Project: Delta Force [Updated 30-March *now with extra bright GREEN*]

I've been rethinking this. Can I just use a regular polyurethane from a local hardware store? I'll have to set up a test piece of course, but I really think you are right. no matter if it does take some more money, and another day or two.

I'd just do 3 or 4 coats, and sand to a shiny surface, right? I've seen this done on tables and bars with pictures, buttons, and bottle caps underneath, so it should be fine for cloth right? I'm not sure it wouldn't discolor or warp the cloth in the drying process.

If I need to get epoxy resin for fiberglass, where would you recommend I find some?

 

I think you've got the right idea, although it's going to take quite a few coats (for the camo).

The putty you are using is for small repairs. You want the thicker bondo that comes in a small tub. The stuff you used is for the final coat on top of the thicker bondo. Since it's not designed to fill large gaps I think it's going to crack and break on you.

I know time is very tight, so I suggest you tell him one of the parts that arrived was the wrong one and you had to send it back. It's a small white lie that will give you some much needed time.

 

looking good!

hes gunna be one surprised guy when he sees this!

 

I like the dremel design, but man that camo thing to me looks kinda ugly. I would just paint it black or something...Just a suggestion....good idea though.

 

Oops, I didn't realize there were different kinds. It looks like its going to hold fine though. Especially after all the paint I'm putting on.

Anyhow. Last night I thought it looked good enough to primer. 2 coats on the top, and one on the underside for good measure. Here's what it looked like this morning.


I broke out some more hot glue and finished up the camo wrap. It looks good and tight. I also wrapped some scrap around a piece of foam board to test the polyurethane I picked up.


Here's a better shot of the test piece, even wrapped around a funny round angle for simulation purposes.


Now, to see if this urethane stuff is going to work. I picked up a small tin of this stuff here:

"quick drying" 4-6 hours between coats

I applied with a natural bristle brush as recommended and it darkened the fabric a lot. Here's where I applied it to the test piece in red:


I then took it to the storage closet and used Krylon Satin Clearcoat on the upper end of the test piece for comparison, and let the piece dry for approximately 4 hours.

This is what it looked like when I pulled it out:


The area in red is where I used the polyurethane, and it was still quite dark, and even lightly damp still, but it had warped the tape, the cloth seemed pretty unaffected other than being much darker now. The upper part of the cloth is where I sprayed with the Krylon Clearcoat, and it has warped and stiffened. I can say for certain I won't be using it on the cloth, but I'm still not sure about the polyurethane. I applied another coat about an hour ago, and imagine it will take many more coats before it would be sandable.

Another day down, and the parts may be arriving tonight, I still don't know if I'm putting acrylic on the main piece, and may have to re-do the side panel's bondo. I did find someone willing to let me paint in thier garage this weekend, so I can't really waste that opportunity.

I'm rambling now, so I'm going to get back to real life for a few hours.

 

I actually like the name tag on the front as you've tested it. It looks good.

Maybe you should try putting the fabric in a cupboard with an electric heater turned on low to speed up the curing/drying process. I'd suggest you do this in the garage for fume reasons.

Tell the white lie to buy yourself some more time. It's better to spend a little more time to get a mod right than have it come apart in a months time due to shoddy workmanship now.

 

A lots been done, and this update is long overdue, but I've been too busy actually working to sit down and sort my photos and thoughts.

Friday night, I noticed some very small pits that survived the primer so I added just a bit of bondo before painting.


Saturday, I went over to my wife's other Dad's house (from her moms previous marriage, he's still pretty close with the family) to paint the pieces in his garage. He suggested hanging the pieces, which had both the advantage of me not touching the pieces, and the disadvantage that the pieces spin around when painting from the force of the aresol. I got a rubber glove and put my hand behind the pieces while working when they needed stabilizing.


I also picked up some real fiberglass resin (it was right next to the polyurethanes at the hardware store, but somehow I missed it the first time).


After a first coat, it looks pretty bad, but it does have a much thicker consistency than the urethane, so it should serve my purposes better.


It looked better after sanding down flat, and looked great wet, but when it dried it got all grey and hazy, no matter how fine the grit of the sandpaper I used. Maybe it just needs another coat?

Looking much better after a second coat.

This is without any sanding, and I found that sanding had the same result of obscuring what is underneath its surface. It also is very dark, and you can't really tell the camo is underneath it unless you light it really well. Yet again, I'm deciding against coating the cloth with a resin for now.

Superbowl Sunday, I spent at Dad's occasionally watching the game, but mostly out in the garage painting. I let the pieces sit until late Monday when I picked them up and took these pictures:





Everything looked good, all I need now is handles (which my wife says are a bad idea), and the plexi, and then put the goodies inside.

Here's where the story gets interesting.

Since I've got those holes bondoed up sticking up on the backside of the panel, I know I can't just lay a piece of plexy over the back, or it will be uneven. I could either (A) cut the plexy carefully around the piece and notch out the places where the stumps are, or (B), melt the plexy enough so that it will push the nubs into it.

I went for (B).

After a long time with the hair dryer on full blast, I decided it just wasn't getting hot enough. I took my work into the kitchen, and set down a towel on the counter to put the side panel on, and started warming the plexi over the open gas flame (high enough it won't catch on fire, I know it burns bad, and makes toxic fumes), well the piece starts to droop and get pliable in the right spot, so I put it down on the backside of the side panel and push it down as it cools.

Not only does it not work as expected, but I turn my panel over and the clearcoat got warm enough to partially melt, and I had pushed the texture of the towel onto the finish.

I mope around for a few minutes thinking of what to do, and whether to just give the recipient an antec sonata I have lying around. My wife almost kicked me to suggest such a thing after I've already put so much time and effort into this case. So with new resolve I decided since I'm going to have to sand it down and redo the painting, I'm going to try and throw the whole bit into the oven, and get it to melt down right.


After I pulled it out, and pressed it into the towel some more, it looked like this:


The plexi was in a much better position, but I just don't think it will work, so I decide to go for broke, and hammer the nubs on the back flat and shave them off with the dremel grinder attachment, which would mean I'd have to re-bondo it too.

I took the panel out back and hammered down the nubs around the cuts, used the grinder to grind them into oblivion, filed the edges that potruded into my cuts.


And I resanded the whole thing, not all the way down to the metal, but close enough for my purposes.


And put a fresh coat of bondo down.


By then it was bedtime, so I let the bondo sit overnight, and brought it in to work to sand down the bondo and re-apply, and resand. Tonight I should be able to put on the primer and a first coat of black. Friday I need to finish the painting, and prepare the handles (If I can find some that meet my wifes approval), and cut the plexi. The big presentation is hoped to go down on Saturday in the early afternoon.

Wish me luck.

 

Woah, that's great. Good luck.

I really hope it turns out ok, your step-dad will be over the moon. Good luck - again.

 

love the delta force logo side panel. Been playing the series for 6 years now and gives me an idea...hrmm. Let me get back to u all

 

Still looking great!


Betcha that will learn ya!!!



Keep going! Looking forward to the finale on thism and the delivery!
Remember, pictures of the guy you built it for, right?

 

My camera can make .avi's up to 3 minutes, so I plan to record it if possible.


I only got it prepped enough to prime and add a little more bondo to some low spots last night, so I have to do all my painting tonight, and tomorrow morning.

Anyhow, while I'm wasting my time here at work, I pose this question to you.

I bought some handles at the hardware store, and my wife thinks I'd be stupid to put them on this case, but I think the recipient will think they are really cool.

I got these white plastic handles, that if used, will be painted black or primer grey.
They have been sloppily photoshopped for illustrative purposes:



And I got these brushed aluminum handles that are slightly smaller.



And then of course, you could side with my wife and vote for no handles at all.

I look forward to your input.

 

I would use the handles if he was planning on moving it often, but it sounds to me like it would be sitting in one place anywyas, so whats the point, it looks great as in. I am also VERY glad you decided against coating the cloth. the fact that it is cloth is awsome, it provides an actual texture instead of making everything super smooth. I don't think it would have nearly the same effect if it was coated or just painted on for that matter. I'm sure he's going to be really happy about this.

 

Looks good! What about these handles? I think they fit the theme better

 

OMG!!! Great work! Wayt to go!

 

Negative on the handles, they spoil the look of the case. I wouldn't coat the camoflauge material either, bare cloth gives more of a feel to the case anyway.

 

those handles do look really good, but would probably be a waste on this one. again why bother if it doesn't add to the look or are going to be used?

 

If you really want handles - why don't you pick up an ammo can and use the handle off of that - it would sit mostly flush when not in use - but still be very usable for moving it - plus it would keep with the theme. Looks good btw.

 

Its finally all over and finished.

Friday night I repainted the side panel at my office downtown after draping plastic dropcloths over everything. I waited about 2 hours between coats and stayed with it until 3 in the morning Saturday and left it to dry overnight. I came back to fetch it around noon and it was still slightly soft, but dry enough for careful transport back to my place.

I put the side on to check it out, and it looked great. I'm not even going to mess with the handles. Its not like I have time to put them on now anyway.

I had already built the system and assembled the parts in another spare case and I was just waiting for the case to be finished for the final transplant.

Here's what I got for him.

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ retail (the stock heatsink is nice and quiet, too)
Abit KV8-Pro 1.1 with Uguru, onboard sound, Gigabit Ethernet
1gb (2x512mb) Corsair Value Select Pc3200 DDR400 CAS2.5 RAM
Nvidia BFG 6800OC 8xAGP Video card
Antec True380 Power Supply Unit
Western Digital JB 8mb Cache 80GB Hard Drive
Pioneer A09 DVD-RW
Green Lightning Effect Cold Cathode Tube
Standard Logitech Wired keyboard
Logitech MX510 wired gaming mouse (blue/black)
Viewsonic G810B Black 21" monitor .25 dot pitch diagonally, .21 dot pitch horizontally
and of course Windows XP home

Heres a picture after I'd stuffed the appropriate stuff in the case:


And here it is all set up:


A shot with the lights off:


A little closer:


From the front:


From the side:


Close up on the cutout:


Even closer. Funny story, I cut the plexi that I melted earlier as well as a new piece, but I loved the way the light looked through the textured piece better. So in it went permanently. I think it looks great.


Here's the my stepdad, enjoying his game.


I promised video too, and here it is for those interested (AVI, about 9mb)
http://www.unixmonkey.net/projects/deltaforce/deltaforce.avi

And that concludes project Delta Force. He stayed up almost all night and couldnt stop complimenting me on how he can play at maximum resolution with all the bells and whistles on max.

It was a learning experience for sure, especially the bondo part. I almost gave up on it a few times because of those damn holes, but my wife wouldn't let me quit, and I'm glad she didn't. Everyone was pleased with the final result, even me.

 

Very nice work, the window turned out especially nice, very clean lines to it. Great work!

 

Excellent... excellent job!
Congrats on the delivery and the ultimate success of your gift of time, talent and desire to give him a unique and inspiring present that will remind him for a long, long time... how lucky he is to have you!



Does my heart good to see things like this!


Just downloaded the video, getting ready to watch...