Scratch Build Project Quintessence - 29Jun-She's Live- CPU Magazine!

[AnG3L]

One of the most amazing and well executed mods! I was planning for a steam bending machine long time ago but I ve never seen something like it. Basically the one I wanted to build was for big pieces but that looks very interesting too!!!

[Waynio]

Originally Posted by voigts

Thanks Wayne. I'm trying to keep things hidden and as neat as possible.

And an excellent job of it too .

[voigts]

The Painting Begins

The time has come to start painting. Oh yeah! I disassembled everything, and sanded all of the alu parts down to 120 grit sandpaper to get all of the scratches out. I really want a good primer coat. After some research online, I've that I want to use a chemical metal prep/etcher to ensure good adhesion with the primer to include all of the holes, etc that you can't reach just by sanding. I found a gallon of this Krud Kutter metal etching fluid at a local paint store (Sherwin Williams) for about $23, which was a lot cheaper than ordering something online. Metalprep 79 for instance would have run me about $30 for just a quart. I also got Rustoleum alu primer to use.



The cleaner/etching solution is easy to use. Per the instructions, you dilute 1 part solution to 3 parts water. I bought a plastic container for this. You simply wet all of the parts down, let them sit for about 10 minutes, and then rinse them of well with a waterhose and then let them airdry. This cleaner really does a good job. The alu came out really, really clean.



I have hanging rods to keep dust out of part of my work/storage shed, so these were a natural choice to hang everything up to dry on. I cut a bunch of short pieces of wire to hang the parts on. This is all of the parts with one good coat of primer on them drying.



I'm going to paint them all flat black first after priming to act as a good base color, and then paint them all with Brown Hammered paint. I've got a few more pieces to clean and prime, then I can get start on the black.

I also have decided that I'm going to go with copper pipe for this build instead of tubing. I found through alain-s' Project White build log that Bitspower makes these SLI fittings that also will work with 3/8”ID 1/2”OD copper tubing. Bitspower also has a mini version of this fitting. I bought 12 of them, and also picked up some soft copper tubing and a few 90s and 45s this morning. This will be awesome if they work as planned. I really like the idea of hard-lining, and I have a tubing bender. I've hard-lined before, but I always had to use vinyl tubing to connect to barbs, which isn't an elegant solution to say the least. I don't like the Koolance copper tubing to G1/4” fittings as they are simply too long, and are $10 ea., whereas the Bitspower fittings are only $6.95 a pair. I'll probably paint the tubing to match the case.

Thanks for stopping by.

[bulldogjeff]

I've just done the front panel on my build as you know. Instead of etching I give it a good rub down with 400 wet and dry and use filler primer and the go over that with ordinary primer. I've never had a problem with adhesion doing this way, it's quite a bit cheaper as well. I've been thinking about going with solid pipe for the water cooling, are they standard 15mm fitting for copper pipe? Looking forward to seeing how it all comes out. Nice work dude.

[voigts]

Originally Posted by bulldogjeff

I've just done the front panel on my build as you know. Instead of etching I give it a good rub down with 400 wet and dry and use filler primer and the go over that with ordinary primer. I've never had a problem with adhesion doing this way, it's quite a bit cheaper as well. Looking forward to seeing how it all comes out. Nice work dude.

The etching solution probably isn't a have-to, but I read that the guys that paint alu for marine purposes always use an etching compound followed by an alodine solution and then paint. The alodine definitely is overkill for our purposes, but I figured why not on the cleaner. That gallon is enough to last me a very, very long time.

[bulldogjeff]

looking back you've got a lot of small bits, probably easier to do it your way, other wise it would be an awful lot of rubbing down. I just had one large panel to deal with and 3 smaller ones.

[voigts]

I've got several part parts with lots of holes and a number of little parts so that there is no way to sand down everything.

I got everything primed, everything painted flat black, and now one coat of brown hammertone paint on everything. The brown hammered paint is coming out really nice!

[Cheapskate]

*This space for obligatory 'dipping small parts' joke*

Any pics of the paint yet? I'd be careful of where you store that primer. If it's like some of the other etching/cleaning products, It will eat its way through the bottle eventually.

[voigts]

Originally Posted by Cheapskate

*This space for obligatory 'dipping small parts' joke*

Any pics of the paint yet? I'd be careful of where you store that primer. If it's like some of the other etching/cleaning products, It will eat its way through the bottle eventually.

I still have one more light coat of hammered I want to spray on, and then probably a coat of satin lacquer before I take any pics. I don't want the paint to be able to chip easily.

As for the cleaner, I hadn't thought of it eating through the plastic jug. I wonder what it could be stored in long term that wouldn't have this potential issue?

[SnowyOwl]

Love your render ... and craftmanship that thing is going to be clean & elgant
great work can't wait to see the end results!

[riekmaharg2]

Nice work voigts, you've got some pro modding skills, specially on your woodwork

[voigts]

Originally Posted by SnowyOwl

Love your render ... and craftmanship that thing is going to be clean & elgant
great work can't wait to see the end results!

Thank you. Those adjectives describe exactly what I have been after with this build. From the start I wanted something that would have an elegant, stylish look to it. I hope to achieve that goal.

Originally Posted by riekmaharg2

Nice work voigts, you've got some pro modding skills, specially on your woodwork

Thanks a lot. I'm not so sure about the pro part as far as my skills (or lack thereof) go, but I enjoy the process and try to make it all come out well. I've still got a lot to learn though.

[voigts]

You know you're hooked on modding when on a beautiful, sunny day, you're working on a mod instead of goofing off outside. Go figure. I spent about 5 hours today putting on 7 layers of spray lacquer. I'm glad it was a nice day outside as spraying lacquer outdoors is definitely the way to go.



I went through 3 cans of spray. The finish is coming out nice. After it hardens for a few days, I plan on rubbing it out to try to make it look as good as I can.

I'm holding out on detailed pics yet as I have more work I hope to get done this weekend.

[Waynio]

The panels look sweet what I can see of them voigts .
That trigger thing looks handy on the can .

Kinda like christmas eve as a kid the run up to a finished new case, quite exciting .

[voigts]

That spray can trigger is a real finger saver. I bought it at a hardware store. It just snaps onto the can, and works with any can that has a narrow spray head. Some of the newer cans have a real wide spray nozzle, and it doesn't fit those. It allows you to mash the spray nozzle all of the way down, and makes for much more even spray strokes.

This week I've gone through 2 cans of primer, 2 cans of flat black paint, 2 cans of brown hammered paint, and 3 cans of lacquer. Without this little gizmo, my poor index finger would have given out many cans ago.

[mnpctech]

It's coming along wonderfully. I can't wait to see it finished voigts

[AnG3L]

Really love your outdoor place buddy!!! I have one question though! Why you need 3 cans of lacquer ? It sounds too much for me but certainly there is a tip behind this! Also varnish wouldnt be easier and better? Polyurethane varnish for a clear finish on wood is one of the best solutions for me.
I want to see the final shoots ASAP!!!!
Mod on brother!!

EDIT: When I say varnish I mean with a air spray gun off course !!

[Vaptor-x]

Amazing wood work

[voigts]

Originally Posted by mnpctech

It's coming along wonderfully. I can't wait to see it finished voigts

You and me both! Thanks for chiming in Bill.

Originally Posted by AnG3L

Really love your outdoor place buddy!!! I have one question though! Why you need 3 cans of lacquer ? It sounds too much for me but certainly there is a tip behind this! Also varnish wouldnt be easier and better? Polyurethane varnish for a clear finish on wood is one of the best solutions for me.
I want to see the final shoots ASAP!!!!
Mod on brother!!

EDIT: When I say varnish I mean with a air spray gun off course !!

I've always used polyurethane on wood finishes, but given the scrollwork, I was concerned about poly running a lot. I did a lot of reading on finishes, and came to the concensus that for indoor use, lacquer is the way to go. It dries very quickly, can be recoated in 30 minutes, is much harder to get to run, and is easier to repair if it gets nicked. I went with so many coats of lacquer to build up the finish to hide most of the grain in the wood, and so that it can be rubbed out to provide a really nice shine.

As for using an air gun sprayer, my little compressor doesn't put out enough airflow to use one.

Originally Posted by Vaptor-x

Amazing wood work

Thanks. So far I'm pleased with the way it is turning out.

I just had to fix a minor oops moment when I realized that I was 4 holes short on the MB tray for where the ATX cable passes through. Somehow I miscounted the number of wires. Fortunately, I made the case so that the top metal panel and the MB panels are screwed down. I just had to remove the top panel and MB panel, drill the holes, and put a quick coat of paint on.

[voigts]

Putting in Parts, Lighting, Watercooling, etc. Part 1

Time for a little bit of a tease. I drained out the Zenith radio, and have started swapping out parts into Quintessence. I have to still buff out the lacquer finish, but I can do that after I get it up and running since the front and top are removable. The MB is installed. Both rads are cleaned out and dried, and the CPU and GPU blocks are cleaned out. They were only tarnished, but I took them apart anyway and soaked them in some Tarnx. I worked today on getting the LED lighting installed. I've got a little more of that to go tomorrow, and have power lines to run. This little detailed stuff is so time consuming! Stay tuned...