Ok time for a long over due update. I was finaly able to get some work done. First I had decided to redo the top since i was not 100% satisfied with the orignal. For some reason I cant seem to find my uploaded pics of the work to the top except for this one. I will try to upload them again tonight when i get home from work. I also got some work done on the front of the case. Since i am going with an aqua tube in the front I decided to put it in the top two bays with an aqua bay (for suport). And a Pic of the started work on fitting the aqua bay into place. The front of the bay is going to be semi bondoed in. basicly I just wanted as little of a line as posible where the case meets the aquabay. And then after alittle more work with the filler putty. I also did some work to the bottom of the front with the filler putty, now the bottom of the front is smooth as can be. and after some light sanding. Like I said I will try to upload those other pics tonight. And this weekend I should be getting the top and front finished so be prepared for more updates. JEEVES
Nice job with the bondo. I would take care that it is indeed smooth because everything shows through for the final painting stage... Nice work...
Ok was able to get alittle more done this weekend. Spent most of today uncloging a sink that crap was nasty. Anyways.... Got the top done, but I ran out of primer. I am now completely hapy with the new top. It looks 10x better and is much much more durable. (pics dont do it justice you would have to come feel it for yourself. Then it was back to the front, got the bay covers in for the dvd and dvd-rw. Then some sanding and more bondo. then some more, was having a slight problem with strength of it as the bondo kept poping, but alittle epoxy fixed that up real nice. Did alittle bit of filler putty work just to see how well it looked. I still have to bondo in the sound control hole and do alittle more filler putty work. But for all intensive purposes the bays are complete. once again the pics dont do it justice. Wensday I will be finishing the bays and then putting the lightning tubes into place. I will also be priming the top (and hopefuly the front). Until then. JEEVES
Ok, I must say, I was quite skeptical when I first saw this mod. I mean, the hacking and slashing everything put me on edge, but I'm looking at it now and thinking, wow this guy knows what he's doing and will probably turn out one hella-sweet mod. I'm just anxious to see it with paint.
awsome piece man one thing that bothers me though... aluminum is really weak, you think it can hold the radiator on top over there? i mean, it could just bend or something.. dont you think?
looks good! I bevlieve you when you said this computer won't look anything like a chieftec dragon when you're done!
Yeah I am anxious to see it with paint as well, I was so pissed that i was out of primer last night. I realy wanted to see how the top looked as one color. The radiator is not going up there...it is just going to be two 80mm fans. And the fans will be sandwiched between the top piece and a false top. As i said before i can not find the pics of how i attached the top this time (enigma has them and wont upload them ). The top is JB welded up there, It is extremely strong this time around. Thank you, the only thing that is going to let you know it is a chieftec is the handle on the door. I decided to leave that just so people do know what it used to be. JEEVES
um you could have just sent them to me as i would have prefered to resize and make them all facing the right way. Anyways Explination for pics posted by enigma- These are pics of the new top being jb welded together. As you can see had to clamp them down and use braces and weights to hold the metal together. JEEVES
Ok time for a small update. First i wanted to test and make sure the lightning tubes were still working. So i pulled out the inverter (converter?) and plugged it in and tried to touch the two wires to the soulder leads. Yep it stil worked but when i pulled it away the current tried to folow it and then jumped over to the ground lead. After screaming a bunch of words that can get me banned if posted here I shut the power off to it and then...well see for yourself. As you can see it left a nice burn mark. so i decided to soulder the tube in to make sure it still worked (the right way). Man was I happy to see it still worked. Then i went and sanded alittle more and primed the top. Here is a pic of the old top job so you can compare Then i went back to the front to do a little more work. Of coarse I had to add more bondo. I also got the face plate to the card reader bondo'd in. Then of coarse sanded it down. I also got the lightning tubes sealed off at the tops and bottom (dont want bondo getting in there). This weekend i will be smooting out the front (minor stuff, mainly just getting the little scratches out) and then adding the lightning tubes. The front is about 80% done so i am hoping to get the priming done this weekend as well. Until then JEEVES
Alright got alot done this weekend. First off I got the top off and primed and perfected it. I will start the painting on it this wen. Then it was back to the front to get those lightning tubes installed. First i had to put a very light coat of black paint on the back side of where the tubes will sit. Just in case you can see through the tubes when they are off. I did not spend too much time on detail of this area as they will be covered up (even if you can see through to the back it will be so distorted that all you will be able to see is color). Then I had previously drilled holes in the top so that the wires can slide into false top. Here are the two tubes ready to go, I put some apoxy on the tops and bottom of the tubes to prevent any sort of movement. Then came the bondo (i am truely sick of this stuff, used way too much on this case. But it is holding strong) I first started with the bottom half. Then after alot of sanding and bondo I got this Then it was on to the top of the tube. I didnt realy want to show off the tip of the tube as it would not light up, so I bondoed it down to where the light starts. Then after a few more coats and sanding. Dont worry about the not so clean line on it as it will be cut off when the serain wrap comes off (I will use a brush to paint the exposed bondo) And this is about how it is going to look. not to shabby if you ask me, but still needs work. Of coarse repeat on the other side and you get something like this. Then came the filler putty (I love this stuff) And the top (forgot to take a pic before the filler putty) After some light sanding (and i do mean light, this stuff comes off by looking at it to hard) I decided to go ahead and give it a coat of sandable primer. I know it still needs some work in areas but I wanted to get a feel for how much work. Well it is not too bad but like I said there are still some areas that need alittle more work (that is why you use sandable primer). The primer is still wet so it realy looks like crap, but trust me it is not as bad as these pics. Just too tired to go back outside and take new pics. You will have to wait and see wen. The top half up close looks realy bad around the aquabay, but most of that is glare from wet primer. Well that is about all i got for this time. Wen I should be able to get the front all finished up and hopefuly start on the painting. I will also start working on a very special part of the case that i dont think i have mentioned before. You will have to wait and see JEEVES
omg! It's coming together and it is sweeeeet!!!!!!! the top panel and the front looks really much better with the coat of paint! good job mate
Yeah it does look much better but there are still some areas that need work. I mainly primed it just to get an idea of how it will look all one color. JEEVES
Just remeber what you can not see in the primer will show up in the color coat. I would still worry about the top and the upper section of the oval in the bottom, those defects will show up in the final paint coat. I have learned that if you see no weird reflections in the primer when first shot you are fine but if you do they will show up in the final coat of paint.
$4.00 bolts Those fricken bolts cost 4 dollars and I had to buy 8 (4 are going somewhere else) but the nuts that fit them only cost 89 cents for 12 (and i needed 24). Anyways Here is a picture of how the lexan fits into the top. Okay guys, here is the hookup for bolts and other goodness. http://www.boltdepot.com/
w000, you should buy stocks in Bondo, very sexy tho, like the "tubey things" in the sides. Should look really sexy when totoally done ^_^
Yeah that is a good tip, will make sure to keep an eye for spots before painting. wow I am surprised you saw that, that seems like years ago. Yeah i got those from home depot, it was convienince over price . Thanks for the link, they have great prices, will prob order from them in the future. Yeah i should have tried to get bondo to sponsor my case . JEEVES ps just ordered new mobo and proc from newegg, and I got a package in the mail today (cant wait to get home) will post pic of what i got tonight.
I just had to contribute on this thread id love to use some of this filler on a case like yours, youve inspired me with many ideas for a future project. Thanks! The front is looking the Fe*king Tats atm and cant wait to see the end result! Keep up the good work jeeves
