[NoNafs]

I have a TiBook G4 667 (DVI) and was sick of looking at its deteriorating condition so I decided to do something about it (the two broken hinges were added incentive). Well a trip to pbfixit.com and about and hour and a half later (talk about a PITA to take apart) I now have my once trusty tibook with its innards all over my room. I want to paint it now, but I don't see how I can remove the speakers from the case. I could mask them off and get a nice ugly rectangle of where I didn't paint, or I could leave the whole center section as is, but I'd rather not. Any help would be appreciated, thanks, Farhan.

[NoNafs]

Well it seems no one knows how to solve this problem. Well I looks like I'll just leave the center unpainted, but I was hoping for some advice. I have primer and clearcoat, should I use them? I was going to, but decided I should get some advice before starting.

[_kevin]

If you're really serious about doing this-- and I advise you to reconsider (the Alumbook is beautiful without modification )-- you will definitely need to prime it.

I've never painted a Powerbook before, but I did paint my Toshiba Satellite notebook, which had an aluminum lid. The final results were stunning--it looked like the finish on a car.

First, I recommend you lightly sand the surfaces using an 800 grit paper. This is really just to remove any treatment Apple may have applied to the aluminum. Next, you should use a bonding or self-etching primer to get the best possible adhesion to the bare metal. The priming/surface preparation stage is very important if you want a smooth mirror-like finish.

From this point on, the tedium begins. Once you have applied several coats of the primer and allowed it to dry, it's time to wetsand. You can use either 400 or 600 grit sandpaper at this point. Lightly wetsand the surface down, removing any imperfections. Next, apply a few more coats of primer. Once it dries, wetsand again, this time using 800 grit paper. You should repeat this process many times. You want as purely flat a surface as possible before you apply your enamel paint. I think I primed/wetsanded between 8 and 10 times. Remember: you're not sanding to remove the primer--just to smooth the surface out.

Once the surface is smooth and free of particulate matter (e.g. dust in the primer), you can stop sanding and apply another coat of primer. I suspended the laptop case components from the ceiling in my garage for the priming. This allowed me to thoroughly access all sides of the surface. Because it is only the priming stage, you should be applying lighter coats and shouldn't have to worry about the primer running.

Now it's time to apply the paint. I used automotive-grade acrylic enamel. It will offer the best balance of durability and ease-of-application. Apply a thin dusting of the enamel (to give the latter application something to bite in to), then go back and apply a thicker coat. Once this has dried, you must wetsand again. Use discretion when selecting the grit of the sandpaper- 600-800 should be appropriate. Once the surface is sufficiently smooth, apply another coat of paint. The coats should be thick, but even. Try to keep the surface as level as possible to prevent running. Once this coat dries, wetsand again. For the best possible finish, you should repeat this paint/sand combination even more times than you did during the priming stage. I painted/sanded around 20 times. Progressively use smoother grits of paper--eventually getting to 1600. Once you have applied the final coat, sand with 1600, then 2000 grit sandpaper. The surface should be completely smooth, but will not yet be glossy.

The final step is to apply automotive rubbing compound and finish restorer to the case surfaces. 3M makes both of these products, which can be purchased at Pep Boys or Auto Zone. Follow the instructions on the bottle for both of these products. When you have finished, the glossy finish will be restored. Continue applying the product until you are satisfied with the results.

Allow a few months for the paint to cure. You can then apply automotive wax to the notebook surface for some additional protection.

I hope you find this useful. If you have any questions about the process, let me know. It's a long and exhaustive project, but the results are impressive.

[shabbasuraj]

do it

[_kevin]

I forgot to address your question about clear coat. I did not use it on my project. Quite frankly, it was because I wasn't sure what the best way to apply it would be. I didn't want to risk losing the mirror-finish that resulted after the exhaustive painting process. The finish has been remarkably durable without clear coat.

If you do decide to use it, I imagine you would apply it after the final steps of the painting (rubbing compound, finish restorer). When I tested the clear coat, however, the results were discouraging. The coats came out cloudy and matted. The matting can easily be addressed by wetsanding or compounding, but the cloudiness was persistent. I didn't want to risk negating the deep red finish I achieved.

Here are some pictures I took before selling it:

[wuzup101]

Hey, just have to say, from my somewhat limited experience doing airbrushing work Kevin hit it right on the head. Excellent advise!

On another note, Kevin, that Toshiba lappy looks sweet

[NoNafs]

I am pretty dedicated on doing this, like I said I have two broken hinges (steel replacements on the way), so my TiBook is in a million pieces ready to be painted. Only problem is the speakers, think they are epoxyed on or something, so I can't paint the center consol without removing them. Looks like I'll just leave out the clear coat then. Thanks for the help.

[NoNafs]

HA!! I figured I would try prying the speakers off and it WORKED!! Looks like I'm all ready to go. Thanks for all the help. I'll post some before and after pics to show how beat up my TiBook was (hopefully if everything turns out ok).

[_kevin]

Please do take pictures before, during, and after! Not only will they serve posterity, they will also help you remember where all those tiny parts go!

What color are you painting it?

[NoNafs]

I'm trying to bring it back to its original color, or something close to it. As for all the little parts, pbfixit.com had a great guide which i followed, and I put all the screws into a piece of paper, labeling all of them. So, everything should go smoothly.

[Eriamjh]

They have these real neat "fake" anodizing paints at the auto parts store now, that I used on my car parts.

Yellow, red, green, and blue clear anodizied finishes. You might want to try them on a highly polished, bare powerbook.

If you're going to go through the trouble of painting a powerbook, why not paint it a different color? No one is going to care if you restored it to original (or notice).

[NoNafs]

I'm painting it because it was all scratched up and I had to replace the hinges. I don't really care about what other people think. I looked at colorwarepc's site to see how different colors would look, and quite frankly wasn't all that impressed, apple did it right the first time, I feel no need to change that. On a similar not I found this article:
http://case-mods.linear1.org/case-mo...r-case-part-2/
and he highly recommends clear coating.

[_kevin]

His case does look good, but did you see that picture of him? All that effort he exhausted clear coating could have been more usefully applied to cleaning himself up a bit.

But seriously, his technique looks sound to me. My fear with this was that I would accidentally sand through the clear coat and into the painted finish. If that were to happen, I would be left with huge inconsistencies in the surface. However, if you're using the right superfine grit sand paper, you shouldn't have to worry about it.

I'm curious to see what a high gloss aluminum will look like on a PB. Good luck!