Restoring My Antec Sonata 3

[jkmetal]

My first ever mod/worklog. I have zero experience and I m sponsored by my bank account, Google search and friends/family.

My Rig has served me very very well and it still has plenty of life remaining.

Specs:

Intel Q9950
Asus P5Q Deluxe
Corsiar DDR2 1066 (4gb)
Segate 1tb drive
GTX 460 768
(old) 500watt antec psu
Antec Sonata III case

But it needs a makeover in the worst way....

Yeah that case has been though a whole lot.... (college)

The guts are simply an abomination. The dynamat was a mod I did back in 08 due to my hearing condition. My case is pretty silent, even with the cpu heat sink fan pointed in the wrong direction.

I need to do something with that fan cover (or lack of). I removed it a few years ago on a whim. A very bad whim as it turns out. I dust once every month now to keep the dust under control and I m failing with dignified.

Its a mess.
In fact almost everything in my computer has some serious miles on it. For fun I did the math and averaged out the age of all the pieces of my rig which came out to roughly 3.8 years. This means that if I want my rig to last another two years, it wouldn't hurt to give the old girl a fresh coat of paint (literally). And before someone posts this no I am not buying a new case, nor should I. I love what I have as its simple, silent and compact. Plus were is the fun in just buying something new when you can build

For this restoration/mod I have done and plan on doing a number of things. (portions in bold are what I have done already)

1 Clean it. Clean off all of my components while I transfer them to a temp case.

My pc has been transplanted. I successfully removed the dust and grime from the components. Have an issue with my gfx card..

Spoiler: Temp case

Borrowed from a good friend. Too large and loud for my liking, but it is doing the job.

Spoiler: GFX card

I d like to get that dust off, Idk how though.

2 Get rid of the glue/scratches and repaint steel portions of my case. Also remove the last of the old metal fan cover.

In the middle of this right now. Turning into a bit of disaster.

Spoiler: Paint disaster 1

Spoiler: Paint disaster 2

Spoiler: Fan cover

I will be borrowing a dremel drill bit to finish off the rest of it. At least that part is going smoothly.

Any suggestions regarding the paint? I m planning on sanding it down and going for another coat on sat. Just painted tonight. I am using Rustoluem Satin Black.



3 Improve build quality. New psu, install fans correctly, replace dust covers,manage cables.

New psu installed in temp case, an Antec Basiq Plus 550. Replacement front and rear dust covers have been purchased. All the remains is putting it all together at the end

4 Restore case to original state and fix components. Remove dynamat, replace missing parts, replace motherboard battery, fix wireless card antenna and reapply A5 thermal geese.

This is on going. A5, batteries, rubber feet and dust cover are all incoming


Finally, I m not sure if anyone is interested. If they (you) are and they're (you're) experienced, I probably need their (your) help (lol..

 

[OniFactor]

did you strip or sand down the paint and stickers and glue that were on the case, before spray painting? if not, i'd suggest stopping now, buying some aircraft stripper, and getting rid of everything, then sanding the crap out of it, priming it, and then painting it.

 

[jkmetal]

did you strip or sand down the paint and stickers and glue that were on the case, before spray painting? if not, i'd suggest stopping now, buying some aircraft stripper, and getting rid of everything, then sanding the crap out of it, priming it, and then painting it.

I sanded down the pant and totally removed all sticker resdue. I primed and sanded the primer smooth.

 

[Bbq]

It looks like you're trying to one-coat the paint. Don't. Do multiple light coats, start with the can off the surface and end with the can off the surface. Prep the surface before you start (a bit late now). Get some fine sand paper for the finishing (400 grits through 2000)

 

[jkmetal]

It looks like you're trying to one-coat the paint. Don't. Do multiple light coats, start with the can off the surface and end with the can off the surface. Prep the surface before you start (a bit late now). Get some fine sand paper for the finishing (400 grits through 2000)

I did prep. My problem was that the black spray paint came out in a much denser and smaller stream then I had anticipated. I planned on doing light coats, I even tested the spray can on some cardboard. I will be doing light coats after this, provided I can figure it out the the paint can. It could be that I m using a spray paint grip that doesn't allow me to control the can as well as I'd like.

 

[OniFactor]

step 1: warm the paint cans in warm water for a while before painting.
step 2: DO NOT paint down. elevate your piece, hang it, how ever you can manage, but do not point down.
step 3: 14"-18" inches away is the normal recommended distance, IIRC, for even distribution.
step 4: start off an edge, spray in a straight line across, finishing off of the other edge.
step 5: smooth, steady application is key. not too fast, not too slow.

 

[jkmetal]

step 1: warm the paint cans in warm water for a while before painting.
step 2: DO NOT paint down. elevate your piece, hang it, how ever you can manage, but do not point down.
step 3: 14"-18" inches away is the normal recommended distance, IIRC, for even distribution.
step 4: start off an edge, spray in a straight line across, finishing off of the other edge.
step 5: smooth, steady application is key. not too fast, not too slow.

I ll prop it up on sat.

I was too close and I was pointing down. That is what killed it. Hmmm

Well, i need to pick up some 1000 1500 wet/dry sandpaper tomorrow. I think I have 800 around someplace.

Thanks for the tips.

 

[Arcygenical]

Rustoleum is great paint. Definitely paint like this

x |__________| y
x |__________| y
x |__________| y
x |__________| y

Start at each X, progress across the panel (should take about 2 seconds transit) to Y, and stop spraying. You're having paint pool where you're starting the stream.

And sand with 320g paper.

 

[jkmetal]

Rustoleum is great paint. Definitely paint like this

x |__________| y
x |__________| y
x |__________| y
x |__________| y

Start at each X, progress across the panel (should take about 2 seconds transit) to Y, and stop spraying. You're having paint pool where you're starting the stream.

And sand with 320g paper.

Thanks, I'm definitively going to try this tomorrow night.

320? I m planning on using 800 and 1000 wet/dry and sanding tomorrow before adding a second coat. I may be adding a clear coat for protection, idk yet.