Marauder_IIc

Hello all,
due to some advise from others I went with a HAF 932, certainly no regrets there. After this mod and paint, I am thinking that one day I want to build from scratch But at this point, I am learning and thoroughly enjoying myself while doing this.
Build has been slowed down due to some VERY unexpected (hospital) build, or it would have been done already, so it will be complete most likely within the next 2 weeks. And some additional storage down the road a bit.
My mod is simple, Black and metallic blue with a water loop. And a little FYI, I cannot seem to get the lighting right, so the blue looks lighter than it does off camera.
So without further ado, here is the beginning of my work log.
Fist off, I didn't get pics of the beginning of this, so these will be jumping ahead a bit, wasn't sure about doing a build log, then some friends talked me into it.

For painting this case, I used Gloss Engine Block paint, as it is normally pretty hard to scratch, and will put up with a TONS of heat. All blue was a combo of Modelmaster paints, light Grey Primer, GTS Blue Metallic, and Lacquer Clearcoat "for that wet look" as stated on the can.
http://i626.photobucket.com/albums/t...o/DSC_0053.jpg
http://i626.photobucket.com/albums/t...o/DSC_0054.jpg
http://i626.photobucket.com/albums/t...o/DSC_0055.jpg
http://i626.photobucket.com/albums/t...o/DSC_0068.jpg

All the outside plastic is staying its base black. The inside of the case has been painted black, the inside of the side panels have as well, and all trim that shows behind the black mesh is my metallic blue paint.

Base paint:



You can see the masking through the mesh, don't want overspray on the top of the case!

Some of the mesh being painted


Rear slot covers

And the mesh mounted behind the plastic





And this is the side panel with the painted fan in it


More to follow, this could get a bit long

Marauder_IIc

My first wave of painting I was a bit less than happy with. Terrible amount of bubbling, as well as some pretty bad orange peeling in spots.
It was partly not enough prep, WAY TOO FRIGGIN HOT, and I paint alot better with enamul than I do with lacquer. I went with lacquer after a long discussion at the local hobby shop about how I wanted it to look when all was said and done. Maybe he was right, maybe he wasn't but im in it now


Yeah, as you can see, that did NOT work out the best OK, unwind and lets get back to it. I got so frustrated because I had done model, TONS fo them, and very good ones too, and I looked like an ameteur.
OK, so resend, primer, light sanding, paint (2 coats) and then clear coat (2 coats) on all the plastic peripherals.


Drive mounts too



Fans too



This is part of the reason it is taking this long, I can only do the prep/painting WAY late at night or WAY early in the morning (due to a horrendous heat wave).

Marauder_IIc

And now for the second wave of painting. This turned out much better

Now, the paint is NOT rough like it looks, it is kinda a trick of my camera due to the metallic paint, I think.



A couple had minor blemeshes that I touched up and repainted.

Above was light sanding for touchup.
But all is well that ends well I suppose. Clearcoat pic below.

And here are the fans, and the Grill.



And the drive mounts

And here are what the 4x120's are mounted too. This is a workstation board BTW.

And fans for the rad.

Here is the same pic with less flash, this is closer to the correct color of all the blue trim, it is actually around 1/2 way between the 2.

Marauder_IIc

A few pics of the rads being assembled as well as the cooling for it.

Here are the fans all finished up. These are Ultra Kaze fans, 3000RPM, maybe 3500, forgot the exact spec.



They don't look half bad, a couple very small blemmishes, but not enough to worry about in my opinion.

From here I am using the MCR stackable rads. While this system does sit under a window AC unit, I am prone to BAD power problems, and neighborhood outages in summer. Also, my Ultra isn't getting any younger It run hotter than it used to, passively. Also, I plan on expanding my water loop as time goes on. I gave up on finding socket 1207 waterblocks, bought the Noctua's, and the extra fans, then, I find the friggin water blocks.

Here are the MCR Stacks!!

G1/4 to G1/4 90 degree adapters, 18MM high, lowest profile I could find. Thank you Bitspower and Performance PC's!

Also, you will notice those little thread in Studs with an Alan hole in the top. Well, I can actually thank my father for those. He is career building and machine Maintanance, and every time something is dismantled and disposed of, he takes fasteners, plug compression fittings etc. He hangs onto them, and uses them for this and that. Because of that, he happened to have metal stud around the size of the Rad hole.

And the up close and personal with the rad. I wanted to brush in the same paint I used on the fans into the Rad then coat it in UV reactive clear coat, but I was told my warranty would be void if I made their name GLOW.... oh well.


Enjoy! More to come.

Marauder_IIc

Quick reply 4 for more pics

Paraleyes

Looking good! Looks like you're doing it right too. What did you do to your hand?

__________________

UHAF 932 "Ultra High Air Flow" Prototype Concept Rig Build Log
Ultimate Aggressive Cooling Mod - How I Lowered my MB temps by 25C!
How to Modify, Cut Down & Upgrade Your Stock Heat Pipe System
Old Heat Pipes Moddded on a New P5N7A-VM Old Heat Pipes Modded on a New P5Q3

FalloutBoy

Been waiting for this thread... Can't wait to see the case in one piece!

__________________

Marauder_IIc

Fallout, I knew you would be all over this I hope it lives up to the hype.
Looking back I wish I had made one discovery BEFORE I spent money on my Noctuas, I found some kick@$$ Opteron water blocks..... oh well, I got enough rad to do that later anyway. So far I am thoroughly enjoying the build, even though it can be QUITE tiring at times. Just did a second coat on the Ultra Kaze fans for my rads, I leave NOTHING alone muwahahaha!

Paraleyes,
thanks for the input! What I did to my hand...... well. As embarrassing as it is, I slipped in the kitchen, I was cutting a block of cheddar, for the record I have gotten enough cut the cheese jokes to last a lifetime from RL friends, and I slipped. The tip of the knife bit into the outside of my left hand, and the dull edge of the knife ripped, not cut, into my hand a couple inches. The hole in my hand was a little over 1/2 inch deep (13-14mm for those of you on the metric system, I have VERY think hands, thanks goodness). Had to go to the ER, I shot blood out of me like a hose. Now like any true guy (at least one raised with auto mechanics) I stuffed a clean shop rag into it, and wrapped it up with ducttape, and was looking for industrial zip ties about the time I got the bandage to stop leaking. Then got a rideto the hospital. Got 6, not so clean, stitches. I say not so clean, because I had something greatly resembling hamburger hanging out of my hand, that they didn't push back in, just stitched it into the cut :/ I don't care about scars, but comeon stuff it all back in before closing it...... 2 different people in the ER did both nerve and tendon checks, i DO have nerve damage, thankfully no tendon damage

So between that and the heatwave, my progress has been slow, LOL.
Will update soon. I just got off of work and did some touch up. Will clear coat in the morning, with any luck, I will have the next stage of pics tomorrow, that should be at least rads

__________________
After years of doing technical support of one level or another, I have come to realize one inarguable truth.
You can lead a horse to water, but it is not your fault if he sticks his face in it and DROWNS.

Current build log: http://www.overclock.net/case-mod-wo...ml#post7185561

FalloutBoy

I cut a tendon on the top side of my right thumb and being right handed... it sucks.

Anyway, I love that double tripple rad idea. Might have to do something like that myself one day. Nice work!

__________________

Marauder_IIc

Nice. You will have to make a slight case mode to make them fit, but it isn't a huge deal. You need to remove or bend back the 3 lateral supports that are in place for a top mounted PSU. Once those are out of the way, you should be good to go.

__________________
After years of doing technical support of one level or another, I have come to realize one inarguable truth.
You can lead a horse to water, but it is not your fault if he sticks his face in it and DROWNS.

Current build log: http://www.overclock.net/case-mod-wo...ml#post7185561