Paint my Ducky?

[metalliccharles]

So my very first Ducky http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA23C0RY2105 is coming in Friday the 21st    I was wondering if there's anyone here that I could commission to paint the case for me?  The last time I painted anything was water colors in the kindergarten and I don't want to make a $140 screw up.  I can take it apart the tray and just send that. If not, is there any advise you guys could give me?  I've read a couple of painting threads on here and it still sounds a little over my head.  I appreciate any help!   

[SpAmRaY]

You might want to use it a bit before you decide to up and get it painted. You will lose the warranty as soon as you crack the case open and certainly if it is painted a different color it will be pretty obvious. But that might not matter to you.

There are few people around here who have put up some very good info on painting, not sure if they would do it but hopefully if they are interested they will see this thread and chime in.

[metalliccharles]

Not too worried about voiding the warranty because I take very good care of my gear, plus I do plan on waiting at least a week or two before actually painting it to get used to it and make sure its the keyboard for me. 

[Photoelectric]

Whereabouts are you?  I could do oil enamel for the top part of your case in your choice of color.  Not too experienced with other kinds of paints yet, like PlastiDip, but I've been using oil paints (on canvas) and oil enamels for a while now

http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=44191.msg912502#msg912502

[metalliccharles]

ah HA! Just the man I was hoping to hear from!  I've seen some of your work and really liked it.  I'm in Oregon, and I'm not sure what type of painting it would require but I do have an idea of what I want.  I'd like to have the case painted a matte white, and plan to get blacked out keycaps.  I'd like the finish not be smooth but rather kind of rough... The best I can describe in my mind is 'snow white'.  Not sure if that's something you could do, but I appreciate any help you can provide! 

(I'm pretty paint-tarded so if none of this makes since let me know haha)

[Photoelectric]

You can try Plasti Dip in White.  I have a feeling it might be what you're looking for.  Should be fairly easy to use too--look up some youtube videos.  Just make sure to get the narrowest painter's tape you can find and cover up all the inside parts of your top cover (the parts that will be rubbing against the bottom case when closed--everything else doesn't matter).  Can find it on Amazon or your local Home Depot store might sell individual cans too:

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/catalog/servlet/Search?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&keyword=plasti-dip&Ns=None&Ntpr=1&Ntpc=1&selectedCatgry=Search+All

(or some smaller hardware stores do too, like Ace Hardware in my area).

Not sure about the rough finish.  Oil pants are kind of rough if you don't polish the case after spraying.  Rough would collect dust and dirt.  Unless you mean some rubbery texturized finish, which I don't really know how to do with paints I've tried.  There are "hammered finish" oil enamels you could look at, like Rust-Oleum has "white hammered" spray paint:
http://www.rustoleum.com/CBGProduct.asp?pid=29

ETA: here are some others too:
http://www.rustoleum.com/CBGProductFinder.asp?pfm=RST&bsq=F&bid=18

[metalliccharles]

By rough I mean like this http://www.wasdkeyboards.com/index.php/catalog/product/gallery/id/2777/image/456/ the top left black key.  Just a slight texturing, not a smooth glossy finish.  Thanks for the advise!   BTW, I see you're looking for some white caps.  Would you want the ones from my Shine II when it comes in?

[Photoelectric]

Ah, I see.  Yeah, if you use oil paint, I wouldn't use a gloss finish then.  I'd go for a non-glossy clear coat and avoid polishing.  Something like this maybe:
http://www.rustoleum.com/CBGProduct.asp?pid=403
(Clear Matte)

over
http://www.rustoleum.com/CBGProduct.asp?pid=404
Satin Blossom White

or
http://www.rustoleum.com/CBGProduct.asp?pid=415
Flat White

[metalliccharles]

And as far as prepping the case surface for painting, warm water and soap?  Any good practice surfaces before I go all in?  Sorry for asking so many questions but I really just don't want to wast $140 haha. 

[Photoelectric]

Yeah, use some low-residue liquid soap (a small amount), rinse really well, dry really really well.  Don't leave ANY water droplets behind.  Tape up all the parts inside that will go over the bottom tray, put it on a piece of cardboard, and spray   Do thin layers.  If it looks uneven--that's fine, you'll add more layers.  The first layer of white paint should look like white mist with a lot of the black casing showing through.  The second will look a bit more opaque.  Etc.  By your 4th coat, the keyboard will start looking white.  Basically do a bunch of fine coats, waiting couple minutes between each (such that the surface becomes dry in appearance and to VERY light touch).  Then do a fine mist of clear coat, and then another.  If you use Painter's Touch that I linked, it dries to touch pretty fast.  You can rub it with cloth towelette or such in around 10 hours (but I'd wait a day if you want to be safe) to get rid of the roughness.  It should have that mostly matte slightly rough texture and appearance.

Never over-spray to end up with localized "pools" of paint.  Spray in sweeping motion left-right at around  10" away from the surface.  Shake your can often.

ETA: I can see this color and finish getting dirty / collecting dust pretty well.  The rough finish would be more difficult to clean too.  You'll have to clean it regularly with something like a mild glass / surface cleaner (I like 7th Generation stuff for everything).

[metalliccharles]

You're a god-send!  I'm going to Home Depot tomorrow to source some of this stuff.  I have a monitor screen cleaner cloth in my desk, so I'm not too worried about dust, more worried about dog hair getting in the switches honestly haha.  Any more tips?  In exchange for your awesome info I'd give you my white keycaps if you want 'em haha.

[Photoelectric]

!!! The Shine keys? That would be awesome.  I can give you a black TKL Shine set with chinese characters under English too
--
Tips wise... just practice.  Do your test spraying on a spare piece of metal or plastic, see how to do the coats properly, how fast it all dries, etc.  The good thing about Home Depot and these paints is that they are really cheap.  One can will be enough for 2-3 keyboard case tops.  The Painter's Touch line is just under $4 + tax.  My HD does not carry Plasti Dip, sadly.  But I found a local hardware store that does, so I'll try it soon.

If you mess up or don't like the color, wait a couple days, get some good quality 400-grit sand paper and scrub down the paint gradually almost down to black and repaint.  200-grit 3M sandpaper is amazing and super harsh, but you have to be very careful with it.

I also have a feeling that gloss / satin/ or flat designation does not make a difference, because you'll be clear-coating the base-coat, and it's the clear coat and what you do with it that will dictate how glossy the finish comes out.  For example, I used a satin enamel and coated it with a lot of clear gloss, sanded, and polished, and it was super mirror-shiny.  So just get the color you like.  And many of those paints stick to plastic quite well even if they don't say so specifically (like Rust Oleum Stops Rust line).  At worst, there's a plastic primer you can get if you want to be on the safe side, but generally not necessary (but post here if you get something else).

[metalliccharles]

They are the keys in the original post link http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA23C0RY2105.  Do you happen to have a pic. of your black keys?? I'd LOVE some chinese keys but I'd like them to be black on black.  But honestly just for your help, my white keys are yours   I plan on pretty much replacing those white keys with my old Razer Widow black keys so I'll have no use for them...    Again thanks for all your help!