Painting the CM Storm Quickfire

[Xerobasix]

As promised I"m making a little thread to go over what I've done recently with my CM Storms. 

I didn't take pictures of the entire process, but basically I followed these steps:

1. Remove top panel (warning: this voids your warranty do so at your own risk)
2. Wet sand (200, 400, 600 in that order)
3. Clean with 70% rubbing alcohol
4. Hang (I used fishhooks and a derelict jungle gym)
5. Paint.  I used Krylon Fusion and applied several thin layers... Use your best judgement here... don't paint too thick or it will run
         I applied layers every 10 minutes or so, about 5-7 times total.
6. Dry.  Let your paint dry a full week.  Don't put it on.  Don't play with it.  Let it sit.
7. Put the top back on and enjoy your hard work

finished CM Quickfire with brown switches







here is my hanging apparatus:





and the finished blue... I just painted it today so it's not dry yet







The blue seems pretty bright, but there is some glare with the direct sunlight.  It's actually just a bit darker.


Anyway, let me know what you think

[thegunner100]

Very nice! I prefer my red painted quickfire though. How do you actually post pictures here? >.>

[Xerobasix]

I upload to photobucket and use image links.  I'm sure there are other sites/ways though.

[Sifo]

That's a nice blue!

[Acanthophis]

No protective coat?
How scratch resistent is the paint?

[Xerobasix]

I'm not sure how scratch resistant it is to be honest... the brown one just finished drying so I haven't really smacked it around much.

[absyrd]

Came out great. Especially nice work on the patience part!

[Xerobasix]

Came out great. Especially nice work on the patience part!

Thanks!

[boost]

very nice...

[Christown]

Looks great, good work.

[Djuzuh]

No protective coat?
How scratch resistent is the paint?

The paint is pretty scratch resistant. By applying protective coat you will only make the cot thicker (and thus harder to worn down), but not more resistant.

At least that's what I read somewhere.

[ekw808]

Hmm, I was planning on doing the exact same thing with my Race, does anybody recommend using anything else on TOP of Krylon Fusion for plastic?? So far from what I've read most people just apply a couple coats of that after sanding, and nothing more. Looks great by the way, please let me know if the paint holds up over a few "rougher" encounters, thanks.

[absyrd]

please let me know if the paint holds up over a few "rougher" encounters, thanks.

My Fusion coat on a g9 mouse body held up for a long time. My Rustoleum for plastic (textured) has held up from me bending/prying the case off of a cm storm qf rapid quite a few times; so it does flex plenty without chipping or cracking off. I haven't dropped it or anything to test that.

It is all about the prep and following the paint instructions!

[malibubts]

Looks awesome! Would love to hear a report on the durability after some use.

[rockylafreniere]

This might be a stupid question but what exactly do you mean by wet sand? And what do the numbers represent after it?

[Potato]

Wet Sanding:http://cobrafan.hubpages.com/hub/How-To-Wet-Sand

And then the number on the sandpaper is how many little pieces of sand are on the sand paper per some unit. A really high number would mean that it is not very rough. Typically you start with a low number sandpaper and work your way up as you add layers/ get closer to finishing.

[rockylafreniere]

Thank you so much, im thinking about attempting this with my quickfire rapid. If i end up going through with it i will make a post on geekhack with my results!

[alaricljs]

If you've never wet sanded before, try it on some piece of crap you don't care about.

[Potato]

Thank you so much, im thinking about attempting this with my quickfire rapid. If i end up going through with it i will make a post on geekhack with my results!

If you are not so crafty and want to try something a little more simpler, you can order some of this stuff to cover your keyboard: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005C517DC/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00.

[DaClownie]

Or this...

[Rafen]

Or this...

Show Image

I would watch using that stuff. I painted the handle on my fishing reel and got some crazy bubbles and it turned out really bad. I would hate to see you do that to a keyboard.

[DaClownie]

Or this...

Show Image

I would watch using that stuff. I painted the handle on my fishing reel and got some crazy bubbles and it turned out really bad. I would hate to see you do that to a keyboard.

Overclock.net had a couple pictures of someone doing this to their keyboard... and I'll be trying it on a Razer Blackwidow, I'll post pics of the outcome when I finally get around to spraying it :)

[telepete]

I plasti dipped a rosewill. Looks amazing and is as durable as they say.

[hashbaz]

Pics please telepete. I'm going to do this to the Filco case I got for my Phantom!

[demik]

moister also kills plastidip if im not mistaken.

[peachesenregalia]

How did you remove the top of the case? The tabs on the top and bottom were no problem, but there's something else securing it there by the top row.

[absyrd]

There is a single screw under the white circular "warranty" sticker, peaches.

[peachesenregalia]

I thought I might need to take that out but they went over the screw with plastic, which I was hoping I wouldn't need to destroy.

[peachesenregalia]

Welp, after drilling a hole in the case I can confirm there's no screw behind the serial sticker... lol.

[absyrd]

The white sticker above that and to the right.

[peachesenregalia]

I haven't even noticed the warranty sticker until now. My brain filtered it like it filters sidebar ads.

[shogrran]

i'd like to paint my cmstorm too...but  i don't even know how to disassemble the thing. I only see one screw... is there any dissassembly guide?

[Rafen]

i'd like to paint my cmstorm too...but  i don't even know how to disassemble the thing. I only see one screw... is there any dissassembly guide?

There should be one screw under each leg and one in the center of board. I think that is all of them. Someone here can verify.

[Rafen]

I used the Krylon Patriot blue on my Poker and it looks amazing. I didn't have to wet sand like you said because the instructions on the can say that you don't have too. I cleaned the case really good and put light coats on about every 10 mins. I did this about 5 times. The paint looks amazing, I will post pictures when I get a chance later.

[boost]

looks great. Ever thought about plastic dipping the cases? They do that method on rims and can be peeled off at anytime.

[Xerobasix]

i'd like to paint my cmstorm too...but  i don't even know how to disassemble the thing. I only see one screw... is there any dissassembly guide?

It's just the one screw under the sticker.  Then, there are four plastic tabs evenly spaced on the top and the bottom edges.  You just need to run something under there (ID card, credit card or precision screw driver) be careful not to damage the plastic body.