[kernelbinary]

I am getting a MacBook in about a month. I like the black one, but I really don't want to pay the premium. The main reason I want the black one is because of the bezel... it just blends into the background, and is easier on my eyes. I came across this video about painting notebooks and have decided to paint the bezel and the area around the keyboard and trackpad black. I also want to try tinting the glowing apple black. EDIT: I found iColours and they have a black version. Anyone have experience with this? I have a few concerns and wondered if anybody had any ideas. Do you think this will void my warranty? Any suggestions on how to color the power button? It is not white like the keyboard, it is the same gray as the bezel. I want to make it white, like the colorware MacBooks. The trackpad on that MacBook is white as well, unlike the gray of the regular MacBooks. I found this trackpad cover that looks like it covers the trackpad button as well. Do you have a better way/idea for this? My final concern is the writing on the bezel. I don't mind too much if i lose this, but if anyone could tell me of a way to get this writing in white, that would be great. I'm thinking some kind of clear sticker with white print on it.

I plan to use Krylon Fusion spraypaint. I saw three different types of black: Flat, Satin, and Gloss. Any reasons to go with either gloss or flat? I think the gloss would match the outer white part better, but not the keys and trackpad. I'll probably go with satin because it is between the two.

[jlgrandam]

You're going to spraypaint your macbook? I predict disaster....

[kernelbinary]

Not if done correctly! Plus I'll disassemble it first so I don't paint anything I don't want to.

[abeato6]

another vote here for desaster :S

an advise: dont do it man... you will regret it later if it goes wrong... i know how it feels to think something is going to go right and it goes wrong:S

no hard feeling! just stay with the apple white

[MacosNerd]

Originally Posted by kernelbinary 

Not if done correctly! Plus I'll disassemble it first so I don't paint anything I don't want to.

Keep us abreast of your effort I think many of would like to see the end result.

[Jasoco]

Nothing can go wrong if he removes the shell completely and paints it completely separately and lets it dry completely first before reassembling.

I assume now you need to paint the outside of the shell? I remember when the original white iBook's had clear shells with white paint inside that could be dissolved and repainted another color. It allowed you to have a new paint job with no way of scratching the paint off.

I'll be getting a MacBook soon, and if I wasn't afraid of killing my warranty right out of the box I'd probably do this too.

[kernelbinary]

Actually, I wasn't planning on painting the outside, just the two inner parts. I will probably wait a bit before doing this in case anything goes wrong with the MacBook early on.

Also, if you take a look at this picture of the macbook, you can see that the back has three... things... stuck to it that would make painting the outer shell of the macbook impossible. Something tells me Apple did this on purpose.

[rnp614]

Originally Posted by kernelbinary 

I am getting a MacBook in about a month. I like the black one, but I really don't want to pay the premium. The main reason I want the black one is because of the bezel... it just blends into the background, and is easier on my eyes. I came across this video about painting notebooks and have decided to paint the bezel and the area around the keyboard and trackpad black. I also want to try tinting the glowing apple black. EDIT: I found iColours and they have a black version. Anyone have experience with this? I have a few concerns and wondered if anybody had any ideas. Do you think this will void my warranty? Any suggestions on how to color the power button? It is not white like the keyboard, it is the same gray as the bezel. I want to make it white, like the colorware MacBooks. The trackpad on that MacBook is white as well, unlike the gray of the regular MacBooks. I found this trackpad cover that looks like it covers the trackpad button as well. Do you have a better way/idea for this? My final concern is the writing on the bezel. I don't mind too much if i lose this, but if anyone could tell me of a way to get this writing in white, that would be great. I'm thinking some kind of clear sticker with white print on it.

I plan to use Krylon Fusion spraypaint. I saw three different types of black: Flat, Satin, and Gloss. Any reasons to go with either gloss or flat? I think the gloss would match the outer white part better, but not the keys and trackpad. I'll probably go with satin because it is between the two.

Sounds like an idiotic idea. The "black tax" is now only 50 bucks. I think its well worth it to get a loaded macbook and retain the warranty. If your book goes down, if its spray painted I can guarantee you've just lost any hope of getting an easy warranty claim.

[abeato6]

let him do whatever he wants.. it's his MacBook.. but we warned him

[rnp614]

Its our duty to save him the hassle of dealing with warranty BS! DONT PAINT IT!!!! Just get the black and be happy! OEM for the win.

[ghporter]

I agree that there's little that can go wrong if this sort of painting is done correctly-except of course that the disassembly needed to do it right voids the machine's warranty. Further, getting a paint that's really compatible with the plastic and will last is not necessarily an easy thing. Krylon is good stuff, but do you KNOW what plastic the bezel is made of? I don't. And some paints do NOT get along with some plastics. Disastrously so.

Originally Posted by rnp614 

The "black tax" is now only 50 bucks. I think its well worth it to get a loaded macbook and retain the warranty. If your book goes down, if its spray painted I can guarantee you've just lost any hope of getting an easy warranty claim.

I have to agree 100% here. You're getting a $1400 laptop, so what's the extra $50 for the cool factor and features? (Note that this specific "black tax" is true when you compare the price of a similarly equipped white MacBook to the BlackBook...) Oh, and the US Apple Store's Education price for the BlackBook is $1299. That's $100 off.

[abeato6]

When i say this i say it for everyone here.. : get the black one man

[chabig]

It would make much more sense to take a piece of black construction paper cut out an area for the keyboard and trackpad, and the just tape it on.

[kernelbinary]

Originally Posted by chabig 

It would make much more sense to take a piece of black construction paper cut out an area for the keyboard and trackpad, and the just tape it on.

oh, yeah, construction paper. I'll bet that looks really cool.

As for voiding my warranty... I am definitely not going to do this out of the box. I'll wait probably around a month to do anything to it in case anything goes wrong, but my brother has had an iBook G4 for over 4 years and nothing has gone wrong with it... Apple makes a good product.

My parents will cover $1000 and I pay the rest. When I work it out with the printer and iPod deal (I'm putting the $200 toward a video), plus the sales tax, the total comes to $600 that I have to pay. If I go with the middle white one, the total is only $400. That is a $200 savings that I could put towards a 40 gig external hard drive or anything.

In any case, I thank everyone for their concern, support, and etc.

[IceEnclosure]

yea cause if a Mac's gonna fail, it'll only happen in the first month.

[dmgboots]

Just get the black one.

[chipchen]

yea... I second just buying a black one.

maybe you should change the thread name to "help me pay the premium for a blackbook or I'm gonna paint my white macbook black"... you might get enough sympathy dollars...

[abeato6]

I THIRD buying the black one!

[amazing]

The reason laptops have a one-year warranty is that problems sometimes take a year to show up. The reason Apple allows you to buy 2 additional years is because laptops are sensitive beasties and need that additional warranty coverage. Providing Apple with immediate evidence that you've voided your warranty is not a good idea.

Get a Gelskin or a Speck case (if you get the clear Speck case, you can put a changing art show of your favorite photography underneath it):

SeeThru Hard Case for 13" MacBook

[kernelbinary]

I'm not sure if Amazing got the idea of the mod -- it's not to make the back a different color, it's to get a black display bezel without paying extra for it. Plus, the Speck case is $50 itself, so by that point I'd be paying close to the black MacBook premium.
Besides, if I need to take it in to the Apple store or something, why can't I just buy replacements for the parts that I painted, swap them out, and Apple should be none the wiser!

[chipchen]

Originally Posted by kernelbinary 

Besides, if I need to take it in to the Apple store or something, why can't I just buy replacements for the parts that I painted, swap them out, and Apple should be none the wiser!

Because you'll spend more than $150 doing that. In the mean time, you'll have a Frankenstein looking thing that everyone will be asking you why you did that.

Do you know what a premonition is? When someone has an inkling that something is going to happen. This is not a premonition... this one is called a sure thing... when several people are willing to bet on an outcome.

Maybe you should:

1. Try to trade someone who wants to put a white bezel and/or top case on their blackbook.

2. Just buy a blackbook bezel from somewhere instead of painting it.

or 3. the best solution... PLEASE JUST BUY A BLACK ONE.

[amazing]

Well, I did get what you had in mind, I was hoping to offer you an alternative that wouldn't involve taking a new MB apart. So, merely hoping to distract you from what seems to be a bad dream.

The thing about doing mods is that you have to be able to completely reverse the mod before letting anyone from Apple see it. That includes not being able to take it into an Apple Store to the Genius bar for any reason whatsoever. And a lot of people seem to feel that replacing the bezel is going to be pretty hard to do without somehow leaving a trace.

[Guy Kuo]

hehehehe.... visions of black electrical tape and a Xacto knife...

[kernelbinary]

well, now that you mention it...

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by kernelbinary 

That is a $200 savings that I could put towards a 40 gig external hard drive or anything.

40 gigs? Stop dreaming so big!