I don't know about others here but I spend a fair amount of time figuring out HOW to mod my cases.
What materials do I use?
What tools and where do I get them?
What tools work for which task and what shouldn't I use them for?
So, I thought I'd start to put something together.
I can tell you that for my most recent project I had over $50 in paint and other materials.
Paint:
Just like with most things, preferences for paint brands, colors, methods, etc will change from person to person. The best I can do is tell you what I do when I'm working on one of these projects.
Brand Selection:
When I'm painting cases for my primary colors or base colors I prefer to use
Rust-Oleum
paints. It's my experience that they tend to stick better to a wider range of materials and are more resilient . Rust-Oleum also seems to be less finicky than Krylon. I also prefer to use the Rust-Oleum Clearcoat paints because so far I have not had any issues with it working with the detail paint that I'll talk about next.
For detail painting ( plastics, logos, etc) I like to use Model paints. Preferably
Testors Enamel
paints. There is a huge range of colors. They seem to be a robust brand, and their product seems to get along well with Rust-Oleum paint.
Priming and prepping:
I don't always use primer and to be honest with my HAF 932 I didn't even sand it down. I just wiped every surface down with a mix of 50/50 Dawn dish detergent and water, and then used a microfiber cloth to wipe away what didn't dry on its own. This removed any oil left by my fingers. If you like you could also use Windex or maybe even a light wipe down of mineral spirits. But be careful that if you're using mineral spirits right away that they may adversely effect the existing finish.
When I am prepping a case to be painted I take special care to cover up parts that I don't want to have any overspray or heavy coats of paint on. If I can disassemble it I will. I have learned to use Painters masking tape. It doesn't stick as hard as normal masking tape so I don't have to worry about leaving behind tape residue or damaging the paint below. The brand I use is Duck Tape, and I use the
Clean release
( mine is green however). If there are very large areas to cover often a bit of news paper and some normal masking tape over the painters tape does the trick. The key is to make sure there are no holes that overspray can leak into. There is nothing more aggravating than to find, after the project is done, a small overspray leak.
Stenciling and Designs:
When making stencils I will use
Frisk Film
. I bought mine at United Art Supply in Fort Wayne. Frisk film is kind of like a giant sheet of scotch tape with a paper backing.
Here are some basic steps for using Frisk Film:
1. Print your logo or text to a piece of paper.
2. Tape that paper to a disposable surface ( cardboard, whatever). I use a medium sized
Self-Healing Cutting Mat
.
3. Tape your Frisk over the paper (frisk is easy to see through), then use a knife to cut out your stencil. For one of my designs i found it easier to do this the other way around, but i had to be very careful to make sure that i was applying enough pressure to get through the Frisk Film and that the film did not distort.
4. You then take your stencil, peel off the backing, and apply it to the surface you want to paint.
5. When you're done painting you peel off the frisk stencil and you're done.
If you want to paint around something that is already there ( HAF logo in my case) you can get a product called
Liquid Mask
. It is essentially a low grip rubber cement that you apply around the object you want to paint. Once applied you let it dry ( LET IT DRY!!!) and then you apply your paint. When the paint is dry enough for you to remove the masking you can then peel the mask away and it will leave behind your design. I purchased my liquid mask at a local hobbyist store. The salesman mentioned that if you want to do free form design to just apply the masking generously on the area then use a Exact-o Knife to cut out your design.
Metal Fabrication/Modification:
For Modifying the steel of the case I use three tools primarily.
1.
Case Nibbler
- Not much to say.. it nibbles the steel. You can get these cheap so just Google it and pick up a pair.
2. Hole Saw - I use
Lenox
. They have a Bi Metal line that works well. You have to buy two components. One is the saw itself, and the other is the core that screws into the saw and you then attach to your drill.
3. Burr Remover - I just use a file.
In another post i think ill cover a way to make "welds" on a case.
