• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

Powder Coating

S

Suprnova04

Limp Gawd
Joined
Apr 1, 2004
Messages
439
Does anyone have pics of their powder coated case? I'm thinking of doing it myself, but I'd really like to see some pictures first.

thanks!
 
I have often wondered about this myself.

The only problem I see is the edge's where the case fits together

The extra thickness due to the powder coat might cause some problems
 
yeah i've wondered about how practical the process would really be.
Someone post some pics!
I know someone must've tried this.
 
I researched it extensively. I had planned to get my Gaming Bomb II case powder coated, but unfortunately the business refused to do it in a single Candy coat because the color would not be uniform, and they said a metallic coat would require 3 coats and would be so thick the case might not go back together properly.

Also the problem with cases is the large flat surfaces can cause an improper thickness of the coating. Powder coating is incredibly thick once it's cured.

Also powder coating a case is not cheap. Figure on at least $100-$200 as a minimum. That's for a single coat of solid color, nothing fancy, and that's just the outside of the case. I had prices quoted as high as $700 for the entire case inside and outside.

Take it from someone who's explored every avenue to getting a case powder coated. It's just not worth the hassle.

My advice, get the case professionally painted or buy a Caseskin. I bought a Caseskin for my Antec 3700BQE, case and I'm well pleased with it.
 
Provided the case was already painted before hand, I don't see much of a problem with thickness of the coat coming into play with the fitting of the seperate components, although I bet it would still be a pain in the ass.

I was looking at powder coating a case a while ago, as part of my Prometia rig, but decided to go with a LL PC60 and have it anodised; I only have some crappy pictures of it from a PDA camera, but I must confess; in person, it looks absolutely elite!

mpc.jpg
 
Been there, done that.

It works as long as you have a sloppy case that isn't very tight fitting, because the 3-6 mil coating that is added on can cause issues with the fit of the case.

I've done it on Coolermasters and Lian-Li's. I can probably dig up pictures for you if you wanted them, but its nothing you can't see from a painted case really. Powder coating is nothing more than powder pigments melted to form the flowed out painted surface.

Enjoy
 
Clearances weren't too much of an issue when I got my Shuttle powdercoated, and anybody who has assembled one knows that they fit tightly together to begin with.

As you can see from the photos uniformity was not bad either.

All together I love it, the looks of paint w/ the durability of powdercoat.

front.JPG


reflect.JPG


back.JPG


Joe...
 
A few years back the company I work for had extensive powder coating done on 1u and 2u server cases. When done in quantity the cost per case was between 80 and 100 USD. The powder coat always turned out quite nicely but was prone to scratching, but this can not be avoided with any coatings.

One thing to keep in mind if you do decide to powder coat: There is some minor prep involved that you are better off handling on your own. Any portion of the surface that you do not wish to have coated (inside and out) must be covered with a high thermal resistance masking tape. This can be found and purchased online for under $8 USD per roll. Just google for "Powder Coating Tape".

I am also interested in having my case powder coated (Coolermaster Wavemaster) and local Powder Coating shops have quoted my project at aprx: $120.

I hope this can be of use to you!
 
so does powder coating basically just make a nice, super smooth finish? any way to make it more scratch resistant?
 
cranberrie said:
so does powder coating basically just make a nice, super smooth finish? any way to make it more scratch resistant?
Click to expand...

Well poweder coating is rather tough, and somewhat scratch resistant, but that might depend on the actual stuff used.
 
is that a transparent powdercoat on that shuttle? Usually if you have a chrome and/or polished surface and you get it chromed, it looks 500000000000 times better than a regular powdercoat.
 
Qtip42 said:
is that a transparent powdercoat on that shuttle? Usually if you have a chrome and/or polished surface and you get it chromed, it looks 500000000000 times better than a regular powdercoat.
Click to expand...

The shuttle originally had a matte silver anodized finish & the powdercoat company had to mediablast that off. I chose a color that was reminiscant of a nice deep candy apple over red. I am not sure if it is actually transparent at all, but it definately looks like it. I know that the powdercoaters indicated that the color I chose was some kind of clearcoat (something I didn't think was possible w/ powdercoating).

All I know is that I love the way it turned out...

Thanks for the compliment bobsaythis.

Joe...
 
I worked at several powder coating facilities for quite a few years,spraying everything from car engines to model trains. We sprayed computer cases for one particular customer and they were difficult at times. You can spray anything that is metal, transmits electricity, and can be heated to 275+ degrees. Your only problem is getting a sprayer that knows how to spray stuff like computer cases.
When you spray things you place them on a conveyor or hang them for batch systems. The hanger is connected to a ground and is negatively charged, hence any parts connected to this are charged negatively. The powder is placed into an air canister and pressurized to exacting degree. The powder will "flow" like a super liquidy water. The powder is picked up via a tube, transfered to a spray gun that has a metal tip in it. The gun is connected to a type of static electricity discharge unit, which dispurses a postive charge to the tip, causing the powder to obtain a postive charge. This is powders achilles heel, as not all surfaces get coated equally. Corners, thin spaces, small holes, and other tight areas area incredibly difficult to coat. The postively charged particals start bouncing in the area leaving a light coat there, small areas may be impossible to cover. Computer cases are a bit tricky sometimes!
After spraying its loaded into an oven to a temp somewhere around 350 to 375, so watch the plastic parts. for the type of powder it is. Generally the hotter the temp the stronger the powder is, but too hot can burn the powder and destroy its effectivness. The powder will start to melt, thicker areas will move over to the lower thin areas somewhat and even out. Once done, they will be pulled out to cool. If there is an imperfection then the item has to be burned off!! Now we are talking temps upwards of 1300 degrees so watch the cheaper cases for warpage.
There are tons of different powder coating companies out there. Some here in michigan are Powder Kote II in mt clemens, and Burkard Industries in clinton twp. I worked at both, and personally liked Burkard better. They turned out good products, and stood by their work. Stop into any and ask for sample plates, they will be able to show you some powders to amaze you. My favorite were always the silver vein and the red hammer tone. They mix two incompatible powders together, they spray them. During melt they seperate, pool and give a truely unique look to things.

The process!
Cheesy pics of powder

:D

Visad
 
I have done many a case for myself and it just looks great. We did my friends in a flat black and that was almost 3 years ago and the only place it has a scratch is where the mobo slides in and out (lian li pc 61). Ive been doing it for a while and the key to doing cases is doing them hot so that it flows into the cracks easier. every powder has different characterstics so what i like to do is clear coat the case in acrylic so that it doesnt scratch up. I posted a simple guide about powdercoating a while ago so just do a search and itll help. We only do custom work at my shop so nothing is done on a line which means more care is taken with individual parts.
 
Tunabow said:
I have done many a case for myself and it just looks great.
Click to expand...

Have you ever done just the inside of a case? I've got the lian li pc 60, and wanted to do just the innards black. Do you think this would work, or would it be prone to scratching with all of the components?

jmack_3 said:
[imag]http://www.computer-house.net/joe/front.JPG[/img]

[imag]http://www.computer-house.net/joe/reflect.JPG[/img]

[imag]http://www.computer-house.net/joe/back.JPG[/img]

Joe...
Click to expand...

That looks awesome, thanks for the pics!
 
Powder coating isn't always that expensive, there's a place here in Brooklyn that is going to charge me $45 to power coat the inside of my PC-7077B, and that's a big case.

If you're getting $200 quotes for the inside of your case keep shopping around.
 
Suprnova04 said:
Have you ever done just the inside of a case? I've got the lian li pc 60, and wanted to do just the innards black. Do you think this would work, or would it be prone to scratching with all of the components?



That looks awesome, thanks for the pics!
Click to expand...

yeah the inside was done only and it cost my friend 55 bux. I have done my entire case and well it has three coats too, its a really tight fit.
 
Hmm.. 55 isn't too bad.. i'm gonna have to call the local place that does it and get a quote.
 
55 bucks USd sounds like a ripoff. I got a quote for $25 nz for the inside of my pc1000
 
DaMiEn said:
55 bucks USd sounds like a ripoff. I got a quote for $25 nz for the inside of my pc1000
Click to expand...


55 isn't a bad price. You are in another country :p what do you know :D hehe
 
I would have to agree w/ Qtip42.... 55USD doesnt sound bad at all....

Joe...
 
DaMiEn said:
55 bucks USd sounds like a ripoff. I got a quote for $25 nz for the inside of my pc1000
Click to expand...

55 bucks doesnt get you much nowadays, its like not buying a videogame and powdercoating your case instead. :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top