PROJECT: Lobo

[msmrx57]

Dell is a four-letter word in my world - and I don't mean the number of letters in Dell lol

So, I'm not the only one who feels that way.

[BerticusPryme]

nope. I speak from experience. some of the worst products, worst support and worst company to work for. Also you case is awesome. The design was well done. +rep

[slaveofconvention]

The fact is, Dell is nowhere near as bad as it used to be - they've moved away from completely proprietory hardware so you now can chop and change hardware in a dell as easily as most PC's - it's the legacy hardware I come across regularly for repairs which still reinforces my disdain - pathetic things like making cases difficult to get into - it doesn't stop 3rd party repairs - it just makes them more hassle. I've come across several cases where I've ended up getting my wife to help because I just didn't have enough hands to get this button pressed, that button held in, that clip released while pulling this bit and that bit at a 35 degree angle etc

Thanks for the compliments tho Berticus - always nice to hear nice things

[slaveofconvention]

It's update time again, as this project moves into about it's 8th week.

Remember this?

Thats the really badly painted Thermaltake iCage I have decided to fit to replace the three hard drive bays the front cooling mods have taken away.
A closer look shows the cracks and reaction I get because I was painting outside where it was way too cold and way too damp.

So I pulled out my drill, removed the twelve rivets holding it together and then used thinners to strip all traces of pretty much everything off of the parts.

I then used a scotchbrite to re-key the metal as it went really shiny and smooth, a couple of layers of primer...

Then several thin coats of black, and a quick reassembly gives me this (original unpainted iCage shown for comparison)

There were a couple of light points where the primer was still just visible, but I just gave them another quick dustcoat with the unit assembled.
I was lucky enough to find some black rivets online, and bought a load, as luck seemed to be with me because they 1) Perfectly fitted into the holes in the cage and 2) Perfectly fitted the pop rivet gun without having to change the head.

To avoid the risk of scratching the fresh paint when the rivet snaps and the gun inevitably jumps, I used a really clever, highly technical invention...

Yup, I poked the rivet through a rag of cloth And 12 rivets later, we have this...

And I'm happy to say that, other than the tiny bit of cloth which managed to get caught in one of the rivets (you can just see it in the bottom right) I'm completely happy with this part. I used a lighter to burn off the excess material around that rivet then a marker pen to make it totally invisible - I think you'd have to know it was there to find it, and even then you'd struggle...

More to follow real soon - I've been playing with plexi and the kitchen oven when the wife was at work

[DonT-FeaR]

great idea! loving this.. cant wait to see more.

[slaveofconvention]

Ok so I went to the paint shop today to pick a colour, and ended up buying two....

Opinions required lol - I was decided on a dark grey metallic Alfa Romeo colour, when I went in, I found some Audi Graphite Grey which had been mixed in error, so I got that dirt cheap. Then I started browsing other colours with the wife, and she came up with Maserati Sebring Blue, so I mixed some up and now need to make a choice heh.

Getting photo's of wet paint, inside, in the dark isn't easy but this should give you an idea...

And on cars...

I'm utterly torn between the two - I KNOW the Grey will look good and fit in with the wolves well, but I LIKE that blue lol

Argh!!!

Thoughts? Opinions?

[Mark_Hardware]

damn those are both sexy! Why not use the blue and do some accents in the grey?

[slaveofconvention]

What? That means, like, cleaning my gun more - I'm lazy you know!!! :p

Not a bad idea actually - there are things like the feet and the door handle - not sure what I'd accent on the front though - The metal in the fan grille for the top would work too....

[x88x]

Given the theme of the case, I'd go with the grey.

[Oneslowz28]

How about doing the base in the silver and then toning some of it with a top coat of the blue?