[Brit Ben]

Hi Guys,

I have a pair of Apple 23" Cinema HDs in my rig, but I'm moving to a custom home finally - YAY !

The issue is that the bright silver will look totally out of place with the rest of the office. I've found a company that has offered to anodize the aluminum cases, but obviously I have to strip out the electronics.

Has anyone ever tried to do this ? I can find no pictures or how-to's on the usual supsect sites.

I'm longing for my black cinema displays, so if you can help, I'll be very grateful.

Thanks.

Brit.

[peeb]

You can get cans of bright silver paint from any hardware store. Re-spray your office.

[Brian Live]

Don't you know you're supposed to decorate your home to match the aesthetics of your Mac, not your Mac to match your home?

[Tenacious]

on the subject of dismantling your cinema display just be careful i.e. label baggies of any screws and where they came from etc...

now I suspect you'll be posting pictures of your cinemas after the process is complete..

ow, just thought, you could write an article for others who may want to take apart their displays that would score you some points easily :-)

[studentmacgeek]

One problem with opening up an ACD is that they're very easy to damage, that aluminium isn't as thick as you think it is, and the white plastic edges chip easily, take it from me, i've been there before.

[KisforKennedy]

I hate to break it to you, but that aluminum display IS ALREADY ANODIZED. If it was bare alumium it would dull quickly, and leave smudges when you handled it.

[Mr680x0]

You could sell them and get a pair of 23" Dell displays, as I've heard that except for the casing, they're identical. You'd have to replace the Dell logo with an Apple logo of course.

[Waragainstsleep]

When Dell claim their displays are identical, they are referring to the make and model of LCD panel used. This is misleading however, since while panels are precision engineered, they are not all equal. As I understand it, Apple pays a premium to get first pick of the best LCDs from their suppliers. This is why they tend to have better brightness, viewing angle, colour, and occasionally even response times.
Not so long ago, Dell were quoting better specs for their identical panels to the ones published by Apple. Somebody tested both and while Apple's panels met Dell's specs, the Dell ones did not. Apple subsequently updated their own specs, and they probably only differed in the first place because Apple had been using the panels longer than Dell and the production quality had got better. Or maybe they changed the models of the panels, I have no idea, just speculating.
Either way it would seem to backup my theory of Apple getting the first pick of panels. The published specs would have probably been the best ones achieved by the manufacturer, much as is done with car performance stats. Apple's better panels met the specs, Dell's more average ones didn't quite match up.
This is the reason Apple displays cost so much more than other makes. They really are better, and thats why most Apple customers pay the extra happily.

[bballe336]

Originally Posted by KisforKennedy 

I hate to break it to you, but that aluminum display IS ALREADY ANODIZED. If it was bare alumium it would dull quickly, and leave smudges when you handled it.

You do realize that any professional anodizing or metal finishing shop can easily remove anodize right?

[MacinTommy]

I thought those displays would pretty much match any place you put them.... it seems like too much of a hassle to me.

[KisforKennedy]

Originally Posted by bballe336 

You do realize that any professional anodizing or metal finishing shop can easily remove anodize right?

How do you 'remove anodize'? Do you speak English?

[AlumaMax]

Hi Everyone, Check out AlumaMax Custom Colored Macs. We specialize in custom anodized Macs. We are extensively renovating our store right now to offer Cinema Displays, MacBooks, Minis and possibly iPhones. These are custom anodized computers that match Apple's original finish. Paint will not adhere well to an anodized surface. You can send in your existing hardware or buy new from us. Email us via the contact us link on our site for quotes!