Ru5ty_t00l
New member
great paint-job for the mobo mr.dubs.
do u think an airbrush could do the job?
do u think an airbrush could do the job?
[Staff Project] NZXSPC
- Thread starter G-Dubs
- Start date
G-Dubs
New member
If you were to mask off then yes, but again I'd be worried about static build up. Might not be an issue but if there's another way i'd rather not take the chance. Also, not sure an air brush would give you same level of fine control that an actual brush does.
giannakos23
New member
WOW !!! Fantastic !!! I have no words to describe my feelings !!! Really amazing job !! Keep it up dude !! 
G-Dubs
New member
Wow, what a reaction to the black Mobo. It was originally going to be kept a bit of a surprise, see how many of you guys noticed what had been done. Glad you all like it. Have a sneaking suspicion we might be seeing a few more painted mobos around in the near future. Do remember that it almost certainly voids your warranty, but then if you're into warranties, then modding aint for you 
having got the fittings and the blocks it's time to bring the two together. First though lets get that Razor fitted to the 570. As Tom has done a simply fantastic guide to fitting a GPU block we're simply going to show you the various stages along with a brief description.
Stage one. The card in it's original form.
Stage 2. A great many screw to be taken from the rear, requiring a torx6 driver. Full instructions are provided by XSPC.
Stage 3. The two halves split. this came away really easily without the need for any warming. be careful not to use too much force though and be wary of wiggling as you don't want to go knocking anything important off the board.
Stage 4. Applying TIM pads and TIM to the chip. again XSPC give great instructions with it being really clear what goes where. At this point it's easy to see where the 570 has been cut down from the 580.
Stage 5. Different screws are provided to attach the block back onto the board. get them all in loosely before beginning to tighten each a little in turn so as not to flex or stress the board.
Stage 6. plug whichever ports you're not planning to use then sit back and wonder at the beauty of the the Razor waterblock.
With that done and the fittings attached to the raystorm and the Razor it's time to get them into the case and onto the motherboard.
I'm going for a very tight loop (in fact I don't want any loops at all in my tubing route). Hence the use of quite a few 45 degree rotaries. Straight lines where possible with no slack anywhere, which is one of the reasons I cut the hole for the fillport as the tightness of the loop will prevent it from being slid out of the case for filling.
Raystorm and fittings in place.
Razor and fittings in place
And a few arty shots
Well hopefully that should keep those who scream for "Moar" pictures satisfied.
Next up is tubing so be sure to visit the forum regularly for updates on this and other projects.
Mod On
having got the fittings and the blocks it's time to bring the two together. First though lets get that Razor fitted to the 570. As Tom has done a simply fantastic guide to fitting a GPU block we're simply going to show you the various stages along with a brief description.
Stage one. The card in it's original form.
Stage 2. A great many screw to be taken from the rear, requiring a torx6 driver. Full instructions are provided by XSPC.
Stage 3. The two halves split. this came away really easily without the need for any warming. be careful not to use too much force though and be wary of wiggling as you don't want to go knocking anything important off the board.
Stage 4. Applying TIM pads and TIM to the chip. again XSPC give great instructions with it being really clear what goes where. At this point it's easy to see where the 570 has been cut down from the 580.
Stage 5. Different screws are provided to attach the block back onto the board. get them all in loosely before beginning to tighten each a little in turn so as not to flex or stress the board.
Stage 6. plug whichever ports you're not planning to use then sit back and wonder at the beauty of the the Razor waterblock.
With that done and the fittings attached to the raystorm and the Razor it's time to get them into the case and onto the motherboard.
I'm going for a very tight loop (in fact I don't want any loops at all in my tubing route). Hence the use of quite a few 45 degree rotaries. Straight lines where possible with no slack anywhere, which is one of the reasons I cut the hole for the fillport as the tightness of the loop will prevent it from being slid out of the case for filling.
Raystorm and fittings in place.
Razor and fittings in place
And a few arty shots
Well hopefully that should keep those who scream for "Moar" pictures satisfied.
Next up is tubing so be sure to visit the forum regularly for updates on this and other projects.
Mod On
WinkieDink
New member
This is awesome i have been looking at paint my mobo for a while but i never knew if the paint would affect the heatsinks as to the point of no return (overheating).
G-Dubs
New member
Head over to the articles section on the home page and you'll get a bit of a clue. Otherwise, I'll be getting some images up of the tubing etc later today.
Coolant wise, you've not missed it. Keep em peelel and you'll see.
Tutorials wise on painting mobo, i've not seen any, but when I get a spare afternoon (and anothermotherboard), i'll get one done. I can't stress enough though how delicate the work is.
Ru5ty_t00l
New member
great shots m8. what kind of light do u use for this quality pictures?
reeper250
New member
Awesome, thanks. Looking forward to progress on the build!
G-Dubs
New member
Depends where I am. The garage shots just use ambient sunlight (very little) and strip light (very dim) so not the best. When i'm indoors If i can I let the sun do it's job in the afternoon (nice and difuse). Otherwise i've got a small lighting set up, which is what I tend to use most of the time.
wassupdoc
New member
You can tell you've spent too long playing with airfix models when you can tell which number and finish of enamel paint it is just by lookingI gave a great deal of thought to choice of paint. Original thought was to use acrylic as it's quite easy to work with and easy enough to remove any mistakes.
However as I wasn't too sure how well it would stand up to even small amounts of heat (is is going on a heatsink after all), I decided to use a product called Humbrol enamel paint. Matt Black 33 thinned by 25% as it's pretty gloopy stuff even when mixed well. A selection of brush sizes with some very small ones to get into all the little nooks and crannies and an awful lot of patience. if you fancy having a go, you can get all this stuff from the sort of places that sell models etc.
I have to say I'm rather pleased with the result and nice to see the work appreciated, thanks Guys
G-Dubs
New member
You can tell you've spent too long playing with airfix models when you can tell which number and finish of enamel paint it is just by looking
Impressed and a little concerned that you can tell from looking.
wassupdoc
New member
haha me too, me too...Impressed and a little concerned that you can tell from looking.
The key with enamel paints is patience, get tempted to rush in before it's completely dry and you can ruin the entire thing, and i'm sure you discovered they are a right royal pain in the arse to get off
even with thinners 
PetrolHead247
New member
Oh wow, that mobo looks epic in all black! You did an amazing job man painting the mobo, and those fittings and blocks look boss too. Awesome job
Seeing as youve painted the mobo matey that GPU block needs doing MNR stylee too imho
Get the paint back out son!!!
Get the paint back out son!!!
G-Dubs
New member
I think it looks massively bland and almost out of place in there now
MadMarc
New member
I agree with tom, after going through all the trouble of painting your mb and fans, you should paint that block as well, would imo make the rig look much cleaner
