spray painting a laptop

RoyalMarine

this is more of a paint question than a laptop question.

send it on its way if need be, as i dont seem to know if there is a paint forum!

right buying a second hand laptop, very basic specs.
what i need to do is...

strip it apart.

I want to color it pink. im still looking for the right shade and design etc.

its an xmas pressie. what i need is advise on best methods to do it. should i disassemble it and hang the parts somewhere ventilated and spray them while hanging? or do it on a surface, leave to dry and then turn over etc.

time is not at hand. i work like a mule and have very little time at home. but it needs to be top quality paint job.

what type of paint to use, primers, oil based, from a can, under coat etc.

AlmightyCushion

Moved to tweaking/modding. I think you will get a better answer there.

Feel free to throw it back this way if you don't think it suits here, lads.

opelmanta

how much of it exactly are you planning on spraying??? like will it just be the lid??

RoyalMarine

im not sure. dont want to ask her what she wants

i was thinking of the area around the keyboard being pink. along with the sides etc.
then the lid being pink aswel, but having a logo on it.

was thinking of a playboy bunni on each side and in the middle her name written in the playboy buni script.

key's would be staying grey etc. dont want to over kill it with pink and i was thinking the rest being either black or grey. probably go with black.

RoyalMarine

oh and thanks for moving it ac. im sure the lads here will do nicely

i was thinking something on the lines of this laptop here

http://www.shinyshiny.tv/pink%20laptop%20notino.JPG

or something like this

http://resource.voodoopc.com/images/default/product_qkitchen_images/qkitchen_envy_u703_pink.jpg

AlmightyCushion

I'd probably take it apart just to be on the safe side. The last thing you want to do is spray the screen.

opelmanta

would definately take the pc apart but you mightnt have to take the screen apart because thats dodgy. Probably tape it around and make sure its well sealed. I dont know much about the paint side of things. Best bet would be to go to an autoparts shop ar a paint shop and read the cans of paint there.

nibble

Strip it down then spray it. Dells are relatively easy to take apart just be careful not to lose any screws and take your time.

In terms of paint, to get the nicest gloss mirror type finish go with lacquer based paints, ie something like the paint you buy in spray cans at motor factors. You'd just have to sand the the various parts to give a good surface for the primer to stick to, then work your way through several layers of colour sanding with ~1000 grit paper between coats. When the right colour has been achieved, add a few coats of clear, finish sand this to 2000+ grit then polish with rubbing compound.
The only thing that I could see as maybe being a problem is the dell badge on the top, you could fill it in with car body filler and then sand out if you wanted. That's if you cant simply remove it, it could be glued/taped in and you wouldn't be able to get it out without damaging it.

RoyalMarine

nibble ur a ledge end.
thanks a mill. needed that info so bad! ill head down to a motor shop nd get the paint nd sand paper i need.

AlmightyCushion

RoyalMarineComm wrote: »

nibble ur a ledge end.
thanks a mill. needed that info so bad! ill head down to a motor shop nd get the paint nd sand paper i need.

Let us know how you get on. I'd love to see how this goes.

nibble

RoyalMarineComm wrote: »

nibble ur a ledge end.
thanks a mill. needed that info so bad! ill head down to a motor shop nd get the paint nd sand paper i need.

No probs, take your time and I'm sure they'll love it. Just in case you didn't realise you'll need to wetsand, it produces a far better finish and you have to do it with 800grit and up, the paper clogs up very easily and the the water prevents this happening. Throw a bit of soap in the water too, adds a bit of lubrication.