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    Inspiron 1520 painted lid with Krylon Fusion

    Discussion in 'Notebook Cosmetic Modifications and Custom Builds' started by grudkin, Jan 13, 2008.

  1. grudkin

    grudkin Notebook Geek

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    This past week I painted my Inspiron 1520 lid bright yellow using Krylon Fusion. I bought the spray can at Ace Hardware for $4.99 and a can of Krylon Triple-Clear for about the same price.

    I removed the lid, Dell logo, and removed the top trim of the lid that houses the latch. I filled in the hole that the Dell logo left with Bondo and sanded everything (lid and latch top trim panel down smooth with 320 grit sandpaper.

    I applied four light coats of the yellow Krylon Fusion paint. I then followed up with two medium coats of the Krylon Triple Clear for a nice glossy clear finish. After two days of drying, the laptop was ready to go back together.

    Here are the results, which I'm happy with.

    Note, I left the bottom portion of the lid the original Jet Black because I'm cool.
     

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    grudkin, Jan 13, 2008
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  2. |SONY|

    |SONY| Notebook Evangelist

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    awesome color, although you should've done the whole thing. it is somewhat ugly now... my 2 cents...
     
    |SONY|, Jan 13, 2008
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  3. grudkin

    grudkin Notebook Geek

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    Thought about doing the whole thing, but my school's colors at Wichita State University is yellow and black, so I decided to keep the bottom portion black. Provides a nice contrast.
     
    grudkin, Jan 13, 2008
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  4. trueintentions

    trueintentions Notebook Evangelist

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    Naww, I like it the way it is.
    The yellow looks very nicely painted on.

    Good job with the patience for a total of 6 layers. :p

    Looks good!
     
    trueintentions, Jan 13, 2008
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  5. chesieofdarock

    chesieofdarock Notebook Deity

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    nice, but you should definatly go back and make the black glossy like the yellow.
     
    chesieofdarock, Jan 13, 2008
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  6. grudkin

    grudkin Notebook Geek

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    Hmmm, not a bad idea, though then it wouldn't match the sides of the lid or the bottom of the lappy.
     
    grudkin, Jan 13, 2008
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  7. grudkin

    grudkin Notebook Geek

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    Not only did I paint it to go with my school's colors at Wichita State University, I painted it to match my Mazda MX-5. Here's a picture of me and my wife's recent trip to Colorado Springs and Pike's Peak in our Miata (which I painted yellow three years ago). :)
     

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    grudkin, Jan 13, 2008
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  8. bce111

    bce111 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Too much. :D You did a great job. I used to have a VW bus that looked just like the one in "Little Miss Sunshine", bright yellow. :) I was wondering about the paint job on the 1525, which I had considered buying. It looked vulnerable and I was thinking of doing something similar. But it just has a integrated graphics card so I'm going for a different one. I know the 1520 does have the dedicated video card option. :)
     
    bce111, Jan 13, 2008
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  9. HTWingNut

    HTWingNut Potato

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    You risk your life on those roads with a Miata?
     
    HTWingNut, Jan 14, 2008
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  10. B2TheEYo

    B2TheEYo Notebook Deity

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    That's sweeet..


    Inspires me to paint mine glossy white and get my friend to do some crazy air brushing on it..
     
    B2TheEYo, Jan 15, 2008
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  11. RedemptioN

    RedemptioN Notebook Enthusiast

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    Looks good, the yellow is enough. Now u got a good contrast. Nice job.
     
    RedemptioN, Jan 15, 2008
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  12. grudkin

    grudkin Notebook Geek

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    grudkin, Jan 15, 2008
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  13. Metamorphical

    Metamorphical Good computer user

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    I like it, very sporty and very shiny. I guess yellow is better against finger prints?
     
    Metamorphical, Jan 15, 2008
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  14. audioslave84

    audioslave84 Notebook Enthusiast

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    grudkin...

    Tell me... is that you in that video??? Why do I not think it is?
     
    audioslave84, Jan 16, 2008
    #14