Pob's laptop mod

[Biscuit]

Damn shame about those repairs you had to make, still looks pretty incredible

[UseItNow]

Nice mate.

[PC4Free]

Only just seen this and it is awesome! Looking forward to seeing the finished product - you did well with the repairs

[DjSatansfury]

Thats absolutely amazing!

[Pob255]

Thanks people, I know this will not be to everyone's taste but I'm glad to hear people like it.

or maybe i could buy a second lid.....hm i've an idea! not to hijack but i will start a thread and send you a pm about it, is this ok? i'd like some first hand advice

sure happy to help if I can.

But back onto your mod, what else is left to do? can we see some more detailed pictures of the keyboard section? how come you don't like smooth around it??

The lid is going to need sanding and then a 2nd coat, maybe another sand and coat after that.
The really annoying part is that I need to leave if for a full week before I can sand, it's dry to the touch now, but still soft enough that I can score it with a finger nail, sanding when soft will rip the surface up a lot.
So it sort of is done, it's just the final finish is going to take another 2-3weeks because of hardening times.

If I try to polish it then it will need to be left for a full month (20-30days) for the clear coat to fully cure, this is much worse time than the normal clear acrylic lacquer I use, but it should result in a harder more robust surface.

On the palm rest area of the keyboard surround, it's not so much smooth but smooth & glossy that I don't like, although I much prefer a slight texture or anodised aluminium
I found it very annoying on my eee pc 901, so much so I took some 1000grit wet&dry just to take off glossy the surface.
Manufactures putting little stickers on them also bug me after an hour or so of use.

[Pob255]

Update: an hour a week

Well this is going to be very slow now as this clear coat process is long and slow, mainly due to having to leave it a week to cure between each coat.
But it's another week so I can do the 2nd coat.


As you can see here between the new layer of glitter and small spots of the old clear coat the surface is quite lumpy.
Must say that this plastikote krystal clear does have a lovely glossy finish to it without needing polishing.

So I sanded it down, first with my 1/3 emery (about 200-300gritt I think), then 400gritt wet&dry. that removed the lumps and leveled it off nicely.
However it did leave a lot of sanding marks.

A light sand with 800gritt wet&dry, followed by a wet sand with 1200gritt wet&dry left me with a nice smooth surface.
I have to wet sand with the 1200gritt otherwise it just clogs up and lumps form on the paper that leave score marks.


The gloss is gone and yes you can see from the speckling that it's not truly flat and needs more sanding, but with only a single coat I don't want to go to heavy in case I go through the clear.

One coat of plastikote krystal clear later

It's still wet there that's why it looks so shiny but when it dries it does keep near the same level of gloss.

One thing I discovered due to my mess up of the old clear coat is that the solvents in the new layer do penetrate into the layers below softening them and creating a stronger bond.
So it forms a sort of single thick layer instead of multiple distinct layers.
This is good and means I should be able to spend more time sanding next weekend and get the surface really smooth.

I just wish this plastikote krystal clear was thinner and less viscus, it would be much easier to lay down and sand off, next week I'll try the trick of warming up the can first to see if it sprays better.

[razer121]

Looks stunning as always pob, really digging the gloss finish, is that just for plastics? or is it okay for metals aswell??

[MuscleFlex]

any new update or new photos of the finished item?

[Pob255]

any new update or new photos of the finished item?

Yes and Yes.

It's been finished for a couple of weeks however I had to return the camera I had on extended load from work, however I had to finally return it and our camera is still MIA

So I had to take my laptop into work today to get these final photo's











I should have a couple more work in progress shots somewhere on my pc, I'm posting this on the soviet pob propaganda laptop

[Biscuit]

the newest shots really seem to show off its individuality. Im not only impressed with the actual result you have achieved, but also the sheer dedication involved in reaching perfection. Once again Pob... good show!

[razer121]

pob it looks stunning, you have made a work of art!

[Pob255]

Now I'm looking at those photo's on my main pc, not the laptop they don't look so good. too much contrast on them.
It wasn't the same camera.

[vicar]

It looks great, how long do you think the paint work will last for with moderate use?

[Pob255]

Should last for ages, there's three layers of clear coat over the lid and two lighter layers over the keyboard surround.

[dulcificum]

Amazing job mate. You really have some skills.

[kaelyn]

Fantastic job, I love the glitter effect, it's made your laptop really unique So what is your next project?