Case painting, what type of paint?

[Joshsti_NZ]

Simple question, simple answer? :D

I'm gonna paint it all black ... but don't know what type of paint .. can anyone reccomend a brand/type?

Thanks :D

[GriffiN]

Automotive paint will do the job and dont forget a can of primer (if needed) and clear gloss.
I dont know about brands - just go to your nearest shop and they'll help you out with whats best and tips on how to do it.

[Joshsti_NZ]

Thanks Ms Griffin, I'll look into that :)

[SilverPriest]

Used Dulux black enamel for my case
With a gold enamel undercoat
Looks good :D
Gotta remember, good paint aint everything.
Invest in a lot of good sandpaper as well.........

[Joshsti_NZ]

Do i gotta sand the whole mofo down first and get all white (spit spit) colour off? .. heres me thinking of doing a quick 'over-the-top' job lol

[SilverPriest]

You don't have to sand it all down, just so that it is SMOOTH.
Doesn't matter if it looks patchy.
My case has a good 9 coats on it @ least.
2-3 undercoats, plus the rest was the black enamel
(i didnt paint it, a mate did who is better with the cans of spraypaint, dont ask ;))
Make sure u get wet/dry paper as well.
Here's a general plan:
Sand with 200 till it is smooth
Then 400
then 1000 if u feel like it.
Also, use a sanding block, i cannot stress that enough.
Also, rinse the panel off frequently.
Sanding particles of paint back into the panel aint gunna make it look good.
Let it dry in the sun after a good rinse.
Afternoon in the sun should do the trick, or perhaps a hair dryer or whatever.
Then, put on yer first undercoat, (someone insert spraying tricks here, i dunno jack about them)
Let that dry for a few hours/day whatever.
Then sand it with 400-600 grit.
Or 1000
Just make sure it is smooooooooooth.
Rinse and repeat for the other layers basically....
If u are just doing a quick job, give it a sand, rinse it, let it dry and paint.
Hope that is of any help....
Anyone else, feel free to share experiences here.
Just takes a LOT of time to get a case done right.
And dont even get me started on cutting compound.

[I.R]

Spray about 30cm away with even strokes...... oh yeah I like them even strokes :eek: anyway you don't want to be too close or ya gonna get runs (in the paint job...... not in your pants)........ also helps if the painting area is as free as possible of contaminants (i.e don't paint it in the residue of your sanding effort ;))

[crux]

Also, do it in a area with plenty of ventilation, but not so much as that you have dust flying all over the place and sticking to your freshly sprayed surface!

[shag]

And light coats each time. Spraying it on thick is a big no no;)

[Binky Stunt Cat]

and for such things as painting drive covers to match your already black case? (the Black iCute 627 for example:rolleyes: )

[H2gO]

don't forget a good light source

ya gota have good lighting if the work piece is dark

have you got a plan B if it goes wrong cos we all guna have to see the result now ya posted here & we're all had our input


;)

Mat black isn't so bad *plan B*

:D

[OberoN]

No one mentioned temperature and humidity.

Never paint on a cold wet day!! The paint will come out dull (not shiny). If you wait for a nice warm, still (no wind) day & paint then, you will get much better results. Alternatively you could paint indoors with a heat source like a heater or heat lamp or something.

My pops restores dinky & corgi toys (yes I know!) he uses a halogen lamp & paints in the garage with an air gun.

Also if you are painting plastic be carefull not to spray the primer on too thick. It will melt the plastic and cause runs in the plastic which are very hard to sand off and take DAYS to dry fully. Mist it on & wait for the first coat to dry before doing the next etc..

[whetu]

Take your time. This is the number 1 rule. TAKE YOUR TIME.

In addition to all the points above:

Plastics can be cleaned with warm soapy water and a scouring pad or goldilocks, which will also roughen the surface and give something for the paint to catch onto... (the goldilocks will get rid of stickers quick fast too)

if you can get one, get a sanding disc for an electric drill.. it will deal to that baked on beige in seconds... after that you can smooth things out either by hand or by machine (belt sander, hand held sander whatever)

then give your sanded panel a rinse with warm soapy water and leave to dry.. while one panel dries.. sand down another ;)

string up your panels if you are able to.. it makes them easier to work with... for example if you are working in a garage, use string - twine is good for this - and run them through the screwholes on the back of your panels, have the knots some distance from the panels.. 10cm perhaps?.. then throw the two lengths of string over a beam/rafter and adjust to the height you want... saves you having to bend over to spray... this point is ub3r important for me as I have slight butchers-back :)

apply a layer of primer, at this stage things arent as important as you can always sand down and start from scratch, so practise your technique. I'll talk about technique later. Prime a panel, then set it aside to dry, as it dries do another panel etc until they are all done.

Take an ub3r high grit sandpaper... 2500-3000 ish and rub your panels down, after they are rubbed down, rinse with warm soapy water and a rag. repeat until they are all rubbed and washed.

Repeat the priming process 2, 3.. hell even 4 times if you've got enuff primer to do so... gives you more practise on your technique and builds the paint up nicely :)

Once you are happy with the priming, put on a coat of your chosen paint, leave to dry as you work on another panel, then rub down with ub3r high grit. Again, after sanding, rinse with warm soapy water and a rag and leave to dry.

I think you get the point here, repeat until happy, then put on a couple of coats of gloss, you dont have to sand between the coats.

Technique:
I recommend 20 - 30cm from the panel. What you have to do is swing your arm from left to right, then right to left, while working downwards. As you make a pass, you spray, at the end of a pass when your arm is slowing down, dropping a couple of centimetres and firing back the other way, you dont spray.

An overlap helps, but dont over-do it. IMPORTANT POINT TO NOTE: Keep your coats THIN. Dont worry if it looks patchy and like absolute arse, you can still build it up to an even coat

If you begin to see lines, turn the panel 90 degrees and do your next coat cross-grain to its predecessor...

In this 1337 mspaint skillz picture, you can see that blue = dont spray, and red = spray.

[whetu]

you may also want to finish off after gloss with some automotive wax/polish stuff

Here are some piccys of a case I did for a mate using warehouse paints... 3 layers of primer and several layers of the blue, topped off with a couple coats of gloss... beware the warehouse cans though.. they can splatter like arse after a bad curry.. the top panel of this case is ruined imo because of splatter marks, as this was a rush job.

this is 1 weeks work done in one day :D

http://www.geekflat.orcon.net.nz/images/case/fullfrontalnudity.jpg
http://www.geekflat.orcon.net.nz/images/case/side.jpg
http://www.geekflat.orcon.net.nz/images/case/colourblend.jpg
http://www.geekflat.orcon.net.nz/images/case/athlonsticker.jpg

[Grrr!!]

Nice BLUE case there :D. Wish mien looked like it :(.

[Antallica]

It's times like these think yourself lucky to know how to spray paint (cheers workshop class :D) It will come in handy when I do my Hyena black.

That's a mighty fine job whetu :D

[Joshsti_NZ]

Jebus Christ, thanks for that damn long (and friggin excellent reply - whetu & SP :) ) ... I'm going out tomorrow so i might swing by the paint shop .. and/or the warehouse :D and check for prices etc

Cheers for the awesome run-down on what and what not to do much appreciated ... might even look at getting that Chameleon/Kaleidoscope paint with glitter :D but for that i need a better case ..