painting interior of case.

[Th0rn0]

I'm painting the inside of my case but I'm a little confused as what I have to do. I understand that I have to sand it, but which which sandpaper? And what paints do I use.

I have:

This

and this

I had these handy from painting my Xbox so was wondering is they will work on metal. I understand they are called Plasti-kote but from what people tell me its ok on metal.

 

[Grubbworm]

OK Th0rn0,
this is what I did, I realize this may not apply in every instance, and that some may disagree. But in my case it seems to have worked just fine.
First I disassembled my case completely. I taped off everything that I did not want painted or any overspray on. Then I thoroughly cleaned all of the parts to be painted with alcohol. After that I took some #00 steel wool and attempted to rough up all surfaces to be painted that I could get to. I then blew off (air compressor) all parts and cleaned with alcohol again. After that I thoroughly primed with several coats and allowed to dry, all according to instructions on the spray can. Once the priming was dry, I followed with the spray paint in the same manner. I did not use glossy, I used the satin finish for mine. I did not like the look of the flat, which you can see once you prime it. I did not want to use the glossy because sometimes you do not get the same consistent glossy appearance in all of the nooks and crannies, as well as on the large areas. It took me several cans of both primer and paint before I achieved the look and finish that I desired. Here are some pictures.

Happy painting. Show us some pictures of your project.

 

[LifeOnMars]

Grubbworm, that was an excellent post mate. I have a few further questions -

1) Do most cases require special tools to dissassemble them completely?

2) When roughing up with the steel wool. How roughed up are we talking? Does it not leave permanent scratches?

3) What particular brands of primer and spray paint did you use?

Many thanks in advance, case looks wicked by the way

 

[Th0rn0]

is the Primer/Spray I linked ok?

 

[Grubbworm]

Grubbworm, that was an excellent post mate. I have a few further questions -

1) Do most cases require special tools to dissassemble them completely?

2) When roughing up with the steel wool. How roughed up are we talking? Does it not leave permanent scratches?

3) What particular brands of primer and spray paint did you use?

Many thanks in advance, case looks wicked by the way

LifeOnMars,
1) I used regular tools to disassemble everything, except for what was pop riveted together. I have seen where other people have drilled out the rivets and when they were finished they would pop rivet everything back together. I personally do not have a pop rivet tool (yet).

2) I lightly roughed up the surface with the steel wool (#00 or #0000, the finer the better), nothing major. And only the parts that were not already painted black. Several coats of primer will cover most all of the light scratches. Don't forget to thoroughly clean everything that you intend to paint with rubbing alcohol before you paint it.

3) I don't remember what brand I used. I just went to Home Depot and picked up some flat black primer and black satin paint. I picked some good quality, not the cheapest and not the most expensive. Although, I have heard of others using the self-etching primer (I found it to be more expensive than I wanted to pay for my application). The reason I used Satin paint was that it more closely matched the color of the outside of the case (I did not wish to paint or change the color of the case on the outside).




Th0rn0,
I used several cans of both primer and paint. I used up what I had leftover in my shed before I bought any new. On the final coats of each I purchased a good quality, mid-range price brand. You could start with that can of primer and go from there. I would assume that it will take several cans of both to do the job. If you are not happy with the outcome you can always start over. lol.

 

[DreamSeller]

excelent Grubbworm

 

[Grubbworm]

I also have some links to other posts that I was reading before I painted mine.

http://forums.hexus.net/chassis-system-modding/139112-painting-inside-case-advise.html

http://www.overclock.net/case-mods-general-discussion/488324-raidmax-smilodon-paint.html

http://www.techpowerup.com/gallery/1287.html

I hope these help.