Motherboard painting?

[SkyChotik]

Anyone who is interested in buying a gaming rig with a window, probably wants an attractive motherboard. I know I do. It's almost the entire reason I bought the ASRock 990FX.

But to get to the point, there are a LOT of really nice, ugly as all hell motherboards out there, or just the stock motherboards in cheap computers people are throwing out that you want to put to good use.

What is you want it to look better?


My question is, how would somebody go about painting a motherboard. I know it has been done, so don't rage because it's impossible, because it is.

Does anybody have experience painting motherboards? If so, I would love some advice, I was wondering how I would go about painting one of my old 775 motherboards. :bday:

[jameseboy]

I personally would not attempt this. EVER. however i guess if you really wanted to, and didnt care about the board, you could try it out. You would have to use some sort of paint that was COMPLETELY Non-Conductive. I guess you could paint your heatsinks ect no problem though.

[SMOKEU]

It's not something even worth attempting, but if you feel like taking the risk of ruining a motherboard then cover all the slots and ports with with tape so you don't get paint inside the wrong places. Good luck.

+1 to the non conductive paint, most spray can paint is conductive. Put the probes of a multimeter on the paint of your car and test for continuity. You'll see what I mean.

[I.M.O.G.]

First I'd remove all heatsinks or anything surface mounted that can be removed. You should also mask all slots, connectors, and chips you do not want to paint over.

Then I'd recommend first sealing the board, same way many extreme cooling guys do - using a spray conformal coating for electronics. The extreme guys use it to ensure that melted ice or condensation doesn't short something out - it would also be effective for protecting the board from any conductivity or other potential harmful effects of whatever paint you choose. I have no idea if paint would cause any potential harm.

Not exactly my thing, but protecting from shorting or damaging the board is fairly similar to what we extreme cooling guys do.

It's not something even worth attempting, but if you feel like taking the risk of ruining a motherboard then cover all the slots and ports with with tape so you don't get paint inside the wrong places. Good luck.

+1 to the non conductive paint, most spray can paint is conductive. Put the probes of a multimeter on the paint of your car and test for continuity. You'll see what I mean.

Cars have clear coat, not sure thats an accurate comparison to whatever paint he'd be using on a mobo. Can you do the same test on the wall in your house?

[SMOKEU]

Can you do the same test on the wall in your house?

Even if I hold the multimeter probes about 1mm away from eachother on the walls, there is no conductivity.

[SkyChotik]

Then I'd recommend first sealing the board, same way many extreme cooling guys do - using a spray conformal coating for electronics.


I have some blank PCB's for Pci and AGP, if I put those into the slots, and then pained the board, would I be safe? Or should I go a more secure route and mold some covers for the ports?

[I.M.O.G.]

No, I would not do that. The connectors inside the PCIe/PCI slots move back and forth when a card is inserted. Even when a card is inserted, the holes in the top of the socket are open for paint to get inside, and gum up the mobility of those connectors - it would be likely to cause problems.

I would just tape over them with painters tape, ensuring nothing gets in the top.

[jameseboy]

I have some blank PCB's for Pci and AGP, if I put those into the slots, and then pained the board, would I be safe? Or should I go a more secure route and mold some covers for the ports?

Masking tape is your friend.

[SkyChotik]

Is there a certain type of paint somebody here would recommend? I plan on painting just the PCB, and then painting one of my old cases, and doing a window mod.

[Aldakoopa]

Just to put my two cents in here, don't use a conformal coating with silicone. Paint will not stick to silicone... at least not any paint I've ever used.

[Rotary]

try a rubber type of paint

[4GHZ_or_bust]

I remember seeing pictures of mobo that was really jazzed up with UV reactive gel pen, making it Tron-esque. I couldn't find the final picture but I did find this tutorial: http://www.overclock.net/t/28304/how-to-make-my-motherboard-glow-uv-pen-mod

[Rotary]

^ that looks fun, i would do that

[merz.38]

Anyone who is interested in buying a gaming rig with a window, probably wants an attractive motherboard. I know I do. It's almost the entire reason I bought the ASRock 990FX.

But to get to the point, there are a LOT of really nice, ugly as all hell motherboards out there, or just the stock motherboards in cheap computers people are throwing out that you want to put to good use.

What is you want it to look better?


My question is, how would somebody go about painting a motherboard. I know it has been done, so don't rage because it's impossible, because it is.

Does anybody have experience painting motherboards? If so, I would love some advice, I was wondering how I would go about painting one of my old 775 motherboards. :bday:
You're probably going to compromise any convective properties of anything that you paint. So make sure you don't paint anything that needs to 'breathe'

Have you considered applying an anodized coating to the heat sinks?

I know with a few coolers and a battery charger and some other misc chemicals you can apply a MIL-A-8625 Type I or II, class 2 anodized coat to aluminum. You'd have to read up on electrochemical plating, if I remember correctly there are people who sell kits online for this. If you're really savvy you can probably order the raw chemicals for this on Amazon or something.

Also, If you have access to some sort of cryogenic freezer you can do a type III finish which has substantial wear resistance over type I and II.

[Modz 4 Higher]

I.M.O.G. can you elaborate on the "sealant" spray you spoke about? I have an Nvidia 8800 GTS that is green and clashes with all of my evga stuff and want to paint it black or red. Thanks.

[Diggrr]

I've seen a member do this before, and I'd recommend the same as I did to them.
Use Duplicolor barbeque grill paint, as it's one of the most thermally conductive paints you can buy on the consumer market, without being electrically conductive.
Tape all your chips and slots, you can paint the slot edges with care later using the same paint and a small brush to avoid painting the contacts. You can spray the can into the cupped bottom of a pop can to act as a paint container for brush work.
You can paint your mobo heatsinks separately so that the paint job is nice and even looking.
Use two coats, the first super thin, rather see through. It acts as a primer for the second very thin coat.

Taking care and going slow are not bad things, and can yield great results. Blue tape and an exacto knife for trimming are your friends. Don't forget to also mask the spots your motherboard screws contact, so that your grounds to the case remain in tact.

[SkyChotik]

I've seen a member do this before, and I'd recommend the same as I did to them.
Use Duplicolor barbeque grill paint, as it's one of the most thermally conductive paints you can buy on the consumer market, without being electrically conductive.
Tape all your chips and slots, you can paint the slot edges with care later using the same paint and a small brush to avoid painting the contacts. You can spray the can into the cupped bottom of a pop can to act as a paint container for brush work.
You can paint your mobo heatsinks separately so that the paint job is nice and even looking.
Use two coats, the first super thin, rather see through. It acts as a primer for the second very thin coat.

Taking care and going slow are not bad things, and can yield great results. Blue tape and an exacto knife for trimming are your friends. Don't forget to also mask the spots your motherboard screws contact, so that your grounds to the case remain in tact.


Sounds perfect! :shock:

[robble]

I doubt I could paint a mb so that it looked any better than stock.

[SkyChotik]

I doubt I could paint a mb so that it looked any better than stock.

Think about the old bright green ugly things, then you'll understand.

[robble]

isn't your MB all black?

[SkyChotik]

isn't your MB all black?

I'm doing this for an old build, trying to snazz-up the old hardware.

The motherboard I'm doing is almost identical to this

http://lh4.googleusercontent.com/public/axs96AMI63RPUC2kF2sj3BEwpCbP-PNlanEKqwKTkGSNgU916ZwUTv243ihQ5Eick31rwAZqHrshxX4 PqzK_lUBkAkTdFT_fl0-ZJ0UQa2EwLo4vozz9K1eQCMQs7Vh_30WRMJQcI60s-gruVr3HZ9DYO-pCYj25Limr2zh5MfKUUFNvvhHJgl2e3eXwPWrH6UyftOy2bpbu BHcfb7a3vxNfDgkP4xIq8Y0Pz5pI3M3VLhV5acl1DmZWxdKa4b NUbAn6_NgT86N2CwVvspsAjyvM0WGaAWjnu_JOVBIymg0


isn't your MB all black?

No, it's dark brown. :D

[robble]

I was going by this:
http://img580.imageshack.us/img580/4493/990fx20extreme3m.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/580/990fx20extreme3m.jpg/)

[SkyChotik]

I was going by this:



Yeah.. The most I'll do to that board(The one i'm currently using) is liquid cool it once full-cover blocks would be available. (Which they probably won't)

But no, I'm doing this to an old system..
Since I have multiple old systems, should I just try it to see if it works, then move on to another board and see if that works? Then finally do the one I'm aiming for?

[Acuradude]

Yeah.. The most I'll do to that board(The one i'm currently using) is liquid cool it once full-cover blocks would be available. (Which they probably won't)

But no, I'm doing this to an old system..
Since I have multiple old systems, should I just try it to see if it works, then move on to another board and see if that works? Then finally do the one I'm aiming for?



i would try the old one first then try the next and then the one you want

i was thinking of the same thing so you have to post pics if you do it

[Modz 4 Higher]

Please do post pics. I want to do my GPU so bad.

[SkyChotik]

Lol, I need money and paint first.

[Modz 4 Higher]

Have you decided on "paint" and "sealant" yet?

[SkyChotik]

Have you decided on "paint" and "sealant" yet?

I wasn't going to use sealant. I was going to use a non-conductive primer, and then a colored paint, and then a UV paint.

[Modz 4 Higher]

Example of a non-conductive primer?(BBQ grill paint)?

[SkyChotik]

Example of a non-conductive primer?(BBQ grill paint)?

Still looking for a white/silver/grey paint, and then I'm painting parts red and black. The black will definitely be grill paint, still looking for red.

[Diggrr]

Any spray enamel paint is non-conductive, save for the german silver metalflakes like testors and House of Kolors uses.

[SkyChotik]

Any spray enamel paint is non-conductive, save for the german silver metalflakes like testors and House of Kolors uses.

http://www.testors.com/products/138150
This?

[Diggrr]

As far as I know, they used to use it in many of their metallic colors, but that description doesn't specifically say like it used to. Their candy base spray said it plainly on the front of the can when I did an RC 4X4 in candy burgundy.
Personally I'd stay away from any flake paint just to be sure, though a pearl should be fine, as that is not metal.
Kind of overkill really for a mother board anyway...

[SkyChotik]

As far as I know, they used to use it in many of their metallic colors, but that description doesn't specifically say like it used to. Their candy base spray said it plainly on the front of the can when I did an RC 4X4 in candy burgundy.
Personally I'd stay away from any flake paint just to be sure, though a pearl should be fine, as that is not metal.
Kind of overkill really for a mother board anyway...

Yes, it's overkill, but that's the entire idea.

:P

[Diggrr]

Cool.
I'd just like you to note, nothing conducts a 100% so everything on the board puts out some heat..thus the recommendation to use the grill paint. I'd use the purty stuff on the slots and things and let the flat black shed heat (no primer) off the motherboard itself. If you go loading multiple coats of paint on the components you might end up smoking something--but I guess that's what test boards are for, eh?--boldly going where no geek has gone before! :D

[Modz 4 Higher]

So, did you ever manage to get this done?

[SkyChotik]

So, did you ever manage to get this done?

No, I've been really broke lately.
I've been too worried about college savings and car insurance.
Work also cut my hours. :rain:

I haven't had a ton of expendable money.
BUT, as soon as I get my old computer sold I'll be starting my liquid cooling project. Located here: Link (http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?p=7111473)

[Modz 4 Higher]

Well like they say. When it rains it pours. I hope you get your finances sorted out man:) School is for sure more important! Good job getting those priorities in check:D