PureTi

However, you can see how the non-matching metals wouldn't appeal to everyone, hence Apple's decision to paint everything.

I intend to dig out my sandblaster one of these days and use it to strip a display bezel's outer skin. I think the blasted texture looks pretty cool, rather more uniform than the sanded/brushed surface of this 'Book.

I've been thinking about PB coatings, and have been considering using a couple of things.

- Stuff sold as tool handle grips, it's a liquid that dries to a rubbery solid. Can be sprayed or brushed, available in only a few colors like black, yellow, blue(?), I've seen it at Home Depot and that sort of place.

- Por-15, the magically rust-PROOF paint. http://www.por15.com I've used this stuff on rusty steel and it is truly a superior coating. It's available in clear, white, silver and black, plus a bare metal color http://www.por15.com/product.asp?productid=226 They've also got some cool transparent colors http://www.por15.com/product.asp?productid=204

Hmmm, sandblast, then use a transparent cover coat . . .

Dan K

If I recall, bare titanium is very prone to leaving figerprints. Can anybody confirm/deny?

Oh yea, it fingerprints. Just look into any ti"s battery bay.

anyone know what this guy used to remove the finish? mineral spirits maybe?

No idea ...that is all the info I have about the hack

TOM

When I was painting mine, I had to strip it once. The orange jell paint stripper will take off the paint. It will also take off the apple from the outside, so be carefull with it.

i think thats a bad idea. if titanium rusts then youll be taking off the protective coat and screwin your case. if it doesnt rust, then be my guest.

check out perplex g3 on the third custom laptops page. the guys got a great technique for removing the rubber grip things, but i dunno if it applies to paint.

i hate solvents like that. u sure that stuff wasnt goof off? otd do the exact same thing.

Titanium is one of the least reactive metals out there. That's why it's used in surgical applications a lot. It's possible that fingerprints may show up (though I doubt permanantly), but it certainly won't rust.

well...i admit that i didnt know that. how many teens would?

You bet it wont... seeing as "rust" is the term used to describe the reaction of iron with oxygen (the brown/orange colour is iron oxide)... it may corrode... but it will never ever rust

*This ends Tom's chemistry lesson for the day ;)*

TOM

We used to wipe down our Ti bike frames with a thin coat of WD-40 when I worked in a bike shop. Just spray a little on a rag and rub it into the metal. Don't make it wet though. It lessend the fingerprints. Oh, and I know someone will say this. so I'll answer now. Wd-40 is not a lubricant. it's a penetrator. So you are not wiping oil on your notebook. Watch out for plastic though as it could stain or discolor.

Well, according to dictionary.com:

Any of various metallic coatings, especially oxides, formed by corrosion.

While 'rust' is usually specific to iron oxides, it can mean other oxides/corroded materials, and that was the idea I was going for. Titanium isn't very reactive and doesn't corrode very easily.

okay ladies, ive heard that if u let nail polish remover sit on the paint that itll remove it and leave te metal. so what does the sandplasted look look like?

I actually did a similar mod to my powerbook, (500mhz, not sure what this one was). A couple notable differences: I just used sandpaper on the whole thing, which left a nice subtle brushed pattern on the case (again, no idea how this one was done. I tried turpentine, mineral spirits, and nail polish remover but none of them had any effect). I also did the entire case, not just the lid, and what this mod misses is my favorite part: the bezel is black (magnesium?) so you get a great two-tone effect (rather than two mismatched shades of grey, you get a nice matte black surrounding the metallic titanium). Lastly, to top it off I put a couple layers of black plastic (thank you Glad Garbage Bags) underneath the Apple on the back, so it now glows black (matching the sides). I love my PB, I think this is a great simple mod that just requires a little patience (gotta be careful of the apple, the trackpad, and a couple other little delicates. Also beware bending the screen, the metal is really thin). As an earlier poster said, no worries about corrosion since Ti is barely reactive. Fingerprints do show up, and the titanium loses its luster quite quickly. It goes from a brilliant silver to much duller in about a week. A quick once-over with sandpaper will make it nice and shiny again if you’ve got company visiting, but for the most part just using paper towels and water will wipe away the grease from your hands and keep the PB looking respectable.

pureist are all the same I would take a electric wheel sander to it to give it a cool swirly look there is sealers out there for metal to stop oxidization

The Ti skin is very thin and distorts easily as I found out when I sandblasted a TiBook shell. I'd be very careful even with a circular sander as once the metal is stretched by working it, (unlike with steel or Al) it'd be pretty damn near impossible to shrink it back flat.

BTW, sandblasting produced a lovely matte medium gray finish, much the same look as one gets with "regular" spray-can gray metal primer. I liked the sandblasted finish's appearance alot, but it really belled the panel out way too much to be a usable finishing technique.

It's probable that using a softer media (eg: plastic beads or walnut shells) wouldn't cause nearly as much distortion, but I haven't tried anything but sand.

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/macdan/sandblaster.html

http://www.applefritter.com/node/view/3833

dan k

Try backing it first the next time. Flip the shell over and lay down a layer or two of cellophane...just make sure it's wide enough edge to edge, otherwise tape the joints that happen inside the 'cover area'. Leave a few inches hanging over the esdges. Fill the case with some kind of mid to heavy weight material like plaster of paris (try and keep it level with the edges). Let that dry overnight, then put a piece or cardboard over top it to help carry to the work area. Gently flip it and lay flat in the rig. Sandblast away. When you're done, the plaster should fall out.

I have completed a mod similar to this, however I stripped ALL the paint off the powerbook- not just the display lid.

Some observations:
1: The rear plate that flips up to cover the back ports is a beautiful chrome when stripped.
2. the "mouse button" is made of the same highly polished steel.
3. the back of the display lid is "titanium", while the front bezel that surrounds the LCD is aluminium.
4. the aresol "kwik strip" ( a chemical solvent) loosens the paint within 5 - 10 seconds- it also dissolves the epoxy resin that bonds the "palm rest" metal (that surronds the keyboard) from the polymer case surround.
5. the metal casing that houses the trackpad assembly and the PRAM battery is a royal pain in the a** to remove. it is glued to the palm rest. dont even bother. you will bend, dent, and otherwise deform your palmrest.
6. the easiest part of the laptop to work on its the bottom plate. EVERYTHING else will be FAR- FAR more difficult to dis-assemble and then later reassemble.
7. the white paint on the far right and far left of the display hinges is baked on powdercoating. the chemical solvents will not loosen it.
8. if you plan on doing this project- and want to do it in one sitting- plan on spending 8-12 hours depending on youe expierence with laptops.
9. it is worth it... i'll post photos soon...

And it doesn't damage the surround in the process? If so, this stuff would be an excellent way to strip out all the old epoxy from case tops where the edge has already separated from the palmrest.
So not the same adhesive used for the edges . . . I think this sort of adhesive might be persuaded to loosen with the application of heat, like from a hair dryer (or heat gun, if used carefully!)

Nice post anyhow, thanks!

dan k