[shifuimam]

I found a shiny white Airlink101 5.25" USB 2.0 enclosure at Fry's for $25, so stupid me bought it. A friend of mine sold me an LG DVD+RW/DVD-RW/DVD-RAM drive for $15, and I decided to paint it satin white to match the enclosure - it was beige, so it wouldn't have looked that great. I used Krylon Fusion paint. It looked great...for five minutes.

Being as impatient as I am, I put the bezel and faceplate back on before it was totally dry. Then I tried to open it. The stupid thing was glued shut by the not-quite-dry paint. So I had to cut it open. Plus, I didn't do the best tape job around the eject button, so that looks a little janky, too. But that's nothing compared to the damage I had to do to get the stupid drawer open.





This one shows my bad masking job to cover up the silver strip along the bottom. Like I said though...it's barely noticeable compared to the rest of the damage I did.


The damage to the actual drive bezel. Not so bad compared to the shred job on the actual faceplate.


Just wanted to share with you what an idiot I can be. I'm too lazy to paint it over right now...plus I think I'll have to scrape off the paint before I can repaint it, or else all the nicks will show through. Sigh.

[bluedog]

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR POSTING THIS!!!

Every few months someone comes up with the great idea of 'painting' their laptop/accessory/gadget and thinks they can do a great job if they use the proper precautions.

Not saying your initial job would have been messed up if you waited until it was fully dry, but it seems from your comments you may have even messed up a little on part of it even if it had dried properly.

This is THE EXAMPLE, of why not to paint your items. Anyone who thinks they can do better than you is either fooling themselves or is happy with 'less than perfection'. The only time I'd suggest its possible is if you or someone you know works in a production environment where they do this kind of application.

Sorry you jacked up your swag. Live and learn, right?

[shifuimam]

I don't know that it's a bad idea to paint things...I just needed to a little more patient and wait longer. I do agree that it's impossible to do a perfect job using spray paint at home. Debris will get in the paint and make miniscule bumps, and you will nick the paint before it's totally dry in at least one or two places.

The masking job I did around the eject button was my own fault - I didn't use a sharpe enough knife to cut around that curved part.

I'm planning on sanding off the paint and re-painting it next weekend, if I have some spare time. My problem right now is that in prying the drive open after it got stuck shut, the paint got moved around and is too thick in some areas now, so the drive still sticks shut.

Sigh.

[KisforKennedy]

Actually, if you know what you are doing, you can come out with a pretty flawless finish, even with a spraycan. The trick is buying the spraycans that have the FAN nozzles, they make it a LOT easier to spray. Also, it's all in the prepwork. Obviously this is a very poor example, as the masking was done horribly, and it was used too soon. The big problem with painting though, is 'durability'. You can 'bake' a paint finish a little bit with a low temperature heat gun, and that will help a little bit, or you can clear it, but really paint will just never be as durable as straight up plastic pigmentation.

[shifuimam]

Yeah...I'm planning on trying to strip off the paint tonight (got re-motivated). I'll post pics when it's been done the right way.

[KisforKennedy]

Use spot putty on the marks and dings. It slides on, dries hard, then just sand lightly to blend. Put a light coat of primer on it before spraying it with white.... some white spray paint is rather translucent.

[MacosNerd]

definitely post some new pics. personally I'd be tickled if I could paint that well - which is why I'll never try to mod anything. I cannot even draw a straight line with a ruler never mind properly mask something off.

Good luck

[Suikolove]

That looks like total crap, you're right. If I was going to make a modification like that, I'd find someone who does it professionally, irregardless of the cost. That way, if he messes up, it's his own fault, not yours.

[NobleMatt]

dont think i'd ever have the balls to paint anything like that

(hmmm... Pink iMac... Off to B&Q i go)

Matt

[KisforKennedy]

Originally Posted by Suikolove 

That looks like total crap, you're right. If I was going to make a modification like that, I'd find someone who does it professionally, irregardless of the cost. That way, if he messes up, it's his own fault, not yours.

Someone who 'paints professionally' is not going to bother with spraypainting a freaking CD-rom. It's not hard. You just can't suck at painting.

[shifuimam]

i ended up peeling off the paint around where the tray bezel sat against the faceplate, and it opens and closes just fine now. I'm too lazy to sand it off and start over at this point, and it doesn't look too bad when it's closed unless you're staring at it from up close.

And paying someone to professionally paint a CD-ROM is the most asinine thing I've ever heard of. Sukiolove must have a lot of money to burn to even suggest that kind of thing.

[KisforKennedy]

Dude. Again, nobody will paint this professionally. It's a 3 minute job. You just need to know how to paint. It is NOT hard to do. Light, thin coat, wait about 10 -30 minutes, then another light thin coat. The end.

[shifuimam]

Originally Posted by KisforKennedy 

Dude. Again, nobody will paint this professionally. It's a 3 minute job. You just need to know how to paint. It is NOT hard to do. Light, thin coat, wait about 10 -30 minutes, then another light thin coat. The end.

Was that directed toward me or the other guy...? I've done plenty of paint jobs before, so I do know what to do...i'm just lazy and impatient.

[bluedog]

Don't know if the reply and posting about how easy it is to paint something was directed at my post, but here's a reply anyhow.

I'm sure there are people who have the patience and ability to do a good job. Sure. Its just that many people don't. And then they, unlike the original poster, are upset and can't deal with ruining their equipment.

My thoughts are, if you have the balls to try it at least be prepared for failure. And if you don't think it takes skill why are there countless posts of people who have failed (here or on other sites).

It would be cool to have someone post a step-by-step tutorial on how to do this right! Maybe it would help prevent frustration with future people who wish to customize their swag.

[KisforKennedy]

Ugh.

1. Step one. Disassemble whatever you are going to paint. Mask off any parts that deal with interference or wear. This means pins in hinges etc.

2. Prep surface. A slight scuffing with very fine sandpaper will work, even a scotchbrite pad would probably work. Then wipe with alcohol to remove any surface contaminants.

3. Shake the living crap out of the can. Also, make sure it has the NICE spray nozzle that emits the paint in a fan pattern.

4. Place object in ventilated area free of dust. A spray booth is ideal, but a garage with a wet floor would work also.

5. Spray object from about 12" away, very VERY lightly. This is just the setup for the first coat. it basically drys very small specks of paint on the surface. Doing this first prevents runs from forming. Wait 30 seconds, it should dry almost instantly.

6. Spray again, this time about 8-10" away, going a little more slowly. The paint will fill in the last step, but still might not be opaque. REMEMBER, DO NOT GET A THICK PAINT JOB LIKE THE ONE SHOWN IN THIS THREAD. You want as thin as possible, and as EVEN as possible.

7. Let dry. Depends on the paint. IF it's a tiny bit rough, that's fine.

8. repeat step 5.

9. This time paint again like in step 6, but make sure the surface looks wet. It will be slightly thicker this time, but the paint will even itself out to a smooth finish.

The end. It is NOT hard to paint things.

[shifuimam]

Originally Posted by bluedog 

Don't know if the reply and posting about how easy it is to paint something was directed at my post, but here's a reply anyhow.

I'm sure there are people who have the patience and ability to do a good job. Sure. Its just that many people don't. And then they, unlike the original poster, are upset and can't deal with ruining their equipment.

My thoughts are, if you have the balls to try it at least be prepared for failure. And if you don't think it takes skill why are there countless posts of people who have failed (here or on other sites).

It would be cool to have someone post a step-by-step tutorial on how to do this right! Maybe it would help prevent frustration with future people who wish to customize their swag.

You do realize that I was using spray paint, right? It doesn't take a lot of skill. In fact, it looked awesome after it was done. Then I had to unglue the drawer bezel from the faceplate. That's what screwed it up. Had I examined closer how the bezel sits against the faceplate - and had I waited 24 hours to put it back together - this never would have happened.

I'm not sure we need a tutorial - it would just say... (1) remove plastic parts. (2) mask off areas you don't want to paint. (3) spray with paint. (4) dry. (5) reassemble. (6) avoid huffing remaining paint.

<edit>
The "thick paint job" I wasn't supposed to do was due to the fact that I was too cheap to buy primer, so I had to cover up the label decals that were on the faceplate and tray bezel.

I'm looking at the drive right now, and it really doesn't look that bad.
</edit>

[bluedog]

I do realize it was a spray application. And someone with patience and time and attention to detail can get a decent coverage and end result.

The paints may or may not stand up to the usage on portable devices. On an external desktop device it probably wouldn't be much wear.

Anyone prepared and done this in the past on a laptop and used a paint that stayed strong after being knocked about in a bag and carried for a while? I'd love to hear if there are some paints capable of that type of wear. I thought I recall someone mentioning a paint that actually bonds to the plastic rather than providing a surface coating with a bond. Anyone know of products that have been tested to perform under heavy wear? I'd love to know.

[KisforKennedy]

Powdercoating is pretty durable. Also, if you took an aluminum powerbook, or an old tibook, and sprayed it with ENAMEL, then baked the paint at low temperatures, it would be just as durable as the factory finish. I'd use a spray gun for that type of thing though... spraycan paint is just too thick for such precise work.

[red rocket]

Originally Posted by KisforKennedy

spraycan paint is just too thick

Quoted for truth.

I've had enough bad experience with spray cans to advise against their use for anything where quality matters.

Get an airbrush kit. They're cheap enough.