Photoelectric's Crazy Cover Coatings

[Photoelectric]

Random notes:
If anyone is curious about the difference in the rubber coating between the silver and the black QFR covers, I have some photos and descriptions here:
http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=44191.msg1012462#msg1012462
Short summary is that I'd recommend sanding the black cover completely, while the silver cover can be partially sanded.

Update: I've just ordered 2 more covers   Going to try to do 4--at least one all out for the competition--and 2-3 of the 4 are going to be handed out to those who are interested and can use them

Update #2: The first cover I will make will involve some orange and black with a twist, in honor of GH's most popular theme.  More details to come when I have all the materials together!

Update #3:  Pictures!

Update #4


Update #5 : the mummy

[mkawa]

can't stop watching gif

[Photoelectric]

Hopefully it will keep you tied up and mesmerized until I have something of substance to offer >.>

[Latin00032]

Excited!

[MOZ]

I know for one that you would be stiff competition and make something great!

[CPTBadAss]

can't stop watching gif

You're not the only one kawa...it's so memerizingly cute.

[mkawa]

i know right?!?!

you have to paint that on one of your cases now photoelectric

maybe flip-book style

[Photoelectric]

Hrm, well, I have some ideas... we'll see

[uJalled]

can't stop watching gif

You're not the only one kawa...it's so memerizingly cute.

I only snapped out of it when I felt myself drooling subconciously

[Tivor]

A kitty with a pop-tart body.  Nice.   

[Photoelectric]

What a time Ive had.  Just finished all the covers for a GB here, plus relatives visiting from another state, plus planning for my upcoming London trip.  I'm exhausted, but I've had some plans brewing

The first cover I will make will involve some orange and black with a twist, in honor of GH's most popular theme.  More details to come when I have all the materials together!

[mashby]

Really excited to see what you come up with. Your past work that inspired me to participate as well.

[Photoelectric]

Thank you.  I have all the materials minus some important ingredient.  I don't know if I have to look for it in a craft store or if I'll end up making some cut-outs to spray through out of painter's tape, paper, and a utility knife.  Probably the latter.  I'll try to work on it in the next few days, as I'll be away from the 6th to the 16th

[Photoelectric]

Hooooooooooo who lives in a pineapple under the sea.... 

Okay, not quite, BUT

Here's a photograph



To the start of something orange!  And black!

[Photoelectric]

Welcome to my humble workstation   it's nothing short of amazing and scientifically advanced!  And who but W.B. Mason would provide it?!



On it, we have a sanded silver CM QFR top cover.  This cover gets coated lightly with some primer:



Then a base color of light beige over black plastic:



Followed by some sparkly orange   (Who doesn't like sparkly orange?!)



BAM!!!!  Orange!



...to be continued...

[Lastpilot]

That orange is proper awesome.

[do_Og@n]

It's like staring into a sparkly starburst!!! Looking good, can't wait to see it finished.

[mashby]

Welcome to my humble workstation   it's nothing short of amazing and scientifically advanced!  And who but W.B. Mason would provide it?!

Show Image

On it, we have a sanded silver CM QFR top cover.  This cover gets coated lightly with some primer:

Show Image

Then a base color of light beige over black plastic:

Show Image

Followed by some sparkly orange :)  (Who doesn't like sparkly orange?!)

Show Image

BAM!!!!  Orange!

Show Image

...to be continued...

Looking good! I'm curious though, why do the beige and then the orange?

[Photoelectric]

Most of the paint is not opaque enough to conceal the background color completely in thin layers.  Your base coat can end up lighter or darker, colder or warmer, depending on what color it goes over.  Orange flake going over lighter color looks lighter in tone than if I went directly over black plastic.  Depending on how many layers you do, you can also see the background color reflecting through the top layers a bit.  Like say you can layer metallic green over a shimmery gold color for a warmer tone.  I find this to be more the case for metallic paints where the base color matters.  But if you do enough coats, many paints are opaque enough regardless of the base color.

Anyway, I wanted to get a lighter orange, because my orange paint is a medium red-orange out of the can.

Important note: don't paint in high humidity!  Paint will take a long time to dry and will interact with top coats.  I have not been able to paint as well as usual in the past couple days due to rain and high humidity.

[Photoelectric]

I had to sand a bit to smooth and do another coat of orange today--stupid humidity!

Now that that's drying until tomorrow, I moved on to something else...



Hmmm....  Oh!  FLIP!



Aha!  Poke, snip...



Some time later....



And there we have it!

[elton5354]

Very good dexterity! How long did that took ya?

[Photoelectric]

Probably like half an hour in total with taping--I had to clean the knife periodically as it was getting sticky from the painter's tape glue.

[Tym]

You must be pretty skilled, I couldn't cut something that accurately and especially not in 30minutes, is there any special way of cutting or is it just either you can or you cannot, there is no try?

[Photoelectric]

I was a bit intimidated by this too and thought I might need to do a couple of attempts, but I think the trick is setting it up well, since it turned out to be not too difficult of a task.

You may have noticed that I taped the paper covered with painter's tape to a piece of thick cardboard.  My knife is also very sharp (fresh new blade).  So I basically went with quick downward cuts with the tip of the knife, not pushing on the paper too hard.  Because of the soft cardboard underneath, it was safe for the knife tip to travel down without cutting my shelf and also get a nice softened cut on the paper+tape.  I almost never dragged the knife sideways, except on some of the very straight areas, like along the left side of the "k".  If you go slowly and try to avoid any tearing, you'll get it

The painter's tape underneath the paper is also layered twice.

[mashby]

I can't wait to see what you do next!

[CPTBadAss]

Oooo, that stencil looks nice! I've done some stencil + spray paint in the past. But my design wasn't nearly as detailed as yours. Great job

[BakerMan1971]

This looks great, while I don't have a QFR, I think I am becoming more and more tempted to mod my keyboard casing.

[Photoelectric]

So orange was cool... but today, it was time for something new and different!

Step 1 : mummify the QFR Cover!



Step 2 : coat the mummy with some beautifying and preserving ointments



Let it rest.

Step 3 : start unwrapping!



Oooohhh



Aaaahhhh



All renewed and rejuvenated



...to be continued...

[do_Og@n]

VERY NICE....you keep surprising me with your talent. 

Excitement level officially past containable levels....time to eat some frosted flakes!!!   

[xavierblak]

Looking nice. Good color too.

[germy]

Can't wait to see the stencil in use!! Absolutely fantastic work Photoelectric!

[HendyZone]

very nice painting Photoelectric 
love that orange stripping black 

[Xenderwind]

Wow that works?  It doesn't feel uneven because of the extra layer of paint?  Now I'm wondering what I should do when my cases come in .

[mkawa]

Important note: don't paint in high humidity!  Paint will take a long time to dry and will interact with top coats.  I have not been able to paint as well as usual in the past couple days due to rain and high humidity.

have you considered making a dry box or bag for dessicating? this is what i do with my printing filament (which needs to be kept in a very low humidity environment): i layer thick-ish (6 mil?) HDPE bags and toss a gallon bucket of damp-rid in. then i toss my filament in and seal the bags with ye olde chip clips from ye olde amazon. i use about 7-8 bags, and maybe 4 clips total (but this is for 6-7kg of filament). and clip in layers, so two bags are closed and more or less sealed per clip. this gives an effectively airtight drying environment, as gallon of damp-rid can suck up a ton of water from the air.

the only thing i can think of that might make this less effective for you is a) the water is going to mix with the paint as aerosol and between layers, and b) you might need a frame of some kind (cheap rigid plastic pipe is my go-to on that front) to keep the bags from touching the object that is drying.


eta: also i love how sharp the contrast is on that top striping. fantastique!

[Photoelectric]

I am lucky to have some basement storage, so I let my painted stuff dry there when it's humid.  But it's the actual process of painting in high humidity that can hurt the outcome, as enamel doesn't dry properly between coats.

[Larken]

that looks.... grrreat!

[Photoelectric]

Thanks, all--more to come today if it doesn't rain much.  Then tomorrow I'm leaving for 10 days, so no updates for a while.

[mkawa]

I am lucky to have some basement storage, so I let my painted stuff dry there when it's humid.  But it's the actual process of painting in high humidity that can hurt the outcome, as enamel doesn't dry properly between coats.

INTERESTING!

very very interesting.. hmmm.....

[Photoelectric]

There's usually a recommended range of temperature and humidity indicated on spray cans for optimum application and curing.  I've experienced some pretty funky (bad) results painting when it was too cold, and now I know the downside of painting when it's too humid.  Those recommendations are printed for a reason

[Smeagol_RP]

Okay, now we wan't to see them for sale. )

[Krogenar]

looks awesome, nice work!

[Sifo]

tiger

[Photoelectric]

Unfortunately I was unable to get anything done today amidst all the packing and an unexpected set of keycaps to play with.  I will be back to finishing this up after my trip.  And in the meantime...  I'll post another little but crucial detail I was lucky to get today as a bonus cap



This project has just gained some legitimacy.

UHUH That's what I'm talking about!!!

[Sifo]

wow have fun trip

[Photoelectric]

I'm going to the land of the Brits.  I wish I could say that I'll look for some keyboards to check out while there, but then, it's not Asia   I don't anticipate finding stores where I can play with mechanical keyboards easily.  I have lots of other things planned already!

[SpAmRaY]

You should meet up with some European geekhackers!

[Photoelectric]

I believe their meet-up happens before I arrive!

[Cottonsox]

Looks awesome!!

[BakerMan1971]

ah now if you want to play with keyboards, a few of the enthusiast stores have them on display
I know CCL near Leeds in the north does (wouldn't buy from them though)
Have a fun trip!

[dragonxx21]

Alright, so I've come to the conclusion that it is impossible to find spray-paint primer specifically made for plastics, at least in Canada. Now, I do have access to spray-paint that is made specifically for plastics, but the colour selection is limited. Is it possible to use those as a primer, and then use regular spray-paint on top of it, or will it not adhere very well to the surface?

[Photoelectric]

Have you looked in auto supply stores?  I doubt that there are no plastic primers available.  I would not mix and match incompatible paints, so check those that are made for plastics and what will go over them well. 

[dragonxx21]

Have you looked in auto supply stores?  I doubt that there are no plastic primers available.  I would not mix and match incompatible paints, so check those that are made for plastics and what will go over them well.

I've checked pretty much every auto supply store that I know of. For some reason, Canadian stores just don't carry certain things. Like the American Walmart carries the Rust-oleum plastic primer, where the Canadian ones do not.

[Photoelectric]

DupliColor Adhesion Promoter.  You can also check online.

[Tym]

You want a shop that sells decent keyboards in the UK? I'm pretty sure the nearest one is uhh... In the US lol.

[dragonxx21]

DupliColor Adhesion Promoter.  You can also check online.

I honestly don't know, I can't find it online anywhere. Amazon.ca  doesn't carry it, the one on Amazon.com doesn't ship to Canada. I tried American autobody shops and none ship to Canada. Ebay.ca doesn't carry it. This is just seeming to be really difficult.

[SpAmRaY]

DupliColor Adhesion Promoter.  You can also check online.

Photo do you recommend using that on the QFR cases as well?

[Photoelectric]

I've been using it lately.  I like it for going on in a nearly invisible layer.  Rust-Oleum plastic primer has a texture to it and an opaque white color.

[dragonxx21]

Well, I finally managed to find an online seller for the Dupli-color Adhesion Promoter, all for the low low price of $30 with shipping.

[Photoelectric]

Well, I finally managed to find an online seller for the Dupli-color Adhesion Promoter, all for the low low price of $30 with shipping.

Have you tried googling for some feedback on spray painting plastic in Canada?  I could be wrong, as it often happens, but I'm surprised primers and paints would be so hard to find.  There are other brands that make them as well.

[dragonxx21]

Well, I finally managed to find an online seller for the Dupli-color Adhesion Promoter, all for the low low price of $30 with shipping.

Have you tried googling for some feedback on spray painting plastic in Canada?  I could be wrong, as it often happens, but I'm surprised primers and paints would be so hard to find.  There are other brands that make them as well.

Alright, so after looking around for a few hours, I finally did find plastic primer in my area. The primer comes in either black or red. They do have a white primer as well, but the image doesn't show that it works on plastic, so I will have to check the actual store to see if it does or not. I also found that they had a paint for plastics in a colour that I would like. Would you need to add a primer before adding this, or would it be fine to just apply it to a sanded surface?

Edit: It seems that my brother talked to some of his friends and found an auto store that does sell Adhesion Promoter. Would the Adhesion Promoter work better than the plastic primer I found?

[SeriouSSpotS]

So orange was cool... but today, it was time for something new and different!

Step 1 : mummify the QFR Cover!

Show Image

Step 2 : coat the mummy with some beautifying and preserving ointments

Show Image

Let it rest.

Step 3 : start unwrapping!

Show Image

Oooohhh

Show Image

Aaaahhhh

Show Image

All renewed and rejuvenated

Show Image

...to be continued...

Wow I love that, looks amazing!

[TLSC.wipeOut]

Wow! Awesome work man

[Photoelectric]

I'm back from my trip, though feeling ill and tired, as it happens.  Still, the show must go on!

The next color shall be...

[koki]

Awesome... Can't wait for more... Might do the same but diffrenet color... 

[Krogenar]

I'm back from my trip, though feeling ill and tired, as it happens.  Still, the show must go on!

The next color shall be...

Show Image

A fade? Color me interested.

[Photoelectric]

Not really a fade, just not sure how the color will come out.  So it represents a range of possibilities.

[Photoelectric]

I have to scale down my projects, because I keep getting yelled at by morons who think I'm defacing property by painting outside (even though I've yet to make a single stain on anything).  It's the stigma of a person with a spray paint can in hand and the problem of living in a city.  I'll finish the current cover I'm working on somehow in the basement late at night until I figure out where I can go to paint without being yelled at.  So far, every place nearby I've tried--I got randomly yelled at.  A lady today almost drove on top of me and told me to get out, and if I got paint on her car, she'd come after me!  Literally the first thing out of her mouth.  Anyway, sad but that's living among people.

[Krogenar]

I have to scale down my projects, because I keep getting yelled at by morons who think I'm defacing property by painting outside (even though I've yet to make a single stain on anything).  It's the stigma of a person with a spray paint can in hand and the problem of living in a city.  I'll finish the current cover I'm working on somehow in the basement late at night until I figure out where I can go to paint without being yelled at.  So far, every place nearby I've tried--I got randomly yelled at.  A lady today almost drove on top of me and told me to get out, and if I got paint on her car, she'd come after me!  Literally the first thing out of her mouth.  Anyway, sad but that's living among people.

I had to show I.D. at Home Depot to buy my spray cans!

[Photoelectric]

That's just age restriction.  It's pretty toxic stuff and does get things dirty if misused.

[Tym]

We used have to show ID over here because they think all the kids will go "tag" some houses. Maybe thats the same?

[do_Og@n]

I have to scale down my projects, because I keep getting yelled at by morons who think I'm defacing property by painting outside (even though I've yet to make a single stain on anything).  It's the stigma of a person with a spray paint can in hand and the problem of living in a city.  I'll finish the current cover I'm working on somehow in the basement late at night until I figure out where I can go to paint without being yelled at.  So far, every place nearby I've tried--I got randomly yelled at.  A lady today almost drove on top of me and told me to get out, and if I got paint on her car, she'd come after me!  Literally the first thing out of her mouth.  Anyway, sad but that's living among people.

That is sad....it still amazes me how people assume the worst and tarnish a beautiful thing.

Just in case you might be interested I found this while looking up Airbrush equipment.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/190815239288?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

It will allow you to set up a painting station indoors and collapse it down when you are done.

[Photoelectric]

Oh that's neat, thank you!  I'll keep it in mind for when I have some free funds!  Good idea--also would be nice for soldering.

[Tym]

Photoelectric if you had the time, I'm sure you could run another top GB, with the profits going towards that ^^

Also you should go paint that woman's car pea-green for being an awful person.

[Photoelectric]

I don't have any energy left to do more covers in the near future.  Doing 20-some covers in the past month and a half was pretty exhausting on top of my general persistent fatigue issues.  Fun but would have been much nicer if I had a dedicated working space.  Some day I'll hopefully have a work room or a garage   But yes, that exhaust thing do_Og@n linked could be very helpful--I'll definitely look into those!

[Tym]

Sorry I didn't mean right now, espically after you had to pick up some newbies, drop bollock. BUT if its there, its there. GWSoon!

[goobus]

I don't have any energy left to do more covers in the near future.  Doing 20-some covers in the past month and a half was pretty exhausting on top of my general persistent fatigue issues.  Fun but would have been much nicer if I had a dedicated working space.  Some day I'll hopefully have a work room or a garage   But yes, that exhaust thing do_Og@n linked could be very helpful--I'll definitely look into those!

Love your cases GH supports you, even if your ******* neighbors don't!

[Photoelectric]

I've found a semi-secluded area not too far, a grassy loan--used it today to paint another QFR cover.  I don't own a QFR, sadly, only 2 Filcos, so I had to modify that cover to fit on one of my keyboards.  I have written a tutorial for those of us who don't have QFRs but do have Filco TKLs on how the cover modification can be done here.

It is a bit of a departure from my previous cover, but I have had it on my mind that I really wanted to do this for the past week, so today was the day!

Added the cover to my Filco and put some nice stickers on for indicator LEDs   (The LEDs were swapped to a diffuse amber color, hence the yellow glass tone).







Not sure if I should put a Cherry sticker along the front side of the cover on the right--thinking about it! 

This may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I'm very happy with it!  Waiting for my Pac Man dye sub set to add to the arrow cluster and a few function row caps.

[shrapneL]

I really enjoy that color! Nice job!

[rowdy]

Any particular reason why you chose that Return key?

[Photoelectric]

Any particular reason why you chose that Return key?

It was the only cap I had left over from my Retro set, and it was sitting on my desk.  I had a turquoise cover on that Filco then, and the light green went really well with it.  I kind of like the purple + green combo too.

[do_Og@n]

Any particular reason why you chose that Return key?

Other than it is sexy ofcourse?

[rowdy]

Any particular reason why you chose that Return key?

It was the only cap I had left over from my Retro set, and it was sitting on my desk.  I had a turquoise cover on that Filco then, and the light green went really well with it.  I kind of like the purple + green combo too.

Fair enough.

There was a green Esc with the GMK purple modifier set - that is also a wicked combination!

[HPE1000]

I've found a semi-secluded area not too far, a grassy loan--used it today to paint another QFR cover.  I don't own a QFR, sadly, only 2 Filcos, so I had to modify that cover to fit on one of my keyboards.  I have written a tutorial for those of us who don't have QFRs but do have Filco TKLs on how the cover modification can be done here.

It is a bit of a departure from my previous cover, but I have had it on my mind that I really wanted to do this for the past week, so today was the day!

Added the cover to my Filco and put some nice stickers on for indicator LEDs   (The LEDs were swapped to a diffuse amber color, hence the yellow glass tone).

Show Image

Show Image

Show Image

Not sure if I should put a Cherry sticker along the front side of the cover on the right--thinking about it!  ;D

This may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I'm very happy with it!  Waiting for my Pac Man dye sub set to add to the arrow cluster and a few function row caps.

If you don't mind me asking, what paint is that?

[Photoelectric]

It's Plastikote Metal Flake in Burgundy (acrylic lacquer).

[HPE1000]

It's Plastikote Metal Flake in Burgundy (acrylic lacquer).

Thanks, I was wondering because it looked so similar to my QFR top I painted with plum crazy paint haha

It mainly shows up as darker purple but in artificial light it looks exactly the same.




Sorry, I am trying to use the spoiler but its not working for me it seems.

[Photoelectric]

Ah Testors.  I didn't have good experience with either of their two paints I've tried. 
--
Quite similar, yes!  Having looked at other photos on line just now, I think Plastikote Burgundy is more grayish/magenta.  It's only purple in some light and more magenta/burgundy in other light.  Here's another cover I did with it, in daylight / sunlight:

http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=44191.msg1015369#msg1015369

P.S.: posted too fast!  I like how your cover came out--very neatly done, great job!

[Abortion0]

What was your priming process? I'm looking to do something pretty noobish and maybe just plastidip the thing, but I don't want the paint peeling off or something like that.

[Photoelectric]

Have a look at the link in my signature   Be careful with Plasti-Dip.  I have a link on that too in that thread.

[mashby]

Been away from GH for the past couple of months, but I LOVE the new paint job. Fantastic work, as always Photoelectric.

BTW, where did you get the stickers for the LED indicators? That's a really elegant touch.

[Photoelectric]

Thank you.  Sadly I never quite finished my original project as I got caught up painting a lot of covers for others and had to take a break.  The stickers are from a sheet from some Korean group buy--I think they came with original Duck Poker cases or something like that, to simulate side printing on keycaps.

[daetsid]

looks pretty

[blackbox]

Looks nice! Too bad you coulndt finish the project.

[goonx]

i loved the copper from rustoleum. I'm planning on matching that with a "dolch" keyset if they ever come back in stock.

Loving the mods you do on your board.

[Photoelectric]

I'll finish the orange striped cover when it gets warm outside again   It's been safely in storage for now.  Needs to be over 60F outside for good painting results with the paints I've been using.  The warmer the better.