dustandechoes91

I'll have another update soon. I've just been adding coats lately. Nothing worth posting.

Anyways I am still having a lot of troubles with really rough paint jobs and paint splattering when it leaves the can. I having been reading tons of painting tutorials on the nets and have been able to make it a little better but so far my only option seems to be sanding.

dustandechoes91

Update #6 8/29/08

Ok, sorry, but this update wont have any pictures, even though I have a lot of updates to show. I will most likely post some later today(its 3:00am right now, so I need to sleep) My main reason for this is the problems I have been having with painting.

My paint job was going perfectly until I started on the base coats. These have been so incredibly frustrating. I just cannot get an even coat down. Either there isnt enough paint and it wont smoothen out, or too much and it runs in some places. I just cannot get it right. I am starting to rule out my lack of experience, seeing as ive read and watched every spray painting tutorial I could find, and have produced some successful smooth coats before. Also, the cans sometimes tend to clog easily no matter what i do. Only certain cans do it, and I have only had two do it so far, but it causes the stream of paint to fluctuate and paint to build up on the nozzle, which causes splattering, which ruins the coat. This results in me needing to sand it, but if i sand it, it ruins the finish. So I ask this:

If I sand down the gloss coats and they loose their glossiness, can I recreate the glossiness with clear coats? I dont want to sand them down only to learn after the clear coats that the sanding has caused the case color to look dull and faded.

I did however start priming the main chasis. It is going perfectly, unlike the rest of my current efforts. This has been stalled however because pep boys got a new cashier who seems to be working every time I go to buy paint. She claims she will loose her job if she sells me spray paint because I am not 18. She does not realize that practically all of her co-workers have been selling me spray paint for the past few weeks. Never before has such a BS law angered me to this extent. I mean come on, kids can graffiti with sharpies, which they can legally buy, and get the same high off certain hairsprays, which they can also legally buy. Its these reasons why some warhammer stores have unofficial unwritten staff created policies that allow them to sell spray paint to minors without worrying about being fired.

Thanks to the fact that its a hassle to convince a friend or family member who is 18+ to accompany me in the middle of nice summer days to drive the minimum of 20 minutes to the nearest store that sells the right paint with absolutely no gain for them. I would try to stock up on it in one trip but I usually never have more than $20 to spend on paint at once, seeing as I also try to maintain a social life which tends to cost money, and most places dont have more than 3 cans of a certain paint I need at a time.

Next round of my complaining is when I painted the inside of one of the side panels. Because the outside of the panels are white, and the inside is black, I had to cover the white side with painters tape to protect it. Now this paint has been dry for a little over a week now, but for some reason the painters tape managed to pull some white paint off in a few spots, making some uneven holes. Fun. Now I have to do some more sanding. The black did go down fine however.

So enough of my whining like a crabby 9 year old. I need some sleep, and later today I will post some pictures and do a little more work.

EuroFix

That white Antec looks fantastic and got me interested in your project. Good luck

dustandechoes91

Update #6.5 8/9/08

Here are the pics I said i'd post:

The side panel, front and back. White is on the outside, black on the inside:





The front pieces:




One of the drive bays with one coat of primer:


The top piece:


The chasis with one coat of primer:



The back panel:



And the expansion slot placeholders with one coat of primer:



So anyways I have solved my problems with the paint coats. I did some more research, and I will be sanding down the paint, and then treating them with this stuff:



That stuff will give it a nice shiny finish after I have sanded down the base coat. From there I will clear coat It and then I will be done with painting.

dustandechoes91

Update #7 8/11/08

Over the past few day I have just been doing some painting. I'm mainly waiting for the paint to harden more before I sand the stuff so I don't get major scratches. I did my first coat of paint on the frame finally after getting down 3 coats of primer in one day, and sanding it down the next morning:





Also the expansion slot placeholders got their first and probably only coat of paint:


One of the expansion bays got primed and sanded:


And the side panels have been getting some black coats on the inside:



Thats all for now. If I dont do anything major tomorrow, there wont be any updates from me for about a week. This paint job is getting really close to being done. Then I can finally start on the insides of the case.

dustandechoes91

Here are some new pics which show it starting to come together:

blind_stone

Very nice, I like the white.

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dustandechoes91

Update #8 8/19/08

Ok I started sanding and polishing the front and top, and am getting closer to the clear coats on those. Still have a few more coats to go on the chasis and side panels though.

Here are some pictures of one of the front pieces after sanding (600, 1000, 1500, and then 2000 grit followed by 3m automotive grade rubbing compound)





Unfortunately on both pieces I pulled off some paint on the edges. They are so tiny I wish I could somehow get rid of them without having to give it another coat of paint. However they are still big enough and contrasting to be completely noticeable. Heres a pic of one:

Its the little black dot on the right side. I could get my camera to focus right with it zoomed any closer.


Anyone got any ideas?

YOSHIBA

hand paint it then sand then all that other jazz you do with the compound just make sure to tape it off

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dustandechoes91

Yea that was my best plan so far. I figured id spray some paint in a cup, if i tried spraying id need to do more coats