Painting case

[TravisTea]

Hey guys! I'm contemplating painting my case. I have the Fractal Design R4 (?). I'm after suggestions as to what the best kind of paint is to use. I don't have an air compressor or anything like that so I'll probably need something in a spray can, but honestly I'm not sure. Is there any difference in painting the metal as opposed to the plastic, or is it basically done the same way? Any and all suggestions are appreciated. Thanks! 

[W-L]

9 minutes ago, LordSlimJimm said:

Hey guys! I'm contemplating painting my case. I have the Fractal Design R4 (?). I'm after suggestions as to what the best kind of paint is to use. I don't have an air compressor or anything like that so I'll probably need something in a spray can, but honestly I'm not sure. Is there any difference in painting the metal as opposed to the plastic, or is it basically done the same way? Any and all suggestions are appreciated. Thanks! 

Some of the best spray paint you can get would be automotive stuff, a good option would be Duplicolor. As for painting steps themselves you will need to prep and prime the surfaces before painting, I have a general guide that goes over most of that here if your interested:

 

 

-Moved to Modding Section- 

[Damascus]

This is my most recent mod, a very simple paint job.  I used rustoleum matte black primer.

[Egg-Roll]

I've worked in the painting/metal/plastic industry, and in the entire company less 2 others (too busy to do, or always passed it onto me anyways) I was the only other plastic handler...

 

If the plastic is a smooth glossy finish your going to have some fun times ahead of you. If you can find primer for plastic in a spray can you'll have a ton easier time.

 

Also one thing not mentioned (it's actually a good guide otherwise), is sand paper. for all things good, DON'T USE ANYTHING LOWER than 800 on plastic... (I mean grit with a lower number etc, so don't use 80 on it) you might be able to get away with 500 but not by hand, you'll scuff that up so bad that you'll need to prime the shit out of the plastic and sand till the marks are gone, my suggestion is at least 1000, but 800 is bare minimum. If you can get a cleaning agent for the plastic grab some good chemical resistant gloves (dollar store bathroom latex should be fine, you know the thick ones), and wipe it down (read and follow the instructions on the container). 

 

Also same thing goes with metal, if you scuff it up too hard the scratches will telegraph threw in the paint, however metal is 1000 times easier to repair.

 

One thing i would strongly suggest is getting a Tack cloth It'll save you a ton of hassle (why wasn't this brought up in that topic? if it was i can't be bothered to read images ) Alcohol works but it can dry out the plastic and paint, and generally has little effect on glossy surfaces. Also Alcohol you can't paint right away where as a tack cloth you can, also alcohol can leave chemical residue behind which can cause a reaction, if that happens on plastic you're going to have a nightmare on your hands.

 

Just in case IF that does happen. LET IT DRY! Remove all paint that reacted (should just come off with little friction, USE YOUR HANDS, dont let the paint get under your nails it could hurt for days even if you get it out). use the finest sandpaper you have to smooth things out. re prime it, but do a very light spot coat 2-3 times or till fully covered, resand the area genitally to smooth everything out, light paint it 2-3 times, should fix it.

 

With plastic too much paint is your enemy.

 

BTW what color are you planning on using?

The last thing I painted there was this (my own person thing which was mostly done early in the morning or during breaks):

Spoiler

Yes the paint is supposed to look like that. And yes that piece actually reacted like you wouldn't believe... This was the first thing i did with the Nvidia Shield

About a year later...

The little silver Shield piece went missing at the workplace it was actually painted to a color very close to Nvidia's green just a little lighter.

 

Look carefully at the right bumper part (left side of the pic) That's reaction but is able to be worked with.

 

AND the Final product (sadly the screens cable broke so i never bothered putting it completely back together  Maybe one day...

 

 

 

[TravisTea]

@Egg-Roll    Well I'm debating doing the plastic pieces because I think I'm going to do the main frame a brighter green and let the accents, side doors, and plastic stay the factory black for a nice contrast. I'm not 100% committed to this project just yet. Just need to sit down some more and really plan it out. So I may just say forget the plastic, simply because I don't trust myself not to screw that part up. I'm very comfortable doing the main frame though.