Im still trying to figure out how to work with real carbon fiber ( ive learned how to make it, now i need to learn how to bend it and apply it to my lian li case) but for the mean time i did a couple of mods to my laptop and mouse with the CF vinyl hi-res http://rcabrera.photosite.com/~photos/tn/217_1024.ts1099241556000.jpg hi-res http://rcabrera.photosite.com/~photos/tn/222_1024.ts1099241614000.jpg The mouse was tricky because it required a lot of strecthing ( you cant strecth it too much or else it turns translucent) but other than the edges its not too tricky NOW the laptop was a different situation. I had to take it apart completely ( so i could get it underneath so it would lift off) and so i had to take my laptop apart. The worst part was applying the vynil over such a large area, I had to do it three times just to do it correctly and i stil have like 3 air bubbles and a little translucency due to the strecthing. None the less I like how it turned out
looking good I think your laptop would have looked better completely smooth (no logo) but whats done is done
Would've been tough to remove the logo, as its an imprint in the plastic I believe. Looks sleek though, I especially like the mouse, very clean
Not too difficult. Carbon fiber as you know it is basically a plastic fabric, covered with resin and hardner (much like epoxy), and then smoothed out. When dried, it becomes extremely strong and light, making it the choice of materials for aerospace projects, race cars, and other things. That's the basic method. If you're rich or have tons of resources, there are other ways of molding carbon fiber, but the simple layup method is the easiest/cheapest for modders like us.
I was actually going to bondo the lid and make it completely smooth, but I did a prephotoshop before i started working on it, and I like how you can still tell its a vaio ( and thefact that you do pay a premium just for the laptop saying vaio) In terms of the carbon fiber , unless you got the cash to make a mold, your pretty much limited to straight sheets.
Lol, I think he was asking if you could actually make the material that makes carbon fiber what it is (the checkerboard-patterned fiber that you apply to the epoxy/resin to) I was thinking the same thing when you said you could make it... lol
Looks great. I have been looking for a mod to do to my work laptop (As everyone at the office has the SAME model) The question: Is that stuff removable later? And were do you get it?
Possible that you can make more of the one for your mouse? I also have a MX700 i think it would look good on mine to. Im willing to pay $
lol wow Zap it seems we have similar methods of thinking. The reason I decided on doing this mod was because I happened to buy two identical laptops from some guy. Yes it is completely removable and leaves no film ( like I said it took me three tries just to get it right ) As for the mouse I got it the first time, but Im going to let it sit for a week to make sure it doesnt start moving. Its been about 5 days and the vynil looks like its not going to move ( its got some super strong adhesive) I bought the stuff off ebay because I happened to get a good deal, but its always been sold for about 4-5 dollars a foot ( search for carbon fiber vinyl). oh yeah and the stuff ( despite what I thought) is somewhat scratch resistant, I havent seen any scrathes on my laptop yet.
well its been about a week and a half and the vynil is holding on pretty well.. Ive already been commisioned by a friend to try to do the same thing to his inspiron 5100 laptop. Maybe ill do a little how to guide
Holy Sh**, that is really nice, probably one of the best non-cutting mods i've ever seen, seems so simple, yet changes the look of it completely. Makes me want to consider trying it...
carbon fibre isnt as simple as it seems, just try it and youll see how much of a pain it is. You may not know, but I was planning to do a CF mod; who supplied for you? OH, and nice work with the mouse, its awesome
hmmm..this would match my currect scheme really well, but, quite frankly im too afraid to start prying apart at my MX900, out of fear i'll break the plate or something. how hard would it be to cut around the "Logitech" round logo, and still make it look good? also, looking at my keyboard, i think that if i leave the silver thing on top where the media buttons are alone, and the silver thing on the side, it could look real nice. i have the bt version of the MX Duo, so its an extremely ugly kinda pale green-y color. . btw, awesome job, that looks terrific EDIT: it looks like you actually put it on the hingle for the screen as well, this leads me to ask...just how thick is this stuff? the only issue i would have with doing the keyboard is worrying about the media keys getting stuck, as there isnt a huge amount of clearance there.
For the round logo, well, it's two sperate peices of plastic. So he just popped the gray part off and applied/wrapped the film on that, then set it back in.
really? well then that takes away all the doubt. now its just the thickness, and that i can experiment with on my own. thanks! *orders sheet of carbon fiber on ebay*
If you're in the USA, you can also check out places like Murrays Auto Parts stores. I found a roll of vinyl CF decal, made by UltraMark, aimed at the rice boy set. About 24-30"x36" I believe, for under $20. I've used some on the front of my case, and so far it looks pretty good. I'm thinking of using some on my keyboard (old IBM M series) that I've painted black, put the CF decal around the keys so it looks like an insert. Jason A.
2-3 feet for 20 bucks is pretty expensive just wait for some guy on ebay to have a low listed item, I got my stuff for about 3 bucks a foot after shipping