Case Mod - In Progress Project : Make it shine : Finished : 3/20/10

This is incredible! I may be picky, but although I can see some of the mirror shine you put on the case. It could still use a little more light to see the true fruits of your labor.

 

Ok, i'm a bit confused... what did you do to get to this result?

320 -> 1000 -> 1500 -> 2000 -> rubbing compound -> Mother mag polish (?) -> dremel cotton wheel.

Is that it? i'd like to know, i have a few parts with which i'd like to attempt the same finish, you made me want to invest the time with those pics

 

Do you have any suggestions on photographing a mirror?

Thanks

It went like this
120 -> 320 -> 1000 -> 1500 -> 2000 -> Mothers mag polish with felt dremel tips -> Some hand polishing with a microfiber and Mothers to remove any marks left by the dremel


I will suggest that you don't use 120 grit, it's too rough of a grit and is a PITA to sand out with later grits. The rubbing compound would work but I found the Mothers to be better (if you can't find it in holland) plus it has a built in wax that protects the finish.

Also as a tip, more so for 1000 grit and up, sand left to right, look for and deep scratches (sand them out), sand up to down, look for deep scratches (sand them out), then sand in small circles. Then move onto the next grit and repeat. If you find any imperfections (like missed spots) after polishing you can spot sand with 2000 grit and repolish.

Just another FYI after you polish with the dremel (or whatever) you're still going to have to hand polish to remove the tooling marks the dremel leaves behind. But still using the dremel is worth is because it saves a lot of time and effort hand polishing the whole thing. And always polish in one direction, both dremel and hand. Hope this helps

What kinda finish is on the part you want to finish?

 

Could you please tell an old guy who doesn't get out much who makes the enclosure? I couldn't find it in your log but then I'm old and tired.

john

Oh, And I had to give it some stars since it looks so much like one of my G5 cases and the work was excellent.

 

Well john I'll get my helping the elderly badge today


It comes in two flavors the macally G-S350SU ($32)which has E-Sata and USB and the macally G-S350SUA which has E-Sata, USB and 2 Firewire ports ($40). I have 3 of the G-S350SUA

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...mpareItemList=N82E16817347017,N82E16817347015

 

Reminds me of my Iomega External HDD. Looks very nice , might give it a go myself

 

Great job !!

And good point on photographing a mirror. Even case windows cause problems with reflection.

Seems like I've spent far too much time polishing stuff, between hot rods & motorcycles it can eat up a lot of time. Sometimes worth it tho, seems like polished aluminum, nickel and stainless have a depth that chrome lacks.

Mothers has a billet polish that works great. Also had good luck with charging my cotton wheels with jewelers rouge. Couple other products I've found that work well; Meguiars Scratch X, tho only use it on smaller pieces. And Eagle One Nanowax for further protection without creating more work from impurities in the aluminum bleeding back up.

But like a good paint job, you can't side step the prep work, it's all about the sanding. You can't polish pits, gouges and scratches. Nice to see some people understand this and willing to show folks the results of going the extra mile.

Hats off to you mate,

Now if someone would just get the words time, tarnish, oxidise, and weathering out of the equation.

 

With time, work and the right tools anything is possible, go for it

I don't mind a little touch up work now and then to deal with, tarnish....


BTW thanks for the kind words

 

Thanks for all the tips!

It's this little mosfet block i'm making:


I figure that with a good polish those tubes will reflect nicely and look even better. I'm going to light the red fluid with a little UV-lightplug in the fitting, so a good polish on this piece will make it pop out even more

I have two new ones that aren't bent yet, and i'd like to polish them before i do. I'll show you my succes (or lack thereof) in a few hours

Sorry for thread-hijacking, but since you are done, i thought it would be a nice follow-up to see how a complete newbie (to polishing) like me fares

 

Hmmmm. I've done some experimenting, nut never got anywhere near the mirror-shine you got. I'll have a look into getting some polish and lint-free cloth tomorrow, so far all i have is the dremel polish and a kitchen wiper

Still thanks for all the tops, i've come a long way!

 

1. Take it outside in the daytime to photograph.
2. Turn it so the mirrored surfaces don't reflect directly back and show that you are naked while photographing. (-outside even! Shame on you!) This works good for a flash too. (-not the naked kind...)
3. Use a tripod/table and the camera timer.
4. For black and mirrored surfaces: Put a sheet of paper in front of the dark object you wish to photograph. Use the timer feature on the camera. Hit the shutter button, let the autofocus do it's thing, and when the timer starts counting, remove the paper.
5. Don't use a friggen/bloody cellphone camera!


Actually I'm content with the last set. I could see the finished work this time. Excellent work.
I think John wants to make a pico g5.

 

Sorry it's the only camera I have. How did you know I was naked? Are you spying on me?


As for the pico G5 (I've had the same though after seeing the wooden level 11 here on bit), check this link out, the Mac Pro Ultra Mini
http://wolphbite.com/blog/?p=62

 

Just remember it's allin the prep work, because remember you can't polish a turd

 

O rly?


Anyway, advice well taken. I'll sit down with some good stuff on TV, and start rubbing. Gosh, i'm really happy that didn't come out wrong in any way...

 

Fixed, just use the part after V=

 

thx, fixed too

 

Just an FYI, the case shows finger prints like no other and if pretty easy to scratch. And what I'm really kinda pissed at is the fact that the threading is really lose compared to what it was before I polished it.


So if you're thinking of doing something like this you know

 

Glad you bumped this, really love the look of the enclosure. Was going to pick one up myself, $40 in the US or £50-£60 here, kind of annoying that it is double the cost

Looks great though, shame it hasn't turned out exactly as you wanted. Not really knowing much/anything about polishing myself, is there no way you can seal in a mirror finish? Would a clear lacquer ruin the look of it?

 

I missed this one totally, thats a really nice finish. I'm going to have to try some thing like this myself some time...Top polishing dude

 

Honestly I'm more pissed about it messing up the threading. The feet don't attach right and it's pretty wobbly. I don't really mind having to wipe it down every time I look at it. All in all, I would do it again, just protecting the threads this time. BTW check out my "Make it Black" same thing except flat black paint instead of polishing, a TON less work


Once I repolish it, I'll probably think of some kind of coating/seal. At the time I was pretty busy with school and work, I'm surprise I even go it done. It took a lot longer than I thought it would, partly because I started out with too low of grit