My first "mod"

[jdbnsn]

Looks nice, I am suprised you got such good results with Rit. I would have never guessed that it would stain plastic so well. Good job!

[LiTHiUM0XiD3]

<<<< mac hater not a fan of them at all but nice job makin a mac look like something

[Omega]

Eh, I'm indifferent on the matter (But i do perfer windows machines), but that looks awesome.

Good job!

[armadilloben]

i liked the glossy effect the black had on it

[luciusad2004]

Thank You. : )

[elbarto241]

do u have a hamster? (im askin cause of the cage in the background)

i had a lil hamster last year....but she died =[

[azminisk8r]

personally i dont like macs just because i miss the bottom toolbar but man that mod made it good enough that i want one now

[ozzmossis66]

Looks great, Great idea on using the dye! Could you post somethign on the process you used to actually dye the plastic? Im handy with a spraycan but have no idea how to go about using dye on plastic...or cloth for that matter.

I tried to dye some dress pants black one time, I dont think my mother has forgiven me yet and that was at least 12-13 years ago.




Shane

PS +rep for the inventive notion of dying the plastic.

[luciusad2004]

Wow, didn't expect anyone else to find this thread again lol.

The laptop is actually sort of out of order because i spilled some pizza on the keyboard. I just cant come up with a reason to spend forty dollars to get this thing working again.

personally i dont like macs just because i miss the bottom toolbar but man that mod made it good enough that i want one now

I don't know that the mod would work on newer macs. They changed the type of plastic that they use. Its an opaque plastic so i would probably have to paint a newer one if i wanted to do it.

Looks great, Great idea on using the dye! Could you post somethign on the process you used to actually dye the plastic? Im handy with a spraycan but have no idea how to go about using dye on plastic...or cloth for that matter.

I tried to dye some dress pants black one time, I dont think my mother has forgiven me yet and that was at least 12-13 years ago.




Shane

PS +rep for the inventive notion of dying the plastic.

Ill see if i can find a link to the process. I didn't think at the time to take any pictures

I don't really want to give any personal advice because my method was very touchy and probably flawed. I wouldn't want to give bad information

If i cant find a link ill try to outline what i did.

Edit: Ok i found two links. They didn't follow my method exactly but its basically the same.


http://www.macmod.com/content/view/778/221/
http://www.applefritter.com/node/6808

[luciusad2004]

In response to squilliam

If you wouldn't mind telling me, how exactly does the RIT dye work?
Isn't it cloth dye, that you can get from a hardware store or K-mart?
How do you use it?
Is it easy to use?
How did you keep the apple symbol white?
I am working on a G3 mod, any suggestions?

The RIT dye works by soaking in to the pores in the plastic when it is heated. It is meant for fabric but it will work on some plastics. The problem is, since its not really meant for plastics the results aren't always predictable. (When i checked my laptop the first couple times it actually looked a shade of green.) The color and over all quality can vary between different types of plastic. If you look at the battery on the bottom of my ibook you can tell that it came out very poorly. I assume that it is because it was a replacement battery and the type of plastic was very different from the type used through out the rest of the laptop.

As far as were to purchase it, i got mine at Kmart. There are two types, liquid and powder. I used the powder.

The overall process was pretty simple.


First i disassembled the laptop.

The clear apple logo pops out but you have to be very careful not to break it. I actually did crack some of the outer edges of mine so i recommend using extra caution. After i was finished i put it back in using super glue. This left it looking very messy so if you can find a glue that will dry clear, or a glue that is meant for plastics that would probably be better.

After it was disassembled i stripped the paint.

The paint on the older iBooks is on the inside of the case. To accomplish this i used 91% Isopropyl Alcohol which i purchased from a CVS pharmacy. I poured the alcohol on to the parts that needed to be stripped and let it sit for a minute. After that i wiped off the paint with some paper towels. You may have to do this several times to get all of the paint off. An old tooth brush and some q-tips will be useful for getting in to some of the small nooks and crannies that would other wise be almost impossible to get to.

I did run in to a few problems here though. On the bottom half of the case, there is a bunch of small foam pads stuck in certain locations around the outer walls of the case. I had to remove these to remove the paint underneath them.

On the top of the casing there is a plastic part that runs along the perimeter of the case which holds it firmly in place. While removing mine in order to get to the paint underneath it, it snapped. I put it back together without that part but it doesn't fit as snuggly to the frame as it should. I read some tutorials on ibook disassembly (i recommend you find some if you haven't already) and they said that if you take it off you should be able to glue it back on but i don't know what kind of glue you should use and i don't know if it would show through or not. You'll have to figure that one out.

After the the parts were stripped of paint i cleaned mine with the alcohol to make sure that their was no oil or sweat on them.

Now on to the dying.

Following the directions on the package i mixed the dye and water in to a large metal pan. I would suggest using a pan that you don't plan to use for food anymore. You also want to make sure that it is deep enough to fit your parts in. I actually purchased one of those disposable tin foil turkey pans but there may be better options.

Next I heated the dye solution. I find the hotter the solution the quicker the plastics will suck up the dye. The plastic seemed to take on the color most when the solution was boiling but that lead to some problems. You have to be very careful not the let the solution boil over. It will splatter out of the pan, and it will stain stuff so if you can find some were that its OK to make a mess that would be best. I did it in my kitchen on the stove but i covered the pan. It honestly wasn't the best setup. IF your going to cover your pan be VERY careful when lifting the top off as hot steam will come shooting out.

Your also going to want lots of ventilation. I started getting a headache when i was working because i didn't have adequate ventilation.

Once the dye is heated you can place your parts in. I would were gloves when working with the dye as it will stain your hands. I made the mistake of working without them and my hands were purple for a week or so after words. You are also going to want some sort of device for pulling the parts out of the pan. I didn't have anything so i used some chopsticks and it didn't work all that well. I would suggest something like a set of tongs that you don't mind ruining. One of the tutorials i linked to in my last post suggested a spoon bent at a ninety degree angle.

Leave the parts soak in the dye for a while. It will take a long time. I cant say how long because i was experimenting with different temperatures the entire time. As i said before a high temperature allows the plastic to suck up the dye more quickly. Boiling was the quickest but the dye will boil over. Also i found that when the dye was boiling the dye came out sort of uneven. I checked on my parts every fifteen minutes to a half an hour. I wouldn't suggest leaving them unattended. I'm not sure what could happen if this stuff gets to hot. Also, you want to watch and make sure your not causing any damage to your parts.

When you ready to check on them, remove the from the dye and rinse them in cold water. Some of the extra dye will rinse off. Keep rinsing until the water runs clear. If it looks the color you want it to be your done with that part. If not, put it back in the dye solution and let it soak some more. As i said it may take a long time. I probably spent an hour or so doing this.

After the parts were finished I let them dry. and when they were good and dry i reassemble my laptop.

It worked out pretty well for me but as i mentioned above dyeing plastics can be unpredictable. Your colors may not turn out right or you may end up with a very light dye that you can still see through.

If your still interested in dyeing you laptop i would suggest looking for some good tutorials. I linked to two of them in my last post (both of which vary slightly from mine) and there are more to be found.
As i said my method wasn't the best so if your going to try i really can't accept any responsibility for whatever happens.

Hope this helped.

If you want to find more tutorials do a search for dyeing plastics.

Edit: As i mentioned above, I take no responsibility for any damage or personal injury that may be caused by following my instructions. The above method is FAR from Ideal.