Lapping a Lian-Li?

[xavierfg]

I just ordered my new case, a lian li pc-35
(specs here) (http://www.directron.com/pc35.html)

... and i was thiking to myself "damn, those lapped
waterblocks look nice with that mirror finish."

That's wen it struck me: why not lap my entire aluminum
case? That would be hella cool :cool:

So, wut do u think? Will it work? or would i just be wasting
time stooping over my case with sandpaper for like a day or
two :rolleyes: ?

PS: stay tuned in the cooling forum, as I will be documenting my attempt to fit an entire watercooling system, as well as my full atx mobo system, using only one fan for the entire thing :D
pix to come ..

[Captain Slug]

Sure it'll work, but I garauntee you it'll take a loooong time.

But just imagine the huge "overclocked" arms you'll have after you're finished :D

[BBigJ]

I got all excited when I saw this thread thinking I was going to get to set some idiot straight: "lapping is something you do to heatsinks, a lian-li is a case." Unfortunately you already know that.:beer:

Two thoughts I had:
I don't think that aluminum laps to the same mirror shine that people get from copper. It is still pretty shiny, but you won't be brushing your teeth in your computer.
By lapping the case you will remove whatever protective coating the manufacturer used, so your case will be prone to tarnishing. I'm not sure how easily aluminum oxidizes, but I'm imagining your shiny case turning greyish if you don't polish it frequently.

I'm no chemist, so I might be wrong on one or both of these.

[spokeshave]

Every time you brush your teeth in the mirror, you are loking at aluminum. The vast majority of mirrors have aluminum backing. Aluminum polishes up brilliantly. It will tarnish, though. A little automotive wax fixes that.

[madcow235]

that would look very nice

[Istari1]

Aluminum backing on mirrors? I thought they used mercury...old school maybe. I have lapped quite a few aluminum heatsinks and even up to 2000 grit you dont get a mirror polish like copper, so I'm not sure how youd get that finish like a "mirror".

[Artemis]

Originally posted by spokeshave
Every time you brush your teeth in the mirror, you are loking at aluminum. The vast majority of mirrors have aluminum backing. Aluminum polishes up brilliantly. It will tarnish, though. A little automotive wax fixes that.

Thought mirror backing was silver? Hmm...still think it's silver... Basically a thin silver plating backed by protective finish...

But then again, I'm a chemical engineer, not an optics expert :p

[Starfoxer]

then you can buff that baby and put a hella lot of brasso
on sense you dont have to worry about that messing
up your heat transfer.

i say, go for it! :p

[phantom punisher]

mothers aluminum polish is what we use for motorcycles. as long as your starting with flat(not brushed) aluminum than it wont take you too long. use a power polisher if you can or modify a palm sander to polish. you will get a mirroe shine if the aluminum is of good grade

[xavierfg]

hmm .. alrite,

im getting my case tmrw, so .. ill try it out first on a patch sumwhere on the inside of the panel

gotta take a trip to the auto shop to pick up some polishing wax, tack cloth, and more sandpaper. I have 400, 600, and 1000 grit. I'd probably need like 2000+ for a mirror shine, rite?

Thanx for the interest, hope it works out :cool:

[Yodums]

Why not just save yourself some pain and do a paint job of say chrome? There are many guides on how to make a reflective paint job, and I must say chrome looks hella nice.

[phantom punisher]

grit depends on what if your using power tools or not. if youve got a sander just go to cheap 800 and let the paper wear out. that will take you to the range of the mothers polishing cream. i wouldnt go any higher than 1000 if your doing it all by hand. the grits are so fine and fradgile against metal that just leting the paper wear out will give you the right effect. dont forget to wet sand!

[{PMS}fishy]

Its a case, ou can use power tools. Break out the polish and the car buffer. Youll have that baby done in 5mins.

[xavierfg]

hmmm . .. power tools?

any of u kno of dremmel attachments i could use for buffing (a dremmel is pretty much the only power tool i have :rolleyes:

[{PMS}fishy]

You need something bigger than that. A car buffer. They are pretty cheap. Look around at sears you could probally find one for $25. A dreemel is too small and it would leave swirl marks all over the case. You need a larger buffing pad so you can evenly apply presure to most of the case at once.

[Mpegger]

Plenty of polishing tips for Dremels available. But you'll be polishing that case for a long long LONG time to come.:D

By the time you finish polishing one section of a panel with a dremel, the other section would have oxidized and you'll have to start all over again. See if a friend has a palm/hand sander to help smooth the case out (I think Lian-Li's are brushed aluminum), and then you either get some large polishing wheels for drills or use a car polisher.

[xavierfg]

alrite , i guess ill go for the car buffer then

sanding is gonna be a pain since its such a large area and my sanding block is only so big,

so i got an idea....

how about line a flat surface (like, a wood floor or something) with 600 or 1000 grit wetsand and jus rub the panel over it.
That way i can get the pressure even better than if i used a block.

wut do u think?

[Mpegger]

Could work, but you run the risk of sanding certain spots on the case more then another if you dont have even pressure. When you go to get a near mirror polish, those spots will look slightly odd in what they reflect, kinda like a concave surface. Although doing it by hand would be more work, you can at least keep on eye on the whole panel and see how your progressing.

But if you can get a large block of wood to back up the panel if you use the "floor method", then you sould get a nice even surface. Think of if as a panel sandwich. You got your floor covered with sandpaper, the panel on top of that, then on top of the panel, a nice stiff block of wood to evenly distribute pressure on the panel. All you need to do then is hop on the wood and do the "Twist".:p

Cheers!:beer:

[xavierfg]

alrite .. i got mah case, and its awesome :cool: ... but...

ITS FREAKING SMALL, so cramped inside, ...
guess ill have to relocate the power supply for me to fit my watercooling system in it. Its literally sitting on top of the cpu fan rite now.

neways,

its looks like brushed aluminum to me (streak marks nd stuf on it), so i guess ill hav to start at a lower grit, mebe 400? ... ill try it out later or tomorrow on a drive bay cover or something,...

but for now ... WORLD CUP BABY!!! :beer:

[phantom punisher]

cool keep us updated. this is the first aluminum case to get polished that i know of. im surprized no one esle has done it. i think its gonna look awsome. much better than a painted case