A project log of an Airbrushed computer ( final fantasy )

Hi Guys,
I'm sure at least some of you will have seen some of my other project logs. Well this one will be a little bit different.

Besides the projects I do for my self, my friends and family, I also do the odd job for paying clients. In this case the client has come through <snipped>
I will be detailing the process of a start to finish job that a <snipped> customer has signed up for. Many people never see any of the stuff I am about to show you. usually it is kept between me and the client


With the kind permission of my client, I have been allowed to post a project log on a custom painted <snipped>

This log is to give people an insight to how ordering your very own custom painted <snipped> computer works, and the steps that are taken to get to the finished article.


said process is a much bigger operation that most people would think. As my clients will tell you, most of the time is spent planning the paint job to get it to a point we are both happy with.

Here is where it starts:


The customer calls the <snipped> to place an order. When Custom paint is selected, I will be contacted to get the ball rolling. I normally start with an email to the client, introducing my self and so on.
Obviously, I need to ask the client what kind of paint job they would like to go for, I try to keep this as vague as possible, usually a theme or even a colour! In this case the client initially only wanted a black cherry / pearl black straight paint job. Then the project changed to a realistic fire paint job, and then the whole thing evolved to a realistic flamed paint job, with a final fantasy 7 twist.
I was asked by the client if it was possible to get his favourite game character 'sephiroth' from the final fantasy series. so we planned for a flamed case with a single portrait of the character.

I explained to the client that I would draw up a very rough sketch, to see if we were even on the right wavelength, The client was happy with the direction the design was going in, so i took some more ideas from the client, and added some elements to the design.

Things don't always work out as planned though. He wanted a final fantasy logo painted on the case, and the phrase 'one winged angel' No matter how i tried to fit these elements in, it just never sat right in the design. I explained this to the client, and we agreed to leave them out. Instead I researched FF7 a little further, and found a pendant that the other 'hero' character, 'cloud' wears. It is of a wolf's head.
I decided that this logo could work well in the design, and then came up with the idea of airbrushing a faux scroll of paper on top of the case with the phrase 'one winged angel' on it.

With the client happy for me to go ahead, I drew up the first concept of the full design.

http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/7...onfixeduw0.jpg
(parts have been blurred out for my client's confidentiality)


The client was happy enough for me to start painting as soon as possible.

<snipped> were notified and I had to do was wait for the laser cut side panels to arrive before could start painting.




The paint work:

The case in question, is the brand new <snipped> chassis. It is a heavily modified lian li PC-P80b
The case is huge and allows for some very smooth paint work.

It was stripped down, and brought back to my workshop to be prepared.

The first thing I do is mask off the entire backs of the panels, so no over spray can get to them. and mask off anything that does not need to be painted. I do not mask the folded edges of the panels, where the panels meet the chassis. These are left bare so they do not cause any issues with fitting the case back together.
The main chassis is wrapped in cling film, and receiving holes are pierced. I use cling film because it is extremely thin and allows the panels to fit onto it without raising them, or damaging masking tape that would normally be used.



The most important thing to do with a case that has been handled, by many people is to give it a thorough clean. I use panel wipe ( also known as wax and grease remover) and scrub the panels down.
I then use a hand sander to reveal some of the bare metal from the parts, then I tack rag and clean the parts again. From this stage, latex gloves are worn at every point to prevent further contamination.

I use a special etch primer that etches into the anodised aluminium as well as the bare aluminium. It also acts as a filler to fill the brushed texture from the metal.
After 24 hours, the parts are wet sanded smooth, cleaned and tacked off once more.
http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/9...2008011ou7.jpg

Using a spray gun, Base coat black is applied to the surfaces starting with a very thin coat and building it up gradually.

After the base coat has dried over night, I will come back to clean them once more and start with the artwork... now the gloves can come off :D


Artwork:

The digital age has greatly helped with this process. It is now easier than ever to compose artwork in photoshop, and change anything in the blink of an eye.

I use a vinyl cutter / plotter to cut my masking out. People are quick to point the finger and call this cheating.
I use this equipment because it aids repeatability if anything goes wrong. It helps to get the artwork to the right size, first time. and it prevents damaging the panel by cutting into it in the conventional fashion.

the downside is, I still have to sit and draw / trace the images in corel, line by line. This is a very time consuming process indeed. Using a plotter actually ends up just as big a job as the traditional method.

Here is what I sent to be cut out by the plotter.
http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/9...outlinexh7.jpg


I use the outline of the portrait, and I cut in some basic lines to help position facial features. There is NO POINT in getting this wrong. Working for <snipped> means that deadlines are tight. I do this to get everything right, first time.



The cut design is then applied tot he panel.

http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/2826/imgp6731gl9.jpg
http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/1...2008017aa8.jpg
http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/7...2008020bq6.jpg



This is the point where mistakes can happen. If I positioned the mask wrong, and it was cut by hand, I'd have to start over.
and I begin to peel away selected parts for the design and spray very gently to give me the indication of where things will be laid out.
http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/6296/imgp6735wx8.jpg




As you can see, some parts of the mask will not peel away as one part. I simple lift the edge up, and spray just to give me an indication of where the features are.
http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/1903/imgp6737ty3.jpg


I then remove a all of the facial mask, to leave just the 'heart' shape of the face. Then I begin to airbrush in the shapes and detail.
http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/4834/imgp6739yx4.jpg



My painting always start off looking pretty rubbish, and slowly take form. when you see the next few pictures you will be thinking 'eugh, what the hell has he done there!' don;t worry - it will take form.
http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/8476/imgp6740zd3.jpg

I start to peel away some more sections of the masking, filling in parts of the hair piece by piece.
I mask section of the hair in order to get the lengths going in he correct direction, and at the correct size.. Copying a hair style is incredibly hard to do without firm reference points.

http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/939/imgp6741cx0.jpg

The paint that I am using is still quite a dark grey, this is the most light shade on at the moment
http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/2830/imgp6736wh5.jpg

It looks grey in the brush, but looks white on the panel.


The way I normally paint is by constantly over highlighting, or over shading, then bringing the tones back down. I've had no formal airbrush training, and I'm sure it will be frowned upon by most but this is how I work.
If you pay attention to the belt / strap you will see stark highlighted lines. I wanted to paint in some stitching, So instead of painting the stitches in white, I do a thicker line then paint the black around them. It's a lot easier this way and works better.
http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/231...iew500xbl5.jpg

so here it is with the highlights reduced:
http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/1107/imgp6847iu0.jpg

the colour has a reddish tint to it, this does not matter.


A friend of mine decided to try out his photography skills:
http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/4236/imgp6863qc7.jpg

not bad for my mug!


The next step is to start shading areas. For this I use a black candy, or some refer to it as 'smoke' Really, it is just a very weak black tint from the mixing scheme. Here is how it looks :
http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/69/imgp6872xw6.jpg
It allows me to shade areas without spoiling their existing tones. Each tone is shaded equal - if that makes sense?
for example, where some sections of the hair over lap others, this paint is used to darken everything equally, without saturating it in black. It's also used to cast the subtle shadows of the hairs lying on the characters face.
http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/3865/imgp6868uf0.jpg

That's all for now folks, I'm pretty much done with the portrait, so will add some finishing touches in the next session and start adding some colour.
I hope you like RED !


[edit]
I forgot to mention that a little way through the painting, I stopped using the reference as much. The reason is because the reference image is very very bad, I have a decent ground for the portrait now, so I began to paint it, reflecting what was already there - not trying to make it look more like the reference - if that makes sense.


As always, I'm more than happy to answer any questions, and will do my best to make things clear. I cannot answer questions about my client though.

Crikey...

that looks awesome!!

how much do these babies cost or does it depend on each design

Quote:

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Originally Posted by [GSV]Trig

Crikey...

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I hope that is a good 'crikey' lol!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by danroyle

that looks awesome!!

how much do these babies cost or does it depend on each design

---

Thanks,
The price depends entirely on the design. They are very hard to put a price on, So usually I work to a budget. I know I have not answered your question, but it is a tough one to answer.

Great googly moogly!

That's some typo in the post title!

:P

Oh and the case looks sublime. :) What's the turnaround time for projects such as these? Are you able to do more than one case design concurrently or does all your efforts have to concentrated on one project at a time?

Ahh, that is is pretty sweet. nice work!

Very impressive indeed :)

Looks impressive!

Are there ever any copyright/license issues when painting using a reference or established IP?

Doesn't your hair ever get in the way? :p

WoW is all I can say, my GF a complete FF nut would love that!

way cool. I know you hesitated on the price, but give us a ballpark: 100's of pounds? how many 100's of pounds, roughly?

Awesome work

wow thats amazing :o

Definitely not a design I'd personally choose but it's incredibly well done.

I wish I had the talent to create images as good as those.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Emirzan

I wish I had the talent to create images as good as those.

---

trust me, it's 90% sweat. And he's put the time in.
talent makes very little difference.

I caught this on coolercasesUK's forum, excellent work.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by fuddam

way cool. I know you hesitated on the price, but give us a ballpark: 100's of pounds? how many 100's of pounds, roughly?

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We are talking more than a few hundreds of pounds, sometimes 4 figures - it is very hard work!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Disturbedguy

WoW is all I can say, my GF a complete FF nut would love that!

---

So is mine... I havn't told her it's for a customer though... not sure how to break it to her lol!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sleepyhead

Oh and the case looks sublime. What's the turnaround time for projects such as these? Are you able to do more than one case design concurrently or does all your efforts have to concentrated on one project at a time?

---

Turnaround is quite long. I work 9-5 also, so painting is done in spare time. This one will have around a 3 week turnaround, but that doesnt include the design phase.

It depends on the design, but this one is relatively straight forward.






Update:

Okay, Let's re-cap.

The last update contained the ins and outs of the portrait painting, which since has been finished. I get the impression that some people are not sure where the design is going though.

The portrait will be 'coloured in' eventually, this is normally done last though.

I love to paint in black and white, and most of my pieces start off like this. I'm leaving it black and white because if anything were to happen to it, paint to spill or something bad like that - it is a lot easier to fix while it is still black and white. Fixing it when colour has been added would be a nightmare. It also will help me balance the colours with the flames, rather than trying to guess it.



These updates tot he log are not in real time by the way, I'm just uploading a batch of pics in one go and writing fewer, larger updates than lots of small ones.



The update:


Let me tell you, These cases are amongst the most difficult to paint. As if the sharp corners and slots are not enough, I have had to pretty much re-assemble the whole case as it would come to paint it! Normally I can get away with having panels taped into place, or small wooden blocks holding things together, just so the artwork will line up when the cases are put back together, but this one needs to be completely re-built.

here's what it looks like:
http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/1511/imgp6926ws5.jpg

With everything held in place, I can start laying out the base for the flames. The airbrush I use for this ( which I will go into more detail about later) has a very large spray pattern, and i always shoot at max pressure. Because of this, I knocked up a quick mask to cover most of the portrait to avoid getting orange over-spray all over it.

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/8199/imgp6927ba0.jpg
http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/7959/imgp6928bj9.jpg

Nothing has to be neat here, It's only going to be used briefly. I don't press the edges down as i want to leave as soft an edge as possible.


I mix up some bright orange and begin to lay out where I want the flames to be.
http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/5014/imgp6931yw4.jpg

Looks horrid doesn't it! The fact is that you cannot spray red on top of black like this.
I spray this 'bright orange, then I will go over it with a deep red candy paint. This will make it real red.
These red patterns will become the glow around the flame licks.

The Red candy I use is very dark, The more you apply the darker it will get until it is almost black.
http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/5458/imgp6932yy6.jpg

A 'candy' paint is just a translucent paint, the best way to describe a candy is to think of a stained glass window, or a sweet wrapper from a tin of roses or something.
When a candy is painted on black it will not show. When a candy is painted over anything lighter than black, it's colour will tint it.

I'm using this red candy to give me a shade of red that is 'impossible' to get by any other means.





after I have my basic layout, I begin to introduce some basic 'flame' shapes, these shapes are done in the same bright orange as before, but now they begin to show up a little better. Some orange candy is sprayed over to burn off any overspray and sink the orange into the black. It's hard to explain what happens, but the effect is instant.

http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/8452/imgp6972gt3.jpg



http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/8072/imgp6974xe6.jpg
Here you can see parts of the panel which have been covered in orange candy, and the parts that have not.


http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/5181/imgp6979tl6.jpg
I'm using a mini spray gun to do this. This gun's spray pattern starts where my 'biggest' airbrush finishes. It gives me large, quick but accurate coverage with minimal over spray.




The 2 airbrushes I have been using so far have been these:
http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/5799/imgp6994ws9.jpg

The kustom custom micron, and the Eclipse CS

I've used this image before, but I'll post it again as it's quite informative:
http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/3...hestextrl4.jpg


The Kustom Custom micron has a very fine needle and matched head system. I use this for the bulk of the detail work, and most of the flame work. It's a little fine for the flames but it has a very nice atomisation at it's thickest spray pattern.

The eclipse has an upgraded needle at .5mm (which is BIG for an airbrush) It has a very large spray pattern, and can empty the cup very quickly. I use this as a quick alternative to a mini spray gun. It does have a lot of overspray though :(

Briefly, the way an airbrush works is that you push the trigger down for less or more air ( they are very sensitive to control) and pull the trigger back to pull the needle back - which lets out more paint. A combination of these two actions gives you the ability to do what you see here:)




Back onto the update,
After a few more orange / orange candy layers, I start with the next step. Each step the flame licks will get smaller, and tighter, and also brighter.

BE WARNED - this step always makes people think 'oh my god, what on earth has he just done there! it looks awful!'

All will become clear on the next update. Please be patient here as this step always looks bad before it looks better.


I'm using the yellow paint in the picture above with the 2 AB's in it. It's bright yellow, straight off the mixing scheme. It is as yellow as yellow can get. I over reduce this, so it gets quite 'dangerous' to spray in terms of it is very easy to apply too much and get a run. It also creates tons of overspray so frequent tack-ragging is needed.

What I am doing here is creating new shapes int he fire, which you will notice are smaller and tighter. I'm also giving the fire more 'body' toward the source.
http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/7377/imgp6997xc7.jpg

Any questions, just let me know,
Rick

Very good, I like the flame layout

Hi all
So this is where I left you all last time, with a small warning that it looked crap but the next step would make it.
http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/7377/imgp6997xc7.jpg


Th next step is just to add some dark yellow candy. When I say 'dark yellow' I mean it is dark to look at, but when applied it comes out almost like an eggy yellow / golden orange. All of the red underneath will darken it too.

This 'dark' yellow is also 'dark' because if you applied enough coats It would eventually go to near black. It's very easy to over-do and defy the point of the previous step.

Here's what it looks like straight after the dark yellow, To give you an idea, most of the face has been painted with the same colour too. but remember that is painting candy yellow over white, not yellow over yellow so the results are different.
http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/6938/imgp7091hn9.jpg
See, Told ya it would all change :)




Next, I go in with an orange candy and reduce some of the bright spots and add some shading into the face.
http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/7914/imgp7095fi7.jpg

I pick out some 'highlights' with a 50/50 yellow / white basecoat, Although it appears to be white when sprayed on, it is actually a very pale yellow. Using pure white would just kill the whole thing.
http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/7207/imgp7096lq3.jpg

and halfway through adding the yellow candy over the pale yellow:
http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/7416/imgp7099uy5.jpg



Finally I go over the whole piece with this 'light yellow' It gives a similar tone to the dark yellow ( Oh my... Could I make this any more confusing? ) but no matter how much I apply, It will not make anything any darker.
http://img357.imageshack.us/img357/7214/imgp7999za9.jpg
By rbcustoms
http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/7...gp79992ct1.jpg


I'll have to take some pics of all of this dark and light candy business, It is quite hard to explain !


The next step is the Wolf design, the beast signs / logo's and then the artwork on top of the case, which is a mini project in its self.

Wow.

HI guys,

Sorry for the late update, but it's here...

So last time I left off saying that the next step was to do the sign and wolf work, this has to be the most time consuming part of the whole thing to be honest. stop - start all the way through.

I start with a sheet of masks, I've cut a few different sizes of the same thing in case one goes wrong, or one doesn't look the right size etc. Here you can see I have started 'weeding' the masks - removing the pieces that are not needed.

The masking material is a heavy frisket film, it has a thicker backing than usual (plotter friendly) it is tinted grey (artist friendly) and it is solvent proof (paint friendly) unfortunately it is not pocket friendly :(

http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/985/imgp7113mk0.jpg


I've also cut the wolf head design out, weeded and offered it up to the side panel to get the position right.
http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/8967/imgp7116vd5.jpg

The mask is then stuck to a piece of transfer paper (12" low tack masking tape - not pocket friendly) and applied to the case. I use the back of the panel as a guide.
http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/6466/imgp7125xh0.jpg


I'm going to be painting the design with a specially mixed candy/prismatic mixture. When sprayed it has the habit of landing everywhere, I have to mask everything off!
You can see the gaps in the masking film where i will be spraying through
http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/6785/imgp7127ez7.jpg

I told my client that the wolf head would be 'ghosted' in. By this I mean it will be painted with a pearlescent / prismatic paint so it can only be seen at different angles. It wont affect the colour of the under lying flames much either.

The paint is a mixture of red pearl, which is a very pinky pearl tint, green-gold prismatic ('flip') paint and finally a dark red candy to kill off the green of the green-gold and give it an orange glow.
You are never going to see what this wolf head will look like until the clear coat goes on but here is the paint that was used:
http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/2416/imgp7161ap5.jpg

and the final result
http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/9445/imgp7136ul0.jpg


Next stop is the company logo's there will be 2 'beast computers' logo's and 2 'R B Customs' logo's
I use the same process as the wolf head, but this time I am spraying through the mask with pure black. then I dust some of the red pearl mixture I used before over the whole thing. It will give it a kick in certain lights, and just look plain black the rest of the time.

http://img527.imageshack.us/img527/3181/imgp7140ie6.jpg

http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/7868/imgp7145sm2.jpg

I'll have to cut this update short, I plan on putting up my guide to candy paints tonight as I am just about to leave for work.

next step - top mural and clear coat.

Sweet (thats a good sweet btw ;))

okay, as promised:


CANDY 101

One of the most common questions I get asked is some how related to candy paint. It is a strange concept and none of my work would not be complete without the use of candy paint somewhere. I'm pretty much addicted to the results it gives.

I've already had a few emails from the various places this log has been posted by people asking about candies so here is my brief guide. If you know about how paints are made, specifically automotive paints you will spot some holes in my explanation, I've tried to make it as simple as possible.

what is a candy?

A candy is a paint with no pigment.
Pigment doesn't just mean colour, it also relates to opacity. A pigment is usually a powdered solid - talc, silica, titanium dioxide etc etc are all mixed into paints to give them an opaque appearance. in automotive paints, these normally take the name 'base coats'

the other component to paint is a binder, in the case of automotive paints Binder is a thick, clear yet cloudy unpigmented paint. it is comparable to 'clear varnish' if you like.

A candy is simply Binder and dye.

A dye is not the same as a pigment. Pigments contain opaque solids, dyes do not.


As mentioned before, the best way to describe a candy paint is to think of a stained glass window, or a boiled sweet... if that does not clear things up - this picture will:
http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/1699/imgp7159ga6.jpg
As you can see, the black and white text remains visible, yet the white has simply been tinted by the candy paint. The black has not been made any lighter, it's colour value has not changed.
this is why i paint everything in black and white to begin with and add the colour afterwards. blacks stay black and the whites and greys will pick up the colour of the candy.


dark candy, light candy
I think I'm the only guy who uses this term but here's what I mean.

The appearance of candy paint when it is still in the pot is pretty dark. It almost looks black.
http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/8823/imgp7157xa2.jpg
From left to right: Red, Dark Orange, Dark Yellow, Light Yellow

The red in this case is nearly empty, you can see a little bit in the bottom which looks black.

Here is what the same paints look like on a white surface:
http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/1152/imgp7156jv2.jpg

As you can see where the candy is thicker it looks darker. where the candy is thinner it looks lighter.
Candy paints are notoriously difficult to use because of this. coats have to be exactly even when you are spraying things like cars and bikes. if one part of the candy coat lies thicker than another you will get a dark patch.
Thankfully using candy paints for artwork like this means I can be a little more relaxed about ho even the coats are, as you would never notice.

the 3 on the left are what I would call dark candies. the light yellow however is different. when sprayed it is almost exactly the same colour of the 'dark yellow' but no matter how much I put on it will never get any darker. this makes it fab for working with red/yellow/orange schemes, or even green/yellow schemes as I can lash it on in multiple layers and I know it will only alter tones that are lighter than it.

For example, probably the last thing I will do is use pure white for extreme highlights to the face and hair. I'll use the light yellow to turn these white highlights to yellow and the yellow candy cannot darken the image down or make it patchy. If i was to use the dark yellow it would likely ruin the whole thing.

Rick

Back to the art...

So this is the space I have on top of the case ( behind the blue line)
http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/4314/imgp7170xm4.jpg

It's about 200x200mm

My client wanted the phrase 'one winged angel' on the case. No matter where I put the phrase int he concept design it never sat right. We decided to go a long with a faux scroll sitting on top of the case with the phrase burnt into it.


I will eventually paint a drop shadow under the scroll so first of all I need to give my self a lighter background than black. I use some bright orange, misted in random cloud like patterns, then a thick coat of dark orange candy.

I leave this over night to dry.

I've ran out of my magic masking film, So I've had to use an alternative, It's horrible to work with but I got there in the end.

I cut the mask out, but this time instead of picking the unwanted pieces out, I stick the whole thing to the case:
http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/1074/imgp7176yr0.jpg
This way I can remove one section at a time to paint the correct shapes of the curled up ends.



http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/3757/imgp7185dd7.jpg
I start with this section, I'm using a buff / sand coloured paint to tart suggesting some shape to the flat piece.


http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/4008/imgp7186kx6.jpg
I remove some more of the mask, but leave the text where it is.

Like most things so far this one will look BAD before it looks good!
I tend to work in a 2 steps forward, one step back manor. I will over shade, and over highlight then come back in to reduce the effect. This is not a bad way of working.



http://img112.imageshack.us/img112/4578/imgp7187sz2.jpg
I remove the masks covering the words, I wanted to make them look like they were burned / charred into the paper rather than drawn on. to do this i just airbrush in the middle of the line and let the over spray create a soft edge.


http://img409.imageshack.us/img409/5535/imgp7189pr2.jpg
I've taken the outer mask off now, started to add some heavier shading and scarring to the paper. Some tears and holes too.



http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/5116/imgp7190ya5.jpg
This is when the camera died... I've started to 'over highlight' some parts which i can go in later and reduce back. A lot of what you see here is just over spray that can simply be wiped away.

There's still some way to go on this little piece of the puzzle. As I said though - it looks bad before it looks better!

again, any questions JUST ASK !
Rick

dude you are v talented at what you do. love the FF case. how long have you been doing cases? i bet you have some seriously cool looking stuff around the house.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by adoo42

i bet you have some seriously cool looking stuff around the house.

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interesting thought...

what does your microwave look like? :D

that scroll looks epic (goes with the rest of the case TBH):)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by adoo42

dude you are v talented at what you do. love the FF case. how long have you been doing cases? i bet you have some seriously cool looking stuff around the house.

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I do grow very attached to the things i create, so yes there are lots of things in my house that perhaps shouldnt be there... It's very hard to sell these things / move them on.

With projects like this one I know I have to let the case go but it is stull tough.
also, o answer "adoo42"'s question, I have been painting cases specificvlly for around 3 years or somethign and prior to that I was doing car / bike stuff. I much prefer paintintg computer cases though. the scale is just right. well PC-P80 scale is just right ;)

to answer both of your questions, Model making got me into airbrushing, which I started doing in 2000. I have tons of grusome large scale figures which circulate the house! and al the associated medals and awards to go with them. I don't paint models any more though. sadly I just do not get the time :(

thanks again for the kind words guys, I'm glad you are enjoying it!

Looking awesome buddy!!!

Hi guys,

I apologise for my bad typing in this update! It's late and it's been a long day.

This, unfortunately is going to be one of the last updates to the project :( as it is very very close to being finished.



Tonight I'm going to go through some of the last touches, and the clear coat process.

Final touches:

one of the last things I'm gonna paint is the bottom plate of the front door. this plate can only be seen when the door is swung open. It's quite a nice space and fits one of my logo's nicely.
I start by flatting the panel off with a grey scotch pad then clean the surface with panel wipe followed by a tack rag.

I prepare the mask, this time we are going for a negative mask (or is it positive :S I never learned the difference! lol) The letters will remain black, with the airbrushed effect around them.

I lay the mask down and use a bright orange, carefully painting over the mask. the over spray creates a nice glow effect.
I add some suggestion of shapes of flame licks and then go over the whole thing in dark orange candy.
http://img293.imageshack.us/img293/4104/imgp7204px6.jpg

I forgot what the size of the piece was when i filled the cup with paint... I ended up with excess which I had to get rid of, I thought this sentence ended quite ironically :)
http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/7662/imgp7206zg2.jpg


I add some highlights, and go across the tops of the letters in bright yellow then remove the masks and cover the whole lot in dark yellow candy. I remove the masks because it prevents building too much of an edge up on the piece. and of course candy does not show up over black - which you should all know by now.
http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/1608/imgp7207yc3.jpg

http://img293.imageshack.us/img293/9651/imgp7209jw5.jpg




Clear coat:

This is always the most difficult part of a paint job, and is usually where amateurs will struggle.
I never used to do my own clear coats as it is a very skilled thing. but you will find that no body shop is willing to even touch panels with artwork on as they are notoriously hard to clear coat because of their uneven surface and extremely high risk factor. I've learned my lesson getting other people to do it for me, so now I do my own. Its a nasty job - but someone has to do it.

The paints used for clear coating are quite unique, and take a little while do get your head around. They are known as '2k' or 'two pack' paints. and they do not dry; they harden - and this is very important.

The clear coat is made up of a lacquer and a catylist / hardener / activator. The two components need to be mixed with a ratio of 2:1.

I'm using a medium slow activator, with a slow thinner and high solid clear coat in a cold room. despite the 'slow' title it does not take that long to harden compared to regular stuff but the 'slow' part of it is more toward the application end. When you apply a slow clearcoat, it has more time to level out. When it gets sprayed on it goes on like orange peel, infact you can actually see it wrinkling up. but then as if by magic the whole thing tightens up and hardens to a mirror finish.

I prepare the parts i intend to spray by wiping them down with panel wipe then giving them a rub with the tack cloth to remove any dust. I look for any defects at this point too and fill them in with the relevant colour.

Fresh masking paper lines my work surface to prevent any dust, dirt and other stuff from being blown up and onto the parts:
http://img381.imageshack.us/img381/4374/imgp7211lq2.jpg


Pay close attention to this photograph:
http://img117.imageshack.us/img117/2171/imgp7202dg0.jpg

As you can see it looks blotchy - some parts are glossy, some parts are matte. you can even see some lines where the original mask were but they have been painted over with black.
some parts are rough, some are smooth. the red's don't really look red and the blacks look s dull shade of grey or brown.

the clear coat goes on in 3 stages
1.tack coat - with these new high solid clears, some painters recommend not to use a tack coat but it is essential for anything with artwork.
A tack coat is pretty much just giving the whole thing a light coat aiming for about 100% coverage but it's and extremely light coat. It looks horrible!
I leave this for about 15 minutes to let it 'flash' - Flashing is when the solvents start to evaporate the paint and the finish ends up being tacky. When I can put my finger in it and pull it up so that it comes off like string then it is ready for the next coat.

2. wet coat
THe tack coat was to seal the artwork and not let any colours bleed. If i was to go with an initial wet coat then it would melt the underlying artwork and ruin it.
Once the tack coat is on and 'tacky' I can go with a wet coat. This is still a fairly light coat but it goes on so that you start to see a shiny finish.
Ilet this flash off for a little longer ( 20 minutes, or until it becomes stringy ) then I go with a 3rd wet coat.

I let this harden over night and begin the wet sanding.

The panels are int heir prime for sanding and polishing when they are still a little bit soft. This makes it quite hard to work with as they are very easily scratched and damaged! watches, rings bracelets and sleeves have to come off, and hands need to be wet.

I let some 2000 grit wet/dry soak for 20 minurtes and then begin sanding in straight lines to get rid of any spots of dust, defects or orange peel.
I use cold water rather than hot as it seems to harden the paint a little more and prevents it from scratching as easily. I try to keep a constant stream of water over the piece to prevent any grit getting between the paper and the panel.

Here's what it looks like sanded down:
http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/5833/imgp7295gt0.jpg


now watch the magic:
you will notice it doesn't look a lot different from the pictures above. the colours are dull, the blacks don't look black etc etc. the only difference is that it is consistently smooth.
This is next picture will sow you the beauty of clear coat - just imagine what the flames will look like when cleared !

I run water over the dry piece to give an idea of how much difference the polish will make.
http://img381.imageshack.us/img381/5061/imgp7301ud8.jpg

notice how much deeper the black is, and how much more vibrant and rich the colours are. the details in the scroll begin to pop out too.



That's it for now - next update will be the polished versions. :)

Mate your a painting GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111one

That looks awesome!

Hi guys,

Another late night update...

So tonight is clear coating the side panels night.

The amount of fumes and mist in the air makes it hard to take pics, so i can only show teaser pics tonight.



I'll start a the start.

I thought I'd take a pic of some of the things that you need for spraying 2k clears
http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/693/imgp7311ae6.jpg

from top left to bottom right:
Medium / slow thinners; 2k activator ( normal / slow); 2k clear coat (high solids); a tack rag; a pair of latex gloves; a twin filter respirator and a bright orange jagermeister bandanna.

Most of the dust and dirt that can make it's way onto a freshly painted panel is from the painter. I'm not saying I'm a particularly dusty person. but the last thing I want is fro my hair to fall into it or something daft like that. I also wear fresh clean overalls or clothing and keep them as clean as poss throughout the process.

Not in the picture is the spray gun; I use a mini gun with a pretty small needle for my clears. A full size gun is sometimes a bit too much and with flat panels that lie flat, using slow clear coat the gun choice tends not to matter that much as the paint will settle flat on its own.

I lay the panels down for the last time and go over them with panel wipe and finally a tack cloth. I tack cloth them again moments before i start painting too. ( a tack cloth is a cloth which is kind of sticky. It removes dust, overspray and other nasties you don;t want lying on your work prior to clearcoat)
http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/2236/imgp7310ll3.jpg


the first coat is the tack coat. It goes something like this:
http://img377.imageshack.us/img377/3984/imgp7319lj6.jpg

as you can see, there is full coverage but it is very light. it looks blotchy. Remember this is just to seal the artwork to prevent colours from bleeding too much.
I let this sit for 20 minutes then go for a wet coat:
http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/8573/imgp7321ty2.jpg

I do apologise for the poor picture but it is like trying to take a pic in a steam room! you can just about see reflections and stuff.


This will get wet sanded tomorrow then probably receive another to coats of clear. then wet sanded again and polished up to a shine.

congrats you have some skill. Fancy do mine lol ...

Finished yet, I wanna see the case all polished up

FI-NISHED-PICS! FI-NISHED-PICS! FI-NISHED-PICS!
What an epic log, thanks for taking the time to share it with us