Junk Mouse

[OrsoDesigns]

Well I would like to start off by introducing myself. My name is Kyle and i have been lurking around for awhile trying to soak up knowledge. :glasses:
Anyways, while I am saving funds for a more serious mod I thought I could use the time to refine some of my skills needed for modding.

That leads me to this project. One area I have never really dealt in is painting. So I have a old Logitech mouse that came with my wife's old dell PC.
Since it is no longer used I thought it would make a great practice experiment.

The 1st thing I did is read thru the painting section in Paul's book The MaximumPC Guide to Extreme PC Mods (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0789731924/thebestcase06-20/002-8841673-2223222?creative=327641&camp=14573&link_code=as1). Next I spent lots of time reading thru this great tutorial (http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7162) on painting.

http://www.orsodesigns.com/images/modding/mouse/1.jpg

On to the Project! The 1st step was to take apart the mouse. 4 screws and it comes apart nicely.

http://www.orsodesigns.com/images/modding/mouse/4.jpg

Next I used green painters tape to mask off the name plate areas on the bottom of the mouse. I really didnt care if I painted them but I used it as an opportunity to work on my masking skills.

http://www.orsodesigns.com/images/modding/mouse/5.jpg

Next, I setup my work area in the garage. I didnt have any craft paper on hand so I used newspapers. Also, looking back on the project It is probably best to clean your work area before painting. Im in the middle of remodeling my house and I have saw dust everywhere in my garage. This did not help the situation at all!

After that I used Denatured Alcohol to clean the mouse very well. Then I used some tack cloth to remove any dust still on the plastic.
Next,I used Dupli-color adhesion promoter on the plastic. I applied 2 coats of adhesion promoter with about 20 min in between each coat.

Next, It was time to paint. I decided to use orange and black for this project. I picked up some duplicolor in the respective colors.After using tack cloth once more, I sprayed the 1st color coat very light. I applied 3 more color coats while letting it dry 15-20 in between each coat.

http://www.orsodesigns.com/images/modding/mouse/6.jpg
http://www.orsodesigns.com/images/modding/mouse/7.jpg
http://www.orsodesigns.com/images/modding/mouse/8.jpg

After the 4th coat I carefully brought the project inside to dry overnight.

http://www.orsodesigns.com/images/modding/mouse/9.jpg

The next day it look pretty nice but had a few bumps and dimples.

http://www.orsodesigns.com/images/modding/mouse/10.jpg

So with the help of my dog Zeus, I used some 3M Liquid Rubbing compound to remove the dimples.

http://www.orsodesigns.com/images/modding/mouse/11.jpg

After that I gave it a final color coat and let it dry over night once more.

Next, I used Dupli-color clear coat to give it 3 coats of clear with about 20 min in between each coat. After the clear coat had cured for around 48 hours, I used the 3M rubbing compund to very very gently smooth the clear coat.

Finally after removing the rubbing compund residue, I used Mequiar's NXT Tech Wax to give it a very nice mirror shine, reassembled the mouse.

http://www.orsodesigns.com/images/modding/mouse/13.jpg



I think it turned out very nice for a 1st time paint job. Especially since it is a junk mouse anyways! :rolleyes:

The only problems I had was that since it was used there are some small imperfections in the plastic from normal use. Such as small scratches ect.
Does anyone have any advise on how to fix these before you paint?

Any comment and criticism welcome.

[Luke122]

You could use small amounts of bondo to fill in the scratches before painting, but that could be more trouble than it's worth.

Wet sanding between coats will help smooth it out, and leave you with a mirror finish. :)

Good use for a junk mouse though, welcome aboard!

[SgtM]

Good job and welcome aboard! I'll echo Luke in saying that wet sanding between coats, and after the final color coat is a really good idea. Another thing I did before painting my mouse was sand the actual mouse body a little with 400 grit.

example:
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f186/sgtm_usmc/USMC%20case/DSCF2035.jpg

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f186/sgtm_usmc/USMC%20case/DSCF1916.jpg

[OrsoDesigns]

My pictures are not that good. It is actually very smooth and shiney. I thought about wet sanding but in the paint tut. Crimson said there was no need to sand the mouse. I wasnt sure if it would mess up the plastic or not.

SGTM: Very nice! is that emblem a decal or paint?

[SgtM]

It was one of these stickers. I just cut the logo out with an xacto knife.

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f186/sgtm_usmc/USMC%20case/DSCF1906.jpg

[OrsoDesigns]

Did you put it on before the clear coat or after?

[lukeisthecoolest]

i believe he put it on bee4 the clear coat so it wouldn't slide off :/

oh and me and Luke122 are gonna have to have a fight to the death so there is only one Luke here ;) can someone set that up 4 us?

JK 8)

[jdbnsn]

Great choice of colors!

[SgtM]

Yeah, I put it on under the clear. Now, the sticker measures about 1/16" thick.. because of that, I had to put down 7 coats of clear to get it smooth.

[OrsoDesigns]

Did you do any sanding or polishing between coats of clear? if so did it affect the decal any?


Im asking so many question because soon I am going to do a new mouse (one that actually works!) for myself. Im trying to get some ideas.8)

[SgtM]

Questions are good man.. don't worry about it. That's how we learn.

If I remember correctly, I sanded after the 3rd and 6th coats of clear. I had to be VERY careful while doing that so as not to disturb the sticker. That being said, if you use a waterslide decal like Crimson did on various parts of Doom3, then it's going to be VERY thin and your first coat of clear will cover it up. If you go that route, you could probably get away with only 2 or 3 coats of clear. I had to use so many coats because of the thickness of the sticker. I couldn't use any other mask or filler to bring it to a smooth finish, so I had to rely on layers and layers of clear. I didn't find the polish that I'm now using on the case panels until after the mouse was finished, so it's not polished yet, and won't be for some time because I'm moving over the next 2 weeks.

If you need to know more, don't hesitate to ask.

[Luke122]

i believe he put it on bee4 the clear coat so it wouldn't slide off :/

oh and me and Luke122 are gonna have to have a fight to the death so there is only one Luke here ;) can someone set that up 4 us?

JK 8)

Hahah.... I've got seniority. :D

[Bucko]

Luke122 has you on a technicality there lukeisthecoolest... :D

[lukeisthecoolest]

Hahah.... I've got seniority. :D


you win :(

[FuzzyPlushroom]

lukeisthecoolest, at this point, I suggest that you claim that your name is referring to the original Luke, to keep yourself from being pounded into the ground. :D