Alright, I'll shed some more light on what I've done so far. So far as you can see I've taken the outer shell off. I decided to strip it of paint and go for a brushed aluminum type look. I needed to go to Menards for some bathroom remodeling supplies so I thought it would be a good time to pick out some paint stripper and a clear coat product. In the end I decided to go with Zinsser StripFast Power Stripper Spray. (Link below)
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http://www.menards.com/main/paint/clean ... c-8157.htm[/url][/spoiler]
For the clear coat I will be going to put on I decided to go with Rust-Oleum Painter's Touch Ultra Cover 2X Clear Satin Spray Paint - 12 oz. I chose Satin as I didn't want to much gloss on the shell but figured it would be easier to clean than semi-gloss. Hopefully I made the right choice. I'll find out this weekend when I do some painting. (Link for product below)
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http://www.menards.com/main/home-decor/ ... c-8050.htm[/url][/spoiler]
On to the actual work. I would 200% stress following the directions on the paint remover very closely (I didn't and I regret it).
I decided, even though it was only 20-30 degrees out to strip the case in my 1 car unheated garage. If I had to do it again I would wear gloves, a mask and eye protection. (not sure what I would do about the heat). At any rate I sat the case on top of cardboard covered in newspaper. I sprayed a first thick coat on both halves and waited the minimum 10 minutes. The top was starting to noticeably peel but the bottom half didn't show very much peeling. I applied a second coat and the top half was peeling pretty good but the bottom half was still not near as far along as the top half. At this point I decided to introduce a hair dryer to try to get better results. I applied a heavy 3rd coat to the bottom and a light 3rd coat on the top half. At this point after waiting 10 minutes, I scraped off the gunk off the top and bottom halves. Pretty much all the paint came of the top half but the bottom half still was more or less covered. I put one more coat on the bottom but my can was about out and the paint remover was starting to really irritate my eyes, nose and skin. I cleaned off the top shell and hands with water the best I could and brought the top half inside. There I washed it and my hands off in my kitchen sink. Almost all the paint on the case was gone on top and most was on the inside (witch I'm not to concerned about). After letting the top half dry I took 400 grit sandpaper to it. I used a hand block to attach the paper to. I used the lines of the case to get straight sand lines on it as best as I could. It's not perfect but I think that will add to the "charm" of it. I plan on clear coating it this weekend and figuring out howto cheaply finish removing the paint from the bottom half (thinking sanding).
Final thoughts on the process so far. The paint stripper was super harsh. It irritated the crap out of my skin where it touched (felt like it was burning me). It also really irritated my eyes and my nose. My hands became super dry as my nose. Also felt like I had a bad cold the next couple days. I cannot stress enough to take the proper safety measures when using this. In fact I would probably try to find something less harsh but still effective.
Feel free to ask me questions here or through PM. I'm more than happy to share my experience in this learning experience. I've never done a project this big before. The most I've done to a keyboard before is take off the case and keys for cleaning.
edit, no idea why spoilers aren't working.
) so I didn't get as much done as I had hoped I would. I bought sandpaper today plus an emery brush (I think). I bought some 400 grit + some 1000 grit. I re-sanded my top case and I think it looks better, sorry no pics. I also started sanding the bottom case as I didn't want to mess with more paint remover. I used a mask and rubber gloves. I managed to sand the paint off of 3/4 of it. Rather labor intensive due to not having the proper tools. Due to Thanksgiving unless I work on it Monday or Tuesday, I probably wont do anything else until the weekend after next. On the keycap side of things I opened a support ticket with Unicomp in hopes they can work with me and make it super simple to order the keycaps and stabilizers I need. I want to ask for them for Christmas but I'm pretty sure no one in my family would have any idea what I was talking about lol.
