My first "mod"

[luciusad2004]

Well i dont know if many people would consider this a real mod but im proud of it so im happy with it.

A while ago my dad sent me an old 600 Mhz Ibook from around 2001. It was white... we all know what they look like... beautiful... but still... so ... just like all the rest.

I got bored one day and decided it was time to have some fun. The paint on the old Ibooks is on the inside so i stripped that out and ended up with this.

first phase:

A clear Ibook. Not all that pretty because there is nothing to see. I did the bottom as well but i tryed to sand it and it turned out pretty bad. I dont have any more pics of it.

Well tonight i got bored again and decided it was time to finish this. So a trip to Kmart, and an hour or so later i ended up with this.

second phase:

A black ibook. I dyed it with RIT dye. The dye didn't want to hold so it took a while and a couple of baths. At first it was comeing out this smokey forest green color, and was still very translucent. After a while (and a raise in bath temperature) it started to darken up.

Im pretty happy with it except for the fact that it now shows ALL scratches and finger prints. Also the battery cover was made out of a different type of plastic and is noticeably off colored. I don't think its that big of a deal though.

More images.

Thanks for reading and let me know what you think.
Constructive criticism is welcome but please...

Dont just flame me cuz i run a mac. While i do prefer Mac OS X, i still use PC's and am in the process of building one. I know PC's are more popular, but a mod is a mod, so lets all just appreciate it for what it is and not debate PC's and macs

Again thanks for looking and extra thanks for any comments : D

[simon275]

Interesting approach to painting a clear case. So you just dyed it right. I would have sanded it and painted it myself but hey it looks nice anyway.

You don't have to worry there are is no Mac witch hunting on these forums. Why don't you start a thread about the pc you are building over in the worklogs section.

[luciusad2004]

Yes i just dyed it. I thought about painting it, but i dont usually do that well with paints.

Its good to know that i dont have to worry about witch hunts around here. Seems like anywere else you go you cant even say the word Mac without causing a riot.

I thought about putting up a work log for my build, but its going to be a while, at the moment i have a case, a power supply, and a dvd drive. I have to get some money for it. (need to find a job, apparently FedEx didnt want to hire me)
Plus aren't work logs just for mods? Its not really going to be modded. I spent like $118 on the case and i dont feel quite confident enough with myself to really mess with it yet. It will be my first real build though. Probably the closest thing to a mod on it will be the wire sleeving i did to my power supply the other day.

Ill probably mod my next build. Im going to build something cheap, or buy some old stuff, to practice on. I just want to start out with some basics, window cutting, painting, maybe find something i can try to overclock, and see how low i can get the temperatures. Basicly my next build will be my case for experimenting on until i get some reasonable skills and feel confident enough to work on my nicer hardware.

thanks for the reply

[samurai_crip]

Looks good cool idea

[silverdemon]

you can always put up a worklog and ask your questions there. like, if you don't know how to do something on your mod, you ask, get an answer, mod it and then put the pictures online
like you said in your first post, a mod is a mod...

[luciusad2004]

Thanks for the replys guys. I guess ill consider putting up a work log once i get some more money to start some work on my pc. Thanks for all the good replys : D

[DaveW]

I like the work, interesting method as well.

I know how you feel about it taking every little stain and fingerprint...i also have a black case.

-Dave

[luciusad2004]

Yeah, I have found that Plexus, a brand of plastics cleaner works well for removing finger prints and smudges. But as i said its an old laptop so its covered in scratches and i cant help those.

I'm happy to see such positive comments lol. Most things i do don't turn out that well. I'm actually pretty proud of this.

Thanks guys.

[SgtM]

Nice mod. I would have guessed you painted that. One thing you'll find around here quickly, luciusad2004, is that all they guys are very cool, and offer suggestions and help like it's their job.

Hey guys, don't you think he would be able to wet sand the scratches out of the plastic? Start with something fine, say 800, then work up to 1500 or 2000, then re-apply the dye, buff and then maybe spray a couple coats of clear?

[luciusad2004]

Actually... that probably would have helped alot. I wish i would have thought of that. Im probably not going to mess with it any more though. The hardware that holds the thing together is very week. If i keep messing with it im going to end up stripping all the screws. Also dont feel like spending another couple of hours in front of the stove lol. Thanks for the idea though, ill definetly keep that in mind if I'm ever doing something similar.

Lucius

Edit: Maybe in the future, ill work on an experiment with plexy, and see if i can dye that. Maybe do something that involves a couple of pieces and sort of test different techniques, then ill post it up on here.
(long bath at a low heat vs a quick bath at a rapid boil, sanded surface vs nonsanded, etc.)

I actually do want to build a pc out of plexy but it'll be a while before i know everything i need to know.