[For those of you who have been keeping up with my computer case mod exploits, scroll to the bottom to see the latest update. For the rest of you, keep reading...]

After doing the blow hole mod, the window mod, and the stealth drive mod to my computer case, I decided to take on the challenge of painting my computer case. Why? Because I can? Because I want something more than just a bland beige/black/silver-a-dime-a-dozen computer case? Most likely because I needed a project that my anal-retentive side could obsess over.

But did I want to start with an easy single color paint job? Nosiree Bob. Not I, Mr. Takes-On-More-Than-He-Can-Usually-Swallow. My idea was a black case with hot rod flames on the sides and top as such:

And since a picture is worth a thousand words (or at least 10-20 in this case), here is a photolog of my progress to date.

The victim:

Another angle of the victim:

Front of case in progress:

Angle 1 of painted black panels:

Angle 2 of painted black panels:

Final masking/design of the window panel (the green is actually masking tape, not scribbed-on crayon as it initially may appear to be):

Final masking/design of the right panel:

Final masking/design of the top panel:

Top flames done!

Left panel flames done!

Right panel flames done!

Some more comments:
The masking took a bit longer than I planned but as you can see, it worked out pretty well. What did I learn from that? Tight curves cannot be done with one piece of 1/4" tape, although you can with the 1/8". It starts to peel off if you let it sit for a while.

The color transition was tricky, even after some practice runs. I sprayed the red on the tips, the orange in the middle, and then yellow on the front end. The problem is that spray cans aren't super-accurate and the overspray tends to want to spray over your other paint. It took some experimenting & practicing, but I eventually got the blend I wanted. Even trickier was the fact that some of my tips were close to the middle of other flames so it required some close up painting.

Mental note: don't depress the trigger & release it quickly in a repeated fashion. It makes the paint come out in particles <-- very bad.

Taking the tape off was also tricker than I imagined. At one point, some of the tape I pulled off fell back onto the panel and blemished my finished paint job. I had to take some emergency action & respray that section. But the key to taking off the fine line tape is to try to pull it directly up (90 deg) from the panel.

It wasn't perfect by any means as the paint leaked through the mask at one point (due to a shoddy mask at that location), me messing up pulling up the tape, etc, but it looks really good IMO and there's nothing I don't think I could fix by some light wetsanding or painting or polishing.

I eventually plan on posting a complete tutorial/walkthrough on my website showing every step, but this should suffice for now.

Now all I need to do:
- Finish the front of my case (need to apply another coat of yellow & finish the bay covers)
- Let the flames set for a week or so, lightly wetsand them & touch up flawed areas, apply finishing compound to the entire case again as it's gotten a bit scratched up.
- Apply clear coat & wetsand.
- Apply wax
- Reinstall window
- Paint the interior of my case
- Replace existing blue LED case fans (rear & top blowhole) with red LED case fans.
- Replace existing green cold cathode w/ yellow or orange cold cathode.

One year ago today: Celebrity Diaries