Powdercoated Zaurus? Options

[jackburton]

My Zaurus has a couple scratches on the frame around the screen. It looks crappy. I think the platic cover did it because there are paint identical paint marks on it. I've been thinking of painting the Z, but I'm not sure about that.

Has anybody had any experience with powder coating their Z? I've heard this is a great way to color stuff.

I was hoping a site like http://www.colorwarepc.com/ could take requests for this kind of thing, but I haven't contacted them yet nor seen anything on their site for any type of "custom request".

What do'ya think about powder coating?
Has anybody tried it?

Zaurus SL-5500

[jackburton]

Okay, I sent an email to their request line. Hopefully they will get back to me soon.

[coolass]

Search the forum for mods or paint a member named Pyro ,I think,has painted his all black and details the steps of how he did it.

[zbones]

My Zaurus has a couple scratches on the frame around the screen. It looks crappy. I think the platic cover did it because there are paint identical paint marks on it. I've been thinking of painting the Z, but I'm not sure about that.

I've not tried painting mine, but my 5500 had black plastic underneath all that shiny silver paint.

I removed the silver paint

It's a fiddly job and time consuming to get it "perfect".

I'm not brave enough to attempt a similar stunt with my c760 (it's still as good as the day I bought it anyway, so doesn't need doing other than for the cool factor.)

See the thread below.

http://www.oesf.org/forums/index.php?showt...=612&highlight=

[padishah_emperor]

That's mouthwatering... ;-)
Got an 860 now but if I still had my 5500.....

[gerald_clark]

My Zaurus has a couple scratches on the frame around the screen. It looks crappy. I think the platic cover did it because there are paint identical paint marks on it. I've been thinking of painting the Z, but I'm not sure about that.

Has anybody had any experience with powder coating their Z? I've heard this is a great way to color stuff.

I was hoping a site like http://www.colorwarepc.com/ could take requests for this kind of thing, but I haven't contacted them yet nor seen anything on their site for any type of "custom request".

What do'ya think about powder coating?
Has anybody tried it?

Zaurus SL-5500

Powdercoating requires electrostatic deposition followed
by baking in an oven at 325 -375 degrees for 20 minutes or so.
Unless your zaurus case is metal, you are out of luck.

[jackburton]

My Zaurus has a couple scratches on the frame around the screen. It looks crappy. I think the platic cover did it because there are paint identical paint marks on it. I've been thinking of painting the Z, but I'm not sure about that.  

I've not tried painting mine, but my 5500 had black plastic underneath all that shiny silver paint.

I removed the silver paint

It's a fiddly job and time consuming to get it "perfect".

I'm not brave enough to attempt a similar stunt with my c760 (it's still as good as the day I bought it anyway, so doesn't need doing other than for the cool factor.)

See the thread below.

http://www.zaurususergroup.com/index.php?n...=612&highlight=

zbones, what sandpaper did you use? Was it like the stuff at home depot or would you recommend something I can find at a Hobby store for use with scale models?


Which grades did you use exactly ?

Thanks.

[zbones]

zbones, what sandpaper did you use? Was it like the stuff at home depot or would you recommend something I can find at a Hobby store for use with scale models?  


Which grades did you use exactly ?  

I used medium and fine wet and dry sandpaper, and used it wet.
I'm not sure what the grades were as it was quite a while ago now.
I bought it from a car spray paint place.

It will take much longer using fine which is why I used medium to get the majority of paint off, but medium puts more scratches in the plastic which means you spend longer polishing it afterwards.

The wet and dry loses it's edge after a while, keep these bits for the final sand.

Be carefull of the edges round the screen as you can take too much off and end up with an uneven line. I did this on mine on the right hand side but there is a strip of black plastic there (which you remove before you start) and when you replace this you can't really notice it anymore.

The hardest bit is getting the paint out of the *creases* like round the sd slot. I did this using a surgeons scalpal which I got from a hobby shop.

I was going to paint it with model spraypaint, but I was unsure whether the chemicals in the paint might weaken the plastic. In the end I liked the finish after polishing it so I didn't bother.


I am still pleased with the result and would do it again.

Peter

[Omicron]

My Zaurus has a couple scratches on the frame around the screen. It looks crappy. I think the platic cover did it because there are paint identical paint marks on it. I've been thinking of painting the Z, but I'm not sure about that.

I've not tried painting mine, but my 5500 had black plastic underneath all that shiny silver paint.

I removed the silver paint

It's a fiddly job and time consuming to get it "perfect".

I'm not brave enough to attempt a similar stunt with my c760 (it's still as good as the day I bought it anyway, so doesn't need doing other than for the cool factor.)

See the thread below.

http://www.zaurususergroup.com/index.php?n...=612&highlight=

How long did it take to do the keyboard and how did you remove the silver without the yellow letters above the keys?


(Looks beautiful by the way...)

[zbones]

A lot of people ask me that.

They are impressed with with how I did it. The truth is though that the keyboard was black to start with, so I simply covered it in masking tape to protect it from damage. You remove they keys themselves from the back and replace them later.

Peter

[wififun]

What technique/materials did you use to polish the plastic once the paint was removed?

[zbones]

What technique/materials did you use to polish the plastic once the paint was removed?

I tried several, but brasso seemed to do the best job, check the thread that I posted the link to (just above the picture.)

[miskinis]

Hi,

UPDATE: Keep in mind, my zaurus was apart, and I was only working
with the plastic cover pieces!

I've been wanting to remove the silver from at least the front of my
SL-5500, ever since I saw those pics. Anyway, this weekend I
used 600-grit, under a slighly dripping faucet, and it came out
pretty nice. I only pursued the front half.

I did not remove all of the silver from just above the keyboard, as
it was very difficult to get in there, and get the that entire face that
is adjacent to the top of the keyboard. I put electric tape onto the
keyboard panel to protect it, and was able to remove all but a very thin
line of silver.

Also, there is a groove that encircles the screen, which will be very
difficult to remove the silver paint from. But I experimented with
removing the groove entirely, near the bottom of the "frame", and
it took about 10 minutes to make it flush and smooth. The grooves
on the sides appear to be deeper, and would require more effort.

Anyway, I'll try to post some pics. I may try some 800-grit in
the near future, since mine does not seem to be as glossy as the
one in the pics. It still amazes me how different it looks...

John

[bam]

as for painting, try plastic dye(its a type of spray) check here -->http://case-mods.linear1.org/monitor-makeover/

[bam]

[update]
the lid[where the lcd is mounted] is aluminum on the 1000/3000/3100 so powdercoat is possible.

the body, maybe try acetone[dont soak it in it] acetone on a rag the gently wipe the paint away. You might have to use a plastic conditioner afterwords(acetone tends to dry things out) then a coat of car wax, then it should be pretty pristene afterwords. Dunno havent tried, but from past experience with these products(acetone etc...) it should work well.