Need help painting. Newbie here.

[MysticX23]

Thinking of painting my case since its got scratches all over it. It just a plain metal case but I have no idea how to start. All I have is a bottle of spray paint from Ace Hardware and for sure its ok for metal cases. But I want to make it a nice smooth coating instead of something that turns out sticky and uneven.

How do I start? Whats a primer and do I need that?

 

[BA]

Start with Google. There are plenty of sites with basic painting instructions.

 

[xbassman]

The best advice I could give is don't use cheap spray paint.

I painted the faceplate on my computer. All was good until I was putting my 3rd coat on and I had a spray can malfunction that caused drips all over it. I had to wet sand it quite a bit to correct it.

The method I used which worked pretty well except for the malfunction.

Light san 400 grit.
Primer 3- coats (surface was bare acrylic)
Light sand again 400 grit
Final color 3- coats
Clearcoat 3-coats

If your case has a smooth finish, you might want to use 1000 grit a bit on the final color coats to eliminate orange peel.

BTW- You can't go wrong with Krylon paint.

 

[Kaspian]

make sure u get sandable primer, u dont have to have it for the metal parts of teh case (asuming they r already painted) but it will give u a smoother more even finish....u definetly have to prime the face plate of the case (the plastic parts) scuff the plastic up a bit with a sanding pad dont use anything more corse than 150 grit. 80 grit will b way to much ,and 220 wont do much to the plastic, so just go with 100 or 150. 2 coats of teh primer should b more than enogh........dont forget to sand the final coat........all u want is a nice smooth surface......crash course on priming.....good luck :thumbsup: 😎

 

[grrl]

I second the Krylon recommendation. Also, for fine grit sanding you can also use a 3M pad, new ones will leave very fine lines, but slightly used ones (and older) leave a really nice finish if used to wet sand. I've used that method on both metal and plastic cases with great results. It requires a bit or elbow grease, however.

 

[imported_Kiwi]

Really simple hint for anyone wanting to match beige colored CD, DVD, & FDD face plates to black cases:

Since the paints may manage to migrate inside the mechanisms, where they could gum up the works, try MarksaLot pens, the fat, indelible ones, and use a Sharpie to get into any cracks and/or crevices that the larger markers skips over. I've redone a couple of CD face plates that way, and the results, so far, have been very gratifying!


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