M18x R2 - Paint mod???

I'd like the communities opinion on this.

I have just put my order in for a 1070 from @Rengsey R. H. Jr. While my M18x is in pieces, I thought it could be an opportunity to give her a fresh new paint job while I wait for her new GPU. I have always left it original Stealth Black while I've re-painted most of my other machines.
I'm torn between keeping the outside original or making it one of a kind.

 

Collector notebook leaves original.
If you want I can buy .

 

Some sort of different color.

Red like this

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Blue like this

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Orange, etc.

Spoiler

 

No way! I'm waiting for this 1070 and then she'll be a beast again! I know what you mean though, that's why I have never modded it over the years. Once it's painted, there's no going back

 

If I do end up painting it, I'd like the AlienFX to work in well with the new scheme. I have thought about blue though, similar to my old car

 

That looks good too.

 

This is the color of my old ute, well pretty close. It won't look as good on a PC using a touch-up spray instead of a proper paint gun but I think I may try it. I can always sand it off again......

 

Bought a few cans of the Delft Blue and did a quick coat of primer and then just one coat of blue on a spare Ranger base cover. It actually looks amazing and I’m surprised how well the metallic effect came through. Looks better in real life compared to the pic. I managed to stick my thumb on the paint but you get the idea.





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Looks real nice! I have always wondered though how much of a hit the "collector's value" will take from changing stock color.

 

Yeah I’ve thought about that as well but am I really ever going to sell it? Not sure. Well I’ve already primed the lid so there’s no going back now




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That's a good question, dunno the answer to it either, and as long as the 1070 purrs and handles games well which it does, then i have no incentive to sell

And if other mxm cards are released and work then we might have another route of gpu upgrade.

Btw, the primed cover already looks good lol, well done buddy!

 

The paint is auto touch up paint and it sprays pretty thick so it is be interesting to see how hard it is to get a good clean layer


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First coat




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Just needs a few more coats of clear.




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Looking really good! How many coats altogether does it normally take? Including primer, main paint and clear and whatever else.

 

It has two coats of primer and I would have done 4 coats of color on this one. I had to do light coats as the spray can wanted to spit out blobs if I tried to go too heavy and they were a huge pain to sand out. I only got one coat of clear on before the can ran out so I have to grab some more today. I think it will take at least 3 coats of clear.

I pulled the motherboard out of the frame yesterday so once I have things taped up I will give that a prime.

 

that's quite a bit of work then! But I guess the end effect justifies it, nice one!

 

Yeah it’s a lot of work. I have to wait 3 hours between coats of primer and there’s lots of chances to F it all up


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After all these years it was the first time I’ve ever pulled the motherboard from this machine. There’s a bit more to it than the 17 and M17x


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Clear coats are done. Ended up putting 5 coats on and it looks amazing. Too dark to see the full effect though. It needs to cure for about a week now.




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Wow, this looks tremendous! You got skillz brother!

 

Thanks man.

I'll start painting the chassis tonight (prime coats done) and I'm just hoping that it perfectly matches the lid. I'll take a photo of the lid in the sunlight when I get back from work tonight. I need some auto polish and a woolen pad so I can get it shining.

 

Out in the sunshine and the chassis first coat. Ran out of Delft Blue spray though which sucks.
The lid looks mint. Couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.







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You are making it look brand new (or as my son's fave Disney Planes 2 character called Maru would say, "better than new"!!) Lol well done!

 

Thanks. I looked after the old girl so well that it looked brand new before I started all this. I’m really looking forward to seeing it back in one piece and with some AlienFX.
Usually I would also paint the keyboard bezel but I’m not sure it would work with this one.


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I’m tempted to put some blue cellophane behind the alien head to make that blue


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I meant to ask, do all these coats stack up enough to make assembly difficult or is the extra thickness negligible?

 

It's never been an issue with my previous ones but I've never done an M18x before so we'll have to wait and see. I'll start clear coating the chassis tonight and then I can start putting it back together.

 

Last coat of clear on the chassis done. I’ll start resembling in a few days after the clear hardens




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All finished. No GPU in her yet but hopefully that won’t be far away. I’ll get some pics with natural light tomorrow. I’m guessing it will have a different look.
I’m just glad everything went back together and she booted up.








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A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! Really makes me want to try something on mine but I have never done it before so a bit weary of using my baby as a test subject for a rook like me

 

I’m pretty happy. It came out great. If you’ve never done it before I wouldn’t use your machine as a test though. I’ve failed on a few machines before I got to this stage.


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Agreed, will need to use another test subject first

 

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Forgot to ask, is it a pain taking the cover off of the lcd? I.e. is there any risk of breaking the panel?

 

It couldn't be easier on this one. 4 screws. You have to pry the alien head and front edge bar off the lid which is a pain though. I'll have to re-glue the edge lip to the lid. I should have just taped it off

 

Awesome, I will be moving house in the new year, so when I finally get my man cave I might just give this whole paint job thing a go

 

I'm glad I didn't start with this machine. Practice on anything you can