1. This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn More.

Case Mod - In Progress [COMPLETED!] Storm Scout Restoration

Discussion in 'Project Logs' started by stuartwood89, 7 Feb 2013.

  1. stuartwood89

    stuartwood89 Please... Just call me Stu.

    Joined:
    20 Aug 2008
    Posts:
    1,566
    Likes Received:
    52
    Hey guys,

    For a few months I've been attempting a build from some old spare parts laying around, basically so me and my other half no longer have to fight over the PC. Long story short is the PC stopped working, entirely after a motherboard replacement, but luckily I have some semi-decent hardware coming my way in a few days. All I have to do is provide a CPU.

    Housing all of this is a second hand CM Storm Scout, which was donated to me by a friend. The only problem is that it has a terrible paint job. I'm not talking about a bad colour (it's red), but it's the way it's been painted. It looks like the case was partly disassembled, then simply spray painted - no primer... no lacquer... and only one coat by the looks of things.

    Although I don't actually like the case that much (it looks a bit naff and cable management is actually pretty poor), I will be taking this case to the I-Series SpringLAN in Telford this march, so I want it to be at least a bit presentable.

    The plan is to take all of that red paint off and generally tidy up the case. What I need to know is will it be a case of just roughing up the crappy paint and going over it, or sanding it all off and starting again? Anyone with any experience in this? Ideally I'd like to just leave the whole thing in some sort of solution and take the whole lot off.

    EDIT:: This is starting to become a project log now, so changed the title.
     
    Last edited: 20 Mar 2013
  2. Pranja

    Pranja Blackwolf

    Joined:
    18 Dec 2011
    Posts:
    1,170
    Likes Received:
    24
    Use heatgun or gasoline-based paint remover. Even simple thing like aceton can be used to remove spray paint.
     
  3. stuartwood89

    stuartwood89 Please... Just call me Stu.

    Joined:
    20 Aug 2008
    Posts:
    1,566
    Likes Received:
    52
    I'll be going into my local Wickes tomorrow after work for some tools (files etc), so I'll see what they have there. The only trouble is that a lot of paint strippers are no longer any good, due to restrictions on what can be put in them. I have a feeling there will be a lot of hard labour involved. Is the factory powder coating going to be affected by any of these strippers?
     
    Last edited: 8 Feb 2013
  4. Pranja

    Pranja Blackwolf

    Joined:
    18 Dec 2011
    Posts:
    1,170
    Likes Received:
    24
    I know that paint remover based on gasoline or alcohol can't do anything to factory paintjob.

    Bu I am not sure about heatgun.
     
  5. stuartwood89

    stuartwood89 Please... Just call me Stu.

    Joined:
    20 Aug 2008
    Posts:
    1,566
    Likes Received:
    52
    OK I'll see what they have. I'll also be cutting some holes as well, for cable management and the restrictive built in fan meshes on the chassis. Thinking of getting a Dremel as they're only around £40.
     
  6. stuartwood89

    stuartwood89 Please... Just call me Stu.

    Joined:
    20 Aug 2008
    Posts:
    1,566
    Likes Received:
    52
    Quick update: I bought a Dremel 3000 so that I can start cutting some holes in the case. The plan is to create some cable management holes and cut out the perferated fan grilles to increase airflow.

    I haven't bought anything to strip the paint yet, but I'll be dismantling the case some time this week to assess the damage. If I'm lucky, I might even be able to chip some of it off.

    I also plan on replacing the cracked side panel window with a nice black tinted panel.

    I'll get some picture up of the case in its current state soon.
     
  7. stuartwood89

    stuartwood89 Please... Just call me Stu.

    Joined:
    20 Aug 2008
    Posts:
    1,566
    Likes Received:
    52
    OK Ladies and Gents, work has started on stripping this entire case down to the bare minimum. That means all fixtures and fittings so that I can start thinking about how I can get this nasty paint off.

    Some pictures of the strip-down process:

    The case fully built (missing the side panels and some drive blanks).

    [​IMG]

    A side view of the case. Please excuse my messy room. I did tidy it up after.

    [​IMG]

    The side panel with the window removed. The plastic is cracked and broken in places, so this will be replaced.

    [​IMG]

    Full view of the side panel.

    [​IMG]

    Here's a closer look at that nasty paint job.

    [​IMG]

    Here is a shot of where those horrible tool-less drive retention clips were. They were simply painted over

    [​IMG]

    Here are the clips. They won't be going back on the case.

    [​IMG]

    I also removed the spring loaded metal bits, as they will not be needed. I plan on using the holes to screw drives to the case, the good old fashioned way.

    [​IMG]

    The tool-less PCI retention brackets were awful. I ended up using screws when I originally had stuff in here. They're gone now and won't be coming back. Also notice that the bottom has been cut away. I guess the previous owner had watercooling tubing coming out of there.

    [​IMG]

    Front and top panels removed. There are a load of wires connected to this thing.

    [​IMG]

    Top panel handle removed.

    [​IMG]

    With everything taken off, I used my new Dremel to drill out the rivets and fully dismantle the case. This should make clearing the paint off a lot easier. Sadly I didn't take any pictures of me drilling for obvious reasons.

    [​IMG]

    The next thing is to find a way of getting this paint off. So far I have tried nail polish remover (contains Acetone), but no luck there. I am considering sanding it off, but that will take ages and may damage the black powder coat underneath, which I would like to keep intact to minimise work required afterwards. If there is anyone with some experience in this, your advice is greatly appreciated. I will try white spirit at some point this week and see if that helps take some of this off.

    Once the paint is off, I can start thinking about where I need to cut cable management and fan holes.
     
  8. exiled

    exiled What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    17 Jul 2012
    Posts:
    22
    Likes Received:
    0
    media blast it or sand blast it then clean off dust and repaint it will only work on the metal
     
  9. stuartwood89

    stuartwood89 Please... Just call me Stu.

    Joined:
    20 Aug 2008
    Posts:
    1,566
    Likes Received:
    52
    Thanks for the reply exiled. To be honest I was hoping for something a little more off the shelf. This is a budget mod so I don't have the money for having work professionally done. I think I'll try the white spirit on the drive cage and failing that, try something petroleum based.
     
  10. Pranja

    Pranja Blackwolf

    Joined:
    18 Dec 2011
    Posts:
    1,170
    Likes Received:
    24
    If gasoline based paint removed doesn't work,go for something stronger-industrial acetone.

    It is really cheap (about 4 € per liter) and it washes paint away. I used it to remove paint from plexi. Great stuff. And powerfull.
     
  11. The_Crapman

    The_Crapman World's worst stuntman. Lover of bit-tech

    Joined:
    5 Dec 2011
    Posts:
    7,645
    Likes Received:
    3,890
    Nitromors! Worked wonders on my rads:
    [​IMG]
     
  12. stuartwood89

    stuartwood89 Please... Just call me Stu.

    Joined:
    20 Aug 2008
    Posts:
    1,566
    Likes Received:
    52
    Interesting....

    Any particular type? I did just find a video where someone managed to get spray paint off with Fairy Power Spray. I might see if I can give that a go first. If it doesn't work, I'll use it on my oven.
     
  13. The_Crapman

    The_Crapman World's worst stuntman. Lover of bit-tech

    Joined:
    5 Dec 2011
    Posts:
    7,645
    Likes Received:
    3,890
    This one Slap it on, leave it, scrape it. And by scrape it i mean as easy as spreading warm butter. There were some little stubborn bits, but a bit of wire wool sorted that.
     
  14. stuartwood89

    stuartwood89 Please... Just call me Stu.

    Joined:
    20 Aug 2008
    Posts:
    1,566
    Likes Received:
    52
    I'll definitely look into that. Looks like it will do that job.

    Some hardware information:

    Gigabyte MA770T-UD3
    [​IMG]

    AMD Phenom II x4 Black Edition 965
    [​IMG]

    Corsair H70 - with two fans
    [​IMG]

    XFX 5770 1GB - will swap the stock cooler with my Accelero Twin Turbo if it fits.
    [​IMG]

    12GB worth of G Skill Ripjaws - DDR3 - 4 sticks in total
    [​IMG]

    Not cutting edge, but will still allow me to play some decent games. It's better than my Pentium Dual Core and 9800GT with 4GB memory anyway. With the exception of the CPU and H70, this was all generously donated by a good friend (I will pay him back somehow!)
     
    Last edited: 13 Feb 2013
    Teelzebub likes this.
  15. stuartwood89

    stuartwood89 Please... Just call me Stu.

    Joined:
    20 Aug 2008
    Posts:
    1,566
    Likes Received:
    52
    Minor update. All the PC parts have been moved into my temporary cardboard PC case, and it all works, H70 and all. I'll get a photo of that up later on today.

    Yesterday I brought some Fairy Power Spray and started blasting some of the panels.

    The result wasn't what I was expecting... videos I've seen showed it falling off with a stiff brush after 20 minutes. Instead I needed to keep the stuff on overnight in the bath. When I got up this morning, the paint had softened nicely, but still needed some hard scrubbing with a brush. I blasted it with the hairdryer for a bit, which seems to have made the paint bubble up so I can simply peel it off. The powder coat still seems to be ok underneath, but I've only started on one panel so far. I'll get the rest started later on today and include some photos.
     
  16. stuartwood89

    stuartwood89 Please... Just call me Stu.

    Joined:
    20 Aug 2008
    Posts:
    1,566
    Likes Received:
    52
    Sorry for the lack of update as promised.

    I've actually been busy getting this paint off the case. Still a pretty long way to go, but here is some progress:

    As promised, here are a few shots of the temporary case:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    The H70 is actually very secure there. The tubes are quite stiff, and the radiator just rests there with no strain on anything else. I added some blu-tac to stop it from vibrating around.

    Some pictures of the paint stripping:

    This stuff needs to be on for around 12-18 hours before the paint is soft enough:

    [​IMG]

    The front side of the case is complete:

    [​IMG]

    The back of it still needs some work:

    [​IMG]

    Still a few panels to be done. A lot of the paint just peels off, which is handy. Sometimes the paint is a bit more stubborn, so I use the edge of one of the plastic drive retention clips to scrape it off. Because it's plastic, it doesn't damage the powder coat.

    Thanks for reading!
     
    Last edited: 16 Feb 2013
    Pliqu3011 likes this.
  17. stuartwood89

    stuartwood89 Please... Just call me Stu.

    Joined:
    20 Aug 2008
    Posts:
    1,566
    Likes Received:
    52
    Another update!

    Sorry for the length of time it's taken to get an update out. I've been pretty busy with work and stuff, along with actually getting on with the paint removal. My fingers are in a bad way, and my other half is complaining about little flecks of red paint dotted around the house, but I finally have something to show for it.

    Behold:

    [​IMG]

    So I know that's not all of the panels, but that's a significant amount of work done so far.

    Here's a shot of the motherboard tray:

    [​IMG]

    If you look closely, you can see some tiny bits of red paint, which I'll hopefully address later. The back of the tray is not looking as good unfortunately:

    [​IMG]

    This is mostly due to the rolled edges of the steel panel, and my scraping tool (the edge of one of the drive retention clips) doesn't get to the edges very well. I'll go back to this once I have a suitable tool for the job, something pointy and plastic, so that it doesn't scrape the powder coat.

    On another note, I have also just received my acrylic sheet for the replacement side panel window:

    [​IMG]

    I'm not sure if you can see it there, but I have already drawn the outline, using the old window piece as a template. This sheet is dark tinted, so hopefully will only be see-through once the internal lighting is on. I won't be including the 120mm fan vents as featured in the original window, as I'll be thinking of another way of getting air to the GPU. I'm debating on whether to drill holes and attach it the way the original window was, or use some strong adhesive tape.

    I also wanted to ask some advice. Whilst I am able to get the bulk of the paint off, some of the overspray will not lift off, presumably because the Power Spray cannot get beneath it. If I use something like a washing up scourer, it starts to take some of the powder coat off. Instead of trying to take the overspray off, I'm thinking of covering it up with something. Initially I thought of using black spray paint, but I was worried that it will affect the finish of the underlying powder coat, and could create patches around the case.

    What I'm looking for is something that will cover up any scuffs and red-tinted parts, that can be applied by rubbing it onto the powder coated metal, something like a black polish. Would something similar to black shoe polish be suitable for something like this, or is there a specialised product out there?

    Thanks for reading!
     
  18. stuartwood89

    stuartwood89 Please... Just call me Stu.

    Joined:
    20 Aug 2008
    Posts:
    1,566
    Likes Received:
    52
    Small update.

    I bit the bullet and went out to get some Nitromors as The_Crapman suggested. Up to this point I was really careful about not messing up the powder coat, but now I'm not too bothered, as I may end up respraying it anyway (properly).

    The Nitromors has allowed me to get rid of what the Fairy Power Spray couldn't, including the paint built up in the corners and behind folded edges. I'll add some more picture of progress soon.
     
  19. JoshH

    JoshH What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    19 May 2012
    Posts:
    31
    Likes Received:
    0
    Nitromors is hardcore stuff, should have really helped with the stubborn stuff.

    What colour are you thinking of for the respray? Matt black?
     
  20. stuartwood89

    stuartwood89 Please... Just call me Stu.

    Joined:
    20 Aug 2008
    Posts:
    1,566
    Likes Received:
    52
    Indeed!

    I was thinking of going for another colour, seeing as I was spraying it anyway. In the end I though black is easy enough to get hold of, so why change it?

    I'll be sanding the powder coat down a bit to give it a nice surface for primer, then will add a coat of black or two, then probably some clear coat to protect it.

    ...and only 25 days till SpringLAN!
     

Share This Page