Few questions

[IronWarrior]

Hi there.

Motherboard:

Is there anything I should know about removing a motherboard from a case? I never really handled one before and worried about damaging it. I guess keep my fingers/hands at the edges of the board?

When I go about installing it again, how tight should the screws be? I heard if it's too tight, it could cause short circuits?

Painting

Also, am thinking of painting the inside of my case, any suggestions on what type of metal paint to use or can any metal paint work?

[Pob255]

You'd have to seriously over tighten the screws to damage the motherboard.
shorts are caused from something metal touching the back of the board, an incorrectly placed motherboard standoff is a common cause of this.

Generally motherboards are fairly robust, just don't twist it or hit it with a hammer.
Main thing to be careful of is catching it on something and damaging a component on it.

One thing I always suggest is to fit the cpu cooler outside of the case, not only is it easier to get at and see if it's correctly seated but the cooler is also something to hold onto when lowering the motherboard into the case and getting it lined up correctly.

For painting the insides of a case, the first thing you need to do is fully strip down the case.
Then lightly sand the insides (to key the surface) and make sure to fully wipe down the case to remove excess dust after.
Primer, leave to dry.
You can light sand again, but for the insides I don't normally bother.
2 thin coats of paint, leave to dry between them.
If you want to clear coat then leave it for a full day, at least, between colour paint and clear coat.
And leave it for a week before putting hardware inside.

Cans of standard automotive spray paint is fine, although remember that some do actually take up to a week to fully cure and harden, most will be dry within 12hours but not fully hardened.
Don't mix enamel and acrylic paint, you can do it safely but you do need to let it fully dry and the solvents to fully leach out ]between layers.

[IronWarrior]

Thanks for replying and helping! Didn't really expect for it to take a whole week, but it can't be helped.

I only plan to do the insides, it's cold hard steel inside, so I guess I could get away with not sanding it?

How long does it normally take to dry between coats?

Last question, since my PC won't be in a case, it should be fine laying on my case still connected together for a week to run?

[MaddAussie]

No keying (sanding) the surface is necessary, the paint will peel otherwise.

[Pob255]

No keying (sanding) the surface is necessary, the paint will peel otherwise.

Yes as MaddAussie put it, you're keying the surface, roughening it up slightly to give the paint something to grip onto better.
very few cases are raw steel inside, cases are normally made of SECC or SGCC steel both of which are covered in an outter layer of Zinc to prevent corrosion.
You can use a self etching primer as this contains an acid to eat into the steel surface slightly so doesn't need keying in theory.

Drying time between coats depends on the paint, follow the instructions on the can, remember that environment also has an effect, it takes longer for paint to dry in the cold than in warm conditions.

Generally speaking multiple layers or the same paint only need to be left for an hour or so between them, but leave it overnight between different paints (ie after primer leave it overnight before starting the colour layers and then leave that overnight at least before doing anything with it)

Acrylic paint generally dries faster than enamel paint but the end result is softer and more easy to damage.

What case are you trying to paint btw?

[IronWarrior]

Yes as MaddAussie put it, you're keying the surface, roughening it up slightly to give the paint something to grip onto better.
very few cases are raw steel inside, cases are normally made of SECC or SGCC steel both of which are covered in an outter layer of Zinc to prevent corrosion.
You can use a self etching primer as this contains an acid to eat into the steel surface slightly so doesn't need keying in theory.

Drying time between coats depends on the paint, follow the instructions on the can, remember that environment also has an effect, it takes longer for paint to dry in the cold than in warm conditions.

Generally speaking multiple layers or the same paint only need to be left for an hour or so between them, but leave it overnight between different paints (ie after primer leave it overnight before starting the colour layers and then leave that overnight at least before doing anything with it)

Acrylic paint generally dries faster than enamel paint but the end result is softer and more easy to damage.

What case are you trying to paint btw?

Thanks for that, will keep that in mind, how long do I need to rub/sand for in general? Any signs to look for?

My case, it's nothing cool, it's a CIT gaming case. Just want a little project to entertain myself for a bit, so going to paint the insides white, am thinking of adding a other 120mm fan hole to the top or maybe two 800mm's. I'm going to see if it's possible to rolate the lower half of the HDD cage sidewards, maybe that involes cutting, will look tomorrow.

[IronWarrior]

Found these, what do you think?

Are these the right types of cans to spray the insides?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hammerite-...item8bb3dab5f8
http://www.screwfix.com/p/plasti-kot...t-white/53128#
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Holts-Dupl...item2eba4b2f33
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/s...Id_165505#dtab

[vinnyT]

Hi, this is the co. I use whenever I need paint for any projects, http://www.paintsprays.co.uk/catalog/.

This, http://www.paintsprays.co.uk/catalog...882ad468463fd3, Aerosol Pistol for £2.99 makes it so much easier to get a good layer.

[IronWarrior]

Hi, this is the co. I use whenever I need paint for any projects, http://www.paintsprays.co.uk/catalog/.

This, http://www.paintsprays.co.uk/catalog...882ad468463fd3, Aerosol Pistol for £2.99 makes it so much easier to get a good layer.

Oh that's pretty smart, does these pistols fit all spray cans?

Do you have any suggestions for what type of brand/spray to use other then the gun please?

Also got a running topic here if anyone wants to add anything.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...on-Spray-paint

[vinnyT]

Hi IronWarrior, only just logged back on, yes they seem to fit on all the spray cans I have tried. As to suggestions on types of paints, I like the Super-Spray and Plasti-Kote brands, as these have given me good finishes in the past.

[IronWarrior]

Well after many months, I finally rebuilt my case.

Only did some modding on it, I cut away the metal frame at the front of the casing that wasn't really needed, you can see the "cut" in the second photo at the bottom right, it's not prefect, but it's acceptable for me, it won't be in view once everything is put together. I drilled two new 80mm holes at the bottom that will be the main air feed to the case, directly into my GPU.



Since I turned the lower HDD cage sideways, I had to make a brace for it, my brother had this roll of metal strips with these holes that fitted screws really well. I could had done a better job with these I guess by cutting the edges and making them smooth, but I was lazy and plan to put some heatsink or rubber stops at the end instead. I used screws for the lower HDD cage since it will allow me to remove it. I'm also going to use screws for the front brezel since the only way to screw the HDD's in from the right side is with that removed.



Well, it's stalled again since I need to buy a heatgun still and some sata cables.

[Pob255]

Nice

What do you need a heat gun for?

[IronWarrior]

Nice

What do you need a heat gun for?

I brought one now, should arrive Monday I hope, but I need it for sleeving the cables and wires.