$25 Case Modded/Painted

[Mightybaal]

Hi,

 First time modding/painting and thought i would use a cheap case. I felt like i went ok made plenty of mistakes especially using a cheap rivot gun. Didnt protect around the holes so case got scratched.  Im not worried as this is my Media Server case and is hidden 99% of the time.

 Give honest answers as im after any tips or hints to help me next time. I still have sleeving to do when i can afford the correct tools as i will make my cables to exact length and sleeve them.  My next build will be a Prodigy hence the practice.

Sorry for all the big pictures as im a noob to forums.

 

 

I missed alot of the early pictures as i was so excited to start so here are the painted Stuff pictures

 

 

DVD Drive I thought turned out excellent and works perfectly

 

This is my old 8800GTX which is perfect for the media encoding side of things. I took the stickers of so it is clean Skined. I painted the Back I/O black to help it match the theme.

 

Putting the case back together which you will notice the rivet gun marks around the holes. I figured out a way of it not happening anymore so my next build will be cleaner

 

The case loaded with everything and poor cable management. Only got 1 cm between backplate and case hence nothing hid there.

 

 

 

[Mightybaal]

Last 2 Pictures as they wouldn't upload for some reason

 

Sorry for the size but like i said a noob to forums and picture editing

 

 

[WoodenMarker]

The looks sick. Very nice mod!

 

My sister doesn't seem to care though. Then again, she was never a computer techie.

[slifer]

hey, you had great results! Can you share your method/technique for getting this? What paint did you use? How many times did you sand it and what grits? Thanks!

[DeViLzzz]

Just like slifer I would like to hear more about the process in getting this done.  Nice job btw.

[Mightybaal]

I did not go to far into keeping it perfect as it was my first go at Painting. I used a 600 grade wet and dry sandpaper to rough/scoff it up at the start. Smoothed it off with 1200 Grade wet and dry on both Plastics and Metal. I used a basic Hobby aerosol primer used for plastics and metal. Im in Australia so brands will be pointless. light sand with 1200 wet and dry then resprayed primer. Then 1200 wet and dry light sand again then sprayed Matt black hobby aerosol and Fluro Orange. Light Sand with 1200 wet/dry and sprayed again. I then used a clear coat spray let dry then sprayed again.

Tricks i used as follows. I got myself a large box as in L100cm x W100cm x D50cm and cut a hole in it for the items to sit in. I then sprayed inside this so it created like a portable spray booth. Use a consistent sweeping motion and always short bursts with loads of can shaking to get it consistent.

With the cans they say turn can upside down and spray out excess when finished which is a good tip. But also lay the can down with the nozzle pointing up and put about a teaspoon of turpentine on the nozzle and it washes away the crap and keeps the nozzle perfect.

Don't use rivets if you can help it. Nuts and bolts would make your build look more pro. If using rivets make sure you tape around the holes or put some rubber over the rivet gun nozzle so when it snaps the rivet into place you don't scratch your case.

Take your time don't rush it. If you screw up your paint let it dry and sand it off. Optical drives are a pain in the butt to do and only do it if needed.

Hope that helps out your questions a bit. I live in Newcastle area, Australia so if you want brand names and places i will indulge more.

Basically hobby aerosol paint good on plastic and metal with a good primer base. Next time i will do about 3 coats of primer at least and maybe 4 coats of paint. But also sand a lot more at the start to make up for the extra paint.

[slifer]

Ahh, awesome! Thanks for sharing your method and I'll take your tips into consideration! Great job mate! :)

[DeViLzzz]

Thanks so much for sharing the info. on how you got it done.  Appreciated.  I am still waiting to do my first case mod.  Kind of afraid of hurting myself while doing it. : Z

[threee6]

DAMN YOU! now i'm looking at the inside of my Cooler Master 430 and thinking, hmmmmmmmm lol. Nice Job, looks great.

[JordanMac]

Very nice work!

[Bamferator]

Looks great, way to take something that lackluster and dress it up so nicely.

[Mightybaal]

Thanks for all your kind words. I have just ordered my sleeving and basic tools as i want to sleeve everything black and orange as well. But i am going to wait till i can afford a crimper and lugs and shorten all the cables. Also i have an idea that i haven't seen done before with cables so it might show up on this build or my prodigy build.

 

I have an old P4 2.8ghz cpu, board and ddr ram laying around with an old beige tower. Might do a mod with that but it comes down to time and money.

[PBaines]

Looks good,

 

 

Could do with one final sand using extremely fine sandpaper ie 2500grit or something and then polished. Would make it a lot nicer

[Mightybaal]

Thanks Pbaines. I did think about it making it smoother and more polished. But when you see it up close and personal its actually quite textured/grainy look which i actually ended up liking.

 But thanks for your input my next build i might make it full gloss.

[Deus Ragno]

[Liradon]

I'm kind of afraid of painting my own case as I'm quite uncomfortable with sanding over a spayed case. I'm afraid to screw it all up, making scratches and uneven surfaces.

[Mightybaal]

That is what i was afraid of, that's why i went out and bought a cheap case. I was afraid of drilling out the rivets and making the holes to big. But at $25 for the case i thought give it a shot. Better than trying first time on a $125 case and screwing it up.

[ChaoticWeaponry]

Man.. I have to say I was scared to see the final product after the first couple pictures (slightly jagged cuts). But DAMN it turned out really nice. Love it!

[Anult]

Hey I guess you can make something awesome from something cheap, good job.

[AvoK95]

Mighty fine, mighty fine indeed :D

[Mightybaal]

Thanks guys really appreciate your kind words and suggestions.

[Night]

Very cool. I like the contrast between different parts and their colors.

[nickpc]

looks good

[Mightybaal]

Quick update. I got some mdpc-x Sleeving in orange and black so will be doing that i hope in the near future. However im thinking of shortening all my cables so i got to buy a good crimper and stuff and budget is tight. 

 What you guys think. sleeve it and leave it OR shorten and sleeve it.

[_wky]

Nice job, my only harp is that optical drive...