Painting CM Stacker

Smoke2049

New member
Hi guys , i have a Coolermaster Stacker 830 SE The black brushed aluminium version , And i am going to respray it , but i would like suggestions on how to go about painting over that type of finish , What do i need to do to prep the surface?
 
I love the look of those old stackers, they should bring back a retro one with good cable management - I'd buy one...
 
I have two i've got a build in one and i'm doing a new build in the other , will be posting it in the rig gallery , but i cannot get it started until i know how to eiher rmove the brushed finish or paint over it
 
The brushed finish is a finish. The only way to remove it is to polish it out which would take you days.

If you want to spray it ? just follow any good guide to spray painting... To remove the anodizing you would need to use some pretty toxic stuff.
 
you need to sand most of the anodising off actually, then etch prime, then normal primer (loads of layers to cover the etch) and then the colour.

Its not a simple job and by the very basic angle of your questioning Id say take it to a local body shop and pay £200-£300 to get it done properly.

Its going to cost you close to £150 to do it properly at home and you wont get anywhere near a good finish.

If you start telling me you can do it for 50quid Ill lauh and delete the thread for wasting our time btw :D

yours

- TTL - body shop owner ;)
 
you need to sand most of the anodising off actually, then etch prime, then normal primer (loads of layers to cover the etch) and then the colour.
How deep into the aluminium would i have to sand?
And would sandblasting it be an option?

Its going to cost you close to £150 to do it properly at home and you wont get anywhere near a good finish.
If i was to spend a heap of time , Could I possibly get a decent finish?
 
If i was to spend a heap of time , Could I possibly get a decent finish?

If you know what you are doing yes. But, getting that decent finish would mean serious work.

Etch primer
primer (3x with lots of sanding)
Colour (at least 3x see above)
Clear coat (same as above).

It also means prep, which costs money. You'll need pre paint (a cleaner) as well as a tack cloth, masking tape, mask, ETC.

I would look locally for a crash repair center. If you can talk nicely to them and not be that fussy about colour* they may help you out and do it quite cheap.

* What I mean is let's say they have in a black or red car and you have the case all prepped and ready it won't cost them any extra to blow over your case using the paint in the gun. You might be able to wangle a decent price.

Personally I would get it powder coated as IIRC it costs a fair chunk less and is much more durable.
 
How deep into the aluminium would i have to sand?
And would sandblasting it be an option?

Blank aluminium is quite distinct in its look from the anodized coating, you'll know when
you're there. I have a Lian Li PC-343B, and when I scratch the surface or make a cut it can
be quite clearly distinguished from the anodized part, even the ones that are not coloured.

Can't speak as to the sandblasting, surface treatments are as much an art form as a science.
I did an internship once at a company where they did some of their surface treatments
internally (anodizing, nitriding, painting, sandblasting etc.). The older, more experienced people
working there were quite invaluable and were making pretty decent money because of that.

If i was to spend a heap of time , Could I possibly get a decent finish?

Decent? Probably. But it's going to be a big heap of time.

If the priority in this project is getting the best possible paint job then I'd say get it professionally
done. If the priority is learning new stuff and experimenting, and if you're willing to invest the
required time and money (as well as accepting the possibility that you'd screw it up), then
doing it yourself might be more what you would want to do. Basically you have to weigh the
end result's quality against the path which gets you there and decide which is more important
to you.

EDIT:

Personally I would get it powder coated as IIRC it costs a fair chunk less and is much more durable.

I looked into this when I was considering a scratch build, and I asked around in a few local
shops. Powder coating was definitely cheaper where I asked. I much prefer the looks of it
anyway, but that's just a matter of personal taste. And the quality of my Caselabs' powdercoat
is absolutely stunning, very durable indeed.
 
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How deep into the aluminium would i have to sand?
And would sandblasting it be an option?


If i was to spend a heap of time , Could I possibly get a decent finish?


The fact you are asking...... IMHO no mate, as Ive already said go to a local body shop. save on the time and hassle and end up with a finish worthy of a car and not a shed.
 
If you know what you are doing yes. But, getting that decent finish would mean serious work.

Etch primer
primer (3x with lots of sanding)
Colour (at least 3x see above)
Clear coat (same as above).

It also means prep, which costs money. You'll need pre paint (a cleaner) as well as a tack cloth, masking tape, mask, ETC.

Personally I would get it powder coated as IIRC it costs a fair chunk less and is much more durable.

Im after a matte finish , and can power coating be painted onto?
 
Matt is even harder not to look patchy mate.

Powder can but the finish wont be good. You could just get it powder coated seeing as you dont seem fussy.
 
As long as you prep it properly yes.


With all due respect, on this subject the info youve been giving is pretty slack. Its a subject I hold close to my heart and I do not want any member giving info out that leads to a shitty looking paint job. Youve not mentioned anything about powder inherantly having orange peel. the fact its actually a fucking arse to sand and prep properly and hes not mentioned his case being powdercoated, so if he is thinking of coating it first them painting it thats just fuarking stupid......

:huh:
 
tinytomlogan said:
Aye Ive seen, dont start me off on that subject lol.

And the powder has peel before you sand it. You need to remember youre are talking to someone that actually makes money out of custom finishes

AlienALX said:
Of course it will have peel because there's no way to get it completely even and you can't buff it afterwards.

I'm fully aware of custom finishes. I would be, I put one on my car using a six stage system involving intercoats to hold pearls and so on.

But it's wasted on people who don't even know how to hold a paint gun, let alone use one.

OP has been advised by numerous people what he needs to do. Either take it to a professional with the right equipment, bugger it up himself or get it powder coated. I'm not sure what other advice can be given.

Maybe you should start doing it again. I'm sure plenty of people would be interested tbh.

Disappearing posts? :lol:
 
The reason i asked about powder coating being ok to paint , is i am planning on either painting / coating it tan , and painting camo onto it , i am heading for a desert camo finish preferrably matte, is this a possiblity with powder coat ? I have a paint gun and i know how to use it, i am asking based on ppls experience with prepping materials , as i have never tried to get rid of anodising before

My aim is to get the best finish possible , while trying to stick to my plan

And also Tom i would like ur opinion on sandblasting the case to get the finish off?
 
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