Painted casings and static

[bononos]

Is ESD and shorts a concern with painted cases?
Everything is usually black incl screws, psus, mb tray, insides of casings etc nowadays and theres no place to clip an anti-static strap or touch to get rid of static.

 

[piasabird]

I usually just touch the metal case. I think the cases painted black on the inside are ugly and too dark looking. That is just my opinion. There are so many cases that you can buy what you want. I usually stay off carpeting when working on the computer.

 

[bononos]

The problem is that the metal case is painted/plated black and is not conductive.

 

[DSF]

Edit: NM, not confident enough in my knowledge to leave that posted.

 

[mfenn]

Insulator vs. conductor isn't a binary situation, EVERYTHING is a conductor given enough voltage (e.g. lightning). The voltages required to generate a harmful static discharge are in the thousands. A thin layer of paint isn't going to stop you from bringing yourself close enough to the case's potential to avoid any harmful static discharge.

If you are really worried, get an anti-static strap with strong alligator clips. Those will puncture the paint layer and make metal-to-metal contact.

 

[oynaz]

The voltages required to generate a harmful static discharge are in the thousands. A thin layer of paint isn't going to stop you from bringing yourself close enough to the case's potential to avoid any harmful static discharge.

Exactly.