Case color options

[C12Friedman]

Looking for input. I have a 12year old computer case (originally housed a Socket 1/P3). I'm reviving it into a water cooled system.
The case is currently beige, I was going to paint it black but have been told "That's boring". So, I am looking for case color options. Single colors please (I don't airbrush) that should compliment the led in the res (color options for the res led are either Blue, Amber, Green or Red) leaning toward amber or green.
Thanks.

 

[o1die]

I don't recommend painting your old case; the paint may not stick well unless it's baked on. New cases aren't that expensive. Antec makes some good ones starting at around $50 or price some fancier ones on pricewatch or amazon.

 

[C12Friedman]

I don't recommend painting your old case; the paint may not stick well unless it's baked on. New cases aren't that expensive. Antec makes some good ones starting at around $50 or price some fancier ones on pricewatch or amazon.

Ahhh, but I have cases laying around (1 full tower, 2 midtowers, 3 microtowers and an HTPC case) - I may not airbrush but I have been painting steel, plastics and woods all my life - I shouldn't have problems with adhesion - I'll be using enamel, hopefully not more than three coats - The inside with a rubberized paint (standoffs will be plugged during painting to ensure proper grounding of mobo).
Just a mod project... something to do, hell, I could just shove the water stuff in the mid-tower it's in but that takes the fun out of it.
I would say, a sound suggestion otherwise.

 

[WR2]

If you're in it for the fun there are some custom modding options for painting.
Have you ever hung around any of the modding forums?

 

[WR2]

THG forum member MonsterMawd does some of the best custom mods around.
You can use his profile to track down some of his topics and look at his work.
(look under Access to the whole list of his/her messages)

Here is a one from a while back: Corsair Obsdian 800D Case Mod Project
Lots of custom painting involved. And his topics are a great recap of how the work went. (he does videos as well http://www.mnpctech.com )

 

[whatsthatnoise]

I don't recommend painting your old case; the paint may not stick well unless it's baked on. New cases aren't that expensive. Antec makes some good ones starting at around $50 or price some fancier ones on pricewatch or amazon.

And where did you get that wisdom from again?


To paint a case you have to sand it down to bare metal, clean it from dust/oily substances, apply primer and than paint it, several times in several layers. It will stick just fine.

If you have old cases laying around go for them, have fun! I've done it before and it's very rewarding if done with care.

 

[C12Friedman]

If you're in it for the fun there are some custom modding options for painting.
Have you ever hung around any of the modding forums?

I had not done so until very recently, I'd always just used cases as they came. I got into water cooling in January and I had to do a minor snip on the case for fitting. Then I found I could add a window, then... well, downhill from there, lol. I'll be checking those out... I like that Ferrari Red case, hmm.
Thanks for the other links.

 

[WR2]

I think that's Canadian Red

 

[o1die]

Depends on how old the case is. Some of the new ones have better cooling and usb 3.0, filters, and side facing hardrive cages. Yeah, if you're retired or working part time like myself, maybe it's worth a shot. But I usually donate my old cases to goodwill. If the poster is a pro with paint, then maybe he will get better results than I did. I used to work at a place that manufactured gasoline pumps. They had two paint processes; one that was sprayed on and the other that was silkscreened. I had to bend painted metal on a brake press; if the paint wasn't applied properly, it cracked or worse. If this gentlemen has the proper gear or can use a local shop, then he may enjoy customizing his case.

 

[Unolocogringo]

I like the textured look of "Hammered paint" for the exterior.
On the inside I like to use truck "bed liner" or if a window is not used, automobile undercoating helps a lot with reducing noise. It also helps stiffen thin side panels.
Color is a matter of choice but a Blue/Black combo is my favorite.

 

[rufus_22]

+2 to wr2 on the mnpctech / modmen show link . Ive seen almost every vid they made and "any" question on mod / painting can be answered there . My only gripe with them is on the vendor side of there operation , as alot of there cooler items are often out of stock but I guess that just speaks to the popularity of there products . http://modmenshow.com/ another link for ya .. I vote for red btw .. good luck with the project

 

[C12Friedman]

Update... Found out about the case... InWin A500. Here's a link to stock case pictures note the huge panel (no longer there) on the opposite side from the mobo tray.
http://www.nix.ru/include/view-photo.html?good_id=45167&pid=2235
in russian but the only good pictures I found (we won't go into my video attempt here...)

This mod is going downhill fast... for now I did slap the H2O in the current mid-tower.
I decided on a gloss red/gloss white (flat black accenting) but I'm finding the tower does not want to cooperate with my initial vision (which gets revised virtually every time I start work on the case). The front panel still needs to be filled, shaped and cut (design for the panel cut is complete) at least. I had envisioned completing it by yesterday and I'm still finalizing - it is getting closer though.
Other than the fun of the challenge or if you have a specific design goal in mind unavailable through commercial channels, modding old cases is not worth it (spent more than an average mid-tower just on supplies for this mod plus, it's frustrating as hell) although I'm gonna keep doing it, lol.


Any computer historians might be interested in the build list from this (Found on a label on the bottom of the case... June 2000) - I found it interesting;
InWin A500 w/Powerman 300W (no SATA but still works)
Pentium III 550E @550MHz - Slot 1
Aopen Pentium III AX63Pro
128MB SDRam PC100
ATI Expert 98 8MB AGP
Conner 4.3GB OT204 (not familiar with this thing - might be an accelerator card)
IWILL UW SCSI 2936UW PCI SCSI adapter
IBM 9GB SCSI HDD
Teac 8x CDR - SCSI
Mitsumi 3.5 Floppy Drive
Delta 48x CD-ROM
PCI V.90 Rockwell modem
Realtek 8139 10/100 TX
Windows 98 2nd Edition

Actually, I think it's a great build for it's time