A black SL-5500 paintjob Options

[kaos42_ze]

http://store.a-spec.ca/TMP/zaurus

Has anyone elese given their Zs a paintjob ?

Post some links to pix please.

And what about sharing some techniques.

I tried paint thiner to get rid of the silver color on it ... but it did not do anytihng and i left in for hours. I have access to a pint booth and i gave it a mate black coat ( just one ). I banged it up couple of times and the paint came off. So i think i am going to take it back to the booth, give it couple of coats and let it dry good in between and than finish it off with a layer of clear coat.

[Shdwdrgn]

Looks pretty good from here! I've been considering doing some customization to my Z as well. I happen to have a spare which has a broken touch screen, but could take the case from that.

I'm going to try powder-coating in a charcol grey color possibly. If I ever get around to it, will post some pics.

Hey .... do you want to sell your broken Z ?

Have you done anything to try and fix it ?

Did you take it appart to see what could be wrong ?

[tumnus]

Someone posted some pics of their Zaurus with the silver paint removed at some point. I forget where I saw it though. They had sanded off all the silver to reveal the black plastic underneath. Of course the finish was a little rough.

[zbones]

I have been thinking about doing this too.

I hate silver, and anyway the silver is getting a bit scuffed now.

I was one of the first I know to paint my Atari ST. I stripped it down and used car spray paint (ford Capri black IIRC).

This was great, but I didn't put it in my pocket every day like I do with my Z.

I would also be worried that the cellulose would damage the plastic and make it brittle if dropped.

If it really is black plastic underneath, then I would be tempted to take some ultrafine wet and dry to it.

You would lose the decals, but the only really useful ones are on the keyboard anyway.

Peter

[zbones]

I have just had a closer look at my 5500, the corners have worn down with it being carried in my pocket every day, and yes, they are black.

where did I put that wet + dry.....

Peter

[kaos42_ze]

I will have some new pictures soon with a clear coat and couple more layers of black.

:-)

[Shdwdrgn]

For the anonymous person who asked, no I do not intend to sell. I purchased this zaurus in it's current state (at a great price!) with the intent of using the functioning motherboard as a basis for other projects. Except for the touchscreen, the rest of the unit is 100% functional and running OZ3.2. Sorry, but if anything, I have been looking for other similar deals because the Z is built on such fantastic hardware.

[zbones]

I've now got a black keyboard cover.

I guess there is no turning back now.

Start with medium grade wet 'n' dry, progress to fine grade, use it wet, you get a much better finish.

dry it totaly, use a hair dryer if the gf has one, then polish with Mr sheen or American equivalent household polish.

Looks totally cool and I can't wait to finish the rest off.

The best bit is that it is not only black, it's "MATT" black. ALso, stuffing it into your jeans pocket will no longer destroy the finish, it will add to it. (making it smoother, rather than wearing off the silver and making it look shit).


Peter

[zbones]

Ok,

All done.

It took a lot longer than I thought it would.

I either nocked the reset button, or the internal battery ran out as I had to restore it.

Good job I backed it up first.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/pssmith/

here is the link to the page telling you how to take em to bits :-

http://www.halfsane.com/zaurus/hw/

[offroadgeek]

zbones - I think that looks great! Though I don't know if I'm daring enough to paint mine... I was always terrible at painting models (cars, airplanes) when I was a kid!

[zbones]

I didn't paint it.

I just sanded it down. The plastic is black, it takes ages to get a good finish.

if you finish off with ultra fine wet and dry, use it wet, then the finish is really smooth.

The best bit is that it cannot wear off in your pocket like paint can.

It was starting to look a little shabby, which is why I decided to do it.

Peter

[cavit8]

Very Sharp

The silver "personal mobile tool" makes a nice contrast too. I may well do this with mine. It would be great if Sharp or someone had chassis available for purchase, then you could do all kinds of stuff with them without worrying too much.

Cam

Ha ha ha .... found this unit on ebay ( http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...&category=38331 )