clbkdaz

__________________
Of all the things I miss...I think I miss my mind the most.

clbkdaz

The Victim:

I really dont know the original brand of this case, as it used to house an old P4 system of my brothers. With the exception of the wierd Pac-Man looking symbol on the side...I can find no marks to identify the manufacturer or model.

This Case does support ATX sized motherboards, but as you can see, really doesn't offer much in the way of cable management options (The Mobo tray is literally just millimeters away from the back panel.

Since space is so limited - The plan is to move the HDD trays to the bottom of the case while adding a turbine mod to the front. Additionally - I will add a top 120mm fan and a bottom 80mm fan to assist in cooling. I do also plan on adding a side window to this with some case lights to brighten her up. Colors to be determined at a later date.

To be quite honest - I'm not sure exactly how I am going to manage any cable management on this thing...but that will be a bridge we cross when we get to it.

The Case from the front:


And from the Side:


The Inside:


And a Close-up of the Front Bezel:

__________________
Of all the things I miss...I think I miss my mind the most.

clbkdaz

And so the project begins:

I will start out by taking the case completely apart. I think the only good way I am gonna be able to do this project is by de-riveting and attacking the project piece by piece. There is something great about these old cases...they are just so easy to disassemble.

Taking the front off was easy:


Then we remove the HDD Tray:


And then the Optical Cage:


And we are left with just the Mobo Tray:


From here....I will make the very first step getting the Turbine fan Installed. I'm a little nervous here because this is a first for me. It's the first Fan Mod I have ever done. It's the first time I have ever used bondo. And It's my first Case Mod Competition. Wish me luck - because once these cuts are made...there is no going back.

And starting out with the Hole Saw - The Saw cut through the plastic like it was hot butter....but the Aluminum Case...that was another story:



I finally went to my buddy Roby's house to use his Hammer Drill and we managed to get it done.
***NOTE TO FUTURE HOLE SAW USERS***
Wear Long Sleeves as Roby ended up with about 3 tiny shards of Aluminum sitting in his arm. They were barely in there...but just be safe.


I had an extra CPU Air Duct from an old system laying around - and I figured it would be perfect to make the duct with.


Chopped down a little - and with a little C-Channel - It fits perfectly.


And then Trying her on for size:

__________________
Of all the things I miss...I think I miss my mind the most.

clbkdaz

Got Bondo?

So - Moving on to the Bondo Portion of this build log. This is probably the scariest part for me. I've never used bondo before and everything I know about it has only come from reading. It is definately grainier than I thought...I was expecting something more along the lines of wall putty in terms of texture. But here she goes.


NOTE: DAY 5 of Bondo

I'm really not seeing the results that I have been hoping for...so - I went ahead and talked to some of the painters and body repair guys at the dealership I work at and I'm trying something new. The problem I keep running in to is that every time I have the exact shape I'm looking for and I try to go back and repair some of the pin-holes...I keep creating new pin-holes elsewhere. I was told to grab some Glazing Putty Filler (Also made by Bondo) and use that to fill the holes. So - Tommorrow - thats the plan.

The Product we are using.


My first application:



And then some more...



And then Finally starting to sand her down just a little bit. I noticed some divets and crevices as I started sanding this down...so now I will be patching this up a bit.



There is a little bit of an Adhesion Issue as it's not sticking to the case in some parts very well....definately will be filling it.


Not a final product yet...but it's starting to take shape:



Man - This is really tough. I'm 5 days into the Bondo Portion of this project and I feel like I'm at the exact place I was 3 days ago. Bondo is a lot tougher to work with then I originally anticipated. Everytime I get one section smooth ...I find a couple of divets and pockets that I have to repair...and then after I fix em, a couple more pop up somewhere else.

Continuing on - Todays progress on the Bondo:





As you can see (sorry - my camera doesn't get extremely good close-ups) it's moving along - but still needs quite a bit more work.


And so finally - after taking my Auto Guys advice...and using the glazing putty - I can finally say that I have this thing as smooth as I need it to be. I'm not calling the front finished...but I'm suspending all work on the front bezel until I receive the power switches and aluminum mesh I need to complete it. So - for now - we are throwing this off to the side and we will re-visit it when I am ready to paint this sucker.

__________________
Of all the things I miss...I think I miss my mind the most.

clbkdaz

Home-Made Modders Mesh:

I was actually pretty proud of myself with this one...I was about to spend some money on some modders mesh but then I remembered my old blown out JBL home speakers up in the attic. The cover on the speakers is basically Honeycomb style modders mesh. I pulled it out of the attic and got right to cutting it.

__________________
Of all the things I miss...I think I miss my mind the most.

clbkdaz

Instant Chrome + Clear Coat = MASSIVE FAILURE

This section is simply in here to show off the massive failure that the Dupli-Color Chrome turned out to be. This is not a part of the final project.


So - Having hit a stopping point on the front bezel (waiting for money to buy my power/reset switches and mesh that I will be using), I figure it's as good of a time as any to start getting to work on some painting. I decided that I will be using Dupli-Color's Metal Specks Blue paint on the outside...and what could look better than a Chrome silver inside to go with that.

I've decided to start on a piece that I really don't need to make any changes to and is really not going to be seen at all...that way - if I don't like the way it's looking...I can restart without too much worry for how the repairs will look. So - for my first piece to paint...I will use the Motherboard Tray.

The Color We'll be using:


And Sanding her down before we use our Primer


And then on to the 1st coat of paint:



And After a little bit of wet sanding:


And then Adding another coat of paint:




And it's finally starting to come together. I almost hate having to put the clear coat on...as I always have a little trouble with that.



So the part I hate most about painting is not the priming, or the sanding, or the wet sanding, or the color coats or anything else like that. The part that I absolutely cant stand about painting is the clear coat. The problem that I keep running in to (on my previous projects as well) is that I get my color coat to look exactly how I want it to look...and then I have to put a clear coat on. I've messed up more clear coats than I can count and hate having to strip it all down and pretty much start over.

Take for example...This project. I got the color coat of chrome exactly where I wanted it...and now I have applied a clear coat. Though the reflection is wonderful...I now have discoloration streaks across the whole mobo tray. Granted - It is still wet...and I hope when it's dry the discoloration is gone...but now I'm worried.



Good Reflection though right?






Well - Unfortunately - the painting portion of this project has gone horribly wrong. The Chrome paint that I have been using is just not working out. Though I get the chrome finish...I cannot apply a clear coat to it. Every time I do - It looses all of its shine and basically turns to a silvery/gray. Additionally - I can't leave the chrome paint without a clear topcoat because the chrome layer can easily be scratched with even the slightest touch.

I think from this point...I will simply change the interior colors to a silver...with a high gloss applied on top of that.

__________________
Of all the things I miss...I think I miss my mind the most.

clbkdaz

The Top Panel (Exterior Side)

So - After suffering a massive setback with my chrome paint idea...I'm left with sanding down the already painted pieces and starting over with a new interior color. At the moment - It's a little too much for me do go through...so I am moving on to other parts of the project as to not get hung up on the failures.

So - Now we move to the top: I used my 4" Hole saw to cut a hole in the top of the case. I plan on covering the hole with my home made modders mesh and having a blue LED fan exhausting here.

Getting it all sanded down:





Unfortunately - You can see that a couple of water drops that got in the nozzle when I was warming the bottle up made a splash on the panel. I will have to sand that down as soon as this guy dry's enough for me to do so.



So - Now we finally get to some color on the outside...your very first view at what this case exterior is supposed to look like. I chose to go with Dupli-Color's Metal Specks Ocean Blue paint. I am a huge fan of this blue-metallic. It has been my intention all along to use Blue and Chrome...though I am now somewhat puzzled on how to handle the innards of the case since the chrome spray doesn't work well.

In either case...Here are your first shots of the Dupli-Color Metal Specks in action. I started with the top panel...and this is after the first round of color:














And with the Clear coat applied it is starting to get some of that shine (ClearCoat is still wet)








And as scary as it is...I'm now attempting to sand down my clear coat and see what kind of shine I can get to this panel. I've pretty much decided that I don't want a complete "mirror" finish - since I want the metal specks to provide the sparkle. Here's what we are looking like:

The Clear coat sanded down with 2000 Grit:




And now buffed up a little:


And at last - After 3 goes with the rubbing/polishing compund...this is the final result. Overall - I am very happy with the way this is coming out...

__________________
Of all the things I miss...I think I miss my mind the most.

clbkdaz

The First Side Panel (Exterior Side):

_____________
And then we got the side panel. This is going to be the one without the window in it. I was fighting with the idea of bondoing and getting rid of the air ventilation holes and side designs...but then I decided that I actually kind of like them. Since it's a pretty non-descriptive emblem without any reference to the manufaturer of the case...I figure what the hell.

















And Finally getting that clear coat applied:

__________________
Of all the things I miss...I think I miss my mind the most.

clbkdaz

The Top Panel (Interior Side):

So - Now that I am pleased with how the Metal Specks Blue is turning out...and also very pleased with how the top and side panel are looking...It's time to turn inward on the panels.

It has been my hope from day 1 to have Blue & Chrome. Unfortunately - if you have read this whole log...you would have seen the massive failure that the "Instant Chrome" turned out to be. So - After some more thought - and after being so impressed with the Metal Specks paint, I have decided to use Metal Specks Sparkle Silver on the interior of my case.

What this basically means is that the panels that I just finished...now need the reverse sides painted in this Sparkle Silver Color. I've taken the best precautions that I can to protect the Ocean Blue paint on the other sides...so let's see what we can do.










Little Side Note here....Wind has gotten so bad today that I abandoned the idea of painting outdoors and have moved into the garage. To the disappointment of the Mrs...I had to destroy a couple more of her wire coat hangers.






So it would appear that I protected the Exterior Side of the panel fairly well when I painted the interior side. After removing the painters tape and paper that I used to protect it...I can see no bleed-through to the other side. This pleases me greatly.

Keep in mind that those little spots around the fan hole where there is no paint are not of a concern to me - as there will be mesh there when the fans are ready.

__________________
Of all the things I miss...I think I miss my mind the most.

clbkdaz

The Optical Drive Cage:

And now we move on to more of the interior of the case. The Optical Drive Bay. I'm going to use that same Metal Specks Sparkling Silver by Dupli-Color. I am really loving this stuff. Though it only looks silver in a poorly lit room...when a little bit of light is in the room - it suddenly sparkles. It's my hope that the Cold Cathodes that I put inside the case will dazzle and sparkle the hell out of this paint.

__________________
Of all the things I miss...I think I miss my mind the most.