Painting case?

[Rhezuss]

Hi all,

I have an old black case, which brand I don't recall, that I bought 7-8 yeard ago maybe more. It is still very fonctionnal and it is a well built case with a side windows big enough to entirely see the interior and a side fan with blue LED, 4 extra 80mm spots (2 in front (for the HDDs) and 2 on the back), 4 - 5.25" drives and 4 "HDD" slots, 2 front USB and headphone and speaker plugs, etc.

I saw some days ago the 2 full tower cases from Corsair with matte black interiors and it look awesome. I thought about replacing my case but it still works wonders so I was thinking about painting the interior. The 2 side panels are black which leaves only the case frame and the back to be painted.

Is it a good idea or can I have troubles diong so?
Which paint to use? Good 'ol Tremclad cans and apply a non-glossy finish?

What do you think?

 

[daw123]

Of course you can paint the interior; there's an example in this thread where the OP did just that:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2043803&highlight=paint

Here is a guide on painting computer cases (from the thread I linked above):
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=108396

 

[aigomorla]

just keep note it can take a lot of patience and time to paint a case.

For me it took 2 days with priming + painting.

 

[Rhezuss]

How much drying time would you consider enough before installing hardware in?

 

[daw123]

It should tell you the drying time on the side of the spray can.

Edit: If your case is a Lian li, Silverstone, or some other high end case, then I would also be keeping it longer than 7 years.

 

[Rhezuss]

@ daw123: Yeah the can will tell me but I read somewhere that it's recommended to let the case dry for about 2 weeks to make sure no particles are still in there...

Here's the case, can't recall the brand but, if my memory serves me well, it's was a "well known" one...

http://img532.imageshack.us/img532/2238/p1000547z.jpg

Looks like a long process but surely worth the time and patience to do it well. I'll have to take appart most of my hardware soon to install a new CPU HSF so maybe it'll be the right time...

 

[aigomorla]

practice on something cheap first
and then work on the more expensive ones.

Its always better the second time you do it.

 

[daw123]

@ daw123: Yeah the can will tell me but I read somewhere that it's recommended to let the case dry for about 2 weeks to make sure no particles are still in there...

Here's the case, can't recall the brand but, if my memory serves me well, it's was a "well known" one...

http://img532.imageshack.us/img532/2238/p1000547z.jpg

Looks like a long process but surely worth the time and patience to do it well. I'll have to take appart most of my hardware soon to install a new CPU HSF so maybe it'll be the right time...

Two weeks... I think someone is pulling your leg. Maybe 24 hours for it to dry.

The reference you made to dust / particulates is during the application / drying of the paint. Dust doesn't affect the paint finish once its dry. If you find that your paint job is defective due to dust or whatever, the link I gave in my previous post tells you how to deal with it:

Step 5: Inspect the surface under a good spot light (or a torch) to look for defects (dust spots, orange peel, or ripples where you didn't give the surface enough paint). If you don't see any and think it is perfect then you can proceed to using rubbing compound. *Guide on how to use rubbing compound is at the end*
If you have defects then you will need to get out some 2000 grit wet and dry again and start sanding. Sand the problem areas until the defects are gone, take care in not sanding through the paint, if you do then it's putty time again then applying more paint.

btw Orange peel is where you have a bobbly surface to the paint, like the surface of an orange; its created by the pits and ridges or peaks and troughs in the paint surface. Flating the painted surface using sand paper sands off the ridges (or peaks) to create a smoother finish.

As Aigo said, it is best to paint a sample first.

 

[Modelworks]

If you prep the case first. sand it down with a light sanding and make sure it is ready to paint you can often get some really nice paint jobs done for cheap at local auto body shops. They often have paint left over and will spray a case for you for just a few bucks. I got one done with the metal flakes and clearcoat for $20
The guy here was real nice about it. He was painting a blue car later that day and I just left the case with him. Came back next day and it was all painted and dried. They probably will charge more if they have to mix colors, etc, but if they are just finishing up a job it only takes a few minutes to do a case.

 

[GAM3RIG]

this picture is worth a thousand words:

CM Elite 341--4 aerosol spray paints

SG05--2 and half aerosol spray paints

SG02-- 3 aerosol spray paints

those haven't problem with paints. they are sooo the beautiful painted cases.

You just pick up the spray paint called "COLORPLACE" flat black for 96cent at walmart.. You need 6 or 7 aerosol spray paints for ATX case.

 

[nipplefish]

Looks good. I'm going to do my HAF 922 this week. Did you drill the rivets out or just paint it fully assembled?

 

[GAM3RIG]

Looks good. I'm going to do my HAF 922 this week. Did you drill the rivets out or just paint it fully assembled?

You dont have to drill the rivets out and just paint it fully assembled.. thats simple.. HOWEVER, I encourage you have to remove the top from HAF 922 before all pre-assembled case you can paint, thats it. you buy rivets at OSH, HOME DEPOT, or LOWES.

 

[Rhezuss]

Wow looks really good, exactly what i'd like mine to look like. Matte black finish FTW I say!

I'll think about it and try to find some bags of patience in the hardware store HAHAH!

Thanks for the pics!

 

[GAM3RIG]

Looks good. I'm going to do my HAF 922 this week. Did you drill the rivets out or just paint it fully assembled?

Dude, you can see owner did not drill the rivets out of his 932 HAF as of below:

He just paint the assembled case..

I think you can do paint it without drill the rivets out..

Good Luck.

 

[Modelworks]

One thing to watch out for with cheap paints is you get what looks like a nice paint job, but it scratches off very easily. If you want a more durable finish look for appliance paint, sometimes called epoxy paint in spray cans. It will stick to anything and when dry has a very hard finish.


Do not spray epoxy paint on plastic though as it can cause it to warp.

 

[Rhezuss]

One thing to watch out for with cheap paints is you get what looks like a nice paint job, but it scratches off very easily. If you want a more durable finish look for appliance paint, sometimes called epoxy paint in spray cans. It will stick to anything and when dry has a very hard finish.


Do not spray epoxy paint on plastic though as it can cause it to warp.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[RockinZ28]

I have some questions for painting an old case too.

The interior is aluminum with no paint, do you have to sand it down for the primer to stick, or can you just start spraying as is?

Also, the front of the case is plastic with like a shiny chrome finish. Can I take a power sander with a fine grit to get down to the bare plastic for painting? And how do I prep the plastic part for painting?

 

[daw123]

I have some questions for painting an old case too.

The interior is aluminum with no paint, do you have to sand it down for the primer to stick, or can you just start spraying as is?

Also, the front of the case is plastic with like a shiny chrome finish. Can I take a power sander with a fine grit to get down to the bare plastic for painting? And how do I prep the plastic part for painting?

You should sand paper all surfaces which you are going to paint, so that you provide a key for the paint to adhere to.

 

[Meghan54]

Some interior part painting I'm doing on a TJ07 build.

Closeup of above:

Hard drive bay holder: