About to send my laptop to Laptopdesignusa to get it painted. Do they need a running laptop?

update:

Just got it back on Friday. A little disappointed that the graphics didn't cover the entire lid like it showed on the sample page. Other than that, the LID is beautifully done. Nice clear coat.

Downside. Left speaker grill didn't come out all that good. Has a couple of ballpoint chips/flakes on that side of the speaker. You can see the silver grill shining from where the paint chipped off.

Ride side grill is perfect. Nothing wrong with that side.

================================
For the bad.

Laptop came back with the quickplay buttons no longer working. No longer lights up and doesn't respond when I push the buttons.

Contacted them by email but no response and didn't want to send it back and spend money on shipping. I took it apart using the HP guide.

And saw that they did forget to connect the quickplay buttons back to the motherboard. It's a little tape like connection. I connected it back and everything works fine.

Also, they manage to break a couple of tabs from the base cover. Not a huge problem since you can't see it when everything it put back together. Just thought I point that out to those who are OCD on those kinda stuff.

Again, the graphics looks different from what I had pictured it would look like.

I'll post pics later. It looks funny, but the quality job they did on the lid is noticeable. So, its probably the graphic I chose.. Maybe I should have gone with something else.

---------------------------
My ratings from a 1-10

Quality Job on Lid: 10

Overall satisfaction with Lid graphic: 7.5
(looks different from the sample on the site. Plus it is only covered 95% of the lid, where the on site, it covered the entire lid, or at least blended into the base paint).

Speaker grill painted:
Left side: 5 (chips in some area)
Right side: 10

Reassembly ratings: 6
(broken tabs, and they forgot to re-connect the quickplay controls)

Overall Satisfaction: 6.5

I paid $280 for this. I don't think it was worth it considering I had to spend a good time taking it apart and reconnecting the the quickplay controls.

I also need some touch-up paint to fix the left grills.

=================================

Here is a quick pic.


I'll take some close up later. In some angle, the gray waves look very light and kinda green. But at this angle, it looks pretty good.


What I thought it would look like. No borders around graphic.

 

Are they going to paint the battery? If not and you send the power supply i would think it would be fine just so they could test the laptop after they put it back together to see if it still works. But why just not send the battery with it?

 

if they are taking a long time to respond, than they may not be a legitimate company. This could mean a big no, no. If they dont take the time to talk to the consumer than that means that they may delay your paint job, and may not even return your system painted. Dont send anything until you get confirmation from them. If they dont write back to you, dont send anything to them.

You cannot paint laptop batteries, for one sanding batteries to prep them for paint is a really bad idea. Sanding could gouge the battery, causing all kinds of problems. Paint is also conductive, so you dont want paint on your battery. Plus painting the battery will void your warranty.

I would think that you would have to send them an empty plastic shell for paint, not a working computer. If you send them a working system, who knows, parts may be mixmatched, and they may take your computer components or something like that.
I have never heard of this place before, and I dont think it has ever been mentioned here, so I would be a bit leary.

I know a guy who paints laptops, he is in Canada, but he may be busy now

If they dont write back to you, try driving around your hometown for autobody shops/respray shops. One is bound to be able to help you.

good luck,

K-TRON

 

They are legit and a very large company at that. They were on cnn and many other big channels a year or so ago. Ever see that show called the big idea?

 

no I havent, I do not watch television, and havent for a good four years.
If they are a big place, than I guess its safe sending your system their.
Just keep your harddrive, you dont want some stranger with your personal information.

K-TRON

 

They are going to redo my lid and my speaker grill. Hopefully they will email me tomorrow. It's already packed and ready to go.

My laptop is mainly used for websurfing and my nephews uses it to play online games.. No personal info so no worries.

BTW, they are listed on the *STICKY.. They got some good decent graphics on their site.

 

The other thing to consider is that, even if it is legit, do you mind waiting a long time for to get back your notebook? I, for one, would not willingly part with any of my notebooks for any length of time, but then again, I have no life, so there you go.

 

I hate to bring old threads to the top, but I can assure you, we are a real company.

 

Just got it back on Friday. A little disappointed that the graphics didn't cover the entire lid like it showed on the sample page. Other than that, the LID is beautifully done. Nice clear coat.

Downside. Left speaker grill didn't come out all that good. Has a couple of ballpoint chips/flakes on that side of the speaker. You can see the silver grill shining from where the paint chipped off.

Ride side grill is perfect. Nothing wrong with that side.

================================
For the bad.

Laptop came back with the quickplay buttons no longer working. No longer lights up and doesn't respond when I push the buttons.

Contacted them by email but no response and didn't want to send it back and spend money on shipping. I took it apart using the HP guide.

And saw that they did forget to connect the quickplay buttons back to the motherboard. It's a little tape like connection. I connected it back and everything works fine.

Also, they manage to break a couple of tabs from the base cover. Not a huge problem since you can't see it when everything it put back together. Just thought I point that out to those who are OCD on those kinda stuff.

Again, the graphics looks different from what I had pictured it would look like.

I'll post pics later. It looks funny, but the quality job they did on the lid is noticeable. So, its probably the graphic I chose.. Maybe I should have gone with something else.

---------------------------
My ratings from a 1-10

Quality Job on Lid: 10

Overall satisfaction with Lid graphic: 7.5
(looks different from the sample on the site. Plus it is only covered 95% of the lid, where the on site, it covered the entire lid, or at least blended into the base paint).

Speaker grill painted:
Left side: 5 (chips in some area)
Right side: 10

Reassembly ratings: 6
(broken tabs, and they forgot to re-connect the quickplay controls)

Overall Satisfaction: 6.5

I paid $280 for this. I don't think it was worth it considering I had to spend a good time taking it apart and reconnecting the the quickplay controls.

I also need some touch-up paint to fix the left grills.

=================================

Here is a quick pic.


I'll take some close up later. In some angle, the gray waves look very light and kinda green. But at this angle, it looks pretty good.


What I thought it would look like. No borders around graphic.