do black aluminum painted cases scratch easily?

[hans007]

i'm thinking about getting the new silverstone sg01 case. and well it comes in black or normal aluminum.


i currently have a coolermaster wave master silver and well it scratches but its not so noticeable. do any of you who have quality black aluminum cases, do you know if the paint scratches easily.

i dont really want to buy a $170 black aluminum case only for it to scratch and have a really contrasting silver scratch on it (i figure if you scratch a silver aluminum case cant look nearly as bad). i do like how the black one looks a bit better, but i dont want to regret it if it scratches easily.

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

I have a nice black case, and it doesn't scratch too easily, except for the door panel, when I am using a screw driver to put the screw in the bay panels, it hits the sides and scraps the paint off. But a black Sharpie fixes that problem very easily...
Tas.

 

[Mrvile]

Well one basic rule is that brushed aluminum doesn't scratch much but mirror finished aluminum does.

 

[Tyrant222]

no and mine is brushed black alu

 

[hans007]

Originally posted by: Mrvile
Well one basic rule is that brushed aluminum doesn't scratch much but mirror finished aluminum does.

yeah i was assuming that mirror black would scratch easily. you are talking about like antec sonata mirror finish (yeah i know its not an aluminum case).

like i tend to accidentally bang the side panels into things, and mess up the corners of them or accidentally lay them on a screw, do you guys think that would harm the paint? since it seems to on black steel cases, but i was hoping maybe they powder coated the black brushed aluminum on a $170 instead of just the normal paint.

 

[Mrvile]

Originally posted by: hans007

Originally posted by: Mrvile
Well one basic rule is that brushed aluminum doesn't scratch much but mirror finished aluminum does.

yeah i was assuming that mirror black would scratch easily. you are talking about like antec sonata mirror finish (yeah i know its not an aluminum case).

like i tend to accidentally bang the side panels into things, and mess up the corners of them or accidentally lay them on a screw, do you guys think that would harm the paint? since it seems to on black steel cases, but i was hoping maybe they powder coated the black brushed aluminum on a $170 instead of just the normal paint.

Well, brushed aluminum is usually anodized (at least Lian Li's is), making it a bit more durable. But that doesn't mean they won't get scratched. You still have to be careful with any case not to scratch it.

My cousin was over a week ago and I was teaching her how to play guitar, and of course she drops the damn thing on one of my Lian Li side panels, but suprising it wasn't scratched :Q

Still try to be careful though.

 

[Zepper]

Black anodized doesn't scratch too easily. Paint isn't easy to do on aluminum - you have to use a specific primer to get paint to adhere properly. Use an improper or poor primer and the paint will scratch off easily and will flake off in sheets if the case gets cold enough.

.bh.

 

[Operandi]

If a AL case is black it's anodized. Painting an AL case wouldn't make much sense.

 

[Jaxidian]

Originally posted by: Operandi
If a AL case is black it's anodized. Painting an AL case wouldn't make much sense.

Doesn't mean it doesn't happen...

 

[ssvegeta1010]

Mirrored black also easily shows finger prints, etc. Keep that in mind too.