Work work and work!
I started off today with plans of just priming the case frame. Then I realized I still had to cut out a hole for the PSU.
Then I noticed I still had not cut the I/O plate out from the I/O panel I salvaged. I
really needed to take the I/O panel back out for this, but I have been avoiding it,lol. I decided I might as well take it out now and get it over with.
This is where the pics start. I already drilled the pop rivets out for the I/O panel and as soon as I can get some cut-off discs sometime, I'll cut the hole in it from the mobo I/O plate to pop in.
Since I had the I/O panel out, I went ahead and straightened some of my previous cuts with my new file. I'm much happier now, those unclean cuts were an eyesore to me. Looks much better!
Spare back panel from my pile'o'junk box.
Made a template for the PSU.
Traced the cut-out onto the back panel and drilled some starter holes for my jigsaw.
I had some trouble with the template I made. Namely I had traced the screw holes inverted, so they were backwards,LMAO. Oops
I'll go back and fill the extra holes I made later (the ones circled in black here). The cut is still rough and is not filed yet, but it IS functional and actually on the case now,lol.
About 1/4" gap/spacing. The aluminum panel on the back does not flex as bad as I had expected. I don't think I'll have to brace it up any.
Now I got ready to sand. This is a red scuffing pad (Scotch-Brite 3M 7447), I used this instead of sandpaper to sand the frame. It's comparable to ~320-400grit sandpaper and makes sanding something with many curves/shapes/etc like this frame sooo much easier.
Basically it's a dish washing scrubbing pad but with a tougher 'thread' and bits of abrasive grit made into it.
From this
To this.
Nice small sandlines. Gets any dust/dirt off and gently scuffs the surface. Doesn't need to be anything hardcore for primer.
Primed!!!!
And that's all for today. I still have some filing/drilling to do on the frame but I wanted to get primer on it now because there were already some spots rusting. Also this primer making everything monotone will help me see any other spots I might have missed before. Next up is sanding the HDD cage, and the cover/side panel and getting some primer on those, then paint.
Of course, as always, thanks for watching!
