See? That was fast wasn't it? Heheh! Anyway, there's nuthing much to do with the stripped off case structure so that part of the case will just be sitting somewhere in my room waiting for the day the others to come back and be re-united! :O) Here's the parts that's gonna be painted....

Painting inventories....
I wanted to achieve something like an automative shine or gloss. To do that, you'll need automotive paint like the ones from Rustoleum, Krylon or other brands that I've read so much about on the Net. But the problem is, you're never gonna find any of those here in Singapore. I've found some Rustoleums but not of the automotive type. It's mostly more suitable for interior decoration like those rock-stone textures! Yucks! So I'm pretty much left with not much of a choice. Me and my buddy Calvin looked around at some of the paints that's available and trying to find an alternative. He had some painting experiences before and he suggested RJ Paints. Made in the UK and epoxy based, he said that it's a much better paint that any he had tried before and has a quick drying time.

I pretty much have a rough idea what colour I was gonna buy and it has to be some shade of blue. VH Blue! :O) So I grabbed a couple of primers, 5 cans of the blue and 3 cans of clear coats. I also got myself some sandpapers for sanding the case. Unfortunately, the finest I could get is the 3M Imperial Wet-Or-Dry 1500 grit. I was really looking forward to getting my hands on some 1800 and 2000 grits but 3M Singapore said they do not have any stock. I could order though, but I'll have to get a minimum quantity of 500!! What the heck is a guy gonna do with 500 sheets of sandpaper????? Sand my whole house???? LOL! Anyway, the 1500 grit looks fine enough to me... So I got a few sheets of grit 180, grit 500, grit 800, grit 1000, grit 1200 and grit 1500 for the project.

 

The fun begins....
First of all, I used masking tape and taped up the areas that I don't want paint to get to. Then I sanded the parts down with the grit 180 paper. I wanted to remove the textures that you get with all those beige cases out there. I sanded the parts until most of the textures are gone and you're left with a nice and smooth surface. Some would prefer to sand the parts to the bare metal but I find that not necessary. I did however found some exposed metal on some of the parts that I sanded. Probably due to some aggressive sanding on my part! :^) I then further smooth it out with the grit 500 paper and washed the parts with water to get rid of the sanding dust, dirt and grease. Left it out to dry for a couple of hours and it's nice and clean, ready to receive the first coat of primer.

 

I had no other place to do my painting except outside of the house. It's not the best place but it's the only place I've got! I used a grey anti-rust primer. You can use a white-coloured primer too if your final colour is bright like yellow, but the blue colour I chose is kinda dark. Don't forget, give the spray can a good shake for a minute or so to ensure that the content is thoroughly mixed. You'll know it when the bearing inside starts to rattle freely. I started off with a very thin coat of primer on all the parts, keep the spray can about 25 to 30cm from the surface and keeping the can in a constant horizontal motion back and forth. Try not to get the can too close or bubbles and runs will appear on the surface. I find it easier to start off before the part and continue to spray past the part. That little tip thanks to TheSilentChamber's Painting Guide. And remember, a few thin coats are better than one thick coat.

 

I let the primer cure for 24 hours and after it has cured, I wet-sand the parts. This is basically to remove any roughness on the paint and have a smooth surface again for the next coat and at the same time, wash away the dust from the sanding. How do you wet-sand. Here's how! :O) I ran my shower faucet over the painted parts and used the grit 800 paper to lightly remove the irregularities on the painted surface. While sanding, it's important to remember not to apply too much pressure. You don't want to remove the paint here.

The second primer coat basically covered all the surface of the parts. Another 24 hours of curing, then wet-sanding, and it'll be ready for the first colour coat. Here's a summary of what I did at this stage;

  

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