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Case painting (how to guide).

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CrystalMethod

Senior Band Wagon Jumper
Joined
Jun 9, 2001
Location
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
I knew I had the article bookmarked somewhere, and I finally found it again. This is for all of you who keep asking how to paint your cases, and how to get a super looking finish.

How to guide here.

Just so you know what the end product looks like...

paint101-t.jpg


enjoy!

p.s.: that's actually the paint, not a mirror. This is also NOT MY CASE, just what it looks like.

Hey SpeeDj! Could you make this a sticky?
 
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Now I want to paint my case starting tommorrow. I will have to mount everthing in my old case for awhile and turn down the juice (bad airflow) for awhile. But after seeing this article, I wnat shiny too.
 
So nice. Im half way finished with painting my case, using stove paint as its very durable. Its for my lan computer. I really wish that I could get that kind of shine out of it. I really want to get it together so I am rushing a little bit. Ill probally end up redoing it the right way some other time.

Man that is a really great job!
 
WOW!

I think I'll be painting my car using this technique. Wouldn't that be great to tell people you painted your car with spray paint and it looks better than their factory job?

That is awesome.
 
Sweet. I guess the only difference between a solid color and metallic is the matallic you should not sand the final coat or you cut the crystals and dull it.


but it is a great guide. Very realistic. Unlike some people who want u to use auto body shop grade paint. Awesome results for a couple of weekends work(paint doesnt dry to quickly).
 
I'm just waiting till it gets warm enough around here so as I can leave the garage door open, so I don't end up gassing everyone in the house with paint fumes. Should be pretty soon, it was 13°C today, so it looks like I'll be prepping the case next week.
 
I'm doing one right now in the basement, and the fumes are getting a little intense. Been a little too windy to attempt outside.
 
I'm only a 2 hour drive from you, so weather is prety much the same here. I tried the keeping garage door closed thing last year, couldn't stand the fumes after 2 hours, and had to open the door.
 
I did a case in Blue Metalflake last week, and actually, the sanding and spray patterns were the only additional I picked up.
 
Yeah this should be a sticky. I have been painting my case using this guide over the last week and a half. I refer to it daily. I'm sure others will be doing the same.
 
Some additional painting tips;

If you get fingerprints on the surface while removing tape, or have left-over tape film, use BASF prep cleaner. Removes 'em without messing with your finish.

For certain colors use these under a base coat;
Red-white or light grey
Silver-medium grey
Orange-white or light grey
Yellow-white
Dark metallic-black
Light metallic-medium Grey
Metal flake-silver or gold

When you are going to use clear as a top coat, do a medium-wet coating the first shot, let it tack up a bit(5-6 minutes), then give it a full wet coat.

Try to avoid using newspaper for masking. Newsprint ends up with small perforations from the printing process taht might allow overspray through.

If you use vinyl paint, clean the nozzle head often. The material that gives it the vinyl texture tends to clump up fairly quickly, leaving large blobs of paint on your work.
 
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Another thing you can do to avoid geting tape residue on a surface is to stick it to your shirt, or pants leg before you mask off an area. It'll pick up a little bit of lint, but remain sticky enough to use. As long as you don't wear flannel, or you're one of those candy ravers with fuzzy clothing.
 
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