Annoying Case - Painting Plexiglass?

I got sick of the lighted case trend a while ago. Unfortunately, case, and now motherboard, manufacturers haven't.

I specifically removed everything lighted from my case that I reasonably could. Asus saw fit, though, to build a nice little strip of white LEDs on the board itself, along with lighted power and reset buttons actually built directly on the board (?! WHY). It was the only motherboard available for Core i7's when I bought it that I could trust, and it was pricey (besides, it's a very nice board). I'm loath to replace it just because of this.

My case is not that old, but I can't really find any decent parts for it, like a side-panel without a window. So, I want to paint the plexiglass window. Does anyone have any experience with how this can be safely, and effectively done? Something that will stand up to the heat inside a case, too...

What case and mobo do you have?

The case is the silver Thermaltake Armor (I removed those useless flaps on the front a long time ago). I got it because it was big, and I was sick of working in tiny baby man cases with my massive hands. It also came with a VERY bright blue power LED which I replaced with a Radio Shack standard red, because the thing was bright enough that I was afraid planes would mistake it for a landing strip. The case has actually been reused for several builds.

The motherboard is the Asus P6T Deluxe. I guess this is older than I thought, as it's no longer even being sold.

Just put electrical tape over the LEDs, that is what I do for OMG BRIGHT BLUE OR WHITE IN YOUR FACE I THINK I'M COOL BUT I'M JUST ANNOYING LEDs.

LeapingGnome wrote:

Just put electrical tape over the LEDs, that is what I do for OMG BRIGHT BLUE OR WHITE IN YOUR FACE I THINK I'M COOL BUT I'M JUST ANNOYING LEDs.

Yeah, no point going to all that trouble if you can just cover it up.

Fortunately my case has no window that can show the blasted array of LEDs that ASUS saw fit to put on my motherboard as well. I hate them so much that I even wired up a switch to my case's HDD/activity LEDs so I can turn them off at night.

New case? Or just paint it with some black spray paint and put the left side against a wall.

boogle wrote:

New case? Or just paint it with some black spray paint and put the left side against a wall.

That will flake though.

Opaque plexiglass or plastic will be the best way to go, IMO. Otherwise tape over the LEDs.

Take this with a grain of salt. I have not tried this, it's just what I would attempt if I was in your position.

First, sand the plexiglass to roughen it up so it will take to painting.

Second, use a spray primer and let it dry fully.

Third, use a spray paint over the primer after the primer has dried.

If heat is a concern, and I kinda doubt the outside of the plexiglass will get significantly warm, there are some spray paint makers (like Rustoleum) that make special high-temp spray paints, such as for grills, stoves, engines, etc.

You could also attempt to scorch it, but I dont know the long term effects.

Duct tape the window. They come in all sorts of colors, its thick, inexpensive, reversible (with effort) and you can brag to your friends that duct tape fixes everything!

Quintin_Stone wrote:

Take this with a grain of salt. I have not tried this, it's just what I would attempt if I was in your position.

First, sand the plexiglass to roughen it up so it will take to painting.

Second, use a spray primer and let it dry fully.

Third, use a spray paint over the primer after the primer has dried.

If heat is a concern, and I kinda doubt the outside of the plexiglass will get significantly warm, there are some spray paint makers (like Rustoleum) that make special high-temp spray paints, such as for grills, stoves, engines, etc.

If you are going to sand, don't forget to start with something like 100 grit and work up to 220 and possibly wet sanding at 300 / 400.

Black spray paint will work fine - I used it on a mame cabinet to make the bezel in front of the monitor. That sat directly in front of a 21" monitor from the 90's, so it stayed fairly warm in there. I only saw it for its first 2 or so years of life, (roomate bought my half when I moved out) but there weren't any problems. I don't think we bothered sanding or priming- but I didn't do that part.

Just make sure you clean it real well since it's been in use and probably has some dust clinging to the surface.

Hmm. Well, I'm going to have to take a closer look at the panel. The way I wanted to do it was to paint the inside to keep the color of the metal parts of the panel the same as the rest of the case. Obviously I can't prime the inside, or that's all you'd see from the outside. If I can separate the plexiglass from the panel, I should be able to paint the outside in the way Quintin suggested.

Sku Boi wrote:

You could also attempt to scorch it, but I dont know the long term effects.

Duct tape the window. They come in all sorts of colors, its thick, inexpensive, reversible (with effort) and you can brag to your friends that duct tape fixes everything!

Putting a flame to plexi might just result in melting it / flame kissing (very slight melting) it. Flame kissing after sanding and then wet sanding up to 400/600 grit or higher is a great way to restore the clear finish if its been scratched or on a cut edge, though.

I'm having the same problem, except my 1 year old really likes the lights. This is very bad. Upon discovery of this thread I had the idea to tint the glass with some automotive tint. When I crack it open later this week to replace my GPU I'm going to try it out. I'll report back the results.

They make black duct tape that is black on both sides. Just tape that to the inside of the glass.

You know what we do to skimmers round these parts?

Sku Boi wrote:

You know what we do to skimmers round these parts?

Scan them to determine their worth?

ELewis17 wrote:

I'm having the same problem, except my 1 year old really likes the lights. This is very bad. Upon discovery of this thread I had the idea to tint the glass with some automotive tint. When I crack it open later this week to replace my GPU I'm going to try it out. I'll report back the results.

Hm, this is a potentially brilliant idea that had not occurred to me.

You guys really are better than a google search!

mrtomaytohead wrote:
Sku Boi wrote:

You know what we do to skimmers round these parts?

Scan them to determine their worth?

Since that's all I'm trained to do....

Yes.

NSMike wrote:
ELewis17 wrote:

I'm having the same problem, except my 1 year old really likes the lights. This is very bad. Upon discovery of this thread I had the idea to tint the glass with some automotive tint. When I crack it open later this week to replace my GPU I'm going to try it out. I'll report back the results.

Hm, this is a potentially brilliant idea that had not occurred to me.

You guys really are better than a google search!

Just be sure to get the kind with adhesive and not the static-cling kind. I have a roll of it sitting here.
Ancient Chinese secret: put warm soapy water in a spray bottle, spray plexiglass AND sticky side of tint liberally. This will allow you to work out all the bubbles and take your time centering everything. Let dry overnight before exposing to any heat or movement. Make final trimming with razor once it is set and dry.
Make sure not to use spray bottle cleaner; it may do something bad to the tint adhesive. Just regular soap and water.

if all this starts to look expensive, buy this case. Its cheap and completely closed (no windows, light up fans, etc). Any computer I build these days I use one of them.

Quintin_Stone wrote:

Take this with a grain of salt. I have not tried this, it's just what I would attempt if I was in your position.

First, sand the plexiglass to roughen it up so it will take to painting.

Second, use a spray primer and let it dry fully.

Third, use a spray paint over the primer after the primer has dried.

If heat is a concern, and I kinda doubt the outside of the plexiglass will get significantly warm, there are some spray paint makers (like Rustoleum) that make special high-temp spray paints, such as for grills, stoves, engines, etc.

What Quintin said. Except for two things.

1. I would not advise to sand it. If you're not good at it and you don't have the right tools (e.g. a random-orbital sander), it will be difficult to achieve uniformity of the surface.
2. A word of caution: all paints and primers contain evaporants and surfactants that are also pretty powerful solvents. Depending on the exact formulation of material of which your case window is made (might by plexy, might be polyacrilyc, might be polycarbo, who knows), the paints can etch the surface pretty badly. In small amounts it's good -- helps to ensure the bond. But if the solvent is strong and the substrate material is reactive to it, it the surface will be visually marred or even warped.

That's why you should try is looking for something called "adhesion promoter" at your nearby auto parts store in the section where they sell paints. This thing is widely used when painting inert or highly polished surfaces. Spray it on BEFORE the primer. It will create a sticky coat onto which pretty much anything will go. This should ensure that the paint doesn't flake. Adhesion promoters also contain a relatively small proportion of evaporants, and (hopefully) this will yield just the right amount of etching.

In any case, experiment first. If you aren't good with spraypaint, practice on a piece of clean cardboard. Before going to town on your case window, ensure that the material isn't reactive to your sprays. Mask off the whole thing except the flange areas that go inside the slots in the case itself, perhaps. If you find out that the surface is being damaged, at least the test area won't be visible when the window is fitted back into the case.

Poke around in this Case Modding subforum over at [H]|F, I bet you'll find useful posts.

Oh, I ordered some automotive tint today. I like that idea, and although not 100% opaque, I'm certain it will do the trick.

I did this on Wednesday evening and it turned out pretty decent. If you can find a way to anchor the plexi to a table it'll help a lot when trying to work out any wrinkles. And use more soapy water than you think you need to.

I have a work table with a high-friction surface... Should be ok. The tint arrives today, so I should be able to apply it this evening.

Well, here it is, not yet on the case (there's still a little water that drips out every now and then):

IMAGE(http://imgur.com/Ci6oi.jpg)

That looks really good, should help with the LEDs.