Spray painting the inside of my HAF

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Reza

Limp Gawd
Joined
Sep 13, 2008
Messages
442
Well the title says it all, but my question is mainly do i have to disassemble the case to spray the inside? Or can i just take everything out, plastics included and take it out side and spray it? Please give me your opinions. Have any of you not fully taken a case apart and spray painted the inside? How did it turn out? Thanks!
 
You would definitely want to remove all components and anything made of plastic. You need to get it down to the bare, metal chassis. If you want a really nice result, I'd recommend sanding, then cleaning the chassis using paint thinner, then prime it. Then paint it. You could fore go all of that and just paint it, but at a bare minimum you'd want to strip it down to avoid overspray and ensure you coat the unfinished steel thoroughly.

Here's a good video showing the process. Neither a sand blaster or paint gun is necessary.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_YY83dGbEI
 
The more you disassemble the more likely it is your paint job will be nice and even and you won't have to worry about getting into hard to reach corners where it's easy to let the paint run from overspray, etc.

At very least remove all plastics even if you need to paint them as well.
 
I think as long as all the plastics are out, you have the metal all sanded down well (and then cleaned), you can paint the case while it is assembled, it will require you to paint more slowly, in thin coats. Taking the case apart is always preferred though.
 
I would just like to point out that preperation is key ... if you half ass prepare, your outcome will match it.
 
Disassemble, and go buy a rivet gun and a pack of rivets for like $25 to put it back together. Take your time. Mask anything you don't want paint on /very/ well.
 
CajunPower said:
You would definitely want to remove all components and anything made of plastic. You need to get it down to the bare, metal chassis. If you want a really nice result, I'd recommend sanding, then cleaning the chassis using paint thinner, then prime it. Then paint it. You could fore go all of that and just paint it, but at a bare minimum you'd want to strip it down to avoid overspray and ensure you coat the unfinished steel thoroughly.

Here's a good video showing the process. Neither a sand blaster or paint gun is necessary.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_YY83dGbEI
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A few notes about that video, sandblasting is over kill, and so is 80 grit, the chassis does not need to be stripped. Sandblasting on thin sheet metal is also a good way to warp the metal and ruin the finish. He also said "aluminium does not rust" wile it may not "rust" in the common term of Iron oxides (since aluminium is not an iron alloy) however aluminium corrodes much faster than iron, but because of the resulting aluminium oxide coating that forms (aka passivation) it seems to happen very slowly. Self etching primer is also not the universal best primer as stated in the video. It is an older tech and should only be used on new metal, not manufactured or processed metal. It is also not good at corrosion prevention, it is better to use a good epoxy primer, if you need to prime the case at all, most will be fine with a good scuffing and painting.

As to the OP I have never taken apart any of my cases, that is drilled out the rivets and replaced them. They have always come out great.
 
If you just lightly scuffed it, you wouldn't have had to prime. How I know this? My dad has been painting professionally for the past 10 years or so.
 
thecomputeraddict said:
If you just lightly scuffed it, you wouldn't have had to prime. How I know this? My dad has been painting professionally for the past 10 years or so.
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Priming has nothing to do with scuffing, it has to do with (in this case) stopping bleed through, but in other cases is helps with stopping corrosion, there are also high build primers that are made for sanding to help remove scratches, such as those left in body work by 80-180 sandpaper etc. A surface that is to be painted should ALWAYS be sanded/blasted, paint needs a profile to adhere to.
 
BlueFireIce said:
Priming has nothing to do with scuffing, it has to do with (in this case) stopping bleed through, but in other cases is helps with stopping corrosion, there are also high build primers that are made for sanding to help remove scratches, such as those left in body work by 80-180 sandpaper etc. A surface that is to be painted should ALWAYS be sanded/blasted, paint needs a profile to adhere to.
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A surface that is to be painted should ALWAYS be sanded or blasted? No offense, but that isn't true. Scuffing does give the paint something to adhere to. And blasting something with such thin metal like a case, can warp the shape of the case making it useless.
 
thecomputeraddict said:
A surface that is to be painted should ALWAYS be sanded or blasted? No offense, but that isn't true. Scuffing does give the paint something to adhere to. And blasting something with such thin metal like a case, can warp the shape of the case making it useless.
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Scuff: "To scrape and roughen the surface of."

That is, to sand. Sanding is used almost interchangeably with scuff. There are two main processes of "scuffing", that being sanding and blasting. Whatever the processed that is used it needs to create the proper profile for adhesion of a given paint system. Also, please do read as I had already talked about warping thin metal with heavy blasting in this very thread.
 
BlueFireIce said:
Scuff: "To scrape and roughen the surface of."

That is, to sand. Sanding is used almost interchangeably with scuff. There are two main processes of "scuffing", that being sanding and blasting. Whatever the processed that is used it needs to create the proper profile for adhesion of a given paint system. Also, please do read as I had already talked about warping thin metal with heavy blasting in this very thread.
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Wow, you obviously don't know a lot about painting. Once you've learned from one of the best painters in the city you live in. Scuffing is like sanding, but not down to bare metal, it gives the paint something to adhere to. I never sand unless I've applied bond which isn't too often.
 
*Sigh* I am a second gen NACE certified coatings inspector, I do believe I have SOME knowledge in this area, please do not make this about how much I know or don't know, if your points make no sense or say the same thing I am.

Scuffing can mean sanding or anything else. If you don't sand anything you paint then your paint jobs are not as good as they should be. Sanding does not mean to the bare metal, it means using sandpaper (or whatever abrasive you are using) of a given grit to achieve a desirable profile, whether that be in the paint or the metal substrate.
 
When I shot the inside of my old Li case. I sand blasted it. In areas very hard. I wanted the surface to be very abrated. In others not so much were I wanted a high gloss finish. I used a Anchor quick dry enamel with no primer. Shot it with a Asturo SX ECO ULVP gun. I use this same paint on motors and pumps. Once its cured,, it won't hardly come off except in the case a hard direct blow. Was a new gun for me and the first time I ever used it. When I put a I7 in the case I will reshoot it. No warping, blistering, or other paint issues concerning adhession.
 
BlueFireIce said:
*Sigh* I am a second gen NACE certified coatings inspector, I do believe I have SOME knowledge in this area, please do not make this about how much I know or don't know, if your points make no sense or say the same thing I am.

Scuffing can mean sanding or anything else. If you don't sand anything you paint then your paint jobs are not as good as they should be. Sanding does not mean to the bare metal, it means using sandpaper (or whatever abrasive you are using) of a given grit to achieve a desirable profile, whether that be in the paint or the metal substrate.
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I've been trying to say that. Scuffing with a scuff pad is like light sanding. I've never had to prime a case after scuffing it. Now with the lian-li cases, I would sand them or blast them because of the interior finish they have.

Btw, I apoligize if I offended you, didn't mean to. I have a bad habit of getting way to deep into arguments.
 
thecomputeraddict said:
I've been trying to say that. Scuffing with a scuff pad is like light sanding. I've never had to prime a case after scuffing it. Now with the lian-li cases, I would sand them or blast them because of the interior finish they have.

Btw, I apoligize if I offended you, didn't mean to. I have a bad habit of getting way to deep into arguments.
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I know what scuffing is, but what you are talking about is using a scotch pad, that is very common in something that has as little demand as computer case paint has, in my write up I even say to use it because its cheap and easy, but this is one of the very few places it can be used (by it self) in place of a proper sanding, and you can not always skip priming, whether it be for protection or for cosmetic reasons (scratches, bleed through etc.).

However I am not here to debate you on what you want to define the word of, I already said they are the same thing, the point I made was that priming has no relation to scuffing, but rather the surface being coated.

You have not offended me, that's a hard thing to do, I am a big enough boy to have a discussion about something. ;)
 
Its not like this computer case will be outside in the weather so I really think a lot of the methods on this thread are overkill. Sounds like a scotch pad will rough up the surface enough for the paint to stick.
Yes primer might be nice too.
 
Reza said:
Well the title says it all, but my question is mainly do i have to disassemble the case to spray the inside? Or can i just take everything out, plastics included and take it out side and spray it? Please give me your opinions. Have any of you not fully taken a case apart and spray painted the inside? How did it turn out? Thanks!
Click to expand...

I just done it with my V1200+, pretty easy to do really. Time consuming to do it properly though (lots of coats, lots of sanding).

2nteko1.jpg
 
It's best to use 1200-1500-2000 in order but I only used 1500 as I was painting it white the imperfections were much less noticeable.
 
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