Camo Painting Case Guide

Whether you're tired of your computer case's current appearance or just bored and looking for something to do, painting your computer case is a simple and easy way to dramatically improve your case's appearance. This guide will cover all the steps necessary for your paint job to become a success, beginning from the preparation of your case to the final layer of paint applied. We will be painting our case in a camouflage pattern to give this case a truly unique appearance.

Before you can begin any work at all, you need the proper supplies. Below is a list containing all the supplies you should need for this task.

∙ Spray Paint (The color(s) you desire and also primer)
∙ Newspaper (A few sections should do)
∙ Water & cleaning detergent
∙ Sand paper
∙ Cotton cloths
∙ Computer case
∙ Masking tape
∙ Heavy art paper

For the spray paint in this guide, I picked up five cans of spray paint. Since this case is going to be painted in a camouflage pattern, four different colors were chosen. The paint was relatively cheap when purchasing from an army surplus store at $3 per 16oz can. The colors purchased were Olive Drab Flat 987, Sand 977, Earth Brown 999, and Forest Green 979. Newspaper is used to coat the floor, so paint won't dirty the floor up. Also, wrap newspaper in any areas of the case where you don't want paint to end up. The cotton cloths that were used in this guide were some nice Turtle Wax car cleaning towels. Also, we would like to thank MountainMods for providing us with the Brushed Aluminum U2-UFO with three big windows, which is the case we will be painting. A well-lit ventilated area also helps greatly when painting. The total price for all of these items (excluding case) should only set you back about $20.

Plenty of time and care must be spent preparing the case before paint is applied. First, remove all of your computer components from inside the computer. Also, remove anything, such as additional switches or LEDs, that you don't want paint on. After that, most likely you will need to remove any paint that is currently applied to your case. I am fortunate in my case, since the brushed aluminum finish by MountainMods has no paint. To remove any paint, simply sand the entire surface of your case (using a sanding block is recommended to create an even surface) until you are down to metal or plastic. Take care to prevent any scratches from occurring and if large scratches do occur, you can attempt to sand them out by using a higher grit sand paper. The objective is to remove all paint from the case and end up with a very fine flat surface with very little or no texture.

From handling the case, oils from your skin have come in contact with the case and any dirt or debris from sanding has come in contact, possibly resulting in a weaker bond between the paint in the metal if we were to begin painting now. The task now is to get the case nice and clean by using a bit of soapy water to wipe down the entire case. With your cotton cloths, you will want to dry the case thoroughly. Make sure it is completely dry before proceeding.

Next, it is crucial to use some newspaper and masking tape to cover up areas where you don't want paint to get. Some areas to cover are any screw or switch holes along with case windows.