CF 31 mk3 Construction site edition

I was going to do my CF 31 in black, but the paint job just went wrong every time I tried.
So I made a construction site edition instead.
The paint looks just like the safety neon yellow/ green. Trimming it in black really makes it stand out. I left the front bezel silver for now. I may do it in the yellow/green also. I need to visualize it for a while.
Now I need to install the SSD and Fingerprint reader. GPS is in and working.

Thanks to Jeff and Kerry for helping to make it all happen.

 

Nice job.

 

At first I did not know what to think but the more I look the more I like...good job Shawn.

 

yep ...
looks good .
what is "all the junk on the bunk" ?

 

CF 52 daily driver



The more I look at it, the more I think Karl is correct. Paint the screen bezel black also. Yellow green would work, but black will look professional.

 

errr ...
i meant "what is in the '31" .

 

Aha.

CF31 mk3
Intel® Core™ i5-3320M
Touchscreen
I installed a factory GPS setup
Currently a Intel 6235 dual band wifi card. I may try a 7260 again after I get the OS done.
My 480gb PNY SSD is going in. Hopefully without needing a full reinstall.
D rings and a shoulder strap are on.
Optional 1394 firewire port installed.
Sony-Bluray optical burner replaced the DVD.
16gb compact flash dive in a PCMCIA adapter
8gb SD card
32gb micro usb drive under the rear door.
8gb of ram

I have a fingerprint reader to install. Probably this weekend.
Still working on/looking for the webcam option.

 

ok ...
the cpu is hobbled ... too bad the MB/bios can't be unlocked :
http://ark.intel.com/products/64896/Intel-Core-i5-3320M-Processor-3M-Cache-up-to-3_30-GHz

 

Here is a photo of the color keyed handle. I did the bottom half in black to match the base.

 

Excuse the poor excuse for a camera. I was lazy.
I took Karl's advice.
I mask off the touchscreen panel first.
Then I applied a coat of fine texture black followed by a coat of clear.
It looks fantastic. I did not realize how much I dislike the silver bezels until now.

 

yeah ... the silver is too bright and a distraction .

 

Great job Shawn and yes the black does look much better than the silver.

 

Thanks guys.

 

Nice tricked out toughbook

 

Thank you.

I am going to work on the dogbone badge next. I have an extra to experiment with.
Someone suggested doing it in the yellow with black "TOUGHBOOK" letters.

 

or black with yellow "TOUGHBOOK" letters

 

Hand painting those letters may be a problem. Detail painting like that is not something that I excel at.

 

Perhaps a stencil font?

Spoiler: toughbook stencil x4

 

Stencils are not a bad idea.
Or maybe I can get a decal cut of letters and the outline box.
Outer dimensions of the box are 95mm x 17mm

 

I was thinking (dangerous) of a rubber roller. Miniature ...looks like a paint roller...maybe sponge rugger,..I would use hard rubber. Made for ink stamp pads.
Mask the lid area.
Give letter area a shot of yellow.
Immediately roll the letter tops with roller to pick up wet paint. Wipe and repeat.
Finish with soft cloth and Goo be Gone or similar.
or spray black on roller and lightly coat letter tops.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=16&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwi2jZGlpYDKAhVE32MKHRoMCtsQFgiZATAP&url=http://www.michaels.com/10188005.html&usg=AFQjCNFc0sV04wHIzhz66NUOTSfI4XpaBA

Brayer?

 

I had thought about a hard roller to paint the letters. Concerned about paint bleed and the letters not looking crisp and professional.
I am thinking the proper solution is to completely remove the dogbone and paint the lid under it using smooth paint. Then apply a vinyl decal directly to the lid.
If I choose yellow letters, the easiest choice is a yellow logo decal on the plastic dogbone.
The dogbone badge is not that difficult to remove, although I am slightly concerned about the yellow paint lifting at the edges.

 

Hi Shawn,

my only practical experience with painting is using spray cans and stencils on longboards and laptops ... so take this with a grain of salt:
How about this?:
1) apply lots of yellow paint to a piece of cardboard till you get a 2-3mm thick layer
2) press the dogbone onto that cardboard
3) turn the dogbone around
4) use paper towels to get rid of superflous paint,
especially the lowered areas around the dogbone - you should have something like 10-15 minutes of easy-wipe time before it starts to stick to much
5) let that dry, apply some a few layers of clear coating, done

you might be able to pull this off by just putting the laptop "as is" upside down onto the paint ... will require lots of paper towels and quick cleaning, but might save you from unscrewing the laptop and ripping off the dogbone

use robust paper towels, do not use hankerchiefs, as they tend to rip and leave little pieces behind in the paint

 

Karl,
Painting the dogbone yellow is relatively easy. The difficulty is painting the raised letters in black while keeping the background yellow.

 

Hi Shawn,

paint the dogbone yellow, let it dry and re-evaluate above idea for black paint layer on cardboard.

 

and all this time i thought that this was a brayer :

 

silk screening might be the answer ... laborious solution unless one were painting a bunch of them .
it looks as if the paint was laid down first and then the letters were embossed .

i was thinking of an electrolytic solution ... as in how aluminum is prepped for accepting dye or paint .
the surface of the letters could be scoured clean and the surface covered electrolytically with aluminum oxide .

another idea is using another metal and creating the colors by different thicknesses of oxide layers (refraction/interference layer)
titanium is a metal that lends to this nicely .
this is a similar manner in which some insects impart "color" to parts of their body (think butterfly wings) .
setting up for this is a bit spendy but there might be a "custom market" available .

 

Larry,
So now I know why she calls you an A*S.

The badge is thin clear plastic with the embossed letters molded in. The factory paint is applied to the rear of the dogbone. They do the inset black first then paint the silver over the entire badge on the rear.

Interesting that no one likes the idea of a vinyl decal like they use on vehicles.

 

That's a great idea Jeff. I was thinking the same as you. It should work great.

 

Actually there was a China seller that was selling badges in all colors. This was last year. The letters were not raised and they were good quality. I ordered the silver and black. They were only $0.50 each and I ordered 100. I did not get them on ebay. Will see if I can find him .

 

Thanks Blair..
I just sent a message to a Ebay seller about a die cut Toughbook logo. I figured 16 of them on a 8x8 sheet. We'll see what he says.

I did order some reflective paint that drys almost clear. I am going to try to paint the yellow dogbone with it before I letter it. Just to see how it turns out.

I pulled the black badge off and even a solid yellow one is an improvement over the black.

 

shawn , is there more than one type of factory badge ?
the one in mine looks like it is aluminum that has been embossed .

i had an idea for an insert ...
clear lexan that has been treated in the same manner as those chunks of plastic that have "stuff" inside of them ... internally "etched" by a focused laser .
edge light it with leds ... spiffy looking .

 

Your badges be plastic. I will guarantee the one on the 31 is. I had it off and reattached it. I had my leather badge on that 31 for a while.
Every factory badge I have seen was plastic.

That lexan is interesting. I checked into a EL panel, but no room for the power supply inside the Toughbook.

 

being plastic changes things a little .
krylon makes that paint for plastic ... i am not a big fan of it .
it takes quite a while for it to dry and set up with a hard finish .
i painted a laptop with it and baked it in the oven for 16 hours ...
it started peeling and i had prepped the surfaces properly .
in the palm rest area the paint turned soft and gooey from the oils in my skin .

 

Krylon plastic paint is awful. I use regular enamel.
Some companies make an adhesion promoter that you spray on plastic like a primer..Works great.

 

I used it on some outdoor furniture last summer and it looked like crap and never lasted at all and the stuff cost almost $10.00 a can

 

Lately I have been using Rust oleum.
I try to get flat color with no gloss.
Then I choose what gloss I want with the clear coat. Flat, Matte, Satin, or Full Gloss
This system yields much better results. Looks better and is more durable.
Primer is unneeded unless you have bare metal.

I repainted school buses for over 15 years so I have a bit of painting experience.

Sign guy will cut the logos for me. Just the outline box and black letters. I am getting 16 so I have a few to experiment with.
I am still curious about the colored badges you got Blair.
I will probably try the letters on the plastic embossed badge,. I am guessing I will get the best results by just putting the logo directly on the lid where the badge normally goes.
If these work as I hope, it also gives me the option to dress up a unit that I get without any badge.

I just don't feel that I have the skills to go the painting route.
Life is odd as last week I replaced a motherboard fuse that was 1/16 inch in size. Yet I don't have the patience to detail paint like that.

My aerosol of reflective paint is being delivered today...

Just a heads up for those painting the same color on a toughbook.
I sprayed a light base coat of the silver first. Then the yellow on top after the silver dried.

With the reflective center I can't get a true representative photo of the badge with flash as it turns white.
Maybe I will try outdoors with my real camera. I WILL get great photos once I get that logo black.

 

I wish I could find his email address somewhere but can't find it. The guy was selling lots of parts. Mostly stickers for the bottom , door stickers and badges. They were very good quality. I have one of the badges on my back window of my truck for 2 years now and it still look new. I am going to check my PayPal account and see if I sent him funds that way.

 

Guy in Australia was selling aftermarket door stickers for Cf19's on ebay a while back.
Want to say user name ahom?

 

Nope..this guy was not a ebay seller. He seen my email address on TBT . That is how he found me . He was a wholesaler from China. He send me a lot of sample stuff but the only problem was you needed to buy in 50's or more...not a couple of this or that so I only placed one order. Never heard from him again.

 

Here is a badge removed from the lid. I painted it yellow, but I have not clear coated it yet.

 

i had another genius idea ...
(honest folks , i gave up smoking that stuff almost 40 years ago)
thin stainless or galvanized sheet metal cut on a cnc with a plasma or laser head .
the resulting badge could be left bright stainless , rubbed with steel wool or heat treated to change the color (think chrome exhaust on a motorcycle or headers on a car engine) .
the galvanized metal would accept primer/paint readily .
the backing color for the lettering cut outs could be anything .
one could do open block cut letters or those fancy "filled in types" .

this method would open up a new avenue for custom work .
a possible source for free or cheap cnc work is a high school shop class or a votech ...
it could be classified as :"real world practical experience/application" .
i know a few kids at the local high school that could pull this off (very contentious and capable) and get grade credit for it .

hmmmppp !
when i was in high school we were lucky to have an oxy-acet torch , a stick welder (AC) and a couple of hacksaws .

 

Various badges that have been done by members.
Sorry Larry, you are not the first to think of laser cut.




http://forum.notebookreview.com/attachments/2014_05_07-042-jpg.111990/

 

i didn't think i would have been the first ... i figured it was worth mentioning , mostly for those newer types perusing these threads .
heck ,
i'd bet that there has has been all manner of badge subjects made .
if my dad were around today and had one of these machines he would have had a "moose lodge" emblem insert .

there is not much i would care to have ...
maybe an AA or signal corps insert .
(nude females would be a bit gosh)

 

I think the reflective paint is going to be ok looking.
It is drying fairly clear and the yellow color is quite visible.
Waiting on lettering and proper foam adhesive tape.

Larry, The nude female moose engraving would not be gosh for hunters.

 

"Larry, The nude female moose engraving would not be gosh for hunters."

some are sicker than others ...

 

I know where I live there is no such thing as "Shop class" which is too bad. They were all turned into computer classes many years ago. The government figured kids nowadays did not need to get there hands dirty but on the bright side I did hear they might be going back to it.

 

Redneck CF-52E.

 

How about this one!

 

I painted the badge yellow and a coat of reflective clear.
No letters yet. The badge is just held on with a loop of tape. It is just temporary for the photos.

No flash-No reflection


Flash and reflection



@ Kerry, Are you the redneck?
@ Teo, I am a Ford man . Friends don't let friends drive Dodges.

 

Yepper....and I drive a Dodge