Painting Your Plastics: Tips and Tricks for Your Custom Peripherals

[absyrd]

Want some custom color on your caps? Want to cover those "ugly" logos on your CM Storm? Want a new coat on your beat-up mouse?

Art has always been a hobby of mine, so I have had plenty of experience with painting on sculptures and mixed media that include plastics. I've used every kind of paint you can think of.

Here are some of my recent mods and an abbreviated how-to. Most importantly there are tips and tricks throughout that will help you get the result and finish you want. I've made many errors myself in learning these little touches. I still make some mistakes when I get lazy or impatient and don't follow my own rules (or even if I am following them there is still room for human error).

I may not have pics of every step because I hadn't planned on doing an article, so do yourself a favor and read between the images. ;D


Items you need:
- fine grit sandpaper
- 70% rubbing alcohol
- gloves and crappy old clothing
- blue/painters tape
- xacto knife or something similar
- krylon fusion (#1 recommendation from me)
- matte finish high quality spray paint if you want color other than white (I recommend http://www.montana-cans.com even though I've used many others)
- implement to hold your caps or mouse or whatever in the air so you can get an even coat without handling it (this is DIY... use your imagination... I use toothpicks stuck into styrofoam for keycap stands)
- patience (stuff takes a long time to dry if you want it to take a beating)

All-in I'd say you are around $20 if you are crafty and have PLENTY of materials to try this on several items. I'm sure many of you have a razor blade, thin gloves, blue tape, sandpaper, etc already lying around the house.


1) Disassemble all working parts, electronic components, etc and get your plastic all by itself (mind you this pic is after I already did a Fusion coat):

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2) Take your ABS, PBT, or whatever other kind of plastic you want to paint and sand it. For most of the applications related to interests of this forum, you are going to want a finer grit, wet or dry. This can be found at most local hardware stores in single sheets (Ace hardware for me).

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Sand your item lightly. When done sanding, wipe it off with something wet with the alcohol that doesn't leave fibers behind. I use coffee filters as I do when cleaning thermal paste from PC components. Let the alcohol dry/evap; it doesn't take long.


3) Blue tape ANY and ALL parts with working mechanisms or fittings to hold the items on (stem and underside of keycap, plastic clips on storm/filco case and generally the whole inside that doesn't show, inside of mouse housing along with side button holes). Use your xacto knife to trim all edges and make it clean, but be careful you don't make too many digs in your plastics. If you do happen to make some scratches, these paints do a very nice job of filling them as long as they aren't too deep.


4) Position your item where you can paint it at all angles without touching the surface you are painting. Put on some gloves and a crappy long-sleeve shirt. Paint in open, ventilated areas and wear a respirator if you'd like to protect yourself from some extra-nasty chemicals (Montana paints smell exceptionally good to me... you can taste their magic power! But you can also feel it melt your brain). Also, even indoors you will have spraypaint dust floating around; I'd suggest laying out cardboard or something in the direct spray area AND laying some newspaper in a good few foot radius around that. The dust will float and it will bond to your garage/basement/etc floor. It travels farther than you can see and think it will.


5) Paint with Krylon Fusion or other plastic paint/primer. Read the back of each can for instructions and safety. Shake the can for longer than it suggests; better safe than sorry and these special paints are especially touchy when it comes to proper mixing. It is ALWAYS best to do smooth, even strokes from farther away than getting too close and pooling. It is ALWAYS better to do more light coats than to force coverage. Do NOT paint in short bursts or you will get a "splatter" effect (dots of pooled paint). Keep your tips/caps clean as per instructions or you will also get splatters and pooling.

I like the Fusion the best as the Rustoleum primer ended up reacting with the Montana and giving me a more satin or shiny look than the flat and textured feeling I was going for. It is actually similar to a PBT coat feeling but on ABS plastic! Lucked out with that result. I warn again not to go too thick on each coat as it will also create a more shiny finish; one small step at a time!

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The second and third pic show my mouse. It is straight-up Krylon flat white Fusion. I've used it for a couple months with no sign of wear and tear. If I did drop it, get other paint from my fingers on it, etc, I could always just do a light sanding and paint it again!

Fourth pic is a coat of Montana Gold Shock Pink (last generation version... haven't tried this new gen but I bet it is even better!). It is still drying so the flash shows a tiny bit of shine, but I assure you this combo of Fusion dried with Montana Gold flat on top of it will end up flat looking if you do it right; it has that very light grit grip of nice new kbc pbts. My wife is going to be a happy camper for now with my old mouse and her esc key.

Last 2 pics are of the mouse casing back on the g9 after 1 day. This is just for pics and to show the PBT-coating-esque texture... no usage for at least another 4 or 5 days!


6) This is the most important step. PATIENCE. Read the back of your cans. Apply coats as each specific paint tells you. Before you use ANY of it, I'd recommend a full week of complete drying in conditions recommended on back of cans (not too humid, not too cold, hot, etc). I actually took an ABS esc key and coated it with primer then a lavender coat then purposefully scratched it with my fingernail as hard as possible every day for a week. First day the top coat just peeled straight off leaving a deep groove... 2nd day less of one... 3rd day it just smudged the paint and made you see a bit of the primer under... and so on. By the 7th day or so I needed a finishing nail to take the paint off.


7) Enjoy! This is especially nice for making your own blank sets with extra abs caps laying around (ie CM storm stock caps). I have many plans for more projects and full cap sets and I'll take more pics if I'm not too lazy when I'm in the garage. Practice first before you take this project to something too expensive. You may not get it right on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd tries! Remember you can always sand and start over, too. Spraypainting is an official "art" now, you know!

[kaen]

Thank you so much for this tutorial! Are you going to make one featuring VHT Vinyl Dye? Didn't i read somewhere on another thread that you had much greater success and durability with it?

[absyrd]

That was lysol who used VHT vinyl, iirc. I commented about how I didn't like the feeling of it, but I can and will experiment with it. I'd love for him to contribute his experience, too, though!

I also will update with other things I try as I go. Sadly I didn't even think to do a write-up until I was mostly done with this mouse and esc key, but I'll do my best to be more thorough with pics now.

Here is the mouse assembled after 1 day (no... it won't be used for another week):






And here is a pic of me trying some hand engraving type stuff. This attempt was obviously a failure and you can see that I put way too thick of a coat(s) on it as it looks very glossy and smooth and the edges of my engraving where it pooled. Ugh! Time for a deep re-sand!

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[kaen]

That is quite an impressive result on the mouse you got there, im planning to re-color a few frames for my filcos, i will likely test out both your method and the VHT Vinyl Dye on scrap pieces to see which process i prefer before diving in, if i remember i will take pictures and post back with results, im suprised more hasnt been written on the topic before now, painting plastic is quite daunting if you've never done it before i guess and there are also many different ways to do it which can be confusing.

[absyrd]

Yeah. I'm just a much bigger fan of DIY, and mainly because I need things to keep occupied with. Secondly comes the great part of choosing every little detail that suits you. Lastly comes the cost factor (although mods can get out of control unless you do some research first and control your buying).

For $20 I can probably do 3+ keysets, my keyboard case, mouse, old sneakers, and perhaps give the neighbor's dog a hot pink mohawk next time it craps on my yard.

Please do let us know how your testing goes!

[absyrd]

Hit off one of my CM Quickfires with a coat of textured Rustoleum paint for plastics. My dad uses it for gun stocks, so I had him drop me off a can.

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Loving the texture. And it is damn closer to flat than it is satin. Very happy.

EDIT: It is this stuff...
http://www.amazon.com/Rust-Oleum-223717-Plastic-Textured-12-Ounce/dp/B001764UDY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1337371724&sr=8-1

[boost]

Very nice

[terrpn]

Good intel...........thanks:} Does the Storm have raised logo's?

VHT dye or krylon fusion?

[absyrd]

Good intel...........thanks:} Does the Storm have raised logo's?

VHT dye or krylon fusion?

The logos are actually the black plastic underneath. The gray/silvery color is actually a rubbery-feeling coating over it.

I actually had this one sanded down first with 400 then 200 and did finishing swipes all in the same horizontal direction. Had a nice look to it and I almost just stopped there.

However, I just had to try this Rusto textured stuff (I linked it above). It is very grippy/gritty and looks cool. No wonder people use it on gun stocks.

[terrpn]

Gotcha........... now I know:}

So is the textured stuff self priming or do you need to dust it with something before applying the finish coat?

Is it to grippy/gritty that you cannot wipe off with a towel in case something gets on it? Here's another..........how long has it been since you applied the finish and how is it holding up? I would assume if your putting on gun stocks its pretty beastly.

Thanks

[absyrd]

Gotcha........... now I know:}

So is the textured stuff self priming or do you need to dust it with something before applying the finish coat?

Is it to grippy/gritty that you cannot wipe off with a towel in case something gets on it? Here's another..........how long has it been since you applied the finish and how is it holding up? I would assume if your putting on gun stocks its pretty beastly.

Thanks

Yes, it is self-priming, but it never hurts to do a light sanding and cleaning.

You can wipe it off with a cotton cloth (old t-shirt, etc) but I wouldn't use a tissue or tp! Definitely gritty enough to leave bits behind.

I applied the finish about a week ago and it is fine, no plastic melting, no chipping, etc. It is very durable as my pop's one gun stock looks fine through 2 seasons of using it. However, he does have 1 tiny little chip from when he dropped it out of the back of his truck onto pavement (which I'm fixing for him by dabbing some of the paint on with a sponge brush).

I'm considering doing a color coat on top of it now.

[terrpn]

Thanks for staying on top of your write-up..........

I liked your post so much that I bought a clunker with vintage white cherrys that I am going to redo with the paint you put on your filco. Gonna grab some new keycaps from wasp and it should turn out to be a bangin old school board after a little work. I saw that Home Depot carries it as well. Am interested in checking out there "sandstone" color and seeing maybe how close it is to the old beige keyboard color. I'll probably will go black, but am just curious. Will upload a picture when I get done-- Need to double check the board 1st and see if everything checks out.

[terrpn]

Brain freeze.........duhhhhhh---- of course after applying a thin coat of the texture can top coat with pretty much any color (for plastic)

[absyrd]

Good idea. I may just throw on a top coat of a bright green or something now.

[nomad]

Great writeup!

[cgg123321]

Any chance of getting the pictures back up?

[Kasperb22]

Unfortunately I applied my coats too thick and created areas with uneven drying. Considering sanding back to the base plastic or shelving my unit altogether. Why must I be an amateur!

[Fear]

Any chance of getting the pictures back up?

+1, Pictures would be great if you still have them.

[terrpn]

don't feel like an amateur.

just sand back down till smooth and apply multiple "thin" coats. it will sand back down even. paint is very forgiving and you are learning as you go. it helps to use paint designed for plastic as the bond and adhesion is par none.

to bad the pictorial part is lost. the person who did it was very thorough and did a great job.

Unfortunately I applied my coats too thick and created areas with uneven drying. Considering sanding back to the base plastic or shelving my unit altogether. Why must I be an amateur!

[absyrd]

I can't find the pictures. Ugh. Going to have to dig through all my unorganized thumb drives, and I'm pretty sure I'll come across them eventually.

I'll soon be painting another CM Quickfire, so I'll try to get some better pics this time through.

[boost]

What color are you going to paint the other CM:S?

[absyrd]

What color are you going to paint the other CM:S?

I have various shades of greens, blues, yellows, and oranges... just have to decide and then I'm going to try a two or three-tone fade. Perhaps oranges and yellows and I'll borrow your candy corn for pics.

[absyrd]

Here are some (crappy) pics I was able to recover. And I took a couple new ones. I REALLY need to invest in a camera.

[Christown]

Good job, can't tell that there was ever a logo there.

[takaki]

super cool thread and the pictures in the first post not up anymore.

[naokira]

great guide! but no pictures anymore wanted to gather as much information as i can, cause i want to spray paint my keyboard case too

[tricheboars]

yea me be interested in this **** too. pictures be missing. 

[chocobunny]

Here's my practice attempt on a broken Blackwidow. 


Hmm, I should probably get around to donating those clothes underneath my desk.