Painting an NZXT Gamma?

[SingingThroughTheStorm]

So I got an idea to paint my NZXT Gamma case. I've been thinking about swapping it out for a new case,
but since I don't have the original box, and due to shipping costs the resale value of it is very low.
Then the idea of trying to see what I can do with the case hit me.

So I'm currently thinking of painting the case a white cream color, with the front grills being dark blue with lighter blue accents along areas such as the front IO panel. Colors would be something similar to this:

http://i.imgur.com/qjewL.png

So by my understanding I would have to sand the main metal body with a low wet grit paper/sponge,
give a coat of primer, and then finally go with the final color choice, correction?

Lacquer would be needed if I was going glossy (afaik), but I don't want a finish that shiny.

Any ideas on how I should go about doing such a task?

 

[Motopsychojdn]

If by low grit you mean 240 paper then yes, I wouldn't go any coarser personally,
But you seem to have a good grip on things,
Remove anything you feasibly can, drive cages etc roof, Pc rivets take a 3MM bit to drill through and can be replaced with new rivets once painted,
But it makes the whole job easier and leads to a better finish all round,
Sand as required, rinse with water and dry, repeat if necessary,
Prime in sparing sprays, many light coats make a much better job,
Allow to dry and sand for the colour coats, same application as above,
Once you are happy/sick of sanding reassemble your case and enjoy your first casemod
Be wary sanding plastic parts, its easy to scratch deeply and ruin the job, use as fine a paper as you can for those and many many many very light coats to colour
Gluetube and the net will have a massive base to research and draw tips from, and I think mnpc also have a tutorial for painting
Moto

 

[SingingThroughTheStorm]

Okay. I've spent a good chunk of the night experimenting with things.
This doesn't mean I'm disregarding advice given, but I want to find the best way of doing things time wise and while still keeping a decent end product.

I picked up a 150 and 180 grit (pretty sure those were the numbers) sanding sponges. Slowly but surely they went, but it was very slow going. So I tried Window Cleaner (Windex) and Goof Off (professional Strength).

The Windex was good for in-between wipe downs. The Goof Off brought immediate results, but kills whatever you sand with. The Sponge sanding surface literally detiorates and flakes off doing this; rendering it worthless.

So I whip out an orbital sander with a low grit (40, but worn down) pad.
Obviously the results are quicker, and with light use it yields a decent finish without removing much metal. I continue to use the orbital sander, but I go across it later with 220 Grit sand paper (manually). This brings the finish of bare metal to a shiny and rather smooth surface.

I'll post results later on.

 

[Motopsychojdn]

Power tools hehe, good lad I use an angle grinder for most of my cutting/filing work Go easy on the painting part, any heavyhandedness there WILL show through, look forward to the pics man
Moto

 

[SingingThroughTheStorm]

Small update. http://i.imgur.com/pRCFA.jpg

Not as clean as I would like (it doesn't show too much in the pictures), but this really was a beginner's try at all this.
Hell I might sand again and keep trying. Hopefully in the future I'll purchase a case with intent to do a color redesign.

 

[Motopsychojdn]

Looks good enough to me from here mate, nice job
If in future you do grab another case with the intention of re-colouring, go down the full strip route, drive cages and mobo tray out, the full works, it makes everything easier to sand, and allows you to give full attention to difficult to reach places,
Good job man, hope you learned a few tricks and keep it up
Moto