Cheapest way to spray a case black ?

[Sprite]

Whats the cheapest way to spray a case black ? Just got an ATC 201 off of a mate but it's silver where ideally I want it black, cant be bothered to pay £90 to get it powder coated at some place like chilledpc.co.uk so I just wondered what other options there are ?

[Pob255]

depends if you want to put work in or not.
Also on the finish you want to achive.

The basic way to paint a case is:
1- Sand it down
2- Primer
3- colour paint

Sanding just takes sand paper and elbow grease, although and electric sander will speed it up.

Primer comes in a few types and colours, while normal paints can be used as primers you have to becareful of the type of paint, you basically want something that is soft and doesn't chip while haveing a powdery matte finish.* however see paint colour
You can sand after primeing however a good primer will not need it and smoothing down the primer too much can lead the outter paint coat to not bond correctly, best thing is to wipe it down with a clean wet cloth to remove any lose lying paint.

* not all matte paints have a powdery finish, some matte paints have a smooth finish, the powder finish is generally best as it leaves a larger surface area for the outter layers of paint to grip too, if the undercoat has a smooth finish then a light sand will create a good key for the outter paint to stick to.
By smooth, I don't mean flat and even (which is what you want) but a glassy or plastic surface

Paint colour, in theory you can use pritty much any paint or colour, generally the key here is thin layers, 3 thin layers is a general rule of thub for a solid colour finish. However the colour of your primer under coat will effect it, although this effects some colours more than others.
e.g. silver on back undercoat will tend to give you a darker steel look, while silver on white undercoat will give you a light "true" sliver look.

Black is a fairly solid colour and is less effected by this colour bleed through, a dark grey primer is generally best for a black finish, although a red primer can lead to a brown black finish, a dark blue primer can lead to a blue black finish. The one to advoid when painting black is a white undercoat as this can lead to a dark grey black finish.

Paint used, as I've said just about any paint will work, however the paint used will effect the finish and some are more easy to damage than others.
The simplest option is car spray cans, can be bought from a garage, are easy to use and advoid brush marks.
If you go for tined/bottled paint then I'd advise useing a foam roller or paint pad, as they greatly reduce brush marks.
a more expensive route is air brush or spray gun, a spray gun setup can be got more cheaply than an air brush set up, however a sparygun is not as controllerable or gives as fine a finish as airbrush. That said if you're just painting large areas one colour a spray gun is fine.

EDIT: The one thing not to use is water soluable paint, by that I don't mean something like acrylic paint (should be fine for a pc case) which while still liquid is water soluable but when dry is not, what I do mean is something like poster paint that would run it you got it wet after it's dryed.

[Captain Fizz]

Hehe - pretty much everything has been said...

Only one thing to add - Sand, sand, then sand some more.
The better the job of sanding, the better the end result will be.

[confused2]

Also degrease with Methylated Spirit. Car sprays would be a good choice.

[jimbouk]

I just whacked a coat of hammerite on the front of my shuttle after trashing it slightly. Not smooth but it gives a cool effect and is good and shiny...

[Andaho]

ewwww I hate to think what a case would look like after it's been sanded and sprayed! it's not going to look liek a PC case at all, it's going to look like a car!

[Million]

When it comes to spraypainting, especially car paint, there are a few things to remember:
Apply in THIN coats
Allow to dry properly in between
Spray from a distance of over 1ft
Keep the spray moving constantly
Do it in short bursts
Do not do it in a windy environment
Follow these, and as long as you aren't totally inept you should get a decent finish! Good luck

[Steve B]

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