Car paint on a computer case?

A

Avengeance

Gawd
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Apr 10, 2004
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I was just wondering, would car paint work on the outside of a computer case? I mean would it insulate the case more and cause the computer to run hotter, or would it peel or anything easily? I know a bit about car paint just dont know if it would really work on a computer. I have heard that paint on a computer case doesn really insulate it but I wanted to make sure.
 
actually i believe that many mid to high end cases are painted with 'car paint' , i painted my case with 'car paint' , and no im pretty sure that it doesnt insulate heat in the case
 
Even if it does insulate, it'll be nothing compared to surrounding your computer with a metal box. and yea', car paint = god. You'll be able to see your reflection in your computer :)
 
Nothing wrong with using automotive paint. The insulation effect, even if it were present, wouldn't do much either; the case itself does little to radiate heat.
 
You could prolly use Tamiya Spray Paint (For models). They have a bunch of colors and if you do everything right (Primer, sanding, clearcoat etc), you can get a car like finish.
 
Wouldn't insulate half as much as all the plastic-covered cases the OEMs are using. Cases aren't meant to conduct heat, no matter what some aluminum freak tells you (well, except for that one Zalman fanless).
 
I would probably just end up spraying and baking it... since I work at a bodyshop and all, I would just stick it in the corner and bake it when another car goes in :) I really like the mercedes blue color. I need to find a car with the color and get that color code cause I might have to paint my case that color!
 
I'd go with automotive or even better: utility enamel paint for a metal case, and tamiya / testes paint on plastic parts...
 
TerryG said:
Do you mean testors? If not, you have to tell me where to get testes paint.
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I would think you could just use face paint. :D


Back on topic, I would stick to a primer, car paint, a bunch of fine sandpaper, and a clear coat. ;)
 
Avengeance said:
I think they call it cadet blue... now all I need is the color code heh
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........ya know if you were crafty enough you could look it up on this thing called www.google.com .....it's knows everything from what I hear.
 
Automotive paint is all I use on my cases, heres a quick guide, (at least the way I did it)...

What you'll need.....

Sand paper ranging from 800 to 2000

A sanding block (cheap at Lowe's/home depot)

A couple cans of good Automotive sandable primer , preferably self etching (I like Dupli-Color) , depending on your case size and how many coats you'll need, I used 2 cans for 3 good coats....

Automotive paint, now heres where it can get expensive.... I purchased my paint from the local Dodge store ( Patriot Blue, to match my Dodge Ram 1500), and the only paint they carry is the small touch up spray cans, I ended up buying 7 cans (at about 10 bucks a pop, with the wifes discount), if you want the true matched color you can also try http://www.paintscratch.com/, they will match your color by the manufacturers #. Again you'll have to figure about how many cans you need by how many coats you plan on applying ( I applied 10 light coats). You also might want to get a few cans of good clear coat, for that nice deep look..... (Or is you have the facilities and equipment, a professional paint gun is much better)

Wax application pads, and a couple of good polishing cloths.

Polishing compound (I used turtle wax)

A bucket of clean water, with a few drops of Windex or 409, helps keep the sandpaper clean.

And a good Automotive Glaze (I used McGuire's, show car glaze)


Okay first thing you need to do is prep your case, if your case is steel all you'll have to do is sand off the paint, I used an orbital sander, hand sanding works but it will take a lot of elbow grease and time. !!WEAR A MASK PAINT DUST IS HAZARDOUS!!!.
If your case is aluminum you'll need to sand off the anodizing and use a self etching primer or a and acid etching product, and then primer.

Once your case is sanded, give it a good cleaning with alcohol to get rid of all the sanding dust. At this point put some put some 800 grit sand paper on the sanding block and place it in the bucket of water, more on that later.....Once that is done apply your first layer of primer, (In a well ventilated area) use even sweeping strokes, extending past the edge of the service you are painting, layer your sweeps but just enough to slightly overlap each one, do not apply thick coats, this will just increase the chance of dripping. Once this layer has dried its time to start sanding.
Begin sanding in straight back and forth motions, frequently rinsing of the block in the bucket of water do not apply much pressure, let the weight of the block do the work. You might notice that you sand through the primer in spots where the case is uneven, this is okay, as long as you did not sand off all of the primer. Your just looking to even out the coat at this point.
Once you've sanded all the parts, wash them with clean water and a towel or clean rag.
Reapply the primer and repeat the sanding process, this might take 2 or three coats, you don't want more then 4 or 5 though.
Once your satisfied with your now smooth primer, give the case a good cleaning with alcohol and change the water in your bucket.
Apply your first coat of color in the same manner as the primer, even light overlapping sweeps, allow the paint to dry for several hours. Once its completely dry, put some 1000 grit sand paper on your block and sand the case like I described with the primer light, straight strokes, clean the case, apply another coat and sand again with the 1000 grit sand paper, but this time after sanding with the 1000 grit, also sand again with 1500 grit paper. Repeat this process until your paint is smooth, the more coats you have the "deeper" the finished shine. Once your satisfied with the smoothness of your finish, lightly sand the final coat with 1500, the 2000 grit sand paper.( If your going to use a clear coat, repeat the same general application as above, but sand with 1500 grit and 2000 grit sand paper.)
You're probably thinking "why would I fine sand my final coat?", that's where the polishing compound comes in , using a moistened applicator pad (or a automotive buffer) buff finish until it has a nice even shine, don't press to hard just use slow soft pressure, if your using a pad this may take a while.....Do your final polish with a clean pad and cool water. At this point you should have a nice shiny finish!
The last step (for now) is to apply a high quality glaze, apply a small amount to a moist,clean buffing cloth and apply to your finish, buff dry. You should see a marked difference in the shine of your finish.
One quick note, auto paint typically takes a month to "cure" so during this time do not apply any wax, this can inhibit the paint getting its final hardness. (of course if you have access to an auto-body shop you could bake the case) After a month, wipe off your case and apply a good automotive wax, and buff to a shine.


Good luck and hope this helps....

I'll post picks of my rig as soon as I get my camera back from the wife.....bah.
Bye the way do I need to post the pics on a hosting site or can I just paste em here?
 
Well I dont think any of it will really be a problem, I have all the materials I need since I work at a body shop. Most annoying part would probably be waiting for the paint to fully dry (takes about 30 days or so) even after baking. Cause once you sand paint a day after its dry, a few days later the sanding spots can show up. SO it would probably take me 30 days to get everything in it cause I dont wanna have to pull it apart again to buff it. For taking out dirt or anything in the paint i usually use 1500 grit then follow it up with a 2000 grit, then a wool buffing pad, then a foam buffing pad and follow that up with a orbital with swirl mark remover. Im thinking I might want to end up sanding the whole case flat after painting it, which might take a while because orangepeel takes forever to get off sometimes!!! As far as prep goes I would probably get help with that from the painters at my shop since they paint cars all day they probably have a good idea what to do :) We use all 3M stuff at our shop which I could probably use it all for free except the paint ... which I am thinking I want to go with a mercedes cadet blue (I think thats the one that I have seen around on cars). Anyways I will probably ask the painters what they think I should end up doing.
 
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