Case Mod Project: Steampunk'd TJ11 DONE!!! October 2012 MOTM Winner!!!

[Fuganater]

I'm super siked to announce that Performance-PCs.com is sponsoring me with some gear.





Now for the unexpected results. I needed to put a clear coat on the rust because it would rub off just like real rust. In doing so the color of the rust went from a orange/red/brown to more of a dark brown. I actually like this color because it looks more like leather. Let me know what you guys think.

Mid plate with clear on it and the mobo tray under it.





I liked it so I keep putting clear coat on the rest of the parts. Here is the mobo tray painted and assembled.


Still has a rust look to it.


And compared to the PSU bracket.


So while I was painting the rest of the parts I decided to start modding the "Thermal Armor" of the mobo.



Tape applied


And marked


And here are the final results. Not sure I'm going to keep the skinny piece between the MOS block and the CPU, it isn't perfectly straight and looks in like its in the way of the design. Not sure yet what I will do.









Not sure how I will paint it but here are a few things I figured out recently.

I'm going to paint all the water blocks gold!
I will paint the 2 ribbed parts of the exterior gold.
The front bezel, back side of the case and side panels will have wood grain vinyl applied.
The Thermal Armor will either be rusted, wood grain or covered in leather!
GPU back plates will be the same as the Thermal Armor.


Things I have ordered:
50mm fan for mobo
EX360 rad
EX240 rad
2x BP MCP655 mod kits
Silverstone Slim DVD Drive bay
Acrylic

Things I need to order
BP Dual D5 Pump top
more Turbine Master fans
EK Uni Brackets for RES
250 Res

Questions, Comments and Recommendations are welcome!

Cheers till next time,

Fuga

[rchiileea]

nice subbed

[Nexxo]

Steampunk awesomeness!

For the wood grain I would investigate real veneer rather than vinyl if possible.

[Vetalar]

+1 for veneer - nothing adds more 'atmosphere' than smell of wood... and veneer is pretty easy to make look older and worn...

[Waynio]

+Another for veneer nice case, nice modding, veneer will give this an extra boost of awesomeness.

Congrats on the sponsor too Fuga I've ordered a couple of times from them too, good shop, postage whooped my rear but was worth it for the hard to get bits.

[kier]

Can't wait to see more...subbed

[RustyTool]

great job so far.
I think that's not a rust paint. it's real rust .first component is paint with iron particles inside and the second component is an oxidiser for iron . so it actually turns the iron into rust . am I wrong?

[E.E.L. Ambiense]

Yeah, it's real rust! You're correct, Rusty! ..Get it?

Come on, no stars for Shane? There's some for ya! Sweet work so far.

[Mosquito]

Looks pretty sweet. I don't think water cooling was in mind when they designed the Sabertooth, so I like it even more!

I would agree with the real wood veneer that Nexxo suggested. You can even get PSA backed to make it easier to apply if you wanted.

[Fuganater]

Originally Posted by rchiileea

nice subbed

Thansk

Originally Posted by Nexxo

Steampunk awesomeness!

For the wood grain I would investigate real veneer rather than vinyl if possible.

I looked into that today. It is pretty much the same price as Vinyl.

Originally Posted by Vetalar

+1 for veneer - nothing adds more 'atmosphere' than smell of wood... and veneer is pretty easy to make look older and worn...

I agree. not to find someone that can cut it down for me.... 4' is too wide to ship to me so I need someone to cut it down.

Originally Posted by Waynio

+Another for veneer nice case, nice modding, veneer will give this an extra boost of awesomeness.

Congrats on the sponsor too Fuga I've ordered a couple of times from them too, good shop, postage whooped my rear but was worth it for the hard to get bits.

Thanks. International shipping can be costly sadly.

Originally Posted by kier

Can't wait to see more...subbed

Originally Posted by RustyTool

great job so far.
I think that's not a rust paint. it's real rust .first component is paint with iron particles inside and the second component is an oxidiser for iron . so it actually turns the iron into rust . am I wrong?

Correct. Saying its paint is the easiest and shortest way to talk about it but yes, you are right, it is REAL rust.

Originally Posted by E.E.L. Ambiense

Yeah, it's real rust! You're correct, Rusty! ..Get it?

Come on, no stars for Shane? There's some for ya! Sweet work so far.

Thanks

Originally Posted by Mosquito

Looks pretty sweet. I don't think water cooling was in mind when they designed the Sabertooth, so I like it even more!

I would agree with the real wood veneer that Nexxo suggested. You can even get PSA backed to make it easier to apply if you wanted.

I'm looking at the PSA kind. 4' x 8' roll is going to cost me about $150. The Vinyl would be close to that.

[Fuganater]

I have been debating on weather or not I would paint the radiators or not for a while now. Here is what the unpainted rad looks like with the fans and painted grills.







I didn't like the look so I decided to give the rad a make over.









I'm glad the letters are still legible.



With the fan grills on. These outside ones are just for looks and to protect the fins.





Fans attached.



Black fan grills on the inside fans. I was debating on painting the fans and inside grills but it would be a waste. By not painting them I can easily replace them and not worry about having to repaint them at a later time.



Got my MDPC-X sleeving in. I have no idea what the combo will be yet but I have lots of time to think about it.



The Yellow LEDs finally came in along with the 47 Ohm resistors for them.



I pulled one out right away and started testing with the vacuum tubes.









I know they still look a little bit orange in the photos but they are a really nice amber yellow in person. They will look great with the other LED strips I have.


Now for a bit of sponsor news. I was talking to Bitspower several months ago and all of a sudden, they stopped replying to me. Well just a few days ago they finally wrote back and we are in talks again for parts. I hope to get all my fittings and the pump top from them.

I also finally got EK to bite. I started talking shop with them. Not sure all what they will be providing but I'm hoping for at least GPU blocks since PPCs took care of my radiators.



What's coming next?

I'm going to finish modding the "thermal armor" on the mobo this weekend. I want to get a nice clean fit.

I ordered a few sheets of aluminium to make a sturdy midplate. (There will probably be acrylic on top of it. I have not decided yet)

I need to do more research into "wood veneer". Someone suggested that instead of using vinyl to give the case a more natural look. After looking at the prices, its not much more than the vinyl so I'm thinking hard about it. Here are 2 that I am looking at.

This one is already finished.
http://www.veneersupplies.com/produc...awn-4-x-8.html

This one requires a finish.
http://wiusa.com/curvwood/Library-Fi...__flat_cut.htm


That's it for today. Hopefully I can get some more done this weekend since its a long weekend but there isn't much left to do on the inside. I need to decide/figure out the veneer situation so I can get the outside done. Oh and I'm waiting for gold paint to arrive. Once I get that I can do the water blocks and some of the case exterior.


Cheers till next time,

Fuga

[Fuganater]

Performance-PCs.com will go down as the fastest company to ship sponsor gear ever! I placed my order and got it not even a week later.

Here is the gear!



XSPC EX360 Multi Port and EX240 Multi Port





I like these rads because they have such a high FPI.



6 ports on each rad!



Up next is 2 Bitspower D5/655 mod kits





Installed on the stock pump tops. Temporary setup because I will be using a Bitspower Dual D5/655 pump top in the mod.





Finally the Silverstone Slim ODD and SSD/HDD bay. I really like this because I can fit my Slim ODD and up to 4 SSD/2.5" HDDs in it.








Thats all from them. More modding in the next update.

Cheers till then,

Fuga

[Baguette]

Sweet! Shame those perfect finishes will be getting a coating... :P Can't wait to see the next result!

[Owndapwn]

Do you mind if I steal the vacuum tube idea? ._.

Oh, and if you know a colour changing LED I can attach to my Hue, that'd be amazing.

[Sarakon]

Ooooh pretty watercooling equipment

[Fuganater]

Originally Posted by Baguette

Sweet! Shame those perfect finishes will be getting a coating... :P Can't wait to see the next result!

Next update I need input so keep an eye out for it.

Originally Posted by Owndapwn

Do you mind if I steal the vacuum tube idea? ._.

Oh, and if you know a colour changing LED I can attach to my Hue, that'd be amazing.

Of course you can. I will probably do a little tutorial on my website for how to do it. I don't own the Hue so I can't say.

Originally Posted by Sarakon

Ooooh pretty watercooling equipment

Thanks!

[Fuganater]

Now I need your opinion! I got 3 different types of Leather fabric and I'm not sure which one to use. I'm going to post a few pictures of each and I'd like to hear what you have to say!


Option 1:

On the door



Close up



On the mobo






Option 2:

On the door



Close up



On the mobo






Option 3:

On the door



Close up



On the mobo







Please leave your feedback! I really want to know what you guys thing. The leather will cover the door panels, the front bezel and the motherboard's "thermal armor". Hope to hear from you guys!!

Cheers till next time,

Fuga

[Baguette]

I'd definitely go for option one for all exterior. It looks much cleaner, and the accents of the weathered items on the inside will pop much more! (Notice the rads on the side, I love the way their coor blends with the leather)
As for the inside, that's a tough call...keeping option 1 isn't something I'd do, since it's just too dark...I'm leaning for option 3 on mobo armor. Let's see what the other folks have to say!

[GuilleAcoustic]

OM NOM NOM .... steampunk, tuuuuuubes, metal, rust and leather !! Wad' a perfect combo. I vote for option 1 too .

I'll keep a good eye on this project

[Sarakon]

Option 1 on the outside and option 3 on the mobo