Spray painted my Dell Laptop!

I have seen a lot of MODs, even done some myself. This is by far one of the best. It just goes to show that time and patience can produce excellent work!

Well done

Richard B

Dell Online Community Outreach

 

Wow... Your laptop looks amazing! Excellent job!!!

 

Looks fantastic

 

wow, that's alot of work. I was interested in trying it when I saw the pics, but after reading this, I lost interest. lol Great job!!

 

Great job, could you tell us, how did you paint! its realy shining

 

I want to paint my C90 like that on the inside a gloss black, but id break it trying to take it apart.... dells seem to be the most common painted notebook I see so I guess they come into parts pretty easy and go back together easy.

I doubt I can paint very well with just masking esp around the screen and stuff.

Very high gloss tho and great job.

 

That's the kind of paint job I would like to achieve on my W3V. I haven't had the time to actually start, but most likely in the summer where I'll have the time to attempt this.

 

Thats an awesome paint job, I'm really impressed with what I see. I've done some of my own paint jobs, although none on a notebook. I recently painted up my mountain bike, and I've done a few other things. If you did that with rattle cans then I'm really impressed. I'm a professional house painter and I use automotive paints on exterior woods and such so I have all the equipment to do automotive(thats what I did on my mountain bike). All in all though, good job, the colors are pretty nice too.

 

Very nice I like! My laptop never looked that good.

 

Dude... I read "I spray painted my laptop," and thought... Yikes. Actually looks real tight tho. GJ.

 

DAMN PAPPI, that looks frakn sweet!

 

take that badboy to starbucks so all the mac people can bow down

 

that looks pretty sweet!

 

That is nuts. It looks fantastic!!! This one and the red ferarri Fujitsu/Siemens are like in the top echelon of all painted laptops I've seen ever. I'm getting a tiny bit of wear on my palmrest and I'm now actually considering painting after seeing such good jobs as yours, although I'd just repaint it the same or similar color, something conservative like...ummm black. or maybe grey if I'm daring!!

 

I guess the boredom got to me so I was thinking what the heck. Spray painted my Maxtor external hard drive.

 

Looks nice!

 

Beautiful job, two thumbs up!

 

holy crappyola it looks beaauuutiiiifuuuullllll...........

very weellll done..i personally wuld never have the guts to try something like this myself cuz i wuld be too afraid of spoiling it...but u did marvelouslly

 

Awesome...

 

That is gorgeous as hell. Big congrats.

 

nice paiting job. You should make a guide on how to do spray paint our own dell laptops.

 

Schweet!!!!

 

Is the warranty still covered if you return the notebook in a different color? :}

 

You should visit Tokyo or Vancouver ... then you could do mine

 

Probably not. Then again, if you're comfortable spray painting stuff and know what you're doing.. The warranty for mine was over anyways so it was no big deal.

Fly me to Tokyo or Vancouver then I'll spray paint yours!

 

Looks good.

 

Ditto!!

Just a small something with pictures would sure help. I tried spray painting a laptop once, and threw it away afterwards. So would you be so kind to point out how to evenly spray on layers?

 

Amazing Job. Enjoy it.

 

I'll do that when I undertake another spray painting project.

Threw it away?! Thats a shame. Now, in regards to your question on spraying an even layer of paint, you need to remember to take your time applying the paint in thin layers. More thin layers are better than a few thick layers. Make sure each layer is dry before you apply the next layer, 10-15 minutes give or take but take note to make sure the weather is warm and dry otherwise the paint will get cloudy and lose its sheen and colour. I made that mistake when I attempted to spray paint early in the morning. If things do go south for you, just wait for the paint to fully cure for a few days and sand it down with 500 grit to remove as much paint as possible. If anything, just try to get it as smooth and clean as possible before you reapply the primer again.

 

Yeah, best way to learn how to apply a even coat is to just practice it, the more you do it the better you'll get.

 

that looks awesome

 

that is amazing!!!
shiny :O :O :O

 

i wouldn't even dream of ripping apart my lappy to do the painting job!!

 

I would absolutely rip all my hair out trying to paint my laptop(I hate painting anything) but I gotta give it to you...that thing is SWEET!

Must of took some serious patience.

 

That is one of the best looking paint jobs ever. Amazing work... I would +rep you ... but, I have none! LOL

I just love being a n00b

 

nice job

 

that is amazingly shiny....if you painted it non-glossy black, it would look just like a dell vostro

 

Your my motivation to paint my EEE if I get one. I have a feeling the EEE should be rather easy to take apart so I can actually paint it without much worry. Also if those skin-it companies are smart they will quickly offer custom covers for the EEE to protect the outside and give it a cool look.

 

Brilliant work!

 

That's awesome. You've motivated me to look into doing this for my e1705.

 

Makes me want to paint my laptop the same color as my car with the leftover paint I have.

 

Glad that I could motivate you towards painting you laptop. The only thing I'd watch out for is the smaller, thinner bits of plastics like the lcd bezel and such. The risks of breakage is there more so than if you attempted disassembly on a larger laptop. This is the reason why the EEE is so small and light. Take your time with it and it should be fine.

The big brother of the e1505. Yeah man, go for it!

That would be cool. I spray painted my laptop following the colours of my car too. Not exactly the same yellow tone but then again, you can't expect to get an exact colour match from a can spray and automotive paint.

 

Wow, that looks real nice.

When I entered this thread was expecting to see a good laptop get ruined.

 

I have been thinking about painting my E1505 for some time now. The thing that i am nervous about is the sanding part. Will you share your sanding tips with us? I would like to know what type of sandpaper you used (grit and technique). Also, what did you do to get the paint to stick on the outer white ridges?

Thank you for your help and i LOVE the paint job. EXCELLENT JOB!

 

The sanding technique is no secret really. Basically what I did was wet sanding. A bucket of water with a bit of soap, throw in some small to medium sized bits of sandpaper into it and you're more or less set to start wetsanding. Some people use a sanding block. It helps you when you're sanding a wide area so that the sanded surface is level and smooth. You can't depend on it throughout though so for certain areas(eg.the bezel edges of the laptop screen), you have to sand it by hand. The grit is dependent on the kinda surface you're working with. When prepping, if the surface of your laptop is not smooth to the touch then chances are you're going to have to go for 800 grit and up. The prepping part is important because what you achieve here will determine the longevity and the finish of the paintjob.

Since we're dealing with plastics which is what the e1505 is mainly made of, you need to get hold of plastic primer. Some might argue that by roughing up the surface enough, the basecoat should adhere quite well without any need for such primers. I beg to differ. Plastic primer can pretty much ensure that flaking and cracks are minimised if at all, which is something I can't say about directly applying regular paint to the surface. Plastic primer is also used for automotive painting. Plastic bumpers and fenders need to prepped with plastic primer so the paint stays on for good.

Once you open up your e1505, you will discover that the "white bumpers" everyone refers to is actually a part of the palmrest that is not painted. In other words, if dell had left the laptop unpainted, the whole palmrest up to the bumpers would be as white as the bumpers. The lid is also all white. Just prep the white bumpers the same way you prep the entire laptop. Its the same thing.

What I find to be most important is the sanding in between the layers of paint you apply. Pls remember not to rush this part! Let the paint dry properly or your sanding will most likely damage the finish and then you're back to square one with the whole paintjob. Below is the order to which you should progress when spray painting the laptop.

1) Completely disassemble the laptop.
2) Mask the media buttons and what not properly, this will protect the buttons and all from unnecessary scuffs and scratches from the wetsanding. Later on this will help minimise afterspray which is a nightmare to clean up!
3) Start wetsanding the surface, the larger areas with a sanding block, the rest by hand. Just let the sandpaper do the work, at most apply light pressure but if possible just let it glide on the surface. As you progress through the wetsanding, the sandpaper and the surface area will start to accumulate paint residue and some fine plastic bits. Just wipe this down with a clean piece of cloth and rinse the sandpaper clean.
4) Once done, apply the plastic primer in thin layers. When its dry, sand it down lightly, you dont want to sand off the plastic primer, use a 1500 to 2000 grit if need be to avoid cutting into the plastic primer. Use running water to clean the surface and a sponge to make sure no residues and dust remain.Wipe it dry and let it sit for maybe an hour or so. I guess you could dry it in the sun to speed up the process.
5) You're ready to spray paint! The first few layers are applied in thin layers. Make sure every layer is dry before you apply another layer to it. Remember wetsand lightly in between spray painting the layers. You want the paint surface smooth throughout. Do the same when moving on to clear coating. Here you have to use high grit, 2000 and up, because the aim here is to achieve clarity in the clearcoat. Good luck!

 

could you please list the type of apparatus you used to apply the paint? does the weather really effect the paintjob that much? I never noticed as my first attempt was in spain so no lack of heat there. can you not just do it inside? If not then im screwed. im in ireland where its ALWAYS wet.

you should compile a guide with all of this and get it stickied.

 

Hi stuff79,

I know you said

"2 coats of plastic primer, 4 coats of paint, 5 coats of clearcoat, a few sheets of sanding paper (600, 800, 1000 and 1500 grit), 3M Liquid Compound, 3M Liquid Polish"

but I would like to know exactly what brands of the primer, paint, clearcoat, and sandpaper.

also the 3M liquid compound is it the imperial microfinish liquid compound or the Perfect-It II Liquid Rubbing Compound

and the 3m liquid polish is that that the plastic polish?

If you can answer these questions I would like for you to PM me your paypal account so I can make a donation. Thanks!

 

i would also be interested in the answers to Xeroskye's questions.

 

makes me think that m15x users can get a black ripley without having to wait

 

I just found this thread, nice job. I'm personally not a fan of the color, but I can still appreciate the workmanship. The glossiness is fantastic. You guys who go through the trouble of dismantling and painting your laptops are dedicated. (Although, I like my Midnight Blue color, so even if I had your energy and know-how, I'd probably not touch it!) But good job.