- Jul 17, 2010
- 2,140
- 3
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I've become a big fan of Lian Li's Black cases recently, especially their mini-ITX range. I've used about 15 in the last year and apart from looking beautiful, they all seem to have at least one scratch on them from new. For my new Haswell build I decided to go with a Lian Li PC-Q28B. That case is not available in the UK so I had to import it from Germany. When I opened it I was looking for the customary scratch and was gutted to see it on the front panel near the 5.25" slot.
I didn't know where I stood on being able to exchange it but as I had to import it, the chances of being able to exchange it without further expense and a lot of hassle would have been slim. After some research and finding a lot of people with scratched Lian Li cases, the most common suggestion was sanding it out. I didn't need to ruin my case to know how much of a bad idea that was. The next most common piece of advice was "Anodised Aluminium can't be repaired so you will have to live with it." Well, I wasn't going to wear that either.
After going my own route I bought a product called Aluminum Black, by Birchwood Casey. This isn't a paint, it's a liquid dye that you leave on an Aluminium surface for 30-60 seconds before washing off. I spoke to Birchwood Casey and they said it was safe for use on Anodised Aluminium.
I managed to go from this:
To this:
Sorry for the enormous pictures but I've left them at a high resolution so you can see the finish clearer.
If you have a scratched Lian Li case and would like to do the same, here is how I did it.
Equipment
Birchwood Casey Aluminum Black dye
A small paint brush. (I managed to get a tiny brush from a cake decorating shop. I would go somewhere like that or to an arts and craft shop).
Latex gloves. The dye is poisonous if inhaled or absorbed through the skin
Washing up liquid (degreaser)
2 clean dish clothes
Paper towel
Microfibre cloth / duster cloth
Cup of water
Step 1
Make up a bowl of water and washing up liquid and put one of your dish cloths in it. Wet the other dish cloth with normal water. Degrease the scratch with the first cloth and then wash that off with the second. Dry the area with a paper towel and then buff it and remove any dust with the Microfibre.
Step 2
Apply the Aluminum Black to the scratch with your brush. Out of the bottle it is a clear bubbly liquid so just brush it on and leave it for 30 seconds. After 30 seconds wash it off with your water and then clean the area with your cloth with water on. Dry with the paper towel and then buff with the Microfibre.
Step 3
The first "coat" darkened the scratch a lot but I could still see it. I then reapplied for another 30 seconds. Washed off, dried and buffed. I repeated this procedure 4 times. After the 4th coat, the scratch was invisible and blends into the brushed finish.
When I spoke to Birchwood Casey they said you can put up to 5 coats of the product on an area but you will not see any change in results to go beyond 5 coats. They also state they product should only be on the Aluminium for 30-60 seconds maximum. I possibly could have reduced the number of coats I did if I had left it on for nearer a minute but that's a risk you need to decide on. The dye doesn't affect the Anodised metal, only where the bare Aluminium has been exposed by a scratch so this makes it a perfect solution to masking a scratch and due to the brushed finish, it's likely to blend into the case never to be seen again.
Obviously this was done before I built my PC so if yours is built you'll have to take measures to prevent the inside from getting wet. I hope this guide proves useful to some people.
I didn't know where I stood on being able to exchange it but as I had to import it, the chances of being able to exchange it without further expense and a lot of hassle would have been slim. After some research and finding a lot of people with scratched Lian Li cases, the most common suggestion was sanding it out. I didn't need to ruin my case to know how much of a bad idea that was. The next most common piece of advice was "Anodised Aluminium can't be repaired so you will have to live with it." Well, I wasn't going to wear that either.
After going my own route I bought a product called Aluminum Black, by Birchwood Casey. This isn't a paint, it's a liquid dye that you leave on an Aluminium surface for 30-60 seconds before washing off. I spoke to Birchwood Casey and they said it was safe for use on Anodised Aluminium.
I managed to go from this:
To this:
Sorry for the enormous pictures but I've left them at a high resolution so you can see the finish clearer.
If you have a scratched Lian Li case and would like to do the same, here is how I did it.
Equipment
Birchwood Casey Aluminum Black dye
A small paint brush. (I managed to get a tiny brush from a cake decorating shop. I would go somewhere like that or to an arts and craft shop).
Latex gloves. The dye is poisonous if inhaled or absorbed through the skin
Washing up liquid (degreaser)
2 clean dish clothes
Paper towel
Microfibre cloth / duster cloth
Cup of water
Step 1
Make up a bowl of water and washing up liquid and put one of your dish cloths in it. Wet the other dish cloth with normal water. Degrease the scratch with the first cloth and then wash that off with the second. Dry the area with a paper towel and then buff it and remove any dust with the Microfibre.
Step 2
Apply the Aluminum Black to the scratch with your brush. Out of the bottle it is a clear bubbly liquid so just brush it on and leave it for 30 seconds. After 30 seconds wash it off with your water and then clean the area with your cloth with water on. Dry with the paper towel and then buff with the Microfibre.
Step 3
The first "coat" darkened the scratch a lot but I could still see it. I then reapplied for another 30 seconds. Washed off, dried and buffed. I repeated this procedure 4 times. After the 4th coat, the scratch was invisible and blends into the brushed finish.
When I spoke to Birchwood Casey they said you can put up to 5 coats of the product on an area but you will not see any change in results to go beyond 5 coats. They also state they product should only be on the Aluminium for 30-60 seconds maximum. I possibly could have reduced the number of coats I did if I had left it on for nearer a minute but that's a risk you need to decide on. The dye doesn't affect the Anodised metal, only where the bare Aluminium has been exposed by a scratch so this makes it a perfect solution to masking a scratch and due to the brushed finish, it's likely to blend into the case never to be seen again.
Obviously this was done before I built my PC so if yours is built you'll have to take measures to prevent the inside from getting wet. I hope this guide proves useful to some people.
Last edited:
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