Before you put a system in take plenty of shots of the case while it's empty also, looks incredibly awesome even when it's empty.
My reaction? "OHGOD!OHGOD!OHGOD!... Wait, where's the rest of the update?" Teased again! It looks unbelievable so far, though.
Unfortunately, I'm going on vacation for a week so there won't be anything new to share. I'll leave you with a few things, though. First, will be a little tutorial on how I get the acrylic so shiny and smooth. Second will be another pic I snapped of the case together. There are a lot of steps here, so bear with me. I'm quite the perfectionist with some things, so not all of these steps may apply to you. There will obviously be some miniscule scratches left over that you can't really do anything about (due to the material you are buffing with actually scratching the acrylic), but you can't see them unless you hold the acrylic up to a light and search around. I'm talking a scratch every few inches or so. Things You'll Need Polish Novus #3 Novus #2 Novus #1 Simichrome Meguiar's #17 Meguiar's #10 Sandpaper (400 to 2000) Paper Towels Bright Lights Sharpie Q-Tips Microfiber Polish Cloth (optional) Form Sanding When at low grits, incrementally alternating the direction in which you sand is ideal. This means whenever you go up in grit, you alternate directions. This will make the sanding quicker, more even, and help you spot scratches that you missed easier. You know you can move on when you no longer see any scratches in the perpendicular direction. Make sure to keep the sandpaper wet. Keep a cup of water handy so you can keep dipping the paper in it to soak and to remove the particulate. Polishing For this, I use a simple paper towel. Fancy cloths get used and ruined too quickly for them to be worth it. Some of the polishes recommend going in a direction perpendicular to the sandpaper grain, but I haven't noticed if one way is better or not. With my pieces, I go in circles simply because it's much easier to do so. I'll put more pressure on when polishing than when sanding. Buffing Ideally, wait until the polish is dry or flaky. I either use a paper towel or a fancy microfiber polish cloth for this. I don't use any cotton based products anymore since they tend to trap dirt and grit that will scratch your work. Buff it lightly, only hard enough to take off the polish. If you're worried about scratching, run your part under warm water and gently brush off the polish. Use the Q-Tips to get into hard to reach places. I start by sanding the piece using 400 grit wet-or-dry. I work my way up to 2000, using moderate pressure with the paper. 1200 may be fine, but I find that going to 1500 or 2000 cuts down on the time later in the process. Here's what a piece looks like after 1500 or 2000 (I can't remember which...probably 2000). First, we will start with a Novus #3 polish. It's thick and slightly granular. After some polishing, here's what we get. You'll notice this is the stage that probably takes the longest. At this stage, I hold the part up to light to see if I missed any deep gouges. I'll either look through the part to see the scratches or try reflecting the light off the part at an angle (this seems to work better). Circle the scratches with your sharpie and go back to the sandpaper stage. If the scratches are too deep for 1500 or 2000, just go down in grit until you find something that works. Repeat the polish process. That way, you have no more scratches that the polish can't handle. Before and after the re-sand step are shown below. This is my absolute favorite purchase in a long time. This stuff is a-m-a-z-i-n-g. Smells wonderful too (mmm petroleum!). It's very oily, so you do not need very much. This bottle should last me for years. You'll see from the pictures that it's a drastic improvement over the first step. Spend a good amount of time working this polish in. I honestly think it adds something to the acrylic that makes it look a little more "wet" (or like glass). Just don't get high! Next up, Novus #2! Here's where we get to see the fruits of our labor. Every polish from now on really compounds the effect of the one before, making the acrylic look more and more clear. For each polish from here on out, use the same procedure. Splat it on, rub it around, let it dry, then buff it out. Simple, yet horrendously time consuming. These polishes are really thin, almost like water. After polishing: Almost done! Last step here. This is essentially like spraying water on your part. Don't let this one dry, though, else it will leave 'water marks' on your part. Spray it on, rub it around a bit to get it over your part, then buff it out with your towel quickly. It also acts as a dust repellant. And here's the final product. As you can see, very little scratching remains (don't worry, any that you do see here were most likely taken out by my anal retentiveness later on). If the tiny ones bother you, just go back a few steps and repeat everything, this time putting a little less pressure on. Or, make sure you use a clean buffing towel. I found this was the most important part to getting an awesome finish. Hope that helps, folks! Here's a glory shot while I'm tanning in Belize!
Well... I'd have used more different compounds! That's simply amazing! This truly is the proof that all is possible when it comes to polishing!
How can one talk about vacations having anything to do with being unfortunate? Just enjoy it, man. We'll be here waiting until you return. Oh, and if you want to get rid of the last very, very tiny scratches that can only be seen when held up towards light, have a look at flame polishing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6Np9inrgA4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vx7MHdWXQvc&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRCnVBM3R0c
Here's a better one with good warnings and points: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaAS-lHw6N4&feature=related
Love the stupidly awesome look of this seems it looks utterly awesome in all light conditions too, love it. Nice clean up & polish too. Sounds a nice sunny break away could do with 1 of those myself.
an entire year of polishing explained. -GLORIOUS! It's super- important to use an optical-grade cleaning cloth for the last passes. I've had to clean up scratches left by felt and polish.
Wow come on LOL 6 times of Poishing it like form the Karate Kid " wax on wax off" But yeah it looks realy great !!!
That is the most beautiful thing I ve ever seen. I am REALLY speechless for the first time in my modding life. Sir. My hat to you! This is an epic moment in modding and I am lucky enough to witness it!!!
+1 to this. Not taking anything away from any of the super talented modders here at Bit-Tech (including you Angel), but this thing has just raised the bar for all of you to the level of "Ridiculous". It can only be a good thing as it will motivate all of you guys to push your boundaries and that will mean more and better mods coming in the future. I'd post one of them "I just came" pictures, but there is no need... We all know that there are lots and lots of damaged keyboards and screens on account of that last picture.
wow so much work just for the polishing and the result is just Enjoy your vacation week btw PD: When I see the "full shot" picture of your case, It always looks to me like a part more than a whole system, that is just great... Reminds me of a bay reservoir xD
