So, Im working on a project, and Im slowly but surely getting the finer details of the software down thanks solely to the members of the PA community. However, even when the software is exactly how I want it, there is a final part of my project that is a bit obscure that I have no Idea where to start.
I want to repaint the shell/case for The Sandisk Cruzer. They are really easy to disassemble, but I have now idea about the painting projects. Ive never done car models or custom PC case modding. One hobby shop suggested car paint at a local kragens or autozone, so I tried it out. I messed up real bad. Though I think the paint was actually what I need.
Does anyone know of any sites or tutorials that explain from taping off edges and such to the necessary tools like sanding it down, painting it and polishing it?
I know that this is a really odd thread, and Im sorry if it doesnt belong on this site, but I figure since it still has to do with the portable category, maybe Im safe o_O.
Thanks ahead of time for any help
Visit the Community page
Join our forums
Subscribe to our email newsletter
Subscribe with RSS
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on LinkedIn
Follow us on Twitter
Follow us on Mastodon
Follow us on BlueSky
I'm not a moderator, but it seems fine to me.
I paint Guitar Hero guitars -- you know, the white ones, kinda X-shaped? (If you know about guitars, they're not-to-scale replicas of the Gibson X-plorer.) I've painted three, and I'm going to paint a fourth one, it's gotta be done by the middle of June for a birthday present. This is relevant because I do believe we're talking about plastic, and it might even be the same consistency.
Anyway, I don't sand or tape, but that's because they're white to start with, but I did paint the neck of one (which is black) silver, and I didn't sand it first. I actually taped off the "headstock" (which is part of the molding for the neck) but I didn't do a good job. (The body was pink -- it's a Hannah-Montana style guitar, gave it to my niece on her sixth birthday. So perfection really wasn't the goal, but it did come out real good.)
If you can get the plastic completely isolated from the electronics, just spray paint it. As for polish, after the color is done, I just spray it with clear coat, give it about 5 coats of that (and about 5 of color).
Now if you want to go all fancy and get modeling paint and paint a design on it, do that after your final coat of color is dried. Then, do the 5 coats of clear coat. I'm actually doing something similar for the guitar I'm doing -- the kid getting this one loves the local (East Carolina University) football team, so I'm going to put a couple stickers on it when it's done and then paint the clear-coat over that. (Although, if I could get ahold of stencils, I'd paint the team logos and whatnot on the guitar rather than using a sticker, but again, quality is not all that important, though I'm sure it'll look good. Purple body, gold neck, white buttons (buttons are black).)
Props to you man, hope it turns out good ^_^.
The reason im kind of concerned about taping and what not is because basically the part I will be spray painting is a shell, and if I allow paint to get into it or on the crevices that a supposed to join back together, Im afraid it wont fit back together properly and that it may actually effect the interior chip from sliding smoothly and what not.
When I was looking at it before I took it apart,(before a failed attempt at spraying it lol) I was thinking it MAY be possible to just tape the exposed parts (usb adapter and the slider, THEN spray paint it. idk though.
As for clear coat, can you get that in a spray paint form? any suggestions of types/brands?
Yes paint can gum up screw holes, in theory, but I have never had this happen. The only thing I've had gum up is an interior lip on one side (top or bottom) of the guitar body shell. But a good squeeze snaps it right back together. You'll have to be more careful with a smaller device. These guitar controllers are big (though not nearly as big as the nicer Rock Band guitars, which I would never paint) so they can take a little beating. Oh, and the Xbox "Guide" button never goes back in smoothly, it's gotta be hammered in (but it presses fine, it's just got a sleeve that fits so tight the paint makes it fit tighter).
No, you don't want to just tape it. Spray paint is very fine and WILL get into the electronics.
Yes you can get clear coat in spray paint, that's what I use. I mainly use Krylon paint but only because they have more colors. If I'm painting anything black, I use the Walmart brand, but I had an issue with that paint drying right last time. But the air was very moist, too, so I'm not blaming the paint. (My last guitar was painted green, then I taped a spiral of masking tape around the body, and painted it black. So it's black with a green spiral. As expected, the paint got under the masking tape a little, but I didn't want the lines smooth. It looks hot except one corner where the black paint kinda rippled, but again, I think that was due to moisture in the air.)
http://www.krylon.com/products/fusion_for_plastic/ you might want to give a look at that for paint.
Also: I used a super glue like epoxy one mine. made it nice and robust and painted it to look good
"It's just an online installer. It's not going to mug you.", JTH
"The shell is the key to unlock Linux's greatest advantages."
I actually used Fusion on my second guitar, which was red with silver buttons. The Fusion paint does "soak through" like they say -- the inside of the guitar was pink. This is very creepy. The outside was red enough, I just didn't like the texture it left. It wasn't just a matte finish, it was... "very matte". I like the gloss finish on the other two.
And now y'all know about all three guitars I've painted plus the fourth one I have yet to do. I'll have to post pictures later. The red one, BTW, was for my brother-in-law, the father of the kids who got the first one and is going to get the next one. Black and green is mine. It's a long story. But suffice it to say, I really enjoy painting these things. Oh, and the whammy bar tends to break easily inside, and I've come to specialize in repairing them.
Now that I think about it... damn, it would be cool if I could paint a guitar red, the neck the same grey as the PortableApps icon, and use a stencil to paint the PortableApps.com icon on the back... It could be pretty cool, as a limited edition thing. Then bundle it with a PortableApps.com-themed flash drive with the Suite plus Frets on Fire portable with some public-domain songs, give it away in a contest or something, maybe a charity, donate the most to this cause in the name of PortableApps.com and get this flash drive with Frets on Fire Portable and this limited-edition PortableApps.com guitar... Could be awesome and it's very doable.
I wonder if you can get a clear gloss?
Edit: Never i read your other post. Does that do a good job?
"It's just an online installer. It's not going to mug you.", JTH
"The shell is the key to unlock Linux's greatest advantages."
Hey, I did another trial run, and it looks real nice, Im getting the matte look Im going for, but when I was putting the shell/case back together, I noticed thumb prints were being left and the pressure I was applying was causing wrinkles. So its like its thick and tacky. Before I started just putting it back together, I felt the paint, and it seemed completely dry.
Is this being caused by too many coats of paint? I applied three coats of paint, each separated by 30 mins, and two coats clear coat each separated by 30 mins. Or is this caused by the type of paint?
Paint Used:
Valspar Premium Enamel
Flat White
Flat Clear
Also, if I use a flat base, but a Gloss Clear coat, will it look more glossy or more matte?
Edit 15hrs later: kk, The paint is now completely hard, so I guess its a matter of the drying process. I still have concerns about thickness though.
Edit 3hrs later then that lol: I was noticing my GFs nails and how they have to apply a clear coat to protect them. With my final result, if I lightly skim the edge of my nail across the paint, it gashes easily. But when I do that to my GFs fingernail, there is no mark. Would it be possible to use an Enamel spray paint as a base, and then use a clear fingernail polish as a clear coat?
Well, I'm not really an expert on painting, I've just had some good luck.
Some paint has to dry for a stupidly long time. I've never done a rush order. Someone wants a guitar painted, I tell them to give me a week. I give each layer of paint 60 seconds (or thereabouts) to dry, but once all 4-6 layers of color are applied, I let the piece dry for 24 hours. Then it gets 4-6 layers of clear coat, 60 seconds apart. Another 24 hours to dry. There's not really a science to it.
Not sure at all about using fingernail polish as clear coat. I'd imagine that stuff is really glossy but doesn't last long (it gets removed every night or every few nights, doesn't it? my wife doesn't paint her nails).
My sister paints her nails, and you'd be amazed how long one coat can last. It ranges from 5 minutes (seriously) to several weeks (also seriously), depending on what she's doing. I've known that stuff to survive 3-5 showers, hand-washing, dish-washing, and just about everything else. Occasionally, she'll cut her nails, put on a coat of polish, and have to cut her nails again before the polish is gone. It can be that resilient.
On the other hand, there have been times when she barely gets the polish dry before it's flaking off; I guess it depends on the brand. idk, I'm not into that stuff.
"The question I would like to know, is the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything. All we know about it is that the Answer is Forty-two, which is a little aggravating."
You might want to try a coat of primer first
IMHO, car primer is pretty much the best.
Too many lonely hearts in the real world
Too many bridges you can burn
Too many tables you can't turn
Don't wanna live my life in the real world