Painting Chassis

[nintari]

I recently got a Coolermaster HAF 922, and hate the fact that the chassis is not black, just plain steel

I wanted to paint it but know there is a lot to sand down (little cracks and areas that can't be gotten to with sanding)

Will Primer work and then Paint without sanding? I'm afraid to have it scratched too easily (which I think would happen with or without sanding).

Just looking for some advice on this before I proceed

 

[aphasia]

http://www.mnpctech.com/case-mod-paint-computer-pc-case-mod-how-to1.html
http://www.overclock.net/case-mods-general-discussion/69626-spookys-computer-painting-guide.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znv5Fpmirds
http://case-mods.linear1.org/case-mod-101-how-to-paint-your-computer-case-part-1/

the linkage above should give you some good tips. most of the articles go into detail on how to get a mirror finish. if you're not too fussed with this an prefer an slightly textured finish, you can skip some of the sanding steps.

important things to remember to prep the surface properly with sanding and apply 3 or 4 light coats (primer). in your case, when there is no paint to sand down (bare metal), use a high grit (1000+) sandpaper and/or self-etching primer. it's important to know what type of metal your painting. steel and aluminium require different prep (if steel, don't wipe down surface with water) whether you sand in-between coats (for finer finish) is up to you. however you should wipe down surface after each coat.

with your colour painting you're doing the same thing, light even coats, wipe down surface once dry (rough sponge and/or sanding) & respray. recommend at least 4-5 coats.

 

[nintari]

those are mostly for the outside though

I am looking at more so the Skeleton of the case, the insides of the panels I plan just to hit quickly with flat black to touch those up. But the Frame is the area I am more worried about sratching easily (paticularly the back where everything plugs in)

 

[aphasia]

frames are tricky. you could make your life a bit easier (paint-wise) if you're painting each piece individually, however that'll require you de-rivet you're case.

if you're not willing to break your case down (de-rivet), paint and put back together (with new rivets) then i suggest this. mask the bits you don't want painted, clean the surface and in the case of aluminium, a few coats of self-etching primer. wipe down surface with rough sponge between coats then hit with a few coats of colour. if you've broken down your case, you can do several pieces at the same time. if not, you can only attack 1 section at a time.

it's up to you on how much time you wish to spend on this. you could just slap on a couple of coats of colour and be done with it. however you won't have much of a buffer against the paint chipping, cracking or becoming brittle.

 

[nintari]

I don't mind undoing the rivets, havent dove too deep in to how much of a PITA the case is to take apart yet. I will admidt though I was really antsy in building up the new system and put it together last night. This weekend I want to play around with Eyefinity some. But I didnt have three of the same monitor (listed below) but they are close enough I suppose.

I looked at it this way, I can put it together to see what stands out and needs to be re-done in the way of cable management and sleeving, and then what would look best in the way of painting.

I suppose this system is going to be my last high(er-ish) end system since I am gaming less and less these days. Kinda why I want it to be a special one.

Specs:
Coolermaster HAF 922 (replacing both 200mm fans with blue LED fans and the 120mm with a blue LED)
Core i7-2600k
Noctua NH-D14
MSI MSI P67A-GD65 B3
2x4GB Corsair Vengance 1600MHz 9-9-9-24 (came with bundle)
2x4GB Corsair XMS3 1600MHz 9-9-9-24 (had to get two sticks of shorter mem to fit under cooler)
2x Saphire ATI Radeon HD 6950 1GB Crossfire
3x OCZ Vertex 2 120GB Raid 0
2x WD Black 1TB (storage and extras)
Ultra 850 W 80+ PSU (blue LED fan)
1x Acer 23" 1920x1080
2x Acer 21" 1920x1080
Win 7 x64
Logitech G110 Blue backlit keyboard
Razer DeathAdder mouse (blue lit)

All the LEDs make it go faster right? lmao

I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do on speakers, and have yet to overclock the CPU since I just assembled it. I was curious about temps last night around midnight and so far it is idleing atock at 25-27c (varies from core to core)

I was thinking the inside would just be all black and maybe the mobo tray the same color blue as the mobo accents. Eventually I want blue LED feet too

I will tackle the Noctua fans later (painting black and blue) I really really hate to screw those up. Was thinking I could possibly swap them with my blue LED 120mm fans but dont know if the center fan woudl make it.

 

[aphasia]

well rivets are easy. 3mm drill bit & your good to go.

nice system, should do you for a good long while.

i'd be cautious about painting the fan blades. if you don't apply the same amount paint on each blade, you risk throwing off the balance (shortening fan life). better you buy fans that come stock with colours you like.