---Motherboards? I Painted Mine!!---

[Starfox]

hehe, i sure did

check out my article at overclockers. My Article

too bad you can't post pics here.

it'll give a brief how to...tell me what yall think!!!

 

[Mikki]

pretty cool...

 

[teqwiz]

That has got to be the most interesting mod I've seen in a long time.
The pics aren't that clear but it looks like glow in the dark paint? What Brand/color or specs on the paint?
That's pretty gutsy of you to try. My hat is off to you.

Do you think it might peel if it gets too hot? Let me know if you have any problems. I'm starting a mod this week and am looking for ideas.

 

[Buz2b]

I am far from an expert (but then, neither were you at the time) but I worry about the part where you said you put on a "heavy" coat and followed it up with "5 more" coats. That seems to be a bit of overkill and would then go back to the concerns of heating up and peeling.
Hey, other than that, I think you did a heck of a job and it took a lot of "guts" to do that. Kinda like "going where no man has gone before". Or maybe is should read, "painting where no man has painted before".
Being a perfectionist kinda person that I sometimes am, the only thing I think I may have done differently would have been to take a brand new plastic "scrubby" (you know, the 3M kind for washing really dirty pots) and gently rubbing it on all the spots on the MB I hadn't covered with tape. This would be just to (hopefully) help the paint adhere better in the case of overheating a bit. The other concern would be, as mentioned, the "heavy" coat of paint followed by 5 more. I don't think that was needed. I'm pretty sure that the paint you chose would have done almost the exact same thing, even if you had only put on a couple of light coats.
Trust me, this is not being critical; I think you did one heck of a job and have more guts to do this than most of us here on AT. I applaud you for that. My suggestions were merely that; suggestions.
Great Mod!

 

[Evadman]

If you do happen to do it again, I would recomend grounding the mainboard next time so the paint does not build up a large static charge

 

[mooseAndSquirrel]

This is like bungee jumping. It looks cool, I admire people that have the guts to do it, it's fun to watch someone else do it and it's not something I would think about doing in a million years.

Congrats on a daring mod!

 

[Starfox]

thanks everyone!

 

[Rafael]

Looks pretty nice!
Congrats Starfox!

Raf

 

[RideFree]

Starfox,
Cool, so that was you @ Overclockers.
I have read every word that Joe & Ed have posted over there for several years.

 

[CaptnKirk]

FYI - Mil Spec printed circuit cards have been using an clear acrylic overcoating that is refered to as 'Conformal Coating' for years.

The purpose of this coating, which (for all practical purposes) is a paint finish, is to maintain a moisture barrier, so that any water that condenses either on the adjacent structure/chassis and drips onto the board, or collects in pockets on the circuitry, will not bridge a wire or circuit trace and cause a short or stray signal.

The three major concerns when performing the coating application are: First - not use a conductive pigment material (use a clear) which will defeat the purpose of the protective jacket, Second - fully and properly mask the pin interfaces so you don't get a layer of paint in contacts that would insulate the mate interface, and Third - leave heat dissipation devices free of coating so that the active air can remove heat from the heatsink/coldplates.

Looks like you did a good job of meeting the Mil Spec criteria, whether you knew it existed or not.

Congrads on a job well done.


Give the Rookie a Cookie, Wookie

 

[randomboy]

I must say........that looks really damn cool!! Nice job.

Jeff

 

[Starfox]

thanks guys, glad yall like it!

 

[eplebnista]

 

[Zim Hosein]

Starfox, nice mod, WTG

 

[Jeff7]

I would have personally tried it on a slightly less expensive board first (with a less expensive paint perhaps), but that's just me.
Looks awesome though.

 

[Vehementi]

Nice! I'd like to try this some time. Damn ASUS boards...they're all just plain old pale orange

 

[eclectro]

Normally this might be a 133t thing, but mainboard manufacturers are catching onto the need for color thats why some of them are starting to come in different colors. I expect this will take off like the window cases took off.

 

[Mangler]

Pretty tight mod! Coming from a LAN party of 100 people yesterday, I have never seen or heard of this one But, I like it...

 

[Starfox]

just remember i was the FIRST!!!

 

[Athlon4all]

wow, that is cool, I wouldn't even think it was possible lol

 

[Planetspectre]

Cool mod. Very creative!

Spectre

 

[spanner]

cool, I would have taped the top of those capacitors though, they get hot.

 

[Starfox]

well, i've seen a lot of people using UV paint and highlighters on caps (cuz they were too chicken to do the rest of the board )

so i thought it would be safe to paint on the caps

 

[Sunny129]

WOW! the finished product really looks killer under the UV light. WTG Starfox! i'm officially impressed...

 

[SinnerWolf]

pretty sweet!

although, several guys over at hardforums have been painting PCB's for at least a year or two now. However you're the first one to use the UV paint as far as i know. Only bad thing about that clearneon spray paint is that it needs a lacquer in order to be permanent. If it scratches, peels, or heat-bubbles, you might have to redo a section. Just make sure you have a good 30cfm+ fan blowing across the board towards an exhaust and it should be a-ok.