Project - Air Cube v2

[Waynio]

Getting there, no doubt. Will you be painting or otherwise decorating the front panels on the DVD drives?

To be honest I have not give that any thought until you said about it , I will have a go at making my own bezels but if it turns out poor then I will paint the bezels.

Thanks for feedback all .

Today I marked, cut, filed and sanded the left side panel, a basic window hole and a grill for the hdd fan.
I was thinking of having a window on both sides and the top but I remembered that I want a reflection thing going on through the main window so no need.

I started using my dremel and got 1 of the slots done and the dremel was toasty, so I put the dremel mandrel in my dads new rotary air tool and got the whole lot done and then done the curved bits with the dremel.

[Waynio]

Thanks for comments m8s , the rotary air tool was about £20 cheaper than my dremel brand new, the tool stays cool but the compressor sure gets hot but is safe.

And the polishing of the frame begins .
1st time using the power buffer so had to practice a little and seem to have the hang of it now, it gets hot so I'm going to have to take regular breaks every 3 or 4 bars I do.
4 stage process, involving the green machine shown on 1st post, 1st sand any rough bits smooth, then use mop 1 and polish 1, then 2, then 3 and then I have a nice smooth decent polished frame, going to take a while to get done and will post an update once the whole frame is polished and not before.

Here is a few pics of the 1st bits done.

There is only 2 more structoral bits to make, a dual dvd drive holder for inside the case and case feet, I need to order a bit more aluminium thou for what I have in mind, but I can order a good sized flat bar while I'm at it for making custom sized bending pieces, the hdd cages are not going to be fixed to the case so I don't need to worry about them yet, they are going to sit on thick acoustic foam so no hdd vibes at all .

Also because the countersunk rivets are pretty garbage and the current bolts have a tendancy to lose the socket easily I decided to order some good quality High tensile countersunk bolts and going to add washer springs and have the dome nuts ordered for the top bolts that stick out.

[Waynio]

Got the base done.

I just love how it can all be taken apart with ease and can just take the bars off 1 by 1, so glad I chose to use nuts & bolts this time.

I did not polish every single piece, only the pieces that would be seen.

On this pic with the back panel on, I had wet sanded the panel to be ultra smooth using 600 grit, 1200 grit, 2000 grit then I used the metal prep and mirror finish polishes and well it is a very poor look I think.

So decided to do it properly with the power buffer, I will be lucky to get 1 panel done per day as it overheats regular this pic only got to stage 2 of 3 of buffing but already shows a glimpse of what to expect, shame I can't make a cooling mod for it, it has no vent holes so could only cool the case which I doubt would make a difference.

[Waynio]

Thanks for comments.

The dremel cooler I made, I modified again by bending and riveting the scrap from the window cut out so it could be used on the grinder and just plonked a weight on it and was nice and firmly in place, kept it nice and cool all day, was able to get all the inside panels done today, I borrowed a full face respirator for doing the polishing and still got covered in dust, had a fred flintstone beard of dust so I dread to know what it would do to you without a good respirator, it doesn't wash off skin easy neither, I doubt I will do polishing again unless I get a very good respirator and overalls etc, it is just plain nasty what it covers you in.

The filter was white before this shot so it must have kept most of it out.

The lower area I did not do completely as it would not be seen, the back panel was easily the hardest to do and still did not get it quite to the finish I wanted but it will do.

[Waynio]

Thanks for comments m8s
Changed the pics to naked metal .

Just a few more mid day pics, these will be the last pics and update before I paint the exterior panels, I was going to do them white but I would not mind doing a camo paint job, difficult to decide desert, forrest, snow or urban, forrest camo would go well with the fans, desert I'm not to sure about, but overall I think urban or snow camo would look awesome with the polish.

[Waynio]

Doh!, why did I not think of taking the plastic off for this latest shoot , I should delete the last pics and get the plastic off and re do the pics .

Snow camo or urban camo paint job, I don't know yet .

[Waynio]

Decided = Urban and changed pics to naked alu .

[Waynio]

does that look like a duck to anyelse? lol looks wicked tho!

LOL others have said this too and a 3 eyed monster head lol .

Thanks for good comments m8s and oooh an extra bar I see thanks.

I have changed my mind on the paint job quite a few times over the past few days so I'm just going to clean the case up where needed and wait until I have enough money for an ok air brush and some good paint, I really shouldn't rush the finish after the effort I've put in so far, besides maybe if I get rid of the blemishes and scratches by sanding it could look pretty good without paint, I'll have to put something on the polished side so it doesn't get messed up while I sand it, not risking wet sanding as it wil surely mess the polish up.

I still have to make a dvd drive piece so they can be secured to the case at the proper height, I'll make that today and get the psu stand set. And I'll have a try at making my own dvd bezels to give the front extension a nice uniform finish.

[Waynio]

I sanded the panels ready for painting the other day and been deciding since which colour to paint it and got the feet made from a square tube cut to size and put them on the front and back so it goes along the width of the case, Nice and sturdy and it has a good gap between the surface and the case so I can easily pick it up now .

Damn yellow lights lol, makes pictures look awful, must get white lights.

I got 30mm allen head countersunk bolts for the fans and they fit with the mesh panel perfect .

There is a hairline beam of light coming through the top, the reason for the other hairline of light to the left is because I forgot to bolt up the top left one for the pics, I will be fixing an angle bar along the top to keep the top middle panel rigid for when I remove it and to block the hairline gap, I think I'll add a couple more bolts for the side panels too for extra rigidity for when I add and remove it, this is just with using 1 of the 2 cathodes they are sooo bright .

This final shot is with the light from my monitor

And these are the colours I have picked out for deciding which one, I think it will be either olympic gold metalic or matisse blue, I might flip a coin for which one to go for .

Next update will be the paint finish .

[Waynio]

I think any of the colours would have looked great, but wanted something somewhat less in your face and to be honest the very mild gold I think will look very well matched with the polish rather than a striking contrast.

Olympic gold is what I have gone for and will be painting it tomorrow after I make a hole for the cathode switch in the front panel.
The gent in the shop said he could do it with 1 can because of his 50 years experience, I believe him so I got 2 cans each of grey primer, olympic gold, clear coat and cost £26, he also told me of a good technique to really reduce wasted paint and some good tips, most helpful knowledgeable clerk I have ever dealt with, if he was not helpful & more of a corp shop I would have bought way too much and got no tips .