Has anyone painted any of the aluminum PowerBook G4's (12, 15,17")? I've been thinking about painting my 15" black. I've always had a soft spot fot the black PowerBooks. Has anyone done this, and if so, how involved is it?
- Iantm
Anonymous
User login
Please support the defense of Ukraine.
Direct or via Unclutter App
Active forum topics
Recent content
Navigation
No Ads.
No Trackers.
No Social Media.
All Content Locally Hosted.
Built on Free Software.
We have complied with zero government requests for information.
Guess it would look nice to have a green painted powerbook. But I think you will have to brush it first a lot before start painting it. Can't be that hard!
You shuold find the finest grit sandpaper and sand it down to bare metal.
If you want good results, it's very involved indeed. There's a company that specializes in exactly this; if you don't already have access to the necessary skills and equipment, that may be a better way to go than ruining a new powerbook with a rattlecan of rustoleum.
http://www.colorwarepc.com
http://www.colorwarepc.com/_inventoryImages/images/hi_def_powerbook/large/carbon2.jpg
-vga4life
I have a spare aluminum enclosure for my PowerBook, and since I am ACDT and ACPT, I know the innards of the machine better than I know the community I live in.
Well, if you already have a spare enclosure, I'd talk to auto paint shops in your area until you find one that's got experience with prepping and painting aluminum and is willing to do such a small job. There's no replacement for a clean paint booth and LPHV spray equipment.
-vga4life
Why not anodize it?
Taking that into account, the possibilities are endless. Hmmm, this brings me to more of a what than a how. Do I want to anodize it black, or chrome it? Since there's a good amount of metal work that goes on in the region I live in, this is even more viable.
Thanks Dr. Bob
- iantm
Plus anodizing is much tougher than paint. Especially black anodize.
your AlBook is already anodized . . . but perhaps already-anodized Al can be dyed?
dan k
No you'll need to have the old anodizing stripped off first (it can be done chemically easy enough)
How about powdercoating it? Thats very durable too... more so than
"rustoleum" etc... Hmmm me thinks its time to get a spare body for my 12" powerbook and start playing
HWgeek
Just rember you have to get all the plastic off the Al first!! Powdercoating is baked on! It would melt the plastic too. ( that's all powdercoat is anyway...)
I'd posted a link to excellent tutorial on case painting months ago in another thread. The link has since died.
After reading this thread last night, I did some searching around and found another one that's just as good.
Mirror-finish results with a rattle-can: Linky.
Yes, I painted mine. After decasing - or, rather, de-internalizing - my 12" Al. PB, I went the krylon spray can route. Looked fantastic at first.
Cover still looks pretty good, but 9 months later the rest is showing great signs of wear. I've bought a new case (bottom/lcd cover/top + track pad) and am looking for new options.
Thinking that find grain sand paper, auto primer, black spray + a clear coat should do a much better job than my previous "cover it in red and snap it back together"
Anyone else done this and have a few better tips? Non-silver Al. PB's are a great thing.