Case Mod Cosmos Cruizer - Front Grill

[Blooddrunken]

It turned out awesome.

[AverageNinja]

Originally Posted by Elenos

The OCD in me dislikes that the circles don't line up with where the threads are so you intersecting circles. Plus I am not a fane of the circles really - which is shame as the overall design of a lot of the EK stuff is really nice - but without the circles it would be even better!!

I do agree with that, but when (90' or 45') fittings are in, those circles aren't as visible anymore. And I am actually starting to like those circles. Though they look horrible on the GPU blocks.

[tekonivel]

Pure awesomeness!

[Boddaker]

Thanks guys!

Originally Posted by wahoomcdaniel

Lots of supplies, but you should probably add a respirator next time.
Didn't see one in use when you were adding resin.
Mod for the long haul.

I did have a respirator, in fact I was wearing it as I was applying the gelcoat. But I took it off shortly thereafter. I was working in the garage with the door wide open, so it was well ventilated. I just forgot to put the respirator back on.

[Nutman]

Homemade cast side panel = effin' aaaawesome!

[vanos]

I like those fittings and that panel is awesome.

[Boddaker]

Originally Posted by Nutman

Homemade cast side panel = effin' aaaawesome!

Originally Posted by vanos

I like those fittings and that panel is awesome.

Thanks Nutman and vanos!

Spent a good portion of the weekend cleaning up the side panel. I had to remove quite a bit of fiberglass and resin around the edges where the panel mates up with the case. Small oversight on my part, as I should have taped those areas off so I wouldn't glass over them. Ah well, a few extra hours of work and it now fits back on the case. I also exposed all the bubbles just under the surface so I could fill them in with more resin paste. I should be able to do some filling at some point this week, as it is supposed to be warmer.

along with the cleanup, I managed to make a mold of side scoop I made a few months ago. If you recall, I carved the shape out of foam, then covered it with bondo.


I prepped the scoop in the same way as the side panel form, sanding to 1000 grit, polishing compound, 4 coats of wax, 2 coats of PVA. I glued it down to the back side of the same aluminum sheet I had the side panel form on. Using the epoxy dough, I covered the scoop and let it set up overnight.


The next morning, I popped it out of the mold. After a bit of cleanup and prep on the inner surface, it will be ready for fiberglass. I'll be able to make both scoops from this mold.


Work continues...

[Boddaker]

Got the first side scoop done yesterday, as well as quite a bit of bodywork done on the side panel.

I prepped the mold friday night, so I was ready to go first thing on Saturday. Here's a shot after laying down the fiberglass. First layer was the strand mat, followed by two layers of woven roving.


Popped it out of the mold. Had one area where it stuck a bit, so I'll have to repair that before laying up the second scoop.


Side by side comparison between the original foam scoop and the fiberglass piece.


After trimming the scoop, I set it onto the side panel for a test fit. You can also see the bondo work, where I've been filling in the problem areas. I broke through all the bubbles near the surface and filled them back in with resin paste. After grinding them smooth, I went over the areas with bondo. I also went around the whole thing where the fiberglass meets up with the plastic panel and covered up the seam.
That large patch of bondo is where I noticed a minor low spot in the fiberglass. I thought I had that part of the form pretty flat, but I guess not!


I still have to trim the end of the scoop, and I'm thinking it's a bit too long so I'll take about an inch off.


Once I get it trimmed down to where I want it, I'll cut the fan holes in the side panel and glue the scoop down using some resin paste. Then I'll finish it up with some more bondo.

Looking forward to getting some primer on the whole thing so it's one solid color. Hopefully by next week! Thanks for reading.

[whyte]

simply amazing...

[Cheapskate]

Looking...Well, it's still pretty rough, but awesome.

[Dragulax99]

more!!

[Nutman]

Originally Posted by Cheapskate

Looking...Well, it's still pretty rough, but awesome.

Maybe Brian likes it rough?

Ahem... I just stole an obvious one from you there, Cheaps.

[Boddaker]

Originally Posted by whyte

simply amazing...

Thanks whyte!

Originally Posted by Cheapskate

Looking...Well, it's still pretty rough, but awesome.

Originally Posted by Nutman

Maybe Brian likes it rough?
Ahem... I just stole an obvious one from you there, Cheaps.

Well, all projects are pretty rough until finished right? Unless you're Attila I suppose lol.


Anyway, on with a brief update... Last weekend was more family time than modding time, but I did get some additional work done on the side panel, filling, sanding, and trimming. Was having difficulties fitting it back on the case. The fiberglass must have distorted or shrunk the bezel, so I had to trim most of the stock mounting tabs off and add new ones.

But now it fits on the frame again, so I can start marking areas that need to be cut away, like the side scoop hole.


Then I also brought the motherboard in and did a test fit so I could mark all the cable holes.


Roughed out the IO plate and video card holes.


I also started on the motherboard mounting, marking those holes. I'll be using some T-nut inserts from the back that will accept the stand-offs, which I will epoxy in place. I should have another update tonight on that. 'Til then!

[AverageNinja]

awesome job! Have some Rep!

[Boddaker]

Originally Posted by AverageNinja

awesome job! Have some Rep!

Thanks!

[White-Fox]

oh god i really can't wait to see how it turns at the end.... the best of luck for you!!!

[siliconfanatic]

EPicness is happening here

[Boddaker]

Motherboard mounting progress...

After marking the holes with a template, I drilled them out, then routed out a wider area for the T-nuts so they would sit flush.


The T-nuts had barbs sticking up that needed to be flattened since they wouldn't be able to penetrate the fiberglass. I also drilled some holes around the outer base to have something for the resin to grab onto when I permanently set the T-nuts in place.


A shot of the motherboard side with a standoff...


I also got a bit more work done on the access hole cutouts, trimming and filing the edges down, and got another layer of bondo on the low spots of the panel. Which means more sanding grunt work in the very near future. yay!

In other news, I picked up more of the pink stuff from Home Depot (had to drive 20 miles to the next town for it since the local HD doesn't carry it :x ).


No, I won't be insulating my house with it. ;-) Got more pieces to fabricate, namely the top, front, and back panels. I might even start shaping the top panel this week, as I'm in need of a change of pace after all the work I've been doing on the side panel.

[Marquee]

Loving the fiber glass work. how many layers of filler do you think you are going to need to make it smooth?

[Boddaker]

Originally Posted by Marquee

Loving the fiber glass work. how many layers of filler do you think you are going to need to make it smooth?

I think maybe one more go-round after this one. The panel is pretty straight overall, just the one angled side ended up being concaved for whatever reason, so I'm having to add more filler to bring it up to level. This time I used a straight edge that spanned the length of the area and screeted the bondo across the whole thing, so it should be perfect now. After I attach the side scoop, I'll need a bit more filler around the edges to blend that in, and I'll take care of any small holes I find anywhere else, then it should be primer time.