Lately my good buddy TiTON (his log can be seen here) has inspired me to learn how to paint using a HVLP gun. Similar to what they use for custom car paint jobs.

You will notice some blemishes/runs/orange peel in the paint. I was simply trying to get the hang of painting with a gun vs rattle can and getting the gun dialed in not focusing on a perfect finish. However I think it game out pretty well for the most part. Only a few small problem spots.

I will give a few tips for anybody new to painting. Its all in the prep work and taking your time. I started off with an Antec side panel that had textured paint from the factory. I took my dual action sander and 220 grit and got rid of that quicky. Once it was sanded down almost to bare metal. I cleaned with a tack clothe and some post sanding cleaner.

I let it dry and then shot several coats of primer and let it dry making sure to evenly cover the panel. I sanded the primer to flatten it with a scuff pad and proceded to shoot 3-4 coats of House of Kolor Orion Silver. You will notice this paint has millions of tiny metallic flakes that make it look bitching.



You might be able to see a few of the blemish spots theres 4-5 tiny ones and one place I accidently bumped into the panel.



Heres a closeup shot of the paint before wetsanding. I took some 600 and got to work color sanding the silver base coat to ensure a flat even finish. I then went on to shoot some House of Kolor Oriental Blue candy paint.




Some of the blemishes still are there and can be seen. I also had some issues with the first coat of the candy blue. You can see on the left of the panel I had didnt have the gun adjusted perfectly.





Heres a close up of the problem spot with the candy.

Overall it was alot of fun and work. I cant wait to paint an entire case. If you ever get the chance to paint with HVLP its alot of fun. Its hard to learn on your own but TiTON helped me out alot. Ill be posting a full worklog shortly of a case painted in entirely where I will be focusing on a quality finish.

Thats sweet Planet, looks so much better than spray cans. Wish I had the time to do that kinda thing.

Maybe you could jazz up your dice pots a little?

Thats pretty sweet, wish i had the money for a HVLP gun, i cant find my airbrush anymore, it has dissappeared into the depths of my loft at home.

Quote: Originally Posted by Dex Thats sweet Planet, looks so much better than spray cans. Wish I had the time to do that kinda thing. Maybe you could jazz up your dice pots a little?

Thanks. Haha i was thinking of doign a clear on them so they dont tarnish so quickly.

Quote: Originally Posted by Arc Angel Thats pretty sweet, wish i had the money for a HVLP gun, i cant find my airbrush anymore, it has dissappeared into the depths of my loft at home.

The gun is just a cheapy off of ebay. I got small quantities of paint to practice and am ordering a whole lot more. I had the air compressor already. All together with the gun and all the supplies I prolly spent somewhere around 200.

What size compressor are you using to power it, I have one but am not sure it could handle a airbrush.

Quote: Originally Posted by IcEMage What size compressor are you using to power it, I have one but am not sure it could handle a airbrush.

I have two. Ones a 2HP 60 gallon. I also have a 100 gallon that I need to hook up the compressor motor to sometime.

Sweet job so far bro! and Dex's idea of painting your dice pots is pretty cool!
I'm imagining an airbrushed 'real flame' design running up 'said' dice pot, would certainly give a testbench that Pimped out look over all the other overclockers setups!
Kudoz if i can give 'em bro

Quote: The gun is just a cheapy off of ebay. I got small quantities of paint to practice and am ordering a whole lot more. I had the air compressor already. All together with the gun and all the supplies I prolly spent somewhere around 200.

Thats pretty good though i dont think i can afford that, plus i dunno if i want to spray my case just yet, even though i did manage to put a nice big scratch into the door