[Sup2a]

Ive decided to mod my old computer case, its still a working progress but ive done a bit of the work,
I want to turn this business looking case into something a little more artistic so im cutting out the front panel, painting the silver, cutting a large design in the side and repainting.
I've only had access to a 2MP phone camera and more recently my 3.2MP phone camera so not the best quality pictures, still, you will get the idea so here we go, for now Ill call it project Echo (thought it was preatty awesome how dae_ja_voo named his projects using the military alphabet before ill actually name it)
So heres the pics of the case.

the side of the case is missing in the cave i call my room because there was NO ventilation into the case so i was having heat problems, SO the last picture is of the terrible mess of wires and plastic panels the guys at Leader Computers did. it took some time removing everything there next up is the cutting

[Sup2a]

couldnt take any pictures of the cutting... but i can assure you it was messy... didn't have my dremel at the time... so i uhh... used a drill and i kind of didn't have a camera until the next stage, bending out the plastic, my friend is a jeweler so he had a breath controlled burner, good stuff, heres the pics of the finished burning. didn't want to get in the way of the flames with a camera during the action though oh yea we had a massive BBQ on the day i was gonna work on the case but BBQ comes first... (im on tha left)

[Sup2a]

Next step was to put some primer on the panels... gotta wait till' its cool enough to get outside and go to the hardware shop and get the other stuff i need not much to see besides the boiling hot day i put one of those snake lollies out there and it melted took a pic just to demonstrate just how hot it was out there oh well, the primer was touch dry in literally 30 seconds

Found the side of may case! drew the design on the side and realized... this case has better build quality than i thought.. its fairly thick steel... the dremel is having a few troubles but thats what im doing right now, cutting out my design... its gonna take a few days id say... oh yea got a new workspace going too, will do all my computer work there instead of in my cave, that leaves me where i am now, i need the paint, the 12cm fan and a lot of time and patience, ill keep everyone posted on this one as time goes on.

[Rik]

Its looking good.

With the dremmel, keep all cutting surfaces well oiled. I know it sounds like a weird thing to do but, it will keep the cutting disks much much cooler. When kept cooler they last longer and cut more efficiently.

[Sup2a]

just thinking about the colour scheme... I was going to go for the original black and replace the silver with green so it would go well with the blue LEDs, but... i was looking at the frame of the case and its got some nasty scratches on the top, and its preatty terrible pant all round' so now im thinking of repainting the whole thing... a bit more work but certainly will be worth it, im going to the hardware store tomorrow to buy the paint and maybe some filler to fill in some places on the case, Im not doing anything and i might as well do some serious work on the case, probably should get some new hardware for it though

but im not sure what to do with the paint, the power button has a blue LED light that im not willing to change, its completely glued and would need a bit of work with a soldering iron to take apart and change so ill be sticking with blue for the lights. any suggestions on what colour the case should be? im also going to put some more tribal designs on the side, top and front, so 2 colours that looks powerful but contrast well together...

certainly will, probably going to need to buy some more cutting disks oh well it'll be worth it when im done

[Rik]

If Games Workshop are in your country then i highly recommend their chaos black spray paint. It is a matt colour so would need a varnish if you wanted it gloss. It goes on well and gives a lovely smooth finnish.

[Sup2a]

i was actually hoping for a metallic look, pay a bit more for it but i think it would be worth it, i was thinking a nice silver but it certainly doesn't look as tough as i want it to look, the black is a bit old if you know what i mean, every electronic i own is black, PS3, itouch, phone, Tv and the computers... but if im going to respray the whole case im going to go with a metallic paint, and a clear coat, make it look real special. Ill do a design of the case and see how the colours look. I'll post back tomorrow hopefully with the choice and maybe the first coat. Hows the quantity in each tank of paint at games workshop? it could be very easy for me to pick something up there, its at the plaza... i think...

[Rik]

The Games Workshop is very good quality paint, but , they only do black and white at the mo, no other colours.

If you go with a metallic paint, remember that the finish will only ever be as good as the preparation and that it will require a good lacquer.

[Sup2a]

Done! took a lot of time patience and dremel cutting disks but its done and i gotta say it looks really quite good if i do say so myself, next stage is the primer coat on all the panels, got the paint today, stuck the the original plan, bright green (possibly a little too bright... bugga) and a very nice gloss black, im going to primer the whole thing tomorrow and layout the rest of the design. theres a pic of the finished cutting.

[Rik]

That looks really cool mate. Nice job.

[bushwhacker]

Supa2, can I please see this on other side please man?

Edited = You can stick the honeycomb mesh behind there to earn the better looks and feels when you sprayed both of the side and mesh as your suitable colour, while it allows the cool light to comes through.

it's much cooler and offer better protection on defending anything from entering inside of your case by accident.

[Sup2a]

I was thinking of doing that, but this case naturally has terrible ventilation and its hardware is rubbish so i was thinking a bit of green(transparent) perspex instead and soldering it to the case, ill see what the hardware store has though. Not much to see on the other side of that side panel, there was a rubbish black paint job done by the case manufacturer, with quite a few scratches, ive painted the first colour on there now, ill edit this post later with pics.

[bushwhacker]

Any updates?

[Sup2a]

Been a bit busy over the past few days so i haven't done too much just some painting here and there, the green paint is just plain awful I'm afraid, its going to need a load of layers and a good clear coat after, the black is great, applies really well and has an AMAZING gloss, first pic: Baily my auntie's dog "helping" with the painting the next is getting ready for the black coat on the side panel, bit of work with the Stanley knife and the tape the dogs attacked so it rips every 10cm but its done and it seems ok, the next I've finished the details I'm going to have on the case, nothing really over the top. you can see the difference of the paint colours in the light, in broad daylight its almost fluro the next is a shocking photo of a panel on the front of the case (the camera had no idea what it was focusing on) the paint turned out SO well take a look at the reflection on that! so really I'm just painting right now, not too much to see, little cut for funds for the inside mods, i was thinking, clear perspex on the back of the design so you can clearly see inside of the case, Its really quite difficult to get parts for modding in Adelaide but I'll be ordering some UV cable sleeves, lights and a 12cm fan when i get the chance, will probably update when I'm done the majority of the painting. Oh yes i found the other side to the case after a visit to my Auntie's place but ill need more primer to get it painted... bugga...

[bushwhacker]

Oh my... you did a wonderful job, make sure you keep up with your future mods

[Rik]

It's looking good indeed.

[Sup2a]

I've resprayed the side black now, and taken the tape off, it seems to have done well, shame I didnt have painter's tape, would've made for a cleaner job, oh well it's done well and there is no residue luckily, haven't done much modding lately, been a little hot outside, and im outta primer I'll post the pics later, they are on the memory card I had in earlier.

[Sup2a]

Just a small update, slightly frustrating, whenever i get any funds something comes up, will probably get this mod finished eventually, but ive been really busy with school and now TAFE as well, not particularly happy with the tribal design in the top corner... I was being really lazy and just using a design off the net, might make something up on the wacom if i get time in the future, and one for the front of the case as well, but for now I'm going to have to sit on this one for a while. Until i get a burst of money... I've also been looking for more cases for different mods i have planned a little better than this one.

[bushwhacker]

Originally Posted by Sup2a

Just a small update, slightly frustrating, whenever i get any funds something comes up, will probably get this mod finished eventually, but ive been really busy with school and now TAFE as well, not particularly happy with the tribal design in the top corner... I was being really lazy and just using a design off the net, might make something up on the wacom if i get time in the future, and one for the front of the case as well, but for now I'm going to have to sit on this one for a while. Until i get a burst of money... I've also been looking for more cases for different mods i have planned a little better than this one.

Same here, I officially suspended my mod called Project Chameleon due to the time and the funds, hopefully I can get it all re-done and finished by summer!

If you don't know what it is, you can go back to Overclocking, Cooling and Modding Forum and you will see my project chameleon on the sticky.

Enjoy

Edited = You can find it in here. Bushwhacker's Project Chameleon