How to 'fix' a painted case?

[phanbuey]

Wire brush will be effective - you mentioned that the paint is chipped and scratched - that pretty much proves that the wire bursh won't have too much of a hard time with it.

IMO the paint removal "effort" rating (ranked from easiest to hardest):
1. Getting it done for you.
2. chemical reaction
3. sand / media blasting
4. wire brush
.
.
209. Sanding by hand

In terms of cost:
1. Wire Brush - $3
2. chemical reaction - $5-$10
3. Sanding by hand ~ $10
4. Media/Sand Blasting ~$60
4. Getting it done for you ~$depends on who you know.

you can get grafitti remover online, i have no clue where to go and buy it...

 

[coodiggy]

Here's a list of media/sand blasting service providers in your area, via searching thomasnet.com http://www.thomasnet.com/north-carolina/sandblasting-services-70410204-1.html

You can call a few of them and find out how much they charge to figure out if it's something that you can afford/want to have done. Find out if they offer media blasting; (soda, nut shell/hull or abrasive imbeded plastic media) to prevent pitting and over heating of the metal that might lead to panels warping. Just be sure there are no plastic bits left on the parts as the sand blasting method will destroy them quickly.

Also, harbor freight has small gravity feed blasting guns and hoppers for reasonable prices, then you'd need to rent a compressor that can handle the psi/cfm of the tool. You could hand sand the bigger panels, then spot blast the hard to get stuff using the gravity feed gun. Just be sure to wash/wipe everything down real good before repainting.

 

[angelkiller]

Alright, I've decided not to remove the paint from my case. Why?

1. Removing it is gonna be a PITA.
2. Repainting it is gonna be a a PITA.
3. After closer inspection, it's not as bad as I thought. The chipped areas that I have arn't worth fixing imo.

So now, I'm going to add a clear coat. Here's what I got:

Is that ok to use as a clear coat or do I need something different? And how many coats do you think I need? Thanks.

 

[coodiggy]

hmm.. as long as the paint that was on there isn't a different chemical; lightly wet sand the previous color coat; wipe it clean with a lint free towel; cloth, tack cloth before painting, start with a "tack coat" it is a very thin fine mist coating of your clear over the whole surface; almost can't tell that it's been sprayed on; other than the sanded surface apears less dry, but not wet or even close to looking wet, just slightly darker in apearance. let the tack coat dry a bit AKA "flash over", so that it's "barely tacky" before starting on the next coat.. the purpose of the tack coat is to get small beads of clear evenly sprayed on the surface; so that there are no unevenly coated surfaces; that way the first/second coat of clear will be less likely to fish/eye/ or orange peel..// one thing that may happen; if your paint chemical reacts, the first layer of color will soak up the clear solvent, let go of the layer of paint underneith it and wrinkle up as it expands..

 

[angelkiller]

hmm.. as long as the paint that was on there isn't a different chemical; lightly wet sand the previous color coat;

The paint already on the case is the exact same thing, just different color. When you say lightly sand, what grit sand paper should be used?

let the tack coat dry a bit AKA "flash over", so that it's "barely tacky" before starting on the next coat..

About how long should I let the tack coat dry?

Any ideas on how many layers of clear coat I need? I was thinkin of 2.

 

[coodiggy]

Avoid wet sanding the color with anything below 800 grit, skip this step if your color coat isn't very thick. You don't want to sand through the color.. The wet sanding is just to give the finish a little tooth; something for the clear to stick to so it is less likely to peel off. You can avoid sanding the original finish if you clean/degrease it with an alcohol wipe, then wait for it to dry, then wipe it off with a tack cloth or clean lint free rag. Use a good tack coat of clear over a well cleaned surface, the first tack coat of clear can dry/cure completely, the second should be "tacky" to the touch, not quite sticky, but not dry/cured. Once the second tack coat is dry enough "just tacky to the touch", and the coverage is such that there appears to be no unpainted surface; "it looks uniformly matte" Test the dryness/tackyness on a not obvious section using the flat of your fingernail Lightly tap your fingernail on the surface. It should be dry enough so that no clear comes off onto your fingernail, so that your fingernail doesn't quit stick, it feels like the paint wants to stick, but doesn't hold or pull off. When your tack coat is at this stage, you can apply a thin first coat, so that it looks like there is good coverage of a simi glossy coat; wait for it to dry a little; between "tacky and sticky" then apply the final "wet" coat, so that it looks like the whole surface is glassy, but not so thick that it will run. Avoid painting in low temperatures or high humidity, the paint should have a recommended working temp; work in a clean well vented area; need to be really clean, no dust floating around, and for some reason bugs will want to fly right into your final coat.... If they are small, just pick them out with the point of a needle leave the blemish, or leave the bug in like amber trying to dig them out usually results in a mess.