Hello, I've once again came back. I've been out of town for a while and been resting for a week.

Anyway, I have found a cheap easy way to paint a case (Metal) to look like it was used with a spray gun from a compresser. Engine block paint! I rebuilt my little rally racer a while back and painted the engine block blue. I noticed it came out all smooth and shinny. Today I painted a old PC case with the same paint and it came out fantastic. I'm planning to use this for all of my metal painting needs. I'm still how ever looking into a easy way for plastic. I hate sanding and primer (makes the smoothness faint.)

Also on further discovery I found a neat little trick to make some of the older apple cases clear. This is also found in most autopart stores. Intake valve cleaner. It's a ruff cleaner that will take the paint right off with out sanding. Just one minor problem. It can eat the plastic if you're not careful.
Just squirt then let it sit for a minute or two then whipe off. Use a clean rag on each whipe or the paint will smeere and will cause you to use more cleaner that will end up eating the plastic.

Sometime next week I'll start this stuff on my sawtooth case. I find it neat you can use car stuff on a computer for modding lol.

Meta, buddy. lose the valve cleaner. It'll destroy the plastic, or at least haze it really bad if you arent careful. Trust me, I've been there. Best technique is to get a large plastic tub, like under the bed style, and then go to the drugstore. Most drugstores will sell large bottles of isopropyl alcohol. look for something that 70% alcohol or better. fill the tub with it. My tub takes about 6-8 bottles, depending on piece of plastic. put your part in, and soak it. any of those standard nylon dish brushes will do the job to get the gray paint off. personally, I use a Black & Decker Scum Buster, but thats me. Regardless, let the plastics soak for 30 minute intervals between scrubbing. before you know it, all the paint will be off, and you'll have a perfect shell. Then you can strain the alcohol through cheese cloth, back into the bottles. (I run mine through a cheese cloth, then a coffee filter) you can reuse the alcohol over and over again.

Sorry, didnt mean to teach class there. I'd just feel bad if you hazed a whole project with valve cleaner, and I'd said nothing.

I find that Krylon Fusion works exceptionally well for plastic.
It bonds molecularly to plastic and requires no sanding or primer (and really, a non-porous surface like plastic doesn't need primer).

I hear Pactra works as well, and bonds to the plastic in the same manner.

My current desktop rig, LCD trim, and keyboard trim were all painted with the same colour Fusion, as well as an iBook.

I used Krylon Acrylic clear coat to top it all.
Of all things, I'd only change the clear coat. It's ok, but there are probably more resilient clear coats out there.
The paint, however, is like an armoured shell.

if Krylon made paints with automotive pigments, I'd be all about it. Unfortunately, I cant get what I want in a spray can. Even if I could, I'm not sure I'd want to. I love have a zero VOC paint!

Yeah, well, I'm keeping it practical.
And, it looks damn good when it's done!
Just ask Krusher, who came by to see my S900/G4 in January.

Nothing against automotive-grade stuff, it is, without argument, high-quality, but I can do just as well with a can of Krylon.

Spray in thin, even coats, every 20-30 minutes (depending on humidity) and you achieve a strong, glossy, enamel coat. Use a 1000-grit or better sandpaper between coats and a buffing compound on the top layer of clear coat, if you want a really shiny finish. Either way, building in patient, even coats will result in an even finish.

I carry my iBook G4 around San Francisco (usually sneaking around for hotspots) and turn lots of heads
And I've found you can make some nice spare change selling customised Macs out here, so long as they have a professional finish and appearance.

Clear coating comes down to a matter of taste. I prefer to for protection, mostly, but Fusion leaves a glossy finish to begin with, as glossy or slightly more so than the stock white plastic of the iBook.

Speak of which, I didn't buff the clear coat. Thus it has a fine texture, but it's uniform and not at all distracting or unattractive. It still appears as if the iBook was manufactured red.
You, however, may want a mirror-smooth finish, and such will require patient layering and buffing.

I find that one can of Fusion paint is enough for the lid, bottom, and battery (you can use frisk to protect the charge indication LEDs and button) of a 12inch iBook. It may sound like a lot, but it's not. It creates a very thin and smooth shell.

I'll eventually upload photos.

I recommend a non-yellowing clear-coat to protect from scratches and the like. Also, if you do scratch it, you can buff it out more easily than you could a scratch in the paint, or, if it's barely too much to buff, you can always touch up the area with a small bit more.

Word. For me, practicality was to move away from aerosols when I realized I had almost a hundred half empty cans in the garage. I think the guys at the auto parts store were sad to see me go. The other downside for me for areosols was the fact that I just wasnt able to get the colors that House of Kolor offers, or that Auto Air offers. No two ways about it, they just dont offer those colors in cans. I was also limited in my ability to mix stuff up and try different ideas within the general process. So for me, the natural progression was to move to automotive grade paint.

When I look back on the switch, the paint I'm buying now lasts longer than a can of the same cost, and the savings on paint have pretty much covered the cost of my larger compressor, sprayers, and airbrush

As far as clear coating goes, I'm still playing with several of the HoK clears, but admitedly do go back to Duplicolor's aerosol clear. It just works. I usually spray on about 10-15 coats over a day or three, and then let it cure for a week. I wet sand with 1000 grit, then move up to 1500 grit. after that, Turtle wax rubbing compound, polishing compound, and a handheld buffer. I usually finish off with Black Magic liquid wax. Not the quickest process, but man does it shine

course, I havent painted my MacBook Pro yet. but I'll get to it eventually.

Y'know what?
It dawns on me; I already have an airbrush and compressor.

I was under the impression that I'd need more equipment for automotive paint.
I also have a cartridge filter mask, as I tend to shoot diluted oil paints through my gun.

And I will add that, according to my friend, Krylon Fusion is the bane of city bus drivers whose vehicles become the tragets of graffiti artists

When I say it's practical, it's for folk who might be intimidated by cleaning airbrush needles or experimenting with air pressure, or want a paint job which can be done quickly and still look sleek.

http://www.autoaircolors.com is the website for the paint I'm shooting. Its water based, has zero VOC, and best of all, it heat cures with a heat gun.

I I have an Iwata HP series airbrush and crown cap with a smaller compressor that I use for detailing stuff, flames, and so on. For larger jobs like whole shells, I have a gravity fed touch up gun. So far, this process has proven itself with the results I'm getting.

If you decide to play with the auto air stuff, I usually buy from either dickblick.com or airbrush-depot.com. Depot has all the newest colors, whereas blick has slightly cheaper prices. Good stuff all around though

Cool.

I have an Iwata HP-B, with a bottom-feeding Badger for the larger stuff ('cause it has the jar), and then a third Badger on stand-by.
I bought my compressor at a home depot. It's a Husky, which, surprisingly, came airbrush-ready; I didn't need an adapter.

And there's a Blick Art Store about a quarter-mile from me.
Coincidence? Sort of strange, eh?