ok.. how would you um.. spraypaint your monitor?

I've decided to get some black Fusion to color my drives and stuff.. then I thought, why not just spray the monitor black also? maybe the keyboard too?

so... my question is, how would I spray the monitor? lol. I'm guessing I have to cover the screen some how, then there are the vent holes on top and the back/side to consider. Hmmmm... tips anyone?
thanks.

If you want to paint your monitor case, the best way would be to take it apart, then scrub it down really well before you paint so it won't peel.

-Bobby

this is what Alternative Modding is for, to answer questions like this, heh.

Anyway, the only way to spray-paint the whole monitor would be to take it apart. On the back of the monitor are ventilation holes, and while you can cover up the screen, you can't cover up those holes without taking the monitor apart.

You will definately want to take your monitor apart before you paint it. But, be VERY VERY careful because the insides of a monitor can kill you. what you will want to do is probably take it to like a TV-repair center and ask them to power it down. The capacitors in a monitor can store energy for quite a while, and they store a ton of energy (enough to kill you). If you don't want to take it somewhere, you will want to unplug it, turn it on and off a few times while it's unplugged, and then let it sit for a week or so. that SHOULD be enough time for all the power inside it to dissipate. I'm not making any guarantees though, heh.

Bottom line, you're not going to get a good coat of paint without taking it apart. And, taking a monitor apart is very dangerous. If you do it yourself, be careful. unplug it and let it sit for a while. You can just be ultra-careful and just don't touch anything, but you will need to touch the parts at some point, heh....

Use gloves and a grounding line. You might want to sandpaper the surface down a little bit before spraying, use low grit. I've also heard of specialized plastic spraypaints, thats what you would want to use for everything, doesn't peel or wear off easily.

Be carefull! Clean it good. Use a quality primer. If your new to electronics have a pro disasemble it . Paint the case and take it back for reassemble.

Do not, DO NOT Go poking around inside the monitor with a screwdriver, either.

learned that the hard way, my arm was numb for three damn days

ouch!

i have to disagree with everyone who wants to disassemble a working monitor- the new plastic Fusion paint is supposed to be very good (according to Yoshi on The Screen Savers) and require no prep except a thorough cleaning. as far as worrying about the vent holes, monitor glass, etc - you could mask them off- i know if you are a perfectionist you will end up taking the monitor apart, but i think as good a job could be acheived by leaving it intact.

word! get it taken apart by a pro heh. i had the unlucky job of shorting out against a spark plug wire once 10,000 volts nice light show from what i remember. put some nice craters into the screwdriver too. anyways yes take it apart masking the vents will take forever and look cheap.

robbiewilso said:

i have to disagree with everyone who wants to disassemble a working monitor- the new plastic Fusion paint is supposed to be very good (according to Yoshi on The Screen Savers) and require no prep except a thorough cleaning. as far as worrying about the vent holes, monitor glass, etc - you could mask them off- i know if you are a perfectionist you will end up taking the monitor apart, but i think as good a job could be acheived by leaving it intact.

Click to expand...

DEFINETLY not a good idea. while you can mask off the screen (which I did while painting mine), you REALLY shouldn't spray the monitor fully assembled because you WILL get paint inside the vent holes and therefore on your monitor's components. NOT a good idea IMO, you will end up ruining your monitor. And yes, Fusion requires no prep (I would know, I used it on my monitor) but it's not some sort of magical mystery paint that will evade your sensitive electronics on it's own.

/rant

pummer: then how'd you end up spraying your monitor? you got it disassembled somewhere? where? how much?

Well, I'm sorry I don't have any pics, but basically all I did is take the back part off, use a paper bag and some masking tape to cover the innards (which were still attached to the front bezel), masked off the screen and buttons, took off the base and started spraying. Oh and I cut a window in it, but that's another story.

Cathodes coming soon

hmm ok thanks.

Which color did you use? seems like the only black they have is gloss black. I'm not sure my case is... glossy.. lol.

i actually used the navy blue to match my blue chieftec

yes i am a chieftec owner

for the fusion plastic paint i believe all the prep work you need to do is cleaning. I dont think you are supposed to prime it because it is a plastic dye, not a coat of paint. The fusion actually soaks into the plastic and putting a primer on would counter this action.

Yea, all you need to do with the fusion paint is to clean the surface to clear it of oil/grease/dirt that will make the paint peel.

Aside from that, it works very very very well on plastic.

and as for taking apart the monitor, it will be REQUIRED to get it painted right. Unless all you're painting is the front bezel, there is no way to paint it all without taking it apart. You would have to mask off the vent-holes from the inside in order to make the paint look right, lol. and if you go that far, you may as well be taking the thing apart. If you try to paint it without masking off the vent holes, you will get paint all over the interior....which is very bad.

i'd just like to say......it would take a bit longer than just a week for the capacators to discharge. because they hold such a high voltage, they can hold their charge for much longer than 1 week

if you take it to like a TV repair shop, have them take it apart themselfs, and have them discharge the capacitor themselfs.

Trust me, the Caps in TV, and monitors can hold their charge for over a month.

if you do decide to do this yourself, and you take it apart.....wear protective gloves! get yourself a screwdriver that has a plasic handle, and so on.

now for my monitor, the vent holes, they are small enough, i can stick a toothpick in them, without them falling in. but......the part of the plastic they touch, won't get painted, so its up to you.