First Ever Case Mod - Project A - Lian Li

A

AY786

Limp Gawd
Joined
Apr 8, 2006
Messages
324
Username:AY786
Age:17
Modding Experience:None
DIY:None
Painting experience:None

Well that was a bit about me, as you can see im 17 so im on a strict budet and have no experience on case modding what so ever. My DIY and painting skills are useless as well (you dont wanna be near me with a hammer or drill)

Now the Project:

Project Name: Project A (i cudnt think of a name so i just used the first initial of my name)
Case to be mod: Lian Li PC75 server case (it is for a desktop PC)
Why i am modding this case: Well my current case (raidmax samurai 908 is not very good for cooling in terms of the parts i have used which was custom built by me a couple months ago. Plus you cannot really mod it or you probably can but im not.

Basically my plans are simple really since it is my first mod. Im not doing no next level modding like ive seen others do (especially the batman case which is comming along nicely, parallel hex and many more too long to name all.) Its just going to be a simple paint job and other things.

First things first - a pic of the case of what it looks like before i did anything to it.

lianli1.jpg


First thing im going to do is to cut out a 120mm blowhole on the top. Simply because heat rises therefore it is very useful to have one of these. Some pics below:

This is the top part of the case which i had to drill out the pivots. You can also see the tank saw that i am going to use. It is very useful as this can be adjusted to any size hole you want to make up to 120mm.
withoutblowhole.jpg


After some hard drilling, which i was nervous about doing, the result. I have used a 120mm thermaltake fan with blue leds and a sunbeam 3D grill (looks pretty cool i thought).

IMGA0365.jpg


and another closeup:

IMGA0366.jpg


Right that was one job done, the next thing was to cut a 80mm hole on the side panel of the case. This was probably most trickiest. Sorry guys but i forgot to take a pic i was that nervous but will have one comming soon.

I then stripped the case apart leaving me with the following, some pics for you to enjoy...

casestripped.jpg


and...

casestripped2.jpg


As you can see there is alot of room for fans. I was thinking about water cooling but then a few reasons stopped me from doing this.
1) - Cant afford it
2) - Water & electricity = AHHHHHHH :eek:
3) - Was not sure how to go about setting it up.

Ahh well,maybe next time so i decided to stick to the good old fans. Im going to be using quite alot of fans actually, here are some new ones that arrived a few days ago...

fans.jpg


Yes i know what you are thinking, that is alot of fans and how loud is it going to be. So ive purchased a fan controller (hasnt arrived yet) and a vibration dampener (below), this should help.

fandamper.jpg


ive also purchased some badges as well related to my computer...

badges.jpg


RIGHT NOW FOR THE PAINTING.... :eek:

First things first, im going for a black gloss effect so below are some pics of the things i will be using...

Sandpaper...
sandpaper.jpg


Respirator Mask...
mask.jpg


Paint...
paint.jpg


Rubbing compound and hand glaze...
compound.jpg


That is pretty much the main things you need really. Now for painting the case. i will post more pics on this later. I would appreciate all comments though...
 
I decided, since ive called this project A, its only fair to incorporate this some how on the case. Therefore after some hard cutting, ive cut out an A on the front part of the case. This may look unsymetrical though but i did this on purpose only to line it up with the slot at the bottom, believe me you cant really tell. However, i have filed this down further just to straighten out the edges more.

IMGA0368.jpg


The primer has also been applied. Now im left with a big A in the front and this needs to be covered somehow to prevent dust and me putting my fingers in and getting them trapped on the fans :eek: Therefore ive found this dust filter which i could use and not only does it prevent dust but also gives it an mesh grill type effect. Ill probably use some double sided tape to secure this on as it allows me to remove it whenever for cleaning purposes. Below is a pic to show this stuff.

IMGA0372.jpg


Right have started on painting - this does take weeks by the way to get a black gloss look which i started last week. If you want to know how to do this then please PM me with your email address and i will send you the guide that i wrote myself which i used as well.

Below is a pic of the second coat applied and gloss (laquer) on which i applied 3 days after colour coat...

secondcoat.jpg


Next is to sand this down. I used 600 grit.

There are some patches left to flatten on the sides which are a pain.
sanded-600.jpg


Next to sand using a 1000 grit.

sanded-1000.jpg


And finally, 1500 grit.

posted.
sanded-1500.jpg


The next stage is to apply the rubbing compound. Im currently in the process of doing this so ill keep you
 
Quick Update:

Fan controller arrived today. Nothing too fancy but it monitors temperatures as well which is a bonus.

DSC00231.jpg


More updates soon.
 
I think the A just ruined the entire look of the case, you should have etched a A on the window or something just my 2 cents
 
im planning on having a bio hazzard decal on the side window. But hey thanks for your opinion peach, ill bare this in mind for next time :)
 
AY786 said:
im planning on having a bio hazzard decal on the side window. But hey thanks for your opinion peach, ill bare this in mind for next time :)
Click to expand...

looks good man, if you ever change ur mind about the front "A" just hack another 120mm fan circle in front
 
aldy402 said:
looks good man, if you ever change ur mind about the front "A" just hack another 120mm fan circle in front
Click to expand...

Totally.

Looks good dude. Nice choice on the case. Lian Lis are the beauty. I love mine. I wouldn't take a hacksaw to it, but kudos anyway
 
great idea aldy with the hole if i do change my mind. Believe me guys, it was a big risk cutting out the A but once you start you cant really stop. Anyways whats done is done - some may like it, some may not personal preference really. However, it was hard cutting out the A since the lian li cases are quite thick alluminium (front part anyways) for all who have these cases you know what im talking about.
 
Sorry for the long wait but the painting did go wrong - basically there must have been some dirt or a small stone on the sandpaper and this had left a scratch in the paint work - i was so angry but hey it was my first time so have reattempted and just waiting for paint to dry then the final stages of sanding and applying the rubbing compound

Stay tuned fokes...
 
RIGHT painting is complete. All there is left to do is put it together. Below are some pics of the paint job - believe me it is harder then it looks especially when its A) your first time and B) No experience wot so ever.

The paint job is a black with silver specs in so depending on how the light hits it, you will get that metalic effect.

P1010192.jpg


You can see the reflection on it, the lacoste aftershave is all what was in reach to show you the reflection. What do you think?

P1010193.jpg


The whitish blob on the left is just the flash - you can see the silver specs as well from where the flash is.

This is the see through side pannel - You should have seen it before, it was in a right state. Full of dust and marks left from when i covered it. After hard scrubbing and washing with lukewarm water still there was alot of roughness to the acrylic and wasnt 100%. I then used some of the rubbing compund that was left over and this worked to my amazement. It not only smothened the acrylic but helped clean it as well. see for youself...

P1010194.jpg


You can see that i have applied a NOS logo in the middle and have fitted the aerocool fan on - i think it looks cool. Again can you see the silver specs from the flash?

Some closeups...

P1010195.jpg


NOS...

P1010196.jpg


More will be comming soon... (please share your comments, this will help encourage me alot, thank you) - :D
 
UPDATE:

Just a small update. Top part of case with blowhole.

P1010197.jpg


You can see how easy fingerprints show

Now with the 3D grill on.

P1010198.jpg


Can you see the silver specs? Oh and the fingerprints lol.

Closeup...

P1010199.jpg
 
Wow,

I have to be honest, when I saw that bent "A" at the front I was very skeptical but the paintjob and the rest is fantastic. Well done mate.

Please keep it simple and take your time!

Good luck! Looking good! I love the paintjob.
 
omg. a rice case.

:p

just messing. Great work for your first ever case mod. I was way too chicken shiz to start drilling on my first project. My first was more of a bolt-on project than anything else.

nawzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
 
FINISHED

Well 95% finished, jus waiting for a power button as i broke mine accidently :(

final1.jpg


Night shots...

final2.jpg


The famous A LOL, this has recived many bad points but i think the end result is pretty good. By the way that grey part is just a shadow of the dust filter nothing else.

final3.jpg


This has to be the best pic of them all dont you agree. I seriously like that grill, what do you guys think?

final4.jpg


Closeup of the aerocool fan...

final5.jpg


The lcd screen is suppose to be red not orange (camera couldnt hack the brightness i guess)...

final6.jpg


You can see the redness there... (i didnt want to go for the all black look as the inside of the case is silver therefore i just left the old silver drives and i think the colours go well.

final7.jpg


Just had to take this got it today its the creative soundblaster x-fi xtrememusic card

final8.jpg


This is the heatsink with 2 fans attatched...

final9.jpg


Come to mention it, i checked my temps for the cpu yesterday with it in the previous case (raidmax samurai 908) and i got at idle 42 degrees and after playing doom 3 it went up to 52 degrees. Now my cpu temps in this case are idle 32 degrees although my fan controller picks it up at 28 degrees. Not bad heh and after playing doom 3 - havent tried yet.

All comments welcome, thanks for looking and remember this is done by a 17 year old with no modding experience and painting as well - actually the paint job has to be far the best thing of this case - black with silver specs to give it a mirror metalic paint job. :)
 
Looking great! I still dont like the "A" lol.

Is that a bulgin switch your going to be using?
 
Looks good! Are you going to paint those CD\DVD\Floppy drives to match?

And that NOS sticker add's 50mhz ;) lol
 
i was thinking of painting it but then i quite like this silver and black look so i doubt i will now.

I didnt know about the bulgin switch, but after some pics i have seen, it looks good, ill have to think about that.
 
Very nice work dude, the paint job looks top notch. :)

Im not a big fan of the "A", but hey, it is your case.
 
YES! it's very nice. for a new modder i like the paint job alot. i wish i didn't use a dremel to make a blowhole on top, like what you've done. i think the blow is also perfect.

BUT I DONT LIKE THE "A"...GRRRRRRRRRRRRR...
 
I agree, the A looks silly.

It looks good, especially for a first-timer, although I can't say I've ever been a fan of LED fans and flashy bling-bling fan grills.

Oh, and real men make their own fan controllers. :D
 
Can't say I dig your design choices, but if you like it, that's all that matters. Great job.
 
Looks cool. You could paint the front of the CD trays to match the case. :cool:
 
AY786 said:
Thanks for negative comments razorwind :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
Post your stuff dont expect all feedback to be posative.
The paint turned out nice.
The A, Nos, and the orb fan thing on the side look a bit off.
Nice effort. keep it up.
 
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