Has anyone ever painted their case two-tone?

[kenmai9]

Hello.

I want to use Dupli Color Dye Vinyl on my Poker 2 case. The catch is I want to do it in two colors. I have made some mock-ups in Photoshop on how it would look.

These are the colors: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dupli-Color-Dye-Vinyl-and-Fabric-Coating-Gloss-Medium-Blue-11-oz-Aerosol-Ea-/330924816125?pt=Motors_Automotive_Tools&hash=item4d0ca7f6fd&vxp=mtr and http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dupli-Color-Dye-Vinyl-and-Fabric-Coating-Gloss-Red-11-oz-Aerosol-Ea-HVP107-/390605688709?pt=Motors_Automotive_Tools&hash=item5af1e9cf85&vxp=mtr.

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I plan on taping the center part, and painting the whole thing blue. Then taping the rest and painting the middle red.
The question I had is, does anyone have experience painting it in two tones? Would it make the layers uneven? Does vinyl dye leave a thick layer when applied?
Is this a good idea? Am I out of my mind?

Also, what is the smoothest, highest recommended painting method? Plasti dip? Dip dye? Or this vinyl dye?

PS I'm not set on these colors, but its definitely an option for me.

[fohat.digs]

My teenage son and I did a "faux-camo" Model M. We used both masking tape and cardboard shields, and Krylon spray paint and Dupli-Color dye.

The layers did not have enough thickness to feel, with a few exceptions, such as above the F5 key where we ended up multiple layers thick against virgin beige plastic.

I have had very good luck with Dupli-Color.

[mashby]

Really like how that looks. Please post a log of the process if you decide to move forward so that I can follow in your footsteps. 

[UniClown]

I would definitely do something similar on my case. Possibly a red/white/blue America keyboard.

[kenmai9]

My teenage son and I did a "faux-camo" Model M. We used both masking tape and cardboard shields, and Krylon spray paint and Dupli-Color dye.

The layers did not have enough thickness to feel, with a few exceptions, such as above the F5 key where we ended up multiple layers thick against virgin beige plastic.

I have had very good luck with Dupli-Color.

Did you do the krylon first or the dupli color first? Which caused the uneven thickness. Yours looks nice by the way!

[fohat.digs]

Did you do the krylon first or the dupli color first? Which caused the uneven thickness. Yours looks nice by the way!

There were multiple layers for each color. Individual layers were quite thin, but after about 4 some thickness started to build up. It showed up most where the lowest level of tape was on the original beige plastic, and removing tape took off the "deepest pile" of pigment.

[bazemk1979]

Did you do the krylon first or the dupli color first? Which caused the uneven thickness. Yours looks nice by the way!

There were multiple layers for each color. Individual layers were quite thin, but after about 4 some thickness started to build up. It showed up most where the lowest level of tape was on the original beige plastic, and removing tape took off the "deepest pile" of pigment.

shouldn't spraying over it with clear coat even things up a bit between the high-low paint spots?

[kenmai9]

Do you guys think I should use a clear coat? How about sanding it prior? I've heard bout doing that but I'm not sure what the effect of that is. I'm gonna order the vinyl paint right now.

[nubbinator]

Do you guys think I should use a clear coat? How about sanding it prior? I've heard bout doing that but I'm not sure what the effect of that is. I'm gonna order the vinyl paint right now.

I didn't use Duplicolor, but I gave my painted cases a nice gentle sanding before painting them and I did a clear coat.  I don't know if Duplicolor needs it, but I also use a plastic primer.

[kenmai9]

Do you guys think I should use a clear coat? How about sanding it prior? I've heard bout doing that but I'm not sure what the effect of that is. I'm gonna order the vinyl paint right now.

I didn't use Duplicolor, but I gave my painted cases a nice gentle sanding before painting them and I did a clear coat.  I don't know if Duplicolor needs it, but I also use a plastic primer.

I think I'm gonna go with VHT vinyl dye, because it actually dyes the plastic. I'm gonna start off with a red stripe on my already black case, and see how that looks. If it looks nice I'll paint the rest charcoal. Here's a pic of my plan. I think it'll go nice with my RoW/RoG Klaxon set coming tomorrow.



Ordering tonight!

[nubbinator]

Make sure to get a white vinyl dye so you can actually do the other colors.

[IvanIvanovich]

I have used VHT several times on mice, old PC case fronts. Also duplicolor and other brands few times when wasn't able to get VHT. White is no need, can make black to red for example. When using vinyl dye, no sanding unless you don't want pebbled texture of plastics. Best to just leave it my opinion as it looks more like original manufacture that way. I made some PC case front, with stripe like this, plus logo text on the stripe and there is no thickness build up. Vinyl dyes is much 'thinner' than paint and doesn't build up in that way.
Please, don't forget to wear respirator mask when working with vinyl dye, or your lungs will be melted. Breathing that stuff is really very nasty.

[kenmai9]

I have used VHT several times on mice, old PC case fronts. Also duplicolor and other brands few times when wasn't able to get VHT. White is no need, can make black to red for example. When using vinyl dye, no sanding unless you don't want pebbled texture of plastics. Best to just leave it my opinion as it looks more like original manufacture that way. I made some PC case front, with stripe like this, plus logo text on the stripe and there is no thickness build up. Vinyl dyes is much 'thinner' than paint and doesn't build up in that way.
Please, don't forget to wear respirator mask when working with vinyl dye, or your lungs will be melted. Breathing that stuff is really very nasty.

Thanks for the great info! So I guess I should do it outdoors? Do I need to worry about dust or dirt? Or should I do it in my garage with the door open?

[IvanIvanovich]

Yes absolutely good ventilation is a must. I would try doing it outdoors on a not windy day so you don't have to worry about dust too much. But it has a very quick drying time too so dust getting stuck on it is not as much a problem as with regular paint.