Costs for custom paint

I've been looking through the threads about custom paint jobs for notebooks, and needless to say, some of the work is amazing! I really like DarthBeavis's Alienware tower turned into a stormtrooper helmet, Huzzah! Thats sick.

But i gotta wonder how much it cost you. Like how much was the paint job? How many hours of work did it take you to get the comp apart?

Myself, im up in Canada, and im really taken with this idea because i hate the generic paint job on *most* laptops out there.

Also, do you have to take really *really* good care of it, like is it fragile to everyday wear? I cant imagine a paint job like that DarthBeavis Notebook one being very robust when it came to dragging the computer around to class and such.
ok, well thanks, and ill see you around.

 

The cost can vary greatly. The results can vary greatly.

I paid >$500 on my old desktop ... quake scheme with flames and demons. My notebook (link in sig) was significantly cheaper(<$200). Note that this is not what you can usually expect to pay ..... I did it in such a way as to reduce my cost for a little higher risk to hardware and higher risk of getting a poor paint job than you will have with someone like Smooth Creations.

I did not disassemble, I masked the heck out of it. I then found an airbrush artist that works on bikes and is very experienced. Someone who has not done a computer(notebook) before will typically do it quite a bit cheaper to get some experience.

I didn't negotiate, I just ask what it would cost for what I wanted, don't risk your paint job by getting them to cut thier price in half, there are plenty of great artists out there.

My paint is not perfect but I am extremely happy with my results for the price, however the next one will be done by Smooth Creations or someone else of thier caliber(It's going to be a much more difficult job).

 

My laptop has been across the country many times and has fared well. For Smooth expect to pay over 500 US. Check out my Hellmouth thread in the desktops forum

 

like worth as much as computer lol

 

And you can spend much much more if you like. Some, like VoodooPC charge as much as $1000 for one color (true a very nice color but...) with a simple 'tattoo' when buying.

You can do it youself for a lot less and get good results. However, I don't recommend it unless you know what you are doing. Jack53 did a nice top only. You can also spend a lot more time masking and do around the keyb and monitor. It cost me $160 to get my notebook and mouse sprayed after I did all the prep work. Keep in mind, the more involved the graphic the higher the cost. Like I said above I am very happy with my paint. There are slight swirl marks on my notebook. It is not perfect but no one but me will notice the defects (other than the one scratch). Thats part of the tradeoff in quality vs price.


as far as wear ...
I travel about 330 days a year so mine has already seen some action. It has automotive paint and clear (black - good choice ) so I am pretty careful. Even so it has gotten scratched twice, one of which I was able to buff out. I applied a light coat of wax and it has done very well so far.

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=81247

 

hey guys i been thinking of surprising my gf for christmas by completly overhawling her notebook and i was wondering would you think a light magentia purple with 2 doses of micro pearl beads exterrior and a blanched out white keyboard would work on a hp notebook ?