Have we painted a notebook? Sure. PC Case? Absolutely. Various and sundry DIY projects? Yup. Ryan and Nik want some help painting laptops and PC cases... so we've got a collection of basic tricks to get the best quality when rattlecanning your project.
Ryan and Nik want some help painting laptops and PC cases... so we've got a collection of basic tricks to get the best quality when rattlecanning your project.
If you want to see the ultimate in custom painted electronics, we'd send you straight to
Smooth Creations, best known for their outrageous custom airbrushed PC cases and ColorWare PC, a company that paints eye popping colors onto everything from smartphones (BlackBerry's, iPhones, Sidekicks), to consoles (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii), to PCs and HDTVs.
Nik... Ryan... we can't paint as good as either of those two companies.
We do know some solid basics for getting the best results from Canned Spray Paint, aka 'rattlecans.'
In this episode of Systm, we talk about:
what makes a good workspace for painting
basic safety when painting
why you probably shouldn't paint outdoors (Dandelion + wet paint = start over)
reading the directions on the can (!)
prepping your project (priming and sanding... 320 grit is smooth enough for spray paint!),
why a bucket full of hot water and a spray can handle are useful
good technique for using your spray can to its best advantage
and why we try to use paints and primers from the same brand and company. (Compatibility... nothing worse than painting for hours and finding out your paint won't set.)
Mostly we talk about taking your time... 'cause patience is critical when you're painting.
And that laughter you hear? It's David Randolf, mocking my International Safety Orange notebook lid!
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Posted by commando on 01/30/2008 at 08:36:58 pm in Systm
Patrick is totally right about patience but double your sandpaper grit and cut out half the work.
- Sand with 600 grit to prep your project
- 2 coats of primer
- Sand with 600 grit
- 2 coats of color
- Wet Sand with 1000 grit, in one direction i.e. <-->
- 2 coats of clear
- Wet Sand with 1000 grit, then 1500, then 2000, in one direction i.e. <-->
- Then buff it out with 3M rubbing compound
That's it. Cut out all the extra work, you don't need it.
What's up with 8 coats and sand in between. Not needed for a wicked paint job. Way overkill.
I've done tons of these things.
www.AirbrushTricks.com
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Posted by MrLahey on 01/24/2008 at 07:06:02 pm in Systm
As a professional auto painter, this whole episode gave me the heebie-jeebies.
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Posted by Kronos6948 on 01/23/2008 at 12:51:07 pm in Systm
"
Find something of yours that you were thinking of getting rid of and try it out on that. That way, you can get some practice in, and learn the ins and outs of it before you try it on something you want to keep. So, if you ruin it, it's no loss.
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Posted by rumblestrip on 01/23/2008 at 10:36:44 am in Systm
As I was watching and seeing the brown and orange primer, I kept thinking of how cool a rat rod paint job would look, but Rev3 or some other logo on it and fade it. I't would look great on the next Baja race!
*link*
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Posted by fergus on 01/23/2008 at 09:20:28 am in Systm
I really want to try this out now! But, alas, I have visions of it going horribly, horribly wrong...
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Posted by Sphinxer on 01/23/2008 at 08:00:15 am in Systm
An important note, in addition to covering up everything that you don't want paint on, in relation to things like a camera:
Taking pictures or a video of your creation can be nice (especially if you plan to use them for a how-to online and such), but the first time you leave your camera with the lens cap off while spraying paint around, you'll be crying and looking up camera prices on Newegg.
If you want to film or take pictures while spraying, then get a decent sized piece of glass or lexan and put the camera behind that. Do not make the mistake of underestimating how far the paint particles can travel, and once they're on the cameras lens you'll be hard pressed to ever get it clean again.
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Posted by triple110 on 01/22/2008 at 08:57:44 pm in Systm
"^This man knows what he's talking about:)
I mainly use Duplicolor and Krylon paint for my projects. Also, Rustoleum makes an awesome wet sandable automotive primer instead of the junk Pat used.
"
Thanks for the compliment...Duplicolor...I knew got the brand wrong...thanks for the correction.
Seppuku
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Posted by ShinHed on 01/22/2008 at 03:42:37 pm in Systm
"Oh, where to begin...
2. Primer color. If you want a bright finish, use a light primer, like a light gray or white. If you want deep rich colors, use a dark color, even a black. Using an orange primer with an orange paint will hurt the over all finish for 2 reasons: Harder to tell where you painted and will dull the "tone" the final paint....
4. Lightly wet sand with a 400-600 before final coat if you want a high gloss and tough surface..."
^This man knows what he's talking about:)
IMHO, Patrick was too concerned about orange peeling his shell that he wasn't spraying enough paint. Many light coats can also orange peel your project due to paint dust drying mid-air and landing on your project. Also, he didn't seem to properly overlap or have adequate lighting.
Usually, after the first few light coats (if you choose not to sand between), you wanna do a medium wet layer. Again, it's important to have adequate lighting to make sure it's evenly wet, so that the paint can level out, reducing the orange peel effect.
As 'triple110', stated earlier Ace paint and Rustoleum Professional primer are crap when it come to a high quality jobs. I mainly use Duplicolor and Krylon paint for my projects. Also, Rustoleum makes an awesome wet sandable automotive primer instead of the junk Pat used.
Hopefully, Patrick will take our advice and we'll see the results in the upcoming episode.
P.S.
Orange peel look more like...hmmm...an orange's peel than a golf ball;)
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Posted by shinmaryuu on 01/22/2008 at 05:56:05 am in Systm
If this is the same Macbook Patrick was talking about on DL.TV then i think his idea was a bio hazard orange with some sort of logo. Kind of an industrial waste can sort of feel.
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Posted by Bani_Banan on 01/21/2008 at 08:47:27 pm in Systm
This episode inspired me to paint the EEE PC.
One question though, why orange? I understand pink. I understand lime green. But orange? C'mon!
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