Spray Painting Case Panel Tips

I'm planning on spray painting the side panel on my black phantom 630 case with some custom cut stencils, and I was wondering if anyone had tips on what kind of spray paint works best on case panels, and if something like a clear coat is needed as well.

Personally I prefer Krylon fusion when it comes to rattle cans. Rust oleum works pretty good too. You don't really need any clear coat with just spray paint, it would be an unnecessary expense and an extra step.

Be sure the panel is clean before painting. Wipe it off with a little dish soap and warm water at least to clean off any oils from your hands, then sand it with some 600 grit or finer sandpaper OR scuffing it down with some steel wool works too.

I would take a look at plasti dip if I were you, I've seen some really nice mods were they used it.

I've used Krylon and RustOleum. The best advice though is to be sure to sand the old finish down. I expected the Rustoleum to be able to adhere, but the original finish prevented a good bond. I also used a good clear coat to help prevent nicks and scratches.

I sand the original finish with 800 grit wet paper and wash it with soap and hot water. Drip dry, no towels.
Prime with Duplicolor sandable primer and let dry for two hours.
Wet sand the primer with 800 grit wet paper and rewash. No towels. Recoat if needed to level the surface, the 800 will give enough shine to spot a wavy surface.
Paint super lightly with Duplicolor auto paint, dry an hour, then apply a nice normal second coat, and let dry over night.

I like the Duplicolor line of auto paints. A bazillion colors, and tough as car paint should be.
No need for a clear coat, but it's surely available in the same name brand.
Available at AutoZone.

Wow Ok, so this takes slightly more than I thought, but that's cool.

My first question would be: so when I sand it down, when it's done, will the sanded black finish that wasn't painted over look different than the normal finish?
Does that make sense?

Yes, you will actually be able to see the sand scratches on the surface.

Aldakoopa said:

Yes, you will actually be able to see the sand scratches on the surface.

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Hmm, well that kinda seems to defeat the purpose of making the case look nicer.

Would it be possible to lay the stencil down and just sand the area that's going to be sprayed?

Yes, just be careful not to sand where you don't want to.

What kind of stencils? They can't be applied over a new paint job?

Aldakoopa said:

What kind of stencils? They can't be applied over a new paint job?

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Well, I was just planning on adding some specific designs, not repainting the entire case.

So they are just to keep paint off of certain spots and leave them black then? Sand it with some 1000 grit or finer, or use a "very fine" scotch brite pad where your stencils are going to be. After you're done painting, remove your stencils and apply a clear coat over the entire thing. That should cover up the scratches so it looks untouched. There are even matte finish clear coats if you don't want it to be glossy.

Aldakoopa said:

So they are just to keep paint off of certain spots and leave them black then? Sand it with some 1000 grit or finer, or use a "very fine" scotch brite pad where your stencils are going to be. After you're done painting, remove your stencils and apply a clear coat over the entire thing. That should cover up the scratches so it looks untouched. There are even matte finish clear coats if you don't want it to be glossy.

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Yes, I believe that's the best explanation of it.
Thank you for the tips!

You might want to try a spot some where inconspicuous, like on the underside of your case. Try sanding a spot with 1000 grit paper or scotch brite and shoot a little of whatever clear you are going to use. If you still see scratches, go with a little finer paper or pad and try another small spot.

Aldakoopa said:

You might want to try a spot some where inconspicuous, like on the underside of your case. Try sanding a spot with 1000 grit paper or scotch brite and shoot a little of whatever clear you are going to use. If you still see scratches, go with a little finer paper or pad and try another small spot.

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Great tip!

And the sanding is to help the spray paint adhere, right?

Yes. Without sand scratches to hold on to it will easily chip off.

What you can do is, sand entire panel with 800 grit sand paper. The use you stencil to paint what you wanted and let dry for about an hour. Then remove stencil and clear entire panel. This will blend the edges of the fresh with the old panel and smooth them down some.

For proper adhesion of a primer, you want to sand around 240-320. You will get whats called a " self etching primer" which will fill in the 240 scratches and provide a super smooth surface. 800 grit will not give you great adhesion, and you will not see scratches from 240 if you do it correctly.

You then will BLOCK SAND with 400 to get it smooth. Then do another thin coat of primer.


For paint, you really should use a LACQUER, not an enamel. Enamels are junk. Brand is largely irellevant, but if you're spending 2$ a can, don't expect good results. The best "cheap" spray paint is the duplicolor line that diggr mentioned. Make sure you get the lacquer, not enamel.


So after you prime, do your base color of whatever you choose. Do a good 3-4 LIGHT coats to get even coverage, waiting about 20-30 minutes between each coat. If its not covered well after that, you should wait a day or 2 to allow the nitro to gas off. Then do another 2-3 light coats until you get it even, flat, and covered.

Since they are nitro based lacquers, they will dry in about 20 minutes, but let it sit for 24 hours before you tape stencils to it. When you are ready for stencils, apply them properly, and then do your painting. Leave the stencils on for about 15 minutes, and peel them off carefully. If you wait too long, the paint will burn in, and its possible when you lift the stencil, you will peel up the paint. Too early and the paint may run beyond the stencil. Start from the top, if you think its too damp still, then just wait a few minutes. If its starting to peel, take a razor to trouble spots.


The process would be the same for inverted stencils as well. Anything above 600 is for finishing work, not for in process work or smoothing.


When finished, let it gas off a few days before applying a clear (which you really should do). Same process, give it 3-4 light, even coats for about 3 days. You want it to build up, but you don't want it to run or have drying issues.

Self etching doesn't mean it fills scratches better. It means it has an acid (usually phosphoric acid) which cleans and eats into the metal a little for a strong bond. A primer-surfacer has a high build to fill scratches and would benefit from coarser paper but clear WILL NOT cover 240 grit. There's a reason a couple years ago we switched from 600 to 800 for blending panels, the the newer clear we started using would no longer cover the 600 and you'd still see scratches right through it. I'm talking about 3M paper, btw. Different manufacturers have different ideas on what exact coarseness a grit should be. I once felt some cheapo 1500 grit that felt like 3M 240 and it made me cringe while thinking about somebody who doesn't know any better using it as "fine" sandpaper.

What primer are you using that won't cover 240? I've literally been priming over 240 for about 10 years.... I've used omni colora and clears for years and recently switched to kustom. Do you guys not sand back the primer? 800 grit is almost polishing, it just doesn't make sense in my head, sorry.

And I will very much agree... With painting, tape and sandpaper need to be top quality.