custom powder coated alienware M15x.

just wanted to share a few photos.

 

I am actually working on mine being yellow right now

Not going to be as nice but hey

 

Looks great. Reminds me of the ASUS Lamborghini laptops. Anyway is it really powder coat? Powder coating is a baked on process (heat) and isn't the laptop plastic?

 

it isnt melting hot kind of process

 

300-400 degrees F can melt plastic or at least warp it.
The powder is also usually given a electric charge so that it will be attracted to the object. I'm surprised that works with plastic.

 

Guys the case is made of magnesium and not plastic. That's why I can powder coat it.

 

Nice job! That looks sweet.

 

That thing sticks out like a sore thumb I love it

 

not my color preference but great execution!

 

nice job
+1 rep.
What is the yellow pocket?

 

thanks guys, the yellow thingy is my external hdd.

 

I thought the m15x was made out of anodized aluminum, like the MacBook Pro.

 

I believe that's what he meant to say

@ Inap,

Great Job!
+1 rep from me.

 

thanks, aikimox.

actually the M15x is magnesium but the M17x is made of aluminum. i don't know why they choose 2 different materials for similar models.

 

weight, price.

 

It looks freakin amazing! I want one like that!
+rep,
How long did it take you to do the whole thing?

 

the paint shop took the longest, it was a week. so from ordering the extra parts and paint then reassembling everything back, probably around 3 weeks totally time. but prep time and putting everything together only took a few hours.

 

This looks great! I would do similar with my Latitude, but I bought a "Man Geek Evolution" Sticker.

 

that looks amazing...honestly I didn't realize you could even powdercoat in anything but black ;-)

 

Lambo Edition of the Alienware... nice... did you do it yourself or did you use aftermarket service? Maybe i should powder coat the thinkpad in black....

 

black is color of efficiency, however that alienware is just damn sexy

 

Have to pay credit when its due........wild job!

 

Yeah go powercoat plastic...

Your thinkpad won't think at all after being cooked at 400 degrees...

 

You actually can powdercoat plastic. I just don't think it could be done on laptop plastic. I've seen it done in automotive applications.

 

lol that is really shiny
Nice Job!

 

The only plastic that can be powder coated is an electrically conductive plastic re-enforced with a special heat resistant nylon. No such plastic exist outside of very specific industries and certainly not a laptop.

Basically, powder coating plastic is not possible as plastic needed to do it is not used in mainstream apps.

In the automotive world powdercoated plastic is used for very heavy cars as the nylon re-enforced plastic is very heavy compared to FRP or carbon fiber...

 

It doesn't need to be electrically conductive. That is only useful for application in getting the powder to stay on a little better instead of making even more of mess before you bake it. And I'm also not talking OEM applications, but people doing it themselves.

 

Powder coating to be done perfectly NEEDS electrically conductive material. I am not going to give a lesson on powder coating here but google it and you will see not one professional powder coater does it on a non-conductive material.

Seriously people where do you get your information from???

I have had a lot of powder coating done on my car and even went to West Coast Customs for some work, trust me THEY DO NOT DO powder coating on plastics even on heat resistant plastics...

Please people research a subject before writing stuff that others will take for granted and then try it and ruin their entire PC.

You CANNOT powder coat any PC plastics PERIOD!!!!

 

I noticed that your M15X was Aurora Yellow but couldn't find a pic of it until now. Looks amazing, great work. I'm inspired to do my own now.

 

Well I've actually done powdercoating myself. I helped out at a shop and they had me powdercoat some stuff. Nothing to be looked at, just to protect them, mostly large metal gratings. Anyway, plastic can be done if it can be baked in the oven. Clearly more care is required, and you are limited by the complexity of the surface, but it can be done. You can powdercoat anything that the powder can sit on and can be baked in the oven.

And the fact that you refernce West Coast Customs as a source of accurate information doesn't exactly add weight to your argument.

I already said that.

 

I guess we agree then. The point of all this was to warn people to not go and try to powder coat PC plastics though it would have been funny to see the thinkpad melted...

 

Hmmm thinking 2 pack paint job with low oven bake. The stuff they do on cars including bumpers.

 

For the powder coat to stick the baking temperature should be around 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Anything below that and the powder coat job will be less durable than a painting job which would then be ridiculous to do.

It seems some people here have powder coated plastics and good for them but the truth is that if you want a professional job done you need to have metal powder coated or special conductive and heat resistant plastics.

As for car bumpers, there are extremely rarely powder coated, in fact almost never.


Don't believe what's written by most here, just take the phone call the best powder coater in the country, there are a few renown names and ask them about powder coating PC plastic even at low temps, wait for them to stop laughing and hang up the phone.

 

Most electronics plastics, especially shiny stuff, is extremely weak and doesn't hold up to temperature at all. I'm talking sub-200 will turn it into a blob. Also the thicker they are the less likely they are to deform. I put stuff to dry in the toaster oven all the time and I've done a little experimentation.

 

Far out, too many variables. To be on the safe side I think I'll can the idea...................inaps yellow lid is just awesome.

 

nice!!!! how much u paid for the paint job??

 

i paid $50 for it. thinking about getting redone in a different color now.

 

Since it goes into an oven with high temps what do they use to cover the parts and details that don't want to be painted???

 

actually i took everything off, so it was only bare metal, no plastic or anything. the shop also gave me some special tape to cover what i didn't want paint but i didn't use it.

 

really cool color, You think a decal in a partly triangular shape conforming to the top of the lcd span across the entire LCd would look good?

 

I think you mean the external Hard Drive?

 

So is there somewhere I could send my m15x to get it customized like that? I was wanting to get it Purple or Blue one day. Who knows, but is there a shop to get it done at? OR someone I can mail it to.

 

Looks great. Very Lamborghinish

 

Looks like a Lamborghini Diablo lol.

 

Man.. Thats soo coool!

 

I would like to have some soft of transparent coating over the bare aluminum. I just have not decided on what color im willing to live with.

m17xr2

 

Very nice job, congratulation.
Would love to try this on mine but I think my 2 left hand won't help.
Thanks for sharing.

 

That looks truly amazing! Reminds me of the Transformers Bumblebee

Also puts a dream in my mind of a laptop designed in same way as the "Noisy Boy" from movie "Real Steel" with his Japanese upgrades - that would look awesome to have such vivid yellow, with black stripes with LED Japanese letters changing.. (this robot's arms: Pictures & Photos from Real Steel - IMDb )
-Mel

 

That is one sexy beast! I wish I could do it to my m17x r3...but it's plastic and it has the soft touch rubber...

 

Well you can get spare lids for your M17x R3 (to preserve warranty and for resale purposes if it matters to you), sand them and paint them instead.

See my sig of my recent job on a M17x, it is aluminium but similar results can be achieved with a plastic chassis.