Just made my m15x black

It states that it is made of a vinyl material, I'm guessing it is the same then

If you don't want to risk changing the look of the m15x first, try telling them to wrap a transparent film around the lid area and the border of the lcd area first. Try and request them to apply sealer in between the 2 areas

I'm hoping it works out for you btgman

 

Thanks, Cha.

Actually, though, I don't think it's the same thing - they send you the vinyl in parts to apply yourself. It's not a 'jacket' I think it's more like protective stickers to place over the surfaces.

 

Oh, you can't let them do it for you? I didn't get to read everything but when I saw vinyl material I thought it was the same thing.

Since they do special orders, maybe you could inquire if they could do something like it?

Let me forward that link to Gmask and inquire if it's more or less the same thing

 

Nice one. Thanks, again Cha.

 

This looks pretty darn awesome. Wish there was something like this over here. I'd definitely do it. I don't get why AW didn't come out with an all black m15x.

 

Looks great! Can you post more pictures at different angles and macros? How does the bottom look like? Can you replace the ram, hard drive, smart bay without tearing the gmask? Does the gmask effect heat dissipation? Thanks.

 

I'm having troubles resizing the pic from the digi cam, so i used the cellphone cam for some closeups you requested.

1. The touchpad area ( matte on pad, glossy on buttons )
2. Smart Bay battery gmasked ( only the front silver part was gmasked, I did the same with the optical drive and the smart bay hard disk )
3. Smart Bay slot was not covered, gmasked went around it.

Oh and the bottom part was left untouched. You can still open it up the same way you did before if you want to change anything inside

 

Hi cha! Soon-to-be m15x owner here. All those "hinge horror stories" made me reconsider buying my AW, but if the gmask remedies the problem, then I won't have any second thoughts... Which gmask branch would you recommend? Do they have one near greenhills? Around how much did it cost? Can the vinyl be removed in, let's say, after a few months and have no gmask marks left? Cz I'm worried it would leave unsightly marks in case I want to have it removed. Thanks in advance.

 

heya jomzdm,

I had mine done in the greenbelt branch. I'll give you a pm later for further details

Edit: Seems like I couldn't PM you yet. You may have to reach a minimum number of posts before your account can PM.

Let me just answer your questions here.

1. Which gmask branch would you recommend? I would recommend the Greenbelt branch since they specialize in gmasking laptops there. Gmask does have a branch in greenhills, in vmall to be more precise. You can give it a try there, but I would really recommend the greenbelt branch.

2. Around how much did it cost? It would depend on the type of design and which part/s you would like to wrap. The lid area costs 2.4k Php, while the LCD area costs 1.6k Php. I recommend wrapping these 2 areas first, and then adding the sealer in between them to reinforce the hinge. You would definitely notice the difference, the creaking would disappear, opening and closing of the lid would also feel a whole lot smoother.

3. Can the vinyl be removed in, let's say, after a few months and have no gmask marks left? Well halfway during the gmasking process, I made them remove the gmask from a part in the keyboard area since it was unevenly applied. No residue or marks were left when they removed it. Though I would discourage peeling off the gmask on your own, let their staff handle that

 

Thanks a lot cha. I'll stop by greenbelt this weekend and visit the shop. One more thing, I kinda like the silver design so i'm planning to use a clear film instead of a black one, would that be cheaper?

 

The price I posted is for the transparent film. You can check out their store in Greenbelt to see what other designs they have.

Try and bring a material similar to the body of the laptop if you can. That way you can see them do a sample on how the wrap peels off.

 

Ok, will do... Mine's gonna arrive in less than a week, and this solution really helped quell my uneasiness. Thanks.

 

By the way, how much for the reinforcement skin (The one between the clear and black)?

 

That looks really **** cool. I wish Alienware would make the m15x in black id be more tempted to get one then. That and if they increased the build quality..

 

Thanks for the compliment coops

Jomz, the reinforcement is free, they do it with every laptop to connect the 2 films for the lid area

 

Seriously, anyone know of anywhere in Europe where they offer this? I've googled but come up with nothing similar ... There must be somewhere. Anyone?

 

Btgman, I've asked Gmask regarding the site you linked with your last post. They can't be sure if it's the same thing, they just reiterated that they were using vinyl films as their wraps

 

OK, thanks Cha, your help is much appreciated. I'll keep looking for somewhere in Europe that uses gmask. Would be seriously good to get mine done and reinforce the lid and hinges.

 

No problem btgman. Just be careful when opening and closing it for the meantime.

Before I reinforced the hinge, I was kinda paranoid everytime I opened the lid. Sometimes the keyboard area would lift up as well, creating unnecessary pressure for the hinge area.

Another thing that annoyed me was the black border around the LCD area. When pressing it at some points, you get to feel how hollow and flimsy some parts are. The wrap made sure everything was tightened, and the whold lid area now feels sturdy.

 

Oh and guys, I will be heading to Montreux ( did I spell that right? ) Switzerland this coming February and will be staying there till the end of 2009. I will try and ask if Gmask would be willing to sell me the vinyl films they use so I can bring some over there.

I could also show you guys the black wrapped m15x as well while I'm there

 

Montreux, Switzerland? sweet. i might come a take a look at the Gmask stuff sometime.

 

Looking forward to meet you whizzo

I'm kinda worried people don't speak much English there. But I was told that Montreux is real nice

 

oh, trust me, loads of people speak good english here. Montreux's pretty cool too. on a side note, you do know it's in the french-speaking part of switzerland, right?

 

Yes I do whizzo. Trying to learn some basic French before I go there. I've met a Belgian guy here who could teach me some, in return I can teach him how to speak Chinese

I've heard lots of good things about Switzerland actually It will be my first time in Europe, really hoping I would enjoy my stay

 

okay i found a gmask branch here in Dubai. but before i do it ,how can i make sure that it will element the hinge problem ? i mean what should i tell them to do exactly to my hinge?
my hinge is start really going bad ,close to it ,i found a tear ,(or small broken area) so i want to do something about .check my thread to see pics.

 

Ok dexxe, first question is does the gmask branch there do laptops? There are some branches that only do cellphones and the like.

There will be 2 areas that need to be gmasked. The first one will be the whole lid area, with the alien head. That area is all silver. The area ends where the black part of the LCD border begins.

Second, the black border of the LCD area must be gmasked as well. Transparent film is the only choice for this area so that the alienware logo will stay lighted and visible.

If you would also be using a glossy black film for the lid as well, I suggest you turn on the lights when they start doing the edges of the lid. That way no part of the light pipe would be covered.

Now after both areas of have been wrapped, it is gmask's standard procedure to put a sealer in between the 2 parts. You should experience a much sturdier lid after all this has beeen done.

 

imma use black car paint.... (NOT)

 

I think Ill go check out the Indian GMask branch tomorrow or the day after to see if they can do my lid and palmrest for me. I'm planning on keeping it transparent cos I really like the silver.

Cha, is the transparent film glossy and clear like another coat of clear paint or will it have a matt effect ?

Another cosmetic tip for you guys who want to maintain the look and finish of the m15x paintjob and may be even improve it. Treat it with AutoGlym Extra Gloss Protection. This is a car paint treatment that is NOT a polish, i.e. it is non-abrasive. It is made up of waxes and resins or something and is great for protecting the finish of a paintjob and adding some extra gloss and depth to it. I HIGHLY recommend it.

Also recommend the Shaggymac Screen Protector. I have the 15.4" one and its a bit small (leaves an edge of about 1cm around it) but I guess that is OK considering the m15x is larger than most 15 inchers but it still does its job well and protects the screen. I guess the 16" version they have would be a perfect fit for the m15x.

Anyways, I hope that the GMask people here do laptops and if they do, I hope they are well trained and not clumsy oafs. I will MURDER them if they scratch my m15x !! I'll be sure to keep a close eye on them while thy are doing it. Cha, from the video I saw on the site, they cut out the lcd part with a scalpel while it is on. Did you not **** bricks while they were doing it or is the method different for a laptop ?

 

The transparent film, from what I've seen is still glossy. Though I am not 100% sure, you can check out the Gmask branch and see how it would look like. They did allow me to stick a small portion on the laptop before I went on with doing the rest of the lid area.

Ahh yes the blade. Now here's how it works. They only use the blades on areas they call cutting lines. These are usually the edges of the surface they are wrapping. Now on these cutting lines they would put an extra layer, works something like an indicator, before they go ahead with the blade without damaging the surface of the laptop.

What you should find out first is if the person doing the wrap is a good one. A transparent film is more likely to be prone to a bubbling effect. Something like the effect of putting a screen protector on an LCD . Make sure that the person who will be doing the wrap understands clearly which areas you would want to wrap.

If it's going to be just transparent, I suggest just doing the lid and the LCD border area. That won't take too long, and would reinforce the hinge as well.

 

Cool, thanks for the advice. I was planning on doing the lid/hinge and also the palmrest area cos my hands get sweaty during long gaming sessions because of the heat and I don't think sweat is good for the paintjob

 

The reason I did the palmrest area as well is because I got tired of constantly cleaning every once in a while.

Hope it turns out great for ya Mortis

 

so in conclusion, which one of the wrap services can be found in US with gmask quality?

 

I believe there is a Gmask branch in Las Vegas pencilcheck.

 

isnt this just vinyl??

 

It's a kind of vinyl film wrap zfactor. What the shop does is apply it for you, in the areas you specify

 

What EXTRA reinforcment did you do???? i want to know!

 

The extra reinforcement is the transparent vinyl film I asked them to place between the front and back side of the LCD screen. It goes around the light pipe area and ends on the hinge area.

 

well, I don't live near Las Vegas and don't have the money and time to go there...

Can I order the wrap and do it myself??

 

Unfortunately, Gmask does not sell their vinyl films. I wouldn't advise applying yourself though. It took the shop 4 hours to get mine done right.

 

D: Is there any alternatives?

 

super glue and 2x4's lol none i know of

 

Cha: Is there any way of contacting you? I am going to the Phillipines in March, probably, and this would be VERY nice to have done.

 

from what i can recall, Cha'll be in Switzerland then... i think he mentioned something a while ago. but i guess you could find a Gmask shop and have it done as well, no?

 

Yeah we'll see!

Want to know what to say to them regarding the reinforcing..

But always nice to have guidance... If I succeed I'll post some pictures also!

 

Oh I will be leaving on the 29th of January for Montreux. In case you need the contact details of Gmask just let me know.

 

Don't play too much in the casino and say Hi to Freddie from me!

Yeah, please do write the contact details and also did you give them any special instructions regarding the reinforcement(s)?

 

Sorry for the late reply.

It is their standard procedure to apply reinforcement to the lid area when you let them apply the wrap to both the front and back part of the lid/LCD. The only special instruction you have to give regarding this area, is to inform them about the lightpipe area.

If you will be applying black to front part of the LCD ( just like mine ) You have to tell them that the lightpipe area lights up, and should not be covered with the black gmask. What I did was leave the laptop turned on when they were doing that part, to give them an idea where the light runs around.

Of course if you opt for the transparent film, there would not be a need for this.

There are no direct lines to their individual stores. You can contact Ms. Enkei, their customer service rep. PM me when you need here cell number

 

Mabuti, salamat! Sure will do.

 

I gotta say that looks absolutely beautiful though it's too bad that there isn't any place in Canada that it can be done.

 

at first i thought it was vinyl great job though!