Spray painting!

[Dr. Kamolly]

Hi guys,

I've been with TBCS for about a year but only started to want to mod something last night :p

Just wanted to ask, how do you spray paint something??

I know there are 3 layers, primer, intended color and the clear for that extra shine, I watched Pimp My Ride alot.

My questions are, can primer be a regular black paint or is it something special? If the object I'm painting is already colored but I think it's the color of the original plastic, do I remove that color or do I just paint over it?
Wetsanding, I heard about it alot, and it's still a myth to me, techniques and grit and all that stuff. Please help an upstart modder!!

Your help is much appreciated.

Thank you.

[Drew]

Right.

No doubt someone will be along to help, but I'll have a go anyway.

Primer comes in different colours, try to get one thats close to the final colour. Alternatively, if you use a white, lighter colours should pop a bit more. Altering the primer colour can affect the final shade - use it to your advantage.


Flat the base to be painted. Not a lot more than just hitting what you intend to paint with some fine grit (maybe 1200 grit wet 'n dry - use it plenty wet, and maybe stick a bit of washing up liquid in the water to help it slide) paper, to kind of 'scratch it up'. You wanna get rid of any shine thats there, to help the paint to stick properly (key the surface) and try to take out any texture.

Once you've flatted it off, hit it with your primer. Primer is a paint that almost sticks to anything, and seals the piece to be painted (useful if you've gone through a layer of plastic and got another colour underneath). It also gives a nice flat even base colour.

When that's dry (and I mean dry) flat it again with the fine paper, to get a nice smooooooth surface (don't flat it too hard, you'll go throught the primer - if you do, flat it and hit it with primer again).

Now it'll be looking good.

Time to break out the colour(s).

People will disagree with me here, but hey.

I do it like this... if you're being fancy, speak to commando, he god at this stuff.

Dust coat... just LIGHTLY hit the piece with colour. Like it says, dust coat.

When thats been on there a few seconds and gone tacky, hit it again, with a proper coat. Don't go mad, you'll get runs.

Now leave it a few (5 ish) minutes so it can go tacky, and hit it again with another proper coat. I do this about 3 times, depending on what I'm painting.

If you want to clear coat it, when it's properly dry (like not today, maybe tomorrow) flat it again with the 1200 wet 'n dry (this is to make sure the surface of the paint is properly flat, make sure all the 'orange peel' is gone) and give it a dust coat etc. like before.

The more clear you put on it, in theory, the deeper the shine will be.

A final light flat with 1200 and a polish with something like T-Cut (or other cutting compound) and some automotive polish and you're laughing.

Hope this helps, but like I said, someone more knowledgeable will be along shortly.

Oh, and if you get a run, don't panic. Have a cup of tea. Wait for it to dry PROPERLY (like overnight, more if you can) and flat the run out with your 1200. Then repaint.

[Dr. Kamolly]

OK, allow me to go over what you said, because there is some stuff I want to clear out with you.

Flat the base to be painted.

'scratch it up'.

So I sand the surface so it would have a relatively rough surface? Or I make the surface smoother, not scratchy and bumpy like the old Microsoft mice??

wet 'n dry

What does that mean??

cutting compound

What's that?

Sorry, but I'm new to this and most of the time I don't understand what other people are talking about.

Thanks for your time.

[Drew]

No problem.

When you have flatted it, you should have a smooth, matt finish (more fine scratches). It's nice to touch... rub.. mmmmm

Wet 'n dry is a type of sandpaper, suitable for using wet (get it from a car shop).

Cutting compound is like a harsh polish, cutting into the paint and smoothing it - kinda like liquid sandpaper. It takes out the scratches from the final flat, giving a shine. The final polish with automotive polish will bring the final shine out. Get these from a car shop too.

Hope this helps. if it's still not clear, say so and we'll carry on till it is.

Thats what TBCS is here for. Kinda.

[Crimson Sky]

What's up, Doc!? Glad you're coming out of lurk-mode to tackle a project. Here are some basic paint primers that will help get you started.

I also gotta plug my book, The MaximumPC Guide to Extreme PC Mods. You'll love it, and covers much more than you'll find here.

If you're looking for that show-car shine on your case, be prepared to use plenty of elbow grease--it's not an easy task, but it's one of the most rewarding. You'll also need lots and lots of patience. Here are the steps you need to take if your case already has a factory paint finish on it:

Tools & Materials:

TIP: Stick to ONE brand for all your paints if possible. Different brands use different solvents in their paints. Best not to guess or read lables.

• Sandpaper-Wet/dry automotive grade black paper. get several sheets of 300, 600 and 1200.
• Rubber sanding block
• Painter's tape, usually blue, green or purple. The different colors represent adhesion times and flexibility. Some tape can be left on for several days, some over a week without leaving residue when house painting.
• Clean cotton rags. I like to use automotive lint-free types that come in a bundle.
• Roll of craft paper.
• Tack Cloth. Its a sticky cheese cloth for picking up dust and overspray. Use this before the primer, and before the final coat.
• Hobby or X-acto knife.Use this to cut the paper and tape when masking.
• Respirator. Save your lungs when working indoors or out.
• Clean bucket for warm water. Have this bucket spotless, and clean after each use. You don't want to introduce particles to your paint while you wet sand and leave scratches. Think VERY clean. Insanely clean, almost OCD clean.
• Primer. Use a sandable primer. Some are not sandable, and must be avoided. Make sure it says it on the can. The color does not matter. There is gray, ruddy brown and black usually available. There is a white colored bare metal type primer to use when painting raw metals.
• Paint. Use enamels like Duplicolor or equivalent. Don't mix and match paint types unless you have an understanding of paints and their solvents. For instance, use clear enamel over an enamel color coat. Use clear acrylic over acrylic color paint. You can however use acrylic clear over enamel color coat. Using enamel clear over acrylic color will eat the color coat and cause a mess. Get big 12 oz cans of paint, not the small touch-up type cans. This helps prevent slight color differences from can-to-can.
• Rubbing compound. After the final clear coat is dry, we will use a rubbing compound to remove small imperfections and create a glass-like surface. This stuff is basically very fine liquid sandpaper. I like to use 3M Perfect-It.
• Final Wax. There is nothing in the world like Meguiar's NXT Tech wax. It will leave an insane shine on painted surfaces. Get it. Got it? Good.

If I left anything out I'll add as I go along.

Let's get started.

1: If your case is made from steel or aluminum and has a factory paint finish, there is no need to remove all the paint down to the bare metal given that they did a decent application. If it is smooth and free of major imperfections, all you need to do is take some 300 grit wet/dry automotive grade sandpaper loaded into a rubber sanding block and cut the gloss.

2: Remove the side panels and the front bezel from the case. Some bezels just use a pressure fit (posts and rubber grommets) to secure it, others have small screws-on-posts that can be removed from the inside. Remove any other attached features on the case such as USB/firewire ports and fan ports or grills. Get it as naked as possible. Molded plastic case parts are most likely already pre-colored, and there is no need to sand these. I'll give instructions for these parts later on

3: Prepare a few sheets of 300 grit paper cut to size for your sanding block. Have a bowl of warm water with 2-3 drops of liquid dish washing detergent nearby. The water cuts the friction while you sand, cleans the loaded "paint mud" from your sandpaper and the detergent helps break up the surface tension of the water making it easier to sand. The idea is to dull the factory paint, giving the next layer of primer some tooth to bite into. Sand using a random pattern, up and down with even steady pressure. Rotate the panel 90 degrees often to prevent creating a pattern in the paint. Rinse your sanding block often. Change paper when paint becomes overloaded. Use a cotton cloth to periodically wipe the surface to see your dulling results. Don't go nuts, we dont want to expose any bare metal. You may expose some on the edges, but this is OK; It just means the panel is not completely flat. Cases are stamped out at the factory, and never truly flat. Flat is good, flat is what we want. For areas too difficult to use the sanding block on, just use a small cut sheet of wet/dry paper folded to shape.

Here I used a rotary sander to remove a BAD factory finish down to the metal. You can try this when you get some paint jobs under your belt. The idea here was not only to remove paint, but to flatten the high spots in the metal parts. Flat surface= mirror shine in the end, much a real mirror.

4: Once your painted surfaces are completely dull, its time to clean it all up. Use plenty of fresh water and a cotton rag to remove all the mud. Use the bath tub or take it outside and use a hose. Dry off all the parts with a soft microfiber towel or cotton rag. Let these parts dry 100% before moving on.

5: Time to mask off the parts of the case you don't want painted using craft paper and painter's tape. Don't use regular white masking tape, it leaves residue and is much too sticky. Use the tack cloth to gently pat the entire surface, removing loose particles and dust before moving on.

Break out the gray automotive primer, shake for one minute, test the paint flow with a few short bursts in the air and start spraying the surfaces. Mimic the actions of an assembly line robot here with your arm, starting the spray off the work and then across, stopping the flow of paint only when the spray mist has cleared the opposite side of your part. The movement is like a sweeping arc, back and forth, very evenly and overlapping the last area slightly. Don't stop the flow in the middle of your work, it can cause pooling. Don't try to cover the entire case in one coat. Let the first coat dry for about 15 minutes, and put on another. Work in an area that has plenty of light and ventilation, and minimal dust. Don't paint in direct sunlight.



Primer applied and ready to go!

6: Primer dries pretty fast, but don't rush it. wait about an hour before proceeding. Run your hands over the surfaces to see if you have any overspray. These will be tiny gritty bumps of paint dust that come off in your hand. If that's the case, use a lint-free cotton cloth to gently buff the surface to remove the overspray dust. Use a clean 3" paintbrush to remove surface dust from hard to reach areas. Use the tack cloth to gently pat the entire surface, removing loose particles and dust before moving on. Be meticulous.


Prepare your final painting area. Set out some clean craftpaper on your table and prepare your color paint by shaking vigorously.

7: Coming soon!

EDIT: I've been revising this post, so check back frequently. =)

[Drew]

Hope this helps, but like I said, someone more knowledgeable will be along shortly.

Told ya!

[Spacehonkey]

What's up, Doc!? Glad you're coming out of lurk-mode to tackle a project. Here are some basic paint primers that will help get you started.

I also gotta plug my book, The MaximumPC Guide to Extreme PC Mods. You'll love it, and covers much more than you'll find here.

Like Crimson Sky suggested to buy his book, I refer to it as "The Bible", is a really good reference for anyone serious about modding. It goes into great detail on painting. Plus if you're modding your personnel computer and you have the book and are not sure what to do next you don't have to stop your mod and hook everything back up just to log on, post your question in the forum and wait for a response. Just a suggestion to save you some time.

[Crimson Sky]

hey thanks bro I appreciate it!

[Drew]

Cracking tutorial Crimson.

Might wanna stick it in the tutorial section, this'll be helpful.

[Guardian]

Someone has to do like the...UTLIMATE Painting guide.

I'm accually going to come back here often, becuase my proejct is a Coolermaster Ammo533 case, with a camo paintjob. thing is, Spray paint isn't quality. I think that it gets way to expensive for the paintjob. I'm going to go ahead and shell out hundreds on an airbrush system. I'm all for quality