Advice for a virgin painter

Hey guys,

Just about to embark on my first paint job.

I am going to tart up my Fuji v2030 and make the silver turn orange so i have a snazzy black and orange lappy.

read up loads on here and other sites so trotted off to B+Q today and brought myself the following:

1 can of Plasti-kote clear primer plastic
1 can of Plasti-kote clear super
1 can of Plasti-kote black matt spray
1 can of Plasti-kote orange gloss spray
Some wet sandpaper

I work in IT for a living so am comfortable taking apart laptops. I am going to take all my silver panels off and spray.

1st question is, i know its best to sand down the existing layer of paint to the bare plastic but is it possible to cover the laptop in primer and spray new coat on top? (same colour, in my case black on black). Then cover in clear to strengthen.

What results would this give off?

Or should i sand down and apply from scratch?

Also i dont really understand all of the sanding the paint after its applied before you apply the clear spray??

Am going to practice on an old laptop lid before i dive in on mine, when comfortable i also want to respray an acer 5101 that i picked up off ebay to make look as new as it has light signs of wear.

So ultimately will be spraying an acer 5100, lid and front bas panel. Silver on silver (maybe a slightly diff shade)

Cheers for any advice given.

Regards

 

1) You need to sand your current laptops exterior in order to get the primer to stick. You need a special primer if your laptop is plastic, its called plastic primer. You need to rough up the surface for the primer/paint to stick.
You should spray 1-2 coats of primer, and then 2 coats of paint, and 2-3 coats of clear. You should wetsand in between each layer with 2000+ grit sandpaper, in order to get a super smooth finish.
2) The whole point of wetsanding, is to flatten the surface for the next layer to stick to. You wouldnt believe it, but when you spray your laptop, small bits of dust in the air, will get stuck into the paint. You will want to wet sand in order to get the dust particles out of the paint and clear coats.
The smooter the surface, the shinier and more reflective it will be.

K-TRON

 

Yeh i have brought the primer plastic so im good to go on that!

Cheers for the feedback i think i will have a blast tomo on an old scrap lid and see whats occuring.

Thanks for clearing up about the sanding. Does sanding in between coats not sand off the paint? Or is it just a light graze over the top?
Sanding is my big concern about my project - how much to sand, pressure to apply in between coats etc?

Thanks for your previous speedy responce.

 

You do not have to apply much pressure. Make sure to use sandpaper with over 2000 grit.
The sanding is only to smooth the surface, and knowck off the highs in the paint.
You are only lightly sanding in order to smooth the surface. Its a light grazing.

Just rub your hand over the paint in order to regulate the surface smoothness.

K-TRON

 

many thanks K-TRON, your help has been appreciated, i will have a blast tomorrow and report back with how i get on.

 

sorry delete this post

 

Yeah, the sanding between the layers is to knock off any highs and to rough up the paint so the next coat will stick better, it will also get rid of any sheen when your done sanding, but don't let that scare you cause the next coat will restore it. Also, wet sanding isn't required, the reason people say to do it wet is because the water helps to wash away the dust and bits that you sand off, making the surface cleaner, you can get a tack cloth and achieve the same thing.

 

you might like to get a tin of lacquer spray to get a very nice glossy finish to it. The usage of lacquer depends on the type of paint. If you use glossy paint, than you will have to wait for about an hour or two before you can apply lacquer. If the paint is metallic, than lacquer needs to be applied IMMEDIATELY after the last layer of paint in order to get the depth. Then wait for about an hour before doing the next layer. You should NOT sand lacquer layers.
Good luck!

 

I'm pretty sure that you can sand lacquer layers, if you can't then I've been doing my profession wrong for as long as I've been working. There are VERY few things that I don't sand, and I'm pretty sure you wont be dealing with any of those things while painting your notebook.

 

Laying paint on is a real art form. All of the suggestions I have read here are excellent, and each step has to be followed religiously or the outcome will not be professional. I would suggest that you practice with at least one can on a suitible surface. Hold the can about 12 inches and 90 degrees to the work, overspray at the start and end of each stroke and maintain the distance. Look at your work, if the surface appears dusty, it means you are too far away from the work and the paint is drying before it contacts the surface. If you are too close, it will run or be a very heavy coat and produce an orange peel surface. I would also get some silicone remover. Prepsol is a trade name. If your work has been polished or waxed it more than likely will have silicone on the surface. Silicone produces "fisheyes." (The paint moves away from the silicone.) Black is about the hardest paint color to use, but their are some krinkle and hammered finishes that are very forgiving in application. The black krinkle is usually used on hi-value electronic equipment and when bake (not to hot with plastic) in the kitchen oven produces a beautiful expensive finish. Just another thought.
Afterburner
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Afterburner

 

how does being a virgin have anything to do with painting??