WCPC mini Project Log

haha that heat sink looks awesome!!

 

Thanks. Unfortunately I dont have the big budgets that some of the modders I've seen. So Im always looking for bargains from the clearance section, just have to be a little creative to make things fit

 

a bit of creativity is always fun

 

been busy celebrating Xmas & NY but managed to squeeze in a little bit of spray painting...

After 2 coats of etching primer and a quick sand.


and after a coat of satin black



After spraying it black, all the imperfections really start to show thru. Earlier, I was concerned about using this case because the metal is so thin. There are some spots on the motherboard tray where the metal is slightly warped/bented (this was a used case) and the black paint makes it obvious.

Luckily it is on the inside and will be hidden by the motherboard.

 

Looking good so far keep up the good work!

Subscribed!

 

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Hows the laptop coming along?

 

Thanks! I ran out of paint for the 3rd (last) coat of colour, but the auto store I got the paint from is on holidays. I tried elsewhere but I havent found the same colour. Hopefully they'll be open on Monday so I can get the paint and finish the laptop.

Thanks for the encouragement! I'll be trying

 

looks great so far!

 

Been too busy to do much lately, but finally got some time off today and got busy finishing up the laptop.

I bought some more paint and gave everything another 2-3 coats (3 for the palm rest & lid) of colour (Holt's Charcoal Grey Metallic). I used up 4 cans of the stuff, cos I wanted a durable finish that can stand up to the abuse my 2 boys will surely dish out

This is what the palmrest & lid looked like after 5 coats




Before putting on the clear coats, I experimented a little and used cutting compound to give the lid a little extra gloss

Here you can see the effect, only left side has been buffed


After buffing it, I washed off all the compound and starting spraying on the clear coats

My photography skill aint very good and I didnt have the lighting conditions to be able to show off the finish, but as you can see, its looking not too bad.


Nearly finished! just one more (2 for the palmrest & lid) coat of clear and I can start reassembling. I was going to do red accents but decided against it, cos the sliver/dark gray looks pretty good together

 

wow looks great! if u didnt know, you would think that is the way it came!

 

Thanks! it does look like its factory made, actually I wanted the red accents (on the speaker surounds & silver bits-see below) so that you would be able to see that its a custom job and not stock! I was going to do the buttons, touchpad, & speakers in but then I'd lose the symbols and wont know which button does what, Plus my boys didnt want the red...

 

looking good trucrymz, what paint did you use?

 

I used up nearly 4 cans of Holts Dupli-colour Charcoal grey metallic (gunmetal) and Holts clear. Its the same paint as used on cars apparantly

 

Stayed up all night to finish the laptop, and so after 1-2 more coats of clear, it was ready to be reassembled.




At Last!! Finished!! man I wished I still had the 'before' photos to show you what it looked like originally, it really was pretty banged up and in bad shape... but here it is originally, (you cant see all the dents/scratches & chucks missing from the lid as well as all the burnt/melted marks on the side and underbody)


And here's what it looks like now...





Im actually very happy with the finish, my photography skills really doesnt do it justice, I cant capture the gloss & depth of the colour, so I put the can next to it so you can see how reflective the finish is.








Overall Im pretty happy with it, and glad I didnt do the red highlights, the sliver on gunmetal I think looks classier, even though its not as 'custom'. The deep glossy finish makes up for it. Late x-mas present for my boys, I hope they'll be happy with it (and not destroy it too quickly)