I'm going to paint my case in the next couple days and I have a few questions

#1 What should i sand the panels and bezel with before starting?

#2 Primer yes or no, if so how many coats and what type of sandpaper. should i sand bweteen coats?
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#3 What is a good color to paint the inside. The outside is going to be black and purple, have blue and purple neon inside. Do I need to sand the inside before and/or after I paint?

#4 How many coats on the panels, and how many on the bezel?, should I sand between coats, and with what?

#5 How many clear coats on the panel and bezel?

#6 Gloss or flat paint?

I'm sure these have been answered before, and probably stupid questions, but i want to do it right the first timebut I am new to this forum.

Thanks for any help I recieve.

by the way, I'll be using spray paint

I would click "sections" then "Insomniacs Paint Shop" for a start.

Secondly, there are about 40 000 painting how to guides on the net...read them. Here is one at Gideontech . There are tons of others.

Good luck, and welcome to Pimprig.

Be careful when painting the inside. You might not want to paint underneath where the mobo goes.. and be careful not to use a paint with low combustion temperature =)

make sure the paint doesnt have any metallic elements to it and shake the f*** out of those cans and spray from a good distance, in the paint flakes, you could have a hell of a problem

Ok, I'll try and tackle what I can with the experience I got painting.

1.) Sanding the panels and bezels should be done with wet or dry sandpaper. I also recommend wetting the sandpaper and the surface you're going to sand, since this will preserve the sandpaper and won't cause big scratches in the panels. As for grits, if you're slightly impatient like I am, I used 320 grit on the metal panels, then moved to 400. For the plastic bezel I only used 400 since you don't need to sand it too much. Once they are smooth feeling, wipe them down with some 409/cleaner and a clean towel/rag.

2.) Primer is more of a preference really. My paintjobs don't change with or without it, but I used primer on mine. Use thin coats, you don't need to pound it on. The main reason I use primer is it helps show me if everything looks flat and nice.

3.) For the insides, it's up to you. I didn't paint the insides of mine, but white is a neutral color. You could also try painting it the same color as the main color of the outside. Yes sand the inside, you probably don't need to sand it too much, but give it a quick run down and you should be all set. There's a lot of small spaces, so there's no real flat surfaces to show any runs, so you don't have to be as careful with the inside.

4.) Do the same amount on the panels and the bezels. This way there's no real change in color. Remember to do multiple THIN layers. Laying it on thick may cover it, but I guarantee you'll run (pun intended) into problems. If you want glossy, that's where the cleatcoat will do it. 3-4 Thin coats of the paint should cover the case fine.

5.) Cleat coats depends on how glossy you want it. For a very nice glossy mirror like finish I'd recommend 4 or 5. Do about 3 cleat coats one day, let it sit and finish it off. (Give it another day to sit and use some Rubbing Compound and Hand Glaze, found at your local autoparts store to give it the great car like shine).

6.) Glossy or flat is again preference. Glossy seems very very gloss once the clear coats are on and rubbed out, but I only used a glossy black before, and flat black is mirror like with clear coat on too. I used a flat blue on my main case and did about 5 clear coats, rubbed it out and got a great mirror like shine.

Read over Insomniac's tutorials and practice. Practice is what will really get the paintjob done how you want it. Insomniac's tutorials helped me a ton in getting the paint job I wanted, especially since it was the first time I've painted something like this.

Good luck, it's well worth the effort. Just need some patience.

EDIT:

Also, as for sanding in between coats, I'm not quite sure, some people do it to get rid of all imperfections, I sanded like this:

Sanded all the pieces using 320/400/600 Grit.
Paint Primer.
(Wait 24 hours)
Sanded again 600 grit.
Paint main coats.
(Wait 24 hours)
Sanded again using 600/1500/3200(2000 is easier to find) grit.
Paint clear coats.
(Wait 24 hours)
Sanded again using 1500/3200 grit.
Rubbed out (Rubbing compound and Hand Glaze)
Shine and smile