craftlog

* painted computer

Posted on October 23rd, 2005 by maitreya. Filed under Experiments.

How lucky am I to have a crafty husband? He’s been working on painting his laptop for weeks now. He mainly worked from these instructions, but also a lot of trial and error. First, he took apart his laptop, then sanded off all the existing paint down to the metal, then primed it with several layers of car paint primer, then painted it with yet more layers of green glittery car paint, then waxed it and buffed it. You can see why it took forever. The pictures just don’t convey the sparkly shininess of it.

12 Responses to “painted computer”

Tracy Says:
October 23rd, 2005 at 8:30 pm

Cool.Is it Inspiron 700m? The new look is much better although I dont like green at all.:-D

Rose Says:
October 23rd, 2005 at 10:00 pm

I love green, and I think it’s beautiful! You are lucky - I’m pretty fearless with software, but when it comes to taking computers apart, eek!

Christina Says:
October 24th, 2005 at 12:40 pm

That is such a guy thing–like painting a car. I could see my boyfriend getting into that if he wasn’t already a painter/artist for a living.

Bernie Dunham Says:
October 25th, 2005 at 9:40 am

A guy could go into the bling bling lap top business for the stars with paint jobs like that.

korinthe Says:
October 25th, 2005 at 11:09 am

I painted the computer I built junior year — a lovely rich magenta. However I didn’t sand, and I bought the spray paint at a hobby store that had seen better days, and the paint was gummed up in one of the cans. So it came out a bit less uniform-looking. :)

Watch out for scratches. A matching shade of nail polish, though hard to find, does ok touch-ups.

Clara Pollock Says:
October 25th, 2005 at 1:15 pm

Bling!

korinthe Says:
October 25th, 2005 at 2:16 pm

I guess my point was, it’s not just a “guy thing”. Don’t sell the ladies short. :)

Good Husband Says:
October 26th, 2005 at 10:16 pm

Yes, it’s a 700m. I fubared the right side of the palm rest as I was putting it back together. I put the wrong screw in and punched a hole right through it. I had to fill it and sand it down, along with the entire right side, and blend it all back in. That sucked.

It’s cheaper and easier to buy it. Dell offers laptops in different colors now. But now I know how to paint. On to the Toyota!

Mini Says:
November 1st, 2005 at 8:48 am

i have a 700m!!! and i’m DYING for a pretty colored one. I totally just emailed this link to my craft husband and ordered him to do mine! thx for the idea. :)

GlassMX Says:
April 18th, 2007 at 12:57 am

I’m gonna do that too, tomorrow! I’ll tear it apart myself, but I’ll bring it to a professional car pimper… =]

jimmy Says:
January 4th, 2009 at 2:28 pm

I have been wanting to do this for awhile now. My only question/concern is the wireless range as the wireless antenna is run up the sides of the screen.
has it maintained or worsened? any input wouldbe appreciated. thanks,Jimmy

maitreya Says:
January 16th, 2009 at 1:06 am

GH: I didn’t notice any difference in the wireless range after painting. The screen border is plastic.

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