[MCBrown.CA]

Most Recent update:
Quote:

5/31 - "Holy crap, this project is still alive?!"!!

BLACK GLASS
an ABS Black Pearl (Lian Li V2000) project

Mods planned:
Quote:

• internal CPU loop
• matte black powder-coated interior
• internal acrylic paneling
• improved cable management
• SSD mounting options

CPU loop:
Quote:

Costs & Materials:
Quote:

Tools

• $40: Jobmate 14.4V cordless drill
• $30: Mastercraft orbital jigsaw

Quote:

Modding supplies

• $15: 300x aluminum pop rivets (black) (arrived)
• $10: 20x anodized thumbscrews (black) (arrived)
• $35: NZXT sleeved PSU extensions (arrived)
• $20: Lian-Li vented and filtered bay covers (arrived)
• $10: Silverstone vented PCI slot covers (ordered)

Quote:

Paint

• $55: powder-coating (first batch)

Quote:

Watercooling

• $350: see above

Hardware:
Quote:

• i7 920 D0
• MSI Big Bang XPower
• 6GB Patriot Sector 7 1600Mhz CL9
• Gigabyte HD5850
• HX620W - *likely to be upgraded (Silverstone Strider Gold 850W)
• Corsair Force 115GB
• 3-5 HDDs

Thoughts:

Honestly, modding a Lian-Li makes me a little anxious. The case is such high quality that I don't want to skimp out on any aspect. I'm trying to make any changes to this case in the most complete and professional manner possible.

I will try to keep the rambling to a minimum

Sorry for the weak Sketchup skills also!

 

[MCBrown.CA]

TABLE OF CONTENTS

3/06 - Disassembly
3/08 - CPU backplate access and cable management holes
3/14 - First batch of panels back from paint
3/17 - Rivets!
3/20 - Small cut... and some thoughts
4/06 - Watercooling gear arrived!!
4/17 - Loop mock-up, rad flushing and case re-assembly
5/31 - "Holy crap, this project is still alive?!"

 

[MCBrown.CA]

Reserved for final images

 

[MCBrown.CA]

Disassembly

Tasks for today: remove hardware from case, remove case parts (PCBs, switches, brackets, etc) and de-rivet.

Without futher ado...

That's everything that can be removed without drilling rivets

I found a cordless drill today on sale for $35 at Canadian Tire (regular price $90). It includes a 100 price accessory kit, a steal for $35 if you ask me! Perfect timing as I need a drill for this project.

Drill battery on charger. May as well take some 'nude' glamour shots.

Drill battery charged. Rivets, prepare to die.

*Rivet death censored*

I no longer have a Lian Li case, I have a collection of aluminum panels.

New drill served me well. 50 rivets total.

And then, at the end of a successful, accident-free day, it happened... The scratch.

While setting aside the panels, one rubbed against another and resulted in a nice pair of 1.5" scratches on the black top panel just beside the fan mounts.

Quite discouraging at the end of the day but I'm sure I'll find some way of dealing with it. One option would just be to have the black anodized main panels powder-coated black along with the interior panels. If anyone has other suggestions feel free to speak up.

That's it for today. Parts will go off to paint Monday or Tuesday hopefully and I'll be picking up more acrylic during the week as well.

 

[nzftw]

Sub'd!

Ive always liked these cases. wish i could afford one

I think in the process of doing the case you should buy a lotto ticket. Hey you never know...You might just be able to replace those components with quad 6970s and a completely over kill 1500w power supply....just for bragging rights

 

[Triedge1991]

I have this case and have been thinking about doing the same thing. Will be watching for tips and cool ideas.

 

[MCBrown.CA]

Spoke to the powder-coating shop today. They aren't busy this week so I have arranged to take in the case panels tomorrow. Job should be done by Thursday.

They have both matte black and semi-gloss black. I am undecided on which I will choose. What do you guys think?

 

[bg92]

I would go for matte black, it looks great

Just an example of how good matte paint can look.

 

[Hysteria~]

I think matte black would complement the case better.

 

[MCBrown.CA]

CPU backplate access and cable management

I forgot to de-rivet the HDD caddies on Sunday so that was my first job today. It won't be necessary to fully disassemble the drive caddies, but I did remove the rivets holding the drive rails so they can be powdercoated seperately.

Also, I decided to cut a hole to allow access to the CPU/waterblock backplate.

I started by taping the entire area then marked out the section that will be cut out.

I initially decided to go with rounded corners. I drilled pilot holes with a 3/8" bit before using a 1 1/4" bi-metal hole saw for the corners.

And the back side...

Finally ready for the long cuts. This required another run to Canadian Tire. $25 jigsaw for the win.

After inital cuts. Notice I decided to ditch the rounded corner idea. The cuts were quite rough at this point.

De-taped. I'm not satisfied with these cuts...

I re-taped the top side, expanding the cut-out area so I could straighten out the edges. The second set of cuts are much better. The corners aren't entirely perfect (as seen in the picture below) but the edges will be covered with molding so I'm not too concerned about that. I also did some light sanding to remove rough edges.

I decided to make one more hole in the main horizontal divider panel before paint. This will allow for easier routing of the 8-pin CPU power cable.

*someone get this guy a proper workspace!!

Once again, after using the hole saw for the initial cuts I decided on right angle corners instead of rounded. This required modifying the existing cable management holes to adhere to the right angle look. Some of the cuts aren't perfectly straight... U-channel molding will fix that.

That's all for today! With the 'hard' mods done, it's off to paint tomorrow.

Thanks for watching.

 

[jach11]

subbed! Cant wait to see finished product!

 

[MCBrown.CA]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bg92 I would go for matte black, it looks great

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hysteria~ I think matte black would complement the case better.

Matte black it is!

Just got back to the office from dropping off the case panels at the powder-coating shop. I assumed it would take at least a few days (was anticipating pick-up sometime next week), but they should be finished by tomorrow afternoon. I'm excited to see the results!

Quote:

Originally Posted by jach11 subbed! Cant wait to see finished product!

Thanks, me too!

 

[168935]

Looks amazing so far, I really want to see this finished.

 

[MCBrown.CA]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sopi;12678414
Looks amazing so far, I really want to see this finished.

Thanks for the interest!

I just placed an NCIX order for some miscellaneous parts.

I know, I know, individually sleeved extensions aren't as nice as a fully sleeved PSU but they are cheap, black and look good. The main selling point for me was that the extensions can be transferred to another PSU when I upgrade (saving me the time and effort of sleeving the devices individually).

The drive bezels I ordered have ventilation holes that match the case's mesh side panel. In addition to improving airflow, I am hoping the combination will look 'tight' and pulled together.

I am still waiting for my black anodized thumbscrews and black rivets to arrive. Hopefully the rivets arrive this week so I can start re-assembling the case...

 

[nepas]

Subbed,due to it being the BEST* case

*Bias,due to having one

 

[repo_man]

Sub'd because I love flat black.

Sorry to hear about the scratch man.

 

[MCBrown.CA]

Sorry for the long wait between updates... I was planning on picking up the painted panels on Friday but an issue came up at a client's office and I had to drive to a nearby town to pick up a system that was on the fritz.

I will be picking up the parts this afternoon. Unfortunately, won't be able to start rebuilding just yet since by black rivets haven't arrived yet but I will be able to post pics.

Also, I'll be updating the OP with a Cost & Materials section where I will try to keep track of the amount of money this project has consumed so far. Not sure if anyone else is interested but I know I am.
Quote:

Originally Posted by nepas;12684626
Subbed,due to it being the BEST* case

*Bias,due to having one

Quote:

Originally Posted by repo_man;12728040
Sub'd because I love flat black.

Sorry to hear about the scratch man.

Hey Repo. Thanks for the interest! The scratch isn't that big of a deal actually, I tried to 'rub it out' using a microfiber cloth and it's much less noticeable now.

 

[MCBrown.CA]

First Batch Back from Paint

Not much of an update today unfortunately but I did pick up the first batch of panels back from paint. Gotta say, I am incredibly impressed. The matte finish has a tiny bit of a sheen to it which matches the exterior of the case perfectly.

My black rivets should be arriving within a couple of days, at which point I can finally start to put this thing back together.

 

[repo_man]

Mmm, that does look really sexy. Any accent color(s) in mind or just straight black?

 

[MCBrown.CA]

Quote:

Originally Posted by repo_man Mmm, that does look really sexy. Any accent color(s) in mind or just straight black?

I am a bit undecided on that. The original idea was to do fully blacked-out. However, that would require removing a number of small reinforcement brackets and the side panel mounting guides shown below.

I already have a few other small bits that need to be taken out to the paint shop (hard drive mounting rails, etc) so I am thinking I may as well do the brackets shown above as well.

So to answer your question Repo, no, there will be no accenting colors, just black!