Happyness

two reasons
1. to even out the coats
2. to give the next layer something to grab onto

but it looks a lot better if you do sand I have seen mods where people don't and it doesn't look as good as the mods that are done with alot of sanding

I think I am going to get a rivet gun and take my case apart to paint mine though I think it might be easier let you know if it is.

EDIT: to late XP

ohh yea
The matte clear coat doesn't reflect light, right or just very little.
In witch case if you want a very flat matte look with no shin is it worth it to suck it up and put the clear coat on rather than have it the way you like?

noahmateen1234

If you sand once after primer, once after paint you will get a decent look, but if you sand after each coat it will look amazing if done right.

If you want the matte look, get the least reflective clear coat and it won't reflect light, maybe a tiny bit. Clear coat is not required at all, but it adds protection to the paint. If you don't clear coat I suggest you sand after each color coat and do like 4-6 color coats to get a nice coating over the primer.

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hairston630

Excellent post Noah. I do have a quick question. I bought some duplicolor self etching primer tonight to primer the inside of my case and wanted to know if I should buy another regular primer to go with it. Ive heard mixed answers so I wanted to confirm. Should I go ahead and buy another primer to go on top of the self etching? Thanks man and +rep for the work on this thread.

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noahmateen1234

Scuff up your case to show some bare metal. Clean it off with rubbing alcohol. Prime it with self-etching. Let it dry. Prime it with normal primer.
Hope that helps!

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Happyness

How much easier would it be to paint the inside of a case if you dill out the rivets to paint it? Also would you get better coverage?

CattleRustler

its more work to take the case apart to paint, but the results end up being better since you can treat each part as a singular panel and give it nice even paint, as opposed to trying to paint on all kinds of awkward angles and in crevices, and such. depends on the level of quality you are going for.

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noahmateen1234

De-riveting a case is some time consuming work but it makes it way easier to sand and paint. You won't really have any weird angles like CR said. I would recommend it. Usually cases use 1/8" aluminum or steel rivets, so make sure you get the same ones. Also, don't get ones that a too long otherwise they will interfere trying to close side panels or w/e.

If you do de-rivet your case, make sure you let the paint dry for a 2-4 weeks before putting it back together otherwise you will scratch it up pretty bad.

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Happyness

thank you. I will probably do that so I get the best results possible.

Arcane.001100

Noah,

Thank you for this post. + Rep for the time spent.

You mentioned that you just like to hear that you were some help to others; I am planning my first full case mod and I want you to know that you helped me avoid a couple of pitfalls early on re: the painting of the inner cage. So again, thank you.

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MinorMishap

how much primer/paint/gloss do you think i would need to do the inside and outside of an antec 300? i want a nice matte look to replace the current one i scrathed up using a nibbler (nibbles get everywhere when you use the powernibbler) oh and how do i take the top panel off the cage?