Painting the Interior of a Cooler Master Cosmos S. First Time Painting Attempt?

Hello and good day!

I have a cosmos S Case and I wanted to give it a proper new look
It has an unpainted alumnium (I think) interior that looks like this:



I just want the interior painted like a black finish, like all of the new cases these days No painting required for exterior



Like Its recent big brother! Cosmos II

Though, I'm not sure if it is shiny black or matte.

I got no experience in painting

There were different opinions and videos about painting this case, some said to disassemble the case, and some said it is fine to keep it riveted. Some say use a powdercoat and i also heard that Aluminium is hard to paint and can come off

I'm so unsure of what to do or get to start with this mini-project of mine

I'd like to completely learn about painting interiors, can you please lend me some links from basics to finish? or help me out.

I'm inspired by so many people trying to do so, and I hope it is not too hard, but i will try my best

After all, it's my holidays

Thanks so much in advance.
I'm LOVIN this forums!

Ok, you have about 20 questions here. FYI, Done right this is NOT a mini project.

What is your comfort level with tools?
You CAN make it work without taking the case completely apart BUT it will not look as good.

How much work are you willing to put in?

You DO need to completely empty the case of anything you dont want painted.

If you take the case completely apart (remove rivets, etc.) you have MUCH more work to do. BUT, doing that will enable you to better paint the various parts as well as allow you to do different colors and parts without having to wait for everything to dry.

Painting metal is ALL about the prep work. You CAN just empty the case, run to the store for some spray paint and rattle can away and nothing else. You WILL have a shoddy paint job that will have missing paint, too much paint, peeling, chipping, flaking paint and not look that great.

I would really like this Finish


Here's another guy, painting without taking it apart

Question, what will happen if I don't remove the rivets and take them apart? Keep it intact like the guy painting above?

Though I have done riveting before, I haven't done de-riveting I'll just look into that.

I have lots to learn about painting - Sanding, primers, coating, paint - any topics I missed?

A few suggestions, as I have painted a few of my cases. Prepwork prepwork prepwork, you'll need to sand everything so you can give the primer something to bite on to. Make sure you clean and use some type of degreaser before you prime. If you have a compressor it will come in handy to blow all the dust and metal out of the case before you wipe it down. Take your time!

What is your budget for this?

How much time are you willing to spend?

If you just want to have it black, you can completely empty the case of all components, completely clean the area you want painted (assuming inside of case) with rubbing alcohol (be careful to not get on any plastics as it can damage/destroy them!) Make sure to get the case completely clean of any oils from fingerprints or similar, as well as from dust or lint (including from the rag used to clean the case.) Once the case is clean and dry, using a spray paint meant for metal (Rustoleum is one example) you can lightly spray a coat on whatever you want painted. You do not want to have everything covered in paint so thick it runs on the first coat. You want to spray enough that the paint sticks and then you let it dry, you then spray another coat and let it dry. Assume about 24 hours between coats. Try to move around the case to get the spray paint into the cracks and crevices while being careful to not just hold down the nozzle and overspray the paint. Any and all fingerprints, dust, drt, hair, etc. WILL immediately stick to the paint and be a complete pain to remove.

See For a basic idea what I am suggesting.

I've had nothing but trouble using Rustoleum paint ever since they made it "environmentally friendly" around twentyfive or so years ago. The paint doesn't mix well, no matter how much you shake it, and has occasional little thick globs that squirt out the nozzle like tiny worms. It does an excellent job of sticking to metal but be prepared to sand away the "worms". Krylon or Duplicolor are better.

Thanks so much for your answers! I'll look into all of this