KRUG

i have decided to paint my laptop. i have put a lot of thought and research into this and i am going to go ahead and do it. still wary of destroying the cosmetics of my machine i have purchased a second set of factory plastic casings to actually paint. this way, if i mess things up, i still have the intact set to fall back on.

i have spent the last week searching online trying to find other people who have attempted this and come out with good results. i found two excellent websites and have combined the two and come up with a plan of action that i think will work. i have also spent the week designing and redesigning the images i would like to put on the surfaces.

as progress ensues, i will be posting pictures on my flickr account followed by a final post with lots of pictures here. it will contain step by step what i actually wound up doing and my final thoughts on the project.

as of now, i have come up with a daily calendar for getting this project done by the time i leave for houston. i have friends here who will want to see the finished product. having said that, if i deem it necessary to lengthen the time of some steps, i will because i would rather have a quality finish than a bad one that my friends see. so this is my tentative schedule.

April 1 Remove all paint from the casing using a solvent (alcohol, paint thinner, etc.)
Completely wash casing using a mild soap. Rinse well and dry completely.
Apply first coat of black paint.
Bring inside after 30 minutes to complete drying indoors.

April 2 Sand (600 grit) entire surface and remove any imperfections.
Rinse well in water to remove all dust and dry completely.
Apply second coat of black paint.
Bring inside after 30 minutes to complete drying indoors.

April 3 Sand (600 grit) entire surface and remove any imperfections.
Rinse well in water to remove all dust and dry completely.
Apply third coat of black paint.
Bring inside after 30 minutes to complete drying indoors.

April 4 Sand (600 grit) entire surface and remove any imperfections.
Rinse well in water to remove all dust and dry completely.
Apply fourth coat of black paint.
Bring inside after 30 minutes to complete drying indoors.

April 5 Sand (600 grit) entire surface and remove any imperfections.
Rinse well in water to remove all dust and dry completely.
Apply fifth coat of black paint.
Bring inside after 30 minutes to complete drying indoors.

April 7 Sand (1000 grit) entire surface.
Rinse well in water to remove all dust and dry completely.
Tape the surface with masking tape and create the design using pencil or pen.
Use a sharp exacto blade to cut out the sections to be painted white.
Apply first coat of white paint.
Bring inside after 30 minutes to complete drying indoors.

April 8 Apply second coat of white paint.
Bring inside after 30 minutes to complete drying indoors.

April 9 Apply first coat of pearl paint. This is a very light coat. Don’t over do it!
Bring inside after 30 minutes to complete drying indoors.

April 12 Apply second coat of pearl paint. This is a very light coat. Don’t over do it!
Bring inside after 30 minutes to complete drying indoors.

April 15 Remove the tape and sand the surface using 1000 grit paper.
Rinse well in water to remove all dust and dry completely.
Sand the surface using 1500 grit paper.
Rinse well in water to remove all dust and dry completely.
Polish all surfaces to a high gloss using the rubbing compund.
Apply first coat of clear acryllic.
Wait 2 hours and sand the surface with 1000 grit paper.
Rinse well in water to remove all dust and dry completely.
Apply second coat of clear acryllic.
Wait 2 hours and sand the surface with 1000 grit paper.
Rinse well in water to remove all dust and dry completely.
Apply third coat of clear acryllic.
Wait 2 hours and sand the surface with 1000 grit paper.
Rinse well in water to remove all dust and dry completely.

Depending on time and roughness of the surface, continue with this pattern until there is no more time or until the surface is completely smooth.

April 16 Rinse well in water to remove all dust and dry completely.
Apply fourth coat of clear acryllic.
Wait 2 hours and sand the surface with 1000 grit paper.
Rinse well in water to remove all dust and dry completely.
Apply fifth coat of clear acryllic.
Wait 2 hours and sand the surface with 1000 grit paper.
Rinse well in water to remove all dust and dry completely.
Apply sixth coat of clear acryllic.
Wait 2 hours and sand the surface with 1000 grit paper.
Rinse well in water to remove all dust and dry completely.

Continue with this pattern until the surface is completely smooth.
SAnd the surface usign 1500 grit paper to remove all scratch marks.
Rinse well in water to remove all dust and dry completely.

April 22 Rinse well in water to remove all dust and dry completely.
Polish the entire surface to a high gloss.
Let dry for several days before assembly.
The clear coat can take up to a month to completely dry to a hard shell.

After April 30, assembly can be done with care.

by the way, those two websites previously mentioned are:

http://pages.videotron.com/thief/index.htm

http://deron.meranda.us/casemod/painting/

i haven’t been sleeping very well lately and i can’t figure out why. i have been going to sleep around 4 or 5 every night which is not good when there is school and work involved the next day. the problem is that i am actually going to bed before that but just can’t seem to fall asleep. so last night, around 10, i took 3 nyquil to make sure i went to sleep. after about 45 minutes i was a zombie.

so i did actually wind up crashing hard because i knew i didn’t have to be up until 11 the next morning. the problem is that now, 2 in the afternoon, i am still a zombie. my arms are heavy, i’m having a hard time focusing, and i itch. i always itch when i’m drugged up.

oh well. i guess it a small price to pay for sleep.

i am moving to houston in may.  not sure of the exact date yet but i think i’m going to shoot for the 13th.

it’s been a long time coming really.  anybody who knows me well knows that i’ve mentioned it off and on over the past 2 years but i just never did feel a release to make the move.  but now i do.  it’s going to be a very bittersweet occasion because while i am looking forward to being with family and old friends, i’m going to be leaving behind the most special person in my life.

i don’t really have a lot to say on the matter except that it’s happening.

the title pretty much says it all. i went to houston last weekend to visit my sister and her family. i had an amazing time. quality time with her kids and that guy she likes and i got to run into old friends (and fences). i liked it so much and had such a great time, i’m going this weekend as well.

i have a lot going on in my head right now that i don’t really want to write down because some people who might read this don’t actually know about it yet and i don’t want this to be the way they find out. but other than my trips to houston and my brain trying to explode, my life is pretty mundane right now. still just going to school, still making good grades, and still happy as a jaybird.

i’ll probably be posting later about all the brain splatter mentioned above.