Changing the Color of Plastic
This is old, but it's not a mod if you don't have a slick paint job, and I love paint
Ah plastic. How you shun spray paint, making airbrushing and blending a pain in the donkey.
But if you want a solid color, it's easy. Don't paint it, dye it. If you're starting with white you ust drop it in some boiling water with some plastic dye and let it go for about a half hour if you want a deep vibrant color, or somewhere around 10-15 minutes if you want a lighter shade of the dye you're using. Bam, the texture of the plastic stays the same, no sanding, no clear coating, looks factory made, cause thats how factories color their plastic.
If you have a dark colored plastic, um, you can try sanding down to white
Or refrain from buying black parts unless you want them black. I had some stuff that let me give some black stuff I had a gasoline slick iridescence which was pretty awesome though.
If you need to paint buy quality paint. Your computer cost how much money? Spend 8 bucks on paint and 5 on some lacquer clear coat. Especially if you are getting something with metallic flake in it. They have some stuff in hobby shops that even feels like metal when it dries, but it's pricey. Cheap silver paint is regurgitated and reprocessed diarrhea, good for one thing only (or is it two?) ...huffing/killing off rogue mutinous brain cells.
Don't use enamel. Get lacquer. You can get various glossy states ie. matte, semi, full on crystal clear. Shop hobby stores or auto parts stores. Or get the stuff they use for finishing guitars. Its called Nitrocellulose lacquer. That stuff takes years to fully harden - so some say - but will dry good enough for use in a few days... depending on how much contact its gonna have. You could also use shellac, that dries hard as nails, but it will yellow over time. You can get it pigmented though, to give the finish an amber hue or whatever you like. Shellac is only high gloss.
Do like 6-7 or most mist coats of the color, let dry for like an hour in between coats. Fix runs with 400 grit.
Add like 15 mist coats of the clear coat. The krylon stuff isn't too bad if you insist on being a cheapskate. Do 3-4 coats over the coarse of a day, let dry overnight, 400 grit LIGHT sanding in the morning (just a quick once over no heavy pressure gentleness sanding. like you're sanding an ultra thin potato chip or a snowflake or whatever delicate thin thing you like to imagine), repeat till you hit 15. Or 10. Whatever. When its good and thick I start with the 400 and move up to 2000 because I have it, and it doesn't take long. If the sandpaper is grey, wet sand. Buff the mother pearly. I put a big old buffing pad on my dremel and go at it. Normally I shun power tools, but buffing is B-O-R-I-N-G and you aren't gonna wreck it unless you give it a strong darwin award effort.
Did I mention buy quality paint? If you're a graffiti guru yes there are some awesome colors in the cheapo dept. Almost all of them are rustolem. Unless you are a shades of black fanatic like me. Black is the exception to the rule. Buy any and every brand, find the one you like. Cheap paint usually doesn't cover uniformly but black is too easy to make and, well, black, so spend a dollar or two... or 20 and get a bunch and spray them all in stripes on something, compare contrast, pull out you're subjective scientific method and paint your mothers favorite pair of ruby shoes.
Oh and if you don't want to do a lot of coats or sanding or anything put the gloss clear coat on just to the point where its gonna start dripping. It will sort of slough melt drip and give you a decent finish that way. Work in a dust free environment. Spray some misty water from your hose in your garage and let it settle for a few hours before you work and keep the door shut till you start painting or keep it shut while you paint and you'll not be as OCD while you paint. You might even want to wear a mask, but I hate masks on my face, I open the door quick in quick out don't over think it and keep the spray can the correct distance from the piece you're painting. DO NOT INVADE ITS PERSONAL SPACE. If you're frustrated with how long it takes to cover the item you're probably doing it right.
(some people claim misting your garage is anywhere from pointless to counterproductive in removing dust and other chaff from the air. some even go as far as providing an explanation for this thats logical sounding but I'm pretty sure they're just sophists hating on anything easy and effective, cause it works for me. Maybe there garages are simply a lot cleaner than mine.)
