So my shop asked me to customize an ibook for our Dispatch technician. then they gave me one night to do the job. Who attempts flames in one night? Not enough time I tellya. But, its done, its halfway decent, and its the first time I've used the new airbrush. everyone, follow the link and lemme know whatchu think!

http://www.mygeeklife.com/flamebook/

Thanks!

Edited to hyperlink URL

Post edited by: krusher117, at: 2004/12/18 03:47

I love it! Can you share how you made the flames? Are they airbrushed or printed?

The flames are pretty simple, just time consuming. I took the plastic case parts, and sanded them with 200 grit sandpaper. I then pulled out the compressor and the touch up gun, sprayed all of them with Auto Air base coat white, and then heat cured them with the heat gun. All parts were then sanded with 600 grit sandpaper to even out the surface and smooth it out. Once that was done, I changed out colors and sprayed all the pieces with Auto Air semi-opaque detail jet black. About 4 super light coats were applied with heat curing in between. (thats the process for the auto air paint)

Once I had all the base color sprayed, I clear coated the bottom case, and the battery cover. I sprayed a light coat of clear acrylic onto the top case. Once the top case had dried, I stretched, airbrush masking film over the top case, drew out the flames, and cut away the parts that needed paint. I then sprayed a light coat of the jet black on top of the freshly cut mask, to keep any of the lighter colors from bleeding through. Yet again, heat cure.

I then sprayed the top with another couple coats of base coat white, and cured. I then switched colors and sprayed the whole thing with several coats of Auto Air Pearl Yellow, and heat cured.

Next, I switched from the touch up gun, to an Iwata HP-B airbrush, and loaded it with Auto Air Sparklescent Mango. (its basically pearly orange) I then gently edged all the flames in the mango and tried to fade it into the yellow. once done, the whole thing was heat cured for about ten minutes to make sure all the paint was dry.

I then super carefully peeled up the mask, and had a gorgeous black case with firey flames. once done, I pulled out a Sharpie brand oil paint marker, and pinstriped the all the flames in silver. (the auto shop closed before I could get there to get pinstriping brushes and urethane pinstriping paint)

I then heat cured the whole shebang one last time, and clearcoated it. All the work dried overnight, and this morning was snapped back together. Its dry to the touch, but the clearcoat needs about a week to really harden out, and another week before I can get down and polish the whole thing to a mirror shine.

So yes, its all done by hand. Custom spray and airbrush work. Not a single sticker on it! Stickers are a good easy way to mod, but the best work is always hand done.

Very good job modyourmac! That has to be the nicest black paint job I've seen on an iBook. The bottom looks like it was meant to be that color. Do you plan on replacing the rubber feet?

I like how you use the heat gun after letting it dry to cure it. It's something I forget to do, even though I have a heatgun. Your painting tips should come in handy on an acrylic job I'll be starting soon.

On Another Note ::
You are like half a step removed on making a mod guide. You should post it up as one on painting iBooks. Just my suggestion.

-whitlock

just so i absolutely positively have the idea right.....you painted the OUTSIDE....I was considering modding my ibook 14.1 but doing it from the inside. I have never seen one painted from the outside and I'm curious as to how it feels to the touch and whether you have to worry about sharp object scratching the paint away.

Heh, thanks guys

Yes Krusher, I painted the outside. you can paint the insides of the shells, but its a pain to mask. And quite frankly, everything else (ie, hotrods, motorcycles, cars) gets painting on the outside as well, so I'm sticking with convention.

Thanks whitlock. The detail jet black mixed with a semi-opaque black tends to give it a nice depth. Its the clearcoat that makes it shine though Without clearcoat, it'd just be a dull looking black.

I probably wont worry about the feet. The machine is going to an employee, and the unit was used to begin with, so I'm not too worried about it.

In regard to heat curing, well, I kinda have to. the way the auto air paint system works, you have to heat cure it in order to dry it for the next coat, and it also causes the paint's chemical structure to "crosslink" and get rock solid. So, no curing, and my stuff wouldnt be anywhere close to durable.

I was debating pulling together a tutorial for the job, but remember, I had one night to get that thing done. I was literally racing through it. I prefer to have several days to a week to really take my time and get something like that absolutely perfect. So, I opted not to take pictures during the job. Oh well. Next time, everyone gets the long drawn out proceedure!

Even though you don't have a pic of the creation process, the final product and the howto should be suffice. I'd love to see it as a writeup. I'm always looking for new and different ways to apply paint.

I'd be happy to volunteer my 14.1 ibook for you to make a mod guide with!

Okay, Krusher, you're on bro!

I happen to have a spare 14" lid in my stash. Whats yer favourite colors?

If you need ideas, go to http://www.autoaircolors.com. That the paint system I'm using Lots of good stuff. Similarly, if there's a Plaza art supply store near you, they should sell the auto air colors. You can duck in there and look at the bottles for some ideas

Post edited by: modyourmac, at: 2004/12/20 21:22