Scratch Build – Complete ⭐ Spirit of Motion

Grab that drink and/or snack. Update incoming!

Priming the case first with some simple gray primer. I put it on heavy and about 4 coats so that I could wet sand it once dry. It took out a lot of the small scratches and gives me that bond I want for the following paint. I used 400 grit sand paper and used a little flat piece of oak I had laying around as a sanding block.

​

While I was doing this I went ahead and painted the hinge black (the wrong black). I will have to repaint this later to match some other stuff I painted. The can said this was satin but it came out impressively glossy... Whatcha gonna do except repaint with something else.

​

The plan for paint was to hit the frame with probably three coats of the red depending on how opaque the paint was. Then chase it with about an entire can of non-yellowing gloss clearcoat. I ended up doing about 4 coats of the red and 6 of clear. I now have to apologize for not having a photo of painting the frame red! I did it as fast as I could with the daylight left after work one day and the pictures I took were terribly blurry... Enjoy this photo I just took instead. It is of the cans of paint I used haha

​

I got my air spring in the mail so was super pumped to try it out as soon as paint was dry. It was really bitter sweet. The spring worked and was really classy feeling as it opened with just a couple pounds of force and closed with the lightest of pressure. With an air spring, the force is always being applied and when the lid was in the down position there is still the 20lbs of force being applied to backplate/hinge. The hinge has just enough play to allow the right side of the hinge/grill to lift slightly. This means the grill did not close perfectly square in the front and looks terrible. Huge huge disappointment and one I could remedy easily if I could have another air spring on the left side of the case to balance the twisting force. That is exactly where my motherboard is so its not an option here however.

​

My solution is a small compromise in the form of a latch that simply locks up when open by extending past center. Not AS exciting but still allows my grill/hood to open and close really nicely. And the big feature is in the lower position there is no pressure pushing upward on the grill.

I used some steel bar. It was 3/4" wide by 1/8" thick. I used the air spring as my length reference since I knew it opened the case almost the amount I was wanting.

​

To make things look more finished I rounded over the ends.

​

I drilled my holes and grabbed some hardware that I thought would work from the hardware store. You'll have to trust me that it worked great and look forward to some pictures later of it installed inside the painted frame.

​

 

Really does look impressive sitting up like that! it was always in the back of my head how it would stay up! never thought about the down ! You did and it's perfect

 

Had some fun and started work on the radiator mount. I had a general shape in mind that I printed on some paper and then glued to a piece of 3/4" aluminum angle. I cut each to length with a table saw first and then I used a piece of wood I had laying around to hold the angled aluminum flat. I brought it over to the old bandsaw and went to cutting.

​

I confidently drilled my holes as one does when thinking a perfect layout is glued to the materiel being drilled. A quick test instantly showed me that the holes were not in the right spot for the second fan. There is a decent gap between the fans that Corsair designed in there that I assumed wouldn't be there. Another set of holes fixed it up and now the hole case is a little bit lighter! haha

​

With the test fit done I drew on some lines to make a shape that looked less like aluminum angle and more stylish. I cut these with the bandsaw as well and cleaned up the edges with a file.

​

I didn't have holes yet drilled through the angle or into the mount because it is not a simple thing to drill given the strange angle. I used the trick of some gel super glue to hold the pieces together exactly as you want, drilling them while glued, and then smacking them apart so you can tap your threads in one half of the setup.

​

I couldn't help but mount it to the frame and see how it was going to look. I then was more excited and mounted the grill on to see the entire setup in place and test the opening for clearance.

​

Everything looked awesome so I finished shaping the bottom of the angled aluminum to match the mount by sanding and filing it flush. I went over the pieces with a fine file to soften some edges and then lightly scuffed them up to prep for painting.

I also prepped the frame for painting the interior by sanding the inside of the frame lightly with some sandpaper and then taping all my edges carefully with some painters tape. (The two colors are simply because I ran out of one and not for any special reason)

​

I hung the mounts from wire and an old piece of bamboo before proceeding to spray paint them with a few coats of satin black.

​

I sprayed the case interior with the same satin black. A few coats here as well. I am very happy with the results. My tape lines came out very clean and the paint sheen is really what I was hoping for.

​

 

How long did you wait between rustoleum and krylon coats? I used to have horrible problems with krylon ruining rustoleum coats. -Well, 20+ years ago. I've heard they removed a lot of the volatile stuff that made it stick since then.
Also, You don't have much space to work with the radiator in place.

 

Man, incredible work across the board. Everything from the design to the craftsmanship is tasteful and meticulous. Obviously the Spirit of Motion served as your primary inspiration, but it has other influences too. The design reminds me of art deco and early 20th century trains and automobiles. The design has touches from a 1939 Ford Deluxe, among others and streamliners. But obviously you are well aware of the inspiration. I love modern design but appreciate a lot of the retro design inspiration. I don't know a lot of retro stuff because I have always had a proclivity to the newest stuff rather than classics or retro stuff but a gaining a new found appreciation for retro.

I am an IT guy but my ex-GF of 8 years is an architect and designers so she pounded me over the head with art history and design. She actually made me wish I had done a double major of computer science and industrial design but I did a mix of computers and business at college. I sketch and draw , and mess with fabrication but have no real schooling in the area. Anyway....

Again, Incredible work. If you don't mind, I was wondering a few things. What did you use to mock and create those 3D design models. Something Autodesk I am presuming-I am trying to mess around and learn some CAD, etc. How do you have access to the CNC machine, etc Do you work in the field or maybe it's an open fab/maker spot

 

It really goes from this streamlined, enclosed body, to a more aggressive angular shape. I'm digging it! Thanks as always!

I didn't wait more than a couple minutes between the color coats and the clear coats. I have experienced weird issues like you're describing when I've mixxed rustoleum enamels and some other paints so maybe that was what you had in the past?

Space to work? I've heard there is not much space in a Ferrari, but it doesn't mean I don't want one of those.

 

I really like some art deco design. ESPECIALLY architecture and locomotives It is never too late to learn something new friend! Love the pictures you attached as well.

I love the questions! For this design I actually used Autodesk Fusion 360 like so many other hobbiests out there. It was (hopefully still is) free to download and use as a hobbiest. I have experience with a few different CAD softwares with some costing several thousand dollars so trust me when I say the power it gives at the cost of nothing is really amazing. It is a very valuable skill you can develop without a cost of entry. Win!

I have access to the CNC, manual machining equipment, and welder via a small machine shop in a city north of where I live. I built a relationship with the owner over a few years through my day job (mechanical/manufacturing engineering), and then eventually started working for him after work each day in exchange for time using his equipment to do my own projects and learn new skills. I'm super fortunate to say the least!

 

@agile - Welcome to Bittech, The entry of a very deep rabbit hole. You might like Slipperyskip's works too.

@maxbubble - I've had krylon peel up 1963-era engine paint. It always seemed to work better as a paint remover for me.
-rustoleum just plugs the nozzle.

 

@MaximumBubbleMods Thanks for sharing this info. Yeah, a lot of my work has been garage tech and DIY/maker with whatever I had. Nothing really crude per se, but I haven't had access to professional CNC, water jet, or laser jet machines, you know? It would also be nice to hone my prototyping and modeling skills with something like Fusion. My ex-GF is an AutoCAD master but she does that for work. I just started messing around with FreeCAD and SelfCAD but they aren't close to Autodesk stuff. Unfortunately, it seems Autodesk Education has made their educational apps harder to get-well seems that way so far.

There is something to be said about being able to make due with what you have but it it is nice access to some cool toys. I live in Brooklyn, NY and luckily living in a big city, there are a lot of passionate people and artists, artisans, etc. There is no shortage of maker spaces and fabricators offering classes and their spaces. Just haven't tried it out yet, but this has been inspirational.

@Cheapskate Thanks man!

 

Selecting a paint for each job is always a tough thing to navigate. Have you used any Montana Gold? The selection of colors is really great and the amount of pigment is super high so the number of coats you need is almost only ever two. Not a durable paint but one that I like for decorative stuff at times.

You don't want the education seat for Fusion. I believe they call it Personal Use. https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/personal

I outsource my water jetting and laser cutting as I don't have access to those but boy would those be fun to play with too! I really love the idea of shared work spaces and shared tools. No point is all of us owning all the tools haha

 

Time to get rid of all that texture in the clearcoat that is screaming it came from a can.

I grabbed a piece of 1000 and 1500 grit wet and dry paper so that I could carefully sand the clearcoat flat before polishing it back up.

​

I started by using the 1000 grit with plenty of water and being crazy careful to only go for a little while before rinsing and checking how the paint was looking. I sanded until it was almost flat like you can see in the picture below. I then switched to the 1500 and sanded just a little bit more.

​

I did not get the surface perfectly flat. I left a tiny amount of texture as it just looked right once I got to a point. Car paint is rarely cut and buffed to perfection and I want this to feel as realistic as possible.

I started in next with a terry pad and cutting compound to start bringing the polish back. Followed by a finer polish that took many rounds.

​

It difficult to photograph so here is a shot showing the reflection now.

​

I then wrapped things up with getting the sheet metal put back in the frame. I shouldn't have to take this back out again. Woo!

​

 

I feel your pain ! but revel with you in the shine!

 

I was evacuated with my family twice this last week from my home due to the wildfires here in Oregon. My place is fine but both coworkers and friends have sadly lost their homes. Needless to say the last week has been an intense week for many many people. Please keep those affected by these event in your thoughts and prayers. I can't imagine the feeling.

To lighten the mood a little back up please enjoy this reflection of some paper craft in the frame's cherry red paint!

​

I tested the 2080 in the case for the first time and it was instantly clear this card was not going to fit the same as the old W8100 I was originally planning to install before NVIDIA set me up. There is a large bump along the cards edge that lifted the card up significantly.

​

I started cutting my existing 3D printed shelf down substantially so that any card would more likely fit. I also removed material to simply add more airflow on the lower side of the vertically mounted card. There is somewhere around 1/2" clearance below the card now.

​

The other "fit" issue was the optic drive. It stuck out around 1/16" from the rear I/O panel. Kind of sticks out. Literally haha

​

I added a washer behind the bracket so that the optic drive would sit perfectly flush with the back panel. I could 3D print a new one to fit perfect but I don't want to waste plastic and the washers worked out great!

I have been hanging the GPU from the top bolt until now but it was time to make the lower bracket that will lock the card in. I cut a little chunk of aluminum, marked it up as needed, used the band saw and a small hand saw to cut to shape, then sanded and filed to final shape.

​

I then mounted up the 2080 with the top bolt and lower bracket. An M3 screw goes up, through the GPU mount, and into the bracket I just made that is attached to the back panel.

​

You can now all see the painted and installed hinge. Not attached to the grill in this picture but it is easier to take a picture of when that isn't on. I am really happy with how well it works AND how it looks.

​

I spent a good hour adjusting the rear hinge as well. I didn't have the foresight to make my grill fit loose before the frame was painted unfortunately. With the many layers of primer, color, and clear coat, it would not close how it should. I used a chamfer drill bit and slotted some hinge hole a bit to allow the grill to come forward. Closes well again.

​

I did some painting too of the remaining raw metal components of the rear panel.The same satin black I've been using.

​

You can't tell me that isn't a nice rear panel!

I also had a goal to wrap up the grill finally so I can be done with the metal working and get the metal chips cleaned up for a bit again. I'm always worried one of my boys (1 and 3yo) is going to walk into the garage barefoot with metal shaving/chips down.

I did some final sanding of my brushed finish and rounded some of the sharp edges. I then taped off the brushed finish with some gaffers tape along the spine so I wouldn't accidentally hit it with the polishing wheel. Polished the spine back to a high shine to compliment the brushed grills.

​

I did a lot of cleaning of soot, oils, tape adhesive, ect. with acetone and then I ended up sealing the faces with clear paste wax. I thought about clear coat (paint) but after reading some forum posts I saw paste wax was relatively common for low wear applications. I happened to have some already for wood working so I buffed that in to a lovely finish.

​

 

You do it once on a project and it just has to be done on everything from there on

 

Paste wax is probably the best choice. Clear coat would require a re-polish.
I've cheated and used Pledge before.

 

Oooo I kind of like the idea of a good spraydown of Pledge! It is painful to buff paste wax into all the sharp edges. I think I may give that a try @Cheapskate

 

...I never said it was better than paste wax, though,

 

The painted portion above the grill will have to be 3D printed in three separate pieces because of its size. I started by printed the rear most piece as it has some additional work I can do to it while the others print. I designed in a channel for an intake or exhaust within the print! First of all it looks stupid cool and secondly I want to have a little active air movement. It is designed to fit a single 140mm fan.

The first unfortunate thing I noticed when I took the finished piece off the print bed was that the bottom had pulled away from the buildplate slightly. I needed these to be perfectly flat so I could glue them together. I'll have to figure something out to straighten that edge back up.

In the mean time I want to make this intake/exhaust grill look cool! I have some old pieces of mesh and grill from an old Corsair case I salvaged from somebody who threw it out. I traced out the shape first and then kept trimming little bit by bit until it fit in there nicely. I used a scissor for the mesh and tin snips for the grill.

​

I had many screw holes in the design but only think I'll use three of them. I painted the grill black and used some Elmers spray adhesive on the back of it to stick the mesh to the grill. It worked great.

I don't know if I will run this down into the case or use it as exhaust. The case it totally open but I would like to have some kind of air moving actively through it to help. You all should let me know what your feelings are on this one please.

​

 

I like it , honestly I would put the fan in a pull-out configuration, it would help the airflow from the front grill.

 

Not flat: Mill off a bit and print a shim to replace the loss. Advanced mode: Drill holes to fit threaded rod for alignment, use a colored plexiglas for the shim, sand, disassemble, and paint everything but the plexi.
I like it. If you were air cooling I'd say put it on the cpu cooler for a 'blower intake'.