing. cutting out her band names... but first a test on my theory to make sure it works. with the name of our family's computer tech and good friend.

http://www.gelfandnet.com/pics/project%20sister%20one/robcut.jpg
http://www.gelfandnet.com/pics/project%20sister%20one/robfinish.jpg

looks like it will work great. time to start.

http://www.gelfandnet.com/pics/project%20sister%20one/template.jpg
http://www.gelfandnet.com/pics/project%20sister%20one/cutting.jpg
http://www.gelfandnet.com/pics/project%20sister%20one/tape.jpg

it looks pretty good when i get all the names on. but it took damn long enough. on the bright side i deff. walked away with much better exacto skills.

heres the finished look while i was putting on last primer

http://www.gelfandnet.com/pics/project%20sister%20one/lastprimer1.jpg
http://www.gelfandnet.com/pics/project%20sister%20one/lastprimer2.jpg

alright the primer is drying and its almost time for the colour coat. wish me luck or just tell me i suck, either way im having fun with my first mod =)

[Silenced_Coyote]

I assume that your sister's b-day was coming up real soon, so you had a short time frame. Which sucks. I hate to be rushed. Can't control the weather or change your sis's b-day to the summer time. lol

Anyways, I like the idea. I actually had a similar idea and it was also for my sister. But it never saw the light of day. Not yet at least. I guess she recently got into watching extreme sports (is that what it's called?) with people doing insane tricks on dirt bikes and skateboards. I was thinking of taking brand names that she liked (like Fox) and do something with that. Maybe etch them on a window.

It looks like you opend up that PSU to paint it. You are a brave man for doing that for your first mod.

[Foxtrot9000]

thank you for your feedback and support. and as far as opening the PSU is concerned i work as an electrician and i have been studying electronics (ohms law, the difference between amps and watts, current types, and basically everything) for a long time. i have had many past projects that have to do with electronics and have worked but they never fell in the computer case mod category. sans there absence here. =)

[Airbozo]

Nice beginning there Foxtrot! +rep You are brave, for doing the paint in the cold. (Braver than opening up a PS!)


GO LEAFS!

[Foxtrot9000]

thank you very much Airbozo! i am glad you appreciate the effort iv been putting into this. to tell the truth i was a little nervous about joining and posting a work log right away. especially after what razor said.

Very Impressive. For a 9 poster, I was expecting crap but this isn't bad

I just don't like people who just join a community just to post up there **** and get a few "wow"s and "ohhh"s. Thats why before I clicked on it I expected crap but this is good.
talk like that is an incredible put off for new members. i hope to become an active member of this community.

i was hoping to post some pictures of it with 3.5 coats of colour tonight but my camera batteries are dead =( hopefully i will get farther tommorow.

[Maz]

just when you do the color, mind the cold. i had the paint gum up on me once due to the lack of thermals.

[Foxtrot9000]

heh i know that now. luckily i got the paint on just fine and got it inside. the psu was the one who got to cold but it doesn't bother me to much since its in the back. the paint is actually drying really quick. ive noticed that with this nifty colour shift paint you really need to have a good primer coat on, also you don't get the full colour shift until coat 4+. but damn for 20 bucks (3$usd =P ) you get a really awesome finish. tomorrow morning ill throw the first clear coat on! =)

[Omega]

20 bucks? Where, AU?

[Silenced_Coyote]

I don't know what the weather is in AU is like right now. But I am going to take a guess that it sure isn't snowing. Airbozo also said "go Leafs". So I'm assuming it is 20 Canadian dollars.

Then again, I just came back from a basketball game where the opposing team dropped 100+ on us while we had an astounding 14 or so. Close game... So I might not be thinking straight.

[Bucko]

It definatly isn'r snowing in AU (I assume you mean Australia), as it's summer over here and nice and warm.

[Drew]

Kudos for throwing colour shift paint about in the snow, you did real well if it's stuck properly.

I painted a case up for my kids (just normal flat red car paint) and it took ages to buff out the 'fog' that the cold put in (I did it in my cooooooold loft).

Just hope that the clear doesn't fog up too bad...

Good luck, looks great!

:edit: Almost forgot, what sort of person can leave stickers on stuff?

I haaate stickers, on DVDs, PCs, TVs or anything. Just need to peeeeeel....

[agnat]

Wanting to see what this turns out like with the color shifting paint. It's a good idea and I'm glad to see your pics throughout the worklog - makes it better!

Agnat

[Foxtrot9000]

definitely. i would not post a worklog unless i had at least some pics. on pics, no clicks =P

as for the paint, and where i live. i live in a place called Peterborough, its about an hour out from Toronto in Ontario. (my country is Canada)
it is currently a very mild -30c with windchill, shorts weather as i call it.

i bought the paint from a chain store here called Partsource.

im curretly uploading the super high res pics to my ftp then ill be posting an update.

[Foxtrot9000]

alright so as for those pics i promised! here they are. it may seem like a big jump but i now have 3-4 coats of colour on and ive peeled back the tape.

http://www.gelfandnet.com/pics/project%20sister%20one/paint1.jpg
http://www.gelfandnet.com/pics/project%20sister%20one/paint2.jpg
http://www.gelfandnet.com/pics/project%20sister%20one/paint3.jpg

with the paint on its time to peel off those stickers!

http://www.gelfandnet.com/pics/project%20sister%20one/sticker1.jpg
http://www.gelfandnet.com/pics/project%20sister%20one/sticker2.jpg
http://www.gelfandnet.com/pics/project%20sister%20one/sticker3.jpg
http://www.gelfandnet.com/pics/project%20sister%20one/sticker4.jpg

well the colour shift looks really good, the stickers are a bit choppy in some places with some scratched from the exacto knife but im happy with how they turned out. now its time for laqur, ill post later tonight with the 2 coat pics.

for your viewing pleasure below are the links to the 7.2 megapixle versions of the above pictures. 56k beware as these are 3-4 megs each.
from top to bottom:
pic1 (http://www.gelfandnet.com/pics/project%20sister%20one/CIMG0327.JPG)
pic2 (http://www.gelfandnet.com/pics/project%20sister%20one/CIMG0328.JPG)
pic3 (http://www.gelfandnet.com/pics/project%20sister%20one/CIMG0331.JPG)
pic4 (http://www.gelfandnet.com/pics/project%20sister%20one/CIMG0332.JPG)
pic5 (http://www.gelfandnet.com/pics/project%20sister%20one/CIMG0333.JPG)
pic6 (http://www.gelfandnet.com/pics/project%20sister%20one/CIMG0334.JPG)
pic7 (http://www.gelfandnet.com/pics/project%20sister%20one/CIMG0335.JPG)

[Foxtrot9000]

I love this forum and I think that the people here who are a part of it are some of the most talented people who iv ever met. But this login loop thing is ridiculous. I don’t know if it’s the forum or just my retarded ass comp but this site will only work semi properly on opera. IE (my normal browser) and firefox (I hate firefox just tried it for the Google toolbar) both just loop on and on.

Anyway....

I have a couple more pictures now =) my sis's birthday is tomorrow but I think this will be a belated gift. The mobo is in the mail but I doubt ill see it before tomorrow evening.
pics:
A couple of shots with 2 lacquer coats on.
http://www.gelfandnet.com/pics/project%20sister%20one/CIMG0337.jpg
http://www.gelfandnet.com/pics/project%20sister%20one/CIMG0341.jpg

time to take off the tape and take a look at it!

http://www.gelfandnet.com/pics/project%20sister%20one/CIMG0345.jpg
http://www.gelfandnet.com/pics/project%20sister%20one/CIMG0346.jpg
http://www.gelfandnet.com/pics/project%20sister%20one/CIMG0347.jpg

OH MY GOD my case turneed into a dog!

http://www.gelfandnet.com/pics/project%20sister%20one/CIMG0348.jpg

naw just kidding
time to tape off the back and prime the front. this part sucked because the store only had non spray plastic primer. but being ass my mom paints for a living i was well equiped and informed to handle it.

http://www.gelfandnet.com/pics/project%20sister%20one/CIMG0350.jpg

with it primed i put on some black gloss that i picked up today

http://www.gelfandnet.com/pics/project%20sister%20one/CIMG0351.jpg
http://www.gelfandnet.com/pics/project%20sister%20one/CIMG0352.jpg

the black gloss didnt turn out so good. i have been doing all of my painting in my back washer room (its heated) and so far it hasnt been a problem. but as it turns out the black paint is much higher quality then that auto store stuff so i need to keep the can farther away from the case. there wasnt room in there and by the time i noticed the runs it was to late =(
no problem tho, im going to sand them and repaint outside. i was just reluctant before because it was -30 today and very windy. not good painting weather.

hopefully i will have this thing done either by the weekend. or in [pun]theworstcasescenario[/badpun] by the end of the weekend.

thanks for your support!

[Foxtrot9000]

thats odd. the pictures arnt working..... this forum hates me

[edit] nvm, as it turns out you cant have the filename end in capitals. (eg: .jpg = good, .JPG = bad)

[Canadian Eh?]

great mod, but, Toronto Maple Leafs Suck! Montréal all the way w00t!

[Indybird]

First, welcome to the forums
Second, nice paint job, i like the candy look. Can't wait to see it done.

[.Maleficus.]

Looks great man, that paint effect is awesome. Nice job with the writing too, looks well done.

This is going great so far, keep it up!

[Foxtrot9000]

hey thanks for all the feedback. i am relly pleased with the way the paint looks. i fixed the runs in the black paint now it looks npretty damn good. it was my sisters b-day today but thats ok we're pretty lax at my house. i just told her that i bought her something custom mado off ebay and that shed have to wait a couple days for it. =)
the mobo will hopefully get here soon. and i hope to god i will decide on a colour for the front soon. times a wastin'

[agnat]

Really liking this and can't wait to see the finished product!

Thanks,
Agnat