Hey Guys,

This is just a quickie mod. All that I plan on doing is a sweet paint job, possibly extra/different fans and a fan controller. This case is NOT going to have a window. lol its been a while since i've seen a modded case without a window.

Anyway, I'm using the CoolerMaster Centurion 5 Case. Here are a few pics of it.







It took me ages to find a place in Australia that sells fine line tape, but I found one the other day. Here are the two rolls I got.



I was originally going to bondo in the flat mesh part here, and either hammer in then bondo the curved fan part, or cut it out and put new metal then bondo. I'm still undecided, at first I wanted to have completely flat panels with nothing on them so that I could have a clean canvas so to speak for my paintjob.





I started doing some sketches and crap which all turned out fairly crap. So I got some flames off the net but I can't draw them myself onto the panel larger since they are not the type of flames I draw and they don't look right when I try to do them. I can do different flames quite well, but they arent coming up well on the side panel. So I've decided to do a lightning type flame things lol.



I just used a bit of the tape here to try it out and just freehanded this lthing in tape which is what I mean by lightning flame things



The design will cover the case sides and top and the colour I choose for the flames will be used on the side bar things on the front bezel and also the control panel etc.

I was originally going to do it using 2pac but since I have no experience in that I am most likely just going to use automotive touch up paint in cans. I want it to be pretty much the same colour as the tape funnily enough except slightly brighter.

What I need to decided soon is wether I'm going to get rid of the side mesh stuff or not, because if I do I will need to use bondo and therefore have to repaint the whole case in a black base coat, since it would be very hard to get a black paint that is identical to the powder coating used on the case.

I'll leave it at that!

Ok Guys, had a bit of time to spare the other day and taped up the case for the lightning/flames. I still have to sort out the transferite paper, or just use heaps of masking tape, and also get the paint. Anyway, here are a couple of pics, just to see the design I came up with. I didn't copy it from anyone, I just got out the tape and freehanded it straight on there, it looks good to me but everyone has a different opinion, so I'd like to hear what you guys think.

Top + Left Side


Top + Right Side


I also still need to clean up the egdes of some tape meeting points, I didn't have an exacto knife or anything to do it with, so I'll do that later.

ok I've been getting a bit more spare time lately so I've been into the shed and modding

I cleaned up the fineline tape joins, and masked off the rest of the case using good quality masking tape.



I wetsanded the thunderflamethings after they were taped up, but i kept a clean rag with me so each time i sanded i wiped away the water from the paper so it didnt soak into the tape and loosen it.



First dusty coat of the paint i chose were laid down the other night. (I'll get pics of the cans of paint I used tomorrow)







I put down another two coats today, but I forgot to get pics of it, and I've closed the shed and its cold so I can't be bothered going back out there. I'll put on more coats tomorrow and grab pics of that for you guys

Well I needed to go out to the shed anyway so I snapped these pics.





I decided to have the plastic part of the bezel at the top and bottom painted too. So I've sanded away the plastic texture it had, and put on some spray putty/primer to make it smooth before I paint.





These are the side rails for the bezel with their first coat.



And these are the front control panel type things. its only the first coat but I don't think they will come up well, I might need to sand off the paint and prime it with white first.




Everything needs a few more coats, and then I will do a few coats of clear, and then wetsand, then polish.

Am I meant to put on all the paint, then clear, then wetsand it all, or should I do it between paint, and clear, or between every coat?

Yay I'm really wanting to get this done and put my system inside :shock:

Today I laid down one more coat of green, and then left it for 15 mins to harden up a bit, but not so much that the paint would crack when stripping off the masking.

Also, I decided against sanding out the orange peel, since the stock black on the case has it, so I don't think it will look to bad if both have it, and also it would be a pain to keep sanding with all the masking on.

Onto the pics -

Top Last Coat



Top Masking Removed



Right Panel Last Coat



Right Panel Masking Removed



Left Panel Last Coat



Left Panel Masking Removed




And a few shots with the masking removed and the case panels on.






The front bezel, side strips, and control panels.



Here is what needs to be put back in - drive bay covers, front bezel mesh, and also I'm putting in a Green UV 80mm Antec fan into the side panel.



Also this is another decision I need to make - I can either leave this foam stuff in and have some LEDs behind it to make the front panel glow. Or I can put some thicker foam in that I have seen at Clark Rubber (great place to get rubber feet and trimming etc for modding :thumbup behind it so that it can't be seen through.



I will also most likely put in some green LEDs under the case to give the effect of undercar neons.


Last thing, which is one of the most important:

As you can see on most of the joins of the lightning flame things, they did not come up well and there is a little bit of paint that has come under the tape. What would I use to clean this up? I do not want to pinstripe the flames as they have a pretty defined edge apart from these small mistakes in the corners. I'm thinking just buff it out using some cut n polish compound? or maybe some kind of solvent, but this could damage the black paint on the rest of the case?

good job liens came out very straight. I love the green it just jumps out at ya.

I have decided against clearcoating the case, the paint seems to be durable enough, and since it is higher then the rest of the black paint, I think wetsanding it after the clearcoat will maybe cut through it.

Also this means I can put the front bezel back together and put it on.

Front Bezel Reassembled.



Clipping on the front control panels.





A few shots with the bezel on. (I'm really happy with how this looks)






I put in some green LEDs into the green UV Antec fan I had.





And wired it into the fan power wires of the 120mm exhaust fan using an audio jack, so it can be easily disconnected when removing the side panel.



I wired it into the 12V line, everything worked fine, except it was too loud for my liking, so then I rewired it, this time into the 5V line, mm nice and quiet, but the LEDs no longer work, dam I should have realised and wired them up seperately. More work for tomorrow :lol:

So all I need to do now to finish it off is:

- rewire LEDs from side panel fan.
- fix up overspray problems in a few areas.
- polish up the whole case.
- mod one drive bay cover to stealth an optical drive.
- mod another drive bay cover to house a small green character display. (LCD)
- intsall my system

Fun! I never used this "masking" for painting... yet... what I really like is that you managed to get a decent
"shine" from the green without elaborate sanding.... the contrast between the "silk" black & "glossy" green
is what makes this project really shine.... +rep! (earned!)

TDR

Very eye-catching! However, you may later regret that you didn't clear-coat everything in the future. Paint only seems durable when it's brand new. Once you've scratched and chipped it, you'll be wishing you'd clear-coated and waxed it. Another reason is when you go to polish the case. The fine grit will not be only buffing the clear layers, it'll be buffing directly into the color. Over time you might experience color fading or even begin to see the black beneath. Anyway, it looks great all the same.

I definately agree with what Coelacanth said about the clearcoat. I have experienced this exact thing and had to redo a paint job 3 times until I got it right.

I do love the nice paint job though

The good thing is, you can still clearcoat it without much extra preparation. Just clean everything with some gentle soap and water, let it dry thoroughly, then apply several thin coats of clear. I usually use at least 4 coats--the thicker, the deeper the final gloss will be, as well as more durable. After you got the clearcoats on, use fine grit sandpaper and a sanding block to wet-sand the panels...I usually start with 400, then move to 800, 1000, and 1500 grit. Wet-sand them in your bathtub with water always running on the panels, to help carry away all the sanded off particles. You don't have to press really hard when you wet-sand, you just gotta be patient and do it like Mr. Miyagi taught us how in Karate Kid. (Actually sand first in one direction with the sanding block, then change sandpaper grit, and sand perpendicular to the first time.)

Once it's all wet-sanded, you should have a uniform hazy appearance to your paint--but don't worry! That's what you want. Now, you use some rubbing compound and a wet cloth to rub out that sucker. Once you've done that, you'll really see a satisfying gloss! Follow that up with some polishing compound, then wait a few weeks for everything to cure properly, then wax on, wax off. By this point, your paint job won't have that common orange-peel texture to it, it should be smooth enough to see a very good reflection of yourself. Spend the extra time doing this, you'll be glad you did!

looks really really sweet so far, that black-green contrast is awesome

first off great looking case already !!

maybe for those "shock" maybe trace the outline of them with a light blue paint to make them pop a little bit better

**edit **
i used my wonderful paint skills to give you an idea

Quote: Originally Posted by Coelacanth Very eye-catching! However, you may later regret that you didn't clear-coat everything in the future. Paint only seems durable when it's brand new. Once you've scratched and chipped it, you'll be wishing you'd clear-coated and waxed it. Another reason is when you go to polish the case. The fine grit will not be only buffing the clear layers, it'll be buffing directly into the color. Over time you might experience color fading or even begin to see the black beneath. Anyway, it looks great all the same.

That is if you want it all shiny. Like TDR said, i like the contrast between the gloss green and semi-gloss black. project vegas, your idea looks cool, but i think it'd be cool to do in gloss black to keep the color scheme simple but provide contrast. Probably real quick to do with a brush.

this looks really good the balck and green contrast looks amazing.....keep it up

Quote: Originally Posted by Cyno01 That is if you want it all shiny. Like TDR said, i like the contrast between the gloss green and semi-gloss black. project vegas, your idea looks cool, but i think it'd be cool to do in gloss black to keep the color scheme simple but provide contrast. Probably real quick to do with a brush.

Actually, if you'll re-read my post that you quoted, I provided a number of benefits of clear-coating that have nothing to do with mere appearance...but rather durability and longevity and protection. A matte clear-coat would achieve the same benefits; not clear-coating at all leaves your paint unprotected and it *will* fade and become damaged over time.

I do dig that Kawasaki green look.I don`t suppose you like green,lol.Great work on the color scheme,Jo

Quote: Originally Posted by Coelacanth Actually, if you'll re-read my post that you quoted, I provided a number of benefits of clear-coating that have nothing to do with mere appearance...but rather durability and longevity and protection. A matte clear-coat would achieve the same benefits; not clear-coating at all leaves your paint unprotected and it *will* fade and become damaged over time.

Very true, im a paint noob and assumed any clear coat is buffed to a gloss... Wouldnt a matte clear coat deaden the gloss of the green though.

Finally got around to finishing off this case, only need to do like two small things in the next update and then im completley finished.

This is the VFD/LCd that I will be using, just a 16 x 2 green character display.





This is where it will be installed, in the 3 1/4 bay for a floppy drive. Looking at this pic its obvious there is no real easy way to mount it. I will have to make custom mounts.



Here is the space for the screen cut in the drive bay cover.



My custom monuts made from acrylic finished, these took a good few hours of using different materials and designs until I found one that I managed to get to work.



The front of it repainted in black since I scratched it up a bit while making the monuts. The screen has masking over it to protect it from the paint.




Stealthing the Drive.

Bay cover marked for cutting.



Cut and filed.



The front of the DVD RW.



I sanded the ridge off.



I glued the bay cover onto the DVD RW front using all purpose glue, then gave it a few coats of black gloss. This way I can take off the stealth cover if I want to. It just pops on and off like a normal drive faceplate.

(Pics of it finished at the end of this post)

Installed my system.





And the completed front bezel including the display and stealthed drive.








Final update in a few days.

! stunning!!!