Painting a CD Rom drive

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Asa
Posts: 60
Joined: Fri 15 Aug, 2003 12.02
Location: South East England

Hi all,

Is it possible to paint the front of a device such as a CD-Rom or floppy drive, say if you bought a black looking PC case but wanted to stick a white/creme CD-Rom drive in? If so, what type of paint would I use?

Cheers, Asa
Neil Jones
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Joined: Thu 11 Sep, 2003 20.03
Location: West Midlands

Recently answered on Usenet.

Quick search seems to suggest model paint.

See here:

http://www.casejunkiez.com/articles/pai ... aint.shtml
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Gavin Scott
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Certainly possible. Watched my mate do it in the workshop at work recently. In fact, I painted a portable tv in dayglow pink years ago. Looked like one of the one on the Big Breakfast; but I digress.

Using masking tape and newspaper, thoroughly mask the metal case of the drive. Use an enamel spray (humbrol) for a glossy finish. I think my mate used Halford's 'car black'. Several light coats in a smooth motion holding the can about 12" away.

I understand that cellulose based paints (such as enamel) can chemically change the properties of some plastics, in some cases making the skin of the painted object highly flamable. Obviously then care should be taken.

Because of the relatively small area you are working on I wouldn't worry about it.
cwathen
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Joined: Fri 15 Aug, 2003 17.28

Yep, I'd definately go for spray paint if you want it to look half decent, a bit of clear laquer on top would work wonders too and help prevent it rubbing off.

All that said though, if it's just to make beige drives look nice in a black case, if you've got a few extra quid it's a lot less hassle just to buy new drives - you can get black floppy drives inside a tenner now and AFAIK black fronted optical drives are barely more expensive than their beige equivalents (and both DVD-ROM and CDRW drives are very affordable these days, I'm assuming you don't have a writeable DVD drive too). You should be able to replace the whole lot inside £70, and having black plastic drives would probably be a lot more satisfying than having drives which, at the end of the day, are just beige with manually sprayed black paint on them - you'll never get the same finish as the precision sprayed/hot dip techniques used to paint plastic in industry.

Incidentally, a lot of the new 'trendy' cases come with artificial drive fronts to stick on the front of your drive so that they fit in with the rest of the case (you can even get them with push-through eject buttons too). If you haven't bought the case yet, perhaps consider shelling out for some of these? My friend did this when he recased his system, and now has what appear to be sexy looking aluminium fronted optical drives, when in reality they are just the same battered old beige things he's had in for the last 3 years.
Asa
Posts: 60
Joined: Fri 15 Aug, 2003 12.02
Location: South East England

Thanks for all your replies, guys. It's a hypothetical question at the moment but may just come in use!

Cheers, Asa
Neil Jones
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Joined: Thu 11 Sep, 2003 20.03
Location: West Midlands

nodnirG kraM wrote:I bought this bottom-of-the-range 52-24-52 CD burner a couple of months ago for £25, and was amazed to find when I opened the box, it came with a choice of three covers - ordinary beige, metallic silver or matt black... fantastic! So it's now sitting proudly in my translucent blue case wearing its silver uniform.

Image
Looks remarkably like the 52x32x52 Lite-on drive I've got (just £25.99 from amazon.co.uk and no price to pay on postage) only without the extra bezels.

Or is it actually a Lite-On, the 52x24x52 type? I find whenever I buy something that says it's supplied, built or whatever by Novatech, it usually isn't.
Neil Jones
Posts: 661
Joined: Thu 11 Sep, 2003 20.03
Location: West Midlands

nodnirG kraM wrote:
Neil Jones wrote:
nodnirG kraM wrote:I bought this bottom-of-the-range 52-24-52 CD burner a couple of months ago for £25, and was amazed to find when I opened the box, it came with a choice of three covers - ordinary beige, metallic silver or matt black... fantastic! So it's now sitting proudly in my translucent blue case wearing its silver uniform.

Image
Looks remarkably like the 52x32x52 Lite-on drive I've got (just £25.99 from amazon.co.uk and no price to pay on postage) only without the extra bezels.

Or is it actually a Lite-On, the 52x24x52 type? I find whenever I buy something that says it's supplied, built or whatever by Novatech, it usually isn't.
No that's true - bit like the "DabsValue" products are never made by Dabs. Bit diappointing really!

Erm to be honest I can't acutally remember who made it, as I've thrown the box at an old person who came to collect money for charity, and the silver bezel only has "JustLink 52-24-52" written on it. Oh and the Compact Disc logo - just in case you were wondering what strange and magical implements you were to place inside...
I reckon it's a "state the bleeding obvious so you can't sue us" exercise. Just like the label on a jar of peanut butter that states "warning: contains nuts". Or Nytol/Night Nurse: "may cause drowsiness". Or on anything that's microwavable: "may be hot after heating". :roll:
dvboy
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Location: Wolverhampton, West Midlands

Two words: cup holder.
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