Anyone taken apart their TiBook?

[idkew]

Yeah- I basically screwed the crap out of my Ti. I was duped by that a$$hole at TiPaint.com. I got his paint (albeit free... another story) and i applied it.

Well, if you are familiar with a Ti, the paint has a tendency to weaken in contact with skin. The weakened paint was actually pulled off but the worthless "paint" (more like colored putty) for TiPaint. So, I apply more and let it dry. Not only do the colors not match, but the luster does not match either. I decide to try to smooth the rough paint and reduce the luster with 2000 grit. Well, that removed the paint altogether.

So, I use my 400 grit paper to smooth the area down and i am planning on repainting the entire bezel. So, here comes my question: has anyone taken apart a ti before? I am pretty good at this stuff. Last year I parted my PB3400 into 30 Pieces and eBay'ed them off for 150% of the working retail price. (My logic board was dead)

how easy is it to separate the bezel? i have heard that the ti is a b1tch to build, so it may be as hard to disassemble....

anyone have any suggestions on what paint to use? i am thinking automotive to handle the heat....

right now i have a 3 inch wide black gash where my right wrist sits. gotta love a $3000, 1 year old laptop looking like that.

thanks for the responses.

[evildead]

wow... I didnt know that the TiBooks had such problems with tthe paint. I friend of mine has one but he has not reported anything llike that to me.

I did see a website of a guy that took his TiBook apart but I cant find the URL for you. I would look into some custom Mac sites... lots of people have detailed instructions on how to take apart Apple Laptops and paint them... I have not seen too many people doing that to the Ti Book (due to the fact its such a HOT computer)

Good luck.

Take photos and post them here if you do it.... that would be interesting to see

-evildead

[DreaminDirector]

Hey idkew, let me know what you end up painting your tibook. I had a Pismo 500, and wanted to do a little custom paint job to it. But I ended up selling it and getting a Tibook. If the paint peels that easily, maybe I can do a custom paint job on my tibook when it happens, give it some personality, you know. If you find a paint that can stand up to the titanium heat monster, let me know.

Good luck.

[idkew]

Originally posted by DreaminDirector
If you find a paint that can stand up to the titanium heat monster, let me know.


i think that automotive paint will handle it. after all, it sits in the hot summer sun all day, every day. sound ok to you? and, i will keep you all up-to-date when i decide to do this.

right now i am thinking of a blue, a grayish blue i guess.

any great ideas out there?

one thing i have learned. the white bezel and the top of the book (where the mousepad is) are one piece. that makes my job a bit harder.

[DreaminDirector]

I've always liked the dark gun-smoke color. The cobalt blue is good too. Maybe a combination of the two. I dunno. I'm not going to touch it until the paint begins to peel, which from what I'm hearing from everyone, will be in about a month.

Yeah, keep me updated and post pictures when you finish it. I'd love to see it.

[TEG]

TiBook Paint doesn't peel off unless it was part of a crappy batch. Ive had mine for 16 months and once the feet came off from use, some minor scratches have developed on the lid and the base where it slides in and out of my bag and accross my desk.

I have taken my machine apart to install an airport card and fix the fan in it. If you are worring about wear there several places that sell adhesive pads to protect the finish (I found them through maconly.com) I'm thinking about buying some later when I start traveling more.

I suggest you contact an Apple Authorized dealer and see if some one there will either take it apart or help you take it apart and help you.

TEG

[idkew]

Originally posted by TEG
TiBook Paint doesn't peel off unless it was part of a crappy batch.

Not from what I have seen in the Apple Discussion Forums. Hundreds (seriously) of people are there complaining about the same problem- it seems like out skin acts as a solvent to the paint and it wrinkles and blisters where you rest your wrist.

from what i have noticed on the forums, the 667/800's (rev c.) do not suffer from this problem. i unfortunately have a rev b. 667.

[idkew]

well, here is the first update. others will contain photos...

i have sanded down most of the paint. it is interesting. there seems to be three coats, one metallic coat covering the injection molded carbon fiber frame.. on top that is a white coat, a better color than the following top coat, in my mind at least.

so far i have taped the latch button and the airport holes. it is not quite as hard as i thought.

friday i will be taking apart my baby so i can apply primer and then the color coat. i will be taking off the bottom and the screen. i think that will be all that is necessary since the bezel does not separate from the part with the clicker and trackpad.

i have chosen "light crystal blue" automotive paint. i would better describe it as a dark metallic grayish blue. i will apply a few clear coats over that.

wish me luck, this is a $300 piece if i screw up.

-ben

:( :( :( :(

[GeeYouEye]

Good luck! Post many pics!

[Over Achiever]

Wow, thats an interesting idea. There was also a guy on the apple discussion boards that sanded away the paint, then applyed a polish...it looked cool! Problem is the fingerprint of course...its a cool mod though. Good luck on yours.

[idkew]

well, i have not done too much since my last post, but i did find it looks like the lcd will separate easily. all i think i have to do is tak eout 4 screws per side and then i have it dangling by the wires, which should give me enough room for painting, if not, i have to dive inside more than i want.

as you can see, i have sanded the paint to get ready for priming. i did not take the paint all the way off, i am afraid to have an uneven surface from all the sanding. it seems like it does not want to let go though, so i am not too worried.

you can also see that the back of the lcd support is just a little plastic piece, so those of you having chipping problems with it, you might try your apple store, they couldn't be too expensive.

well, more Friday as i said earlier.

sorry about the photos, i suck at macros. i am in photo this may though, so i will learn.

[idkew]

oh- arn or any other moderator, could you please change the title of the thread to "watch me paint my powerbook" or something like that.

maybe "look at this idiot"

or "watch this fool ruin a $3000 laptop!"

[Over Achiever]

Originally posted by idkew
oh- arn or any other moderator, could you please change the title of the thread to "watch me paint my powerbook" or something like that.

maybe "look at this idiot"

or "watch this fool ruin a $3000 laptop!"

Can't you just edit your first post and change the subject line?

[idkew]

Originally posted by Over Achiever


Can't you just edit your first post and change the subject line?

didn't seem to work. tried though.

[vniow]

Originally posted by idkew


didn't seem to work. tried though.

I think you can only do it if you're a demi or got over 500 posts.
I've tried it before 500 and it didn't work, but after 500, I can easily do it.
One thing to note though, I was able to edit it one time, (before x-ray blue/green tadpole) but that's it. :(

[G5orbust]

taht rele sucks.... well beyond cosmetics, is ur tibook running alright?


Also, i dont get it. i heard tipaint is good and it was reviewed by some mac magazine which i cannot rememer, maybe macaddict. Well anyways, they said it wass worth it if you needed it. Guess they were wrong...

[iGav]

Originally posted by idkew


Not from what I have seen in the Apple Discussion Forums. Hundreds (seriously) of people are there complaining about the same problem- it seems like out skin acts as a solvent to the paint and it wrinkles and blisters where you rest your wrist.

from what i have noticed on the forums, the 667/800's (rev c.) do not suffer from this problem. i unfortunately have a rev b. 667.

Well I have a Rev A and I've not had a problem at all with my TiBooks paint finish...... 18 months old and still looks baby fresh....... Maybe it was just a bad batch.... and you're one of the unlucky ones....... Titanium is one of those funny metals to paint, anodise or chrome.....

Rather than paint it... I'd have had it hard-chromed...... there are many companies that specialize in the chroming of Titanium...... personally I think it'd look outstanding......

Good luck though on the paint job....... :)

[backspinner]

I think it is not the titanium parts that loose their paint but the light carbon frame. My rev B has the same problem. No paint problems on the gray areas yet...

[idkew]

the part that lost paint was not made of titanium. it is the lighter part, made of injection molded carbon fiber.

besides the way it looks right now, my book works perfectly fine.

[idkew]

here she is open. pretty self explanatory. all i have done here is taken off the bottom plate.

[idkew]

close up of the middle of the ti.

oops... go down two posts

[idkew]

the screen connector on the right side

[idkew]

here

[idkew]

see the great masking job?

[idkew]

during the painting process....

[idkew]

still more fine details to clean up.

i might re-tape and do some better touch up stuff, but that will not happen until next weekend. i also have to clean up one seam, it is really tough to do this perfectly because even 1/4 of a mm of mistake shows up.

we'll see how much it bothers me... i think i will fix it though.


i have to get some more ***better*** macros for you, i did a good job around the cd-drive and latch release. looks absolutely professional. ;)

so, as i said before i was planning on disassembling everything, so i would not have to worry about the screen. well, after 2 hours of careful disassembly, and taking out of every visible screw, i could not move the motherboard with medium force. so, i put her back together mostly and painted with most everything in. good waist of 2 1/2 hours.

i hope you enjoy my mod.

if anyone needs tips, let me know, i did it all.

[idkew]

here is the left side close.

notice the white stuff on the seams- that is masking tape, i have yet to do the finishing touches.

[idkew]

here is the left side close.

notice the white stuff on the seams- that is masking tape, i have yet to do the finishing touches.

damn 30 second time limit between posts!!

[idkew]

here she is, assembled and running.....

[idkew]

this one

[Over Achiever]

Nice looking. That is a good choice of blue ;)

That seems like a lot of work...well, congrats on your hard work.

You wouldn't be willing to do this for a living, no? :)

[OSeXy!]

Thanks for posting that. Looks quite nice and I learned quite a lot about how the Ti is put together.

I wonder why so many mac mods are dark blue? (http://homepage.mac.com/icruise1/tronbook.htm)

[idkew]

Originally posted by OSeXy!

I wonder why so many mac mods are dark blue? (http://homepage.mac.com/icruise1/tronbook.htm)

That is because blue IS the color!;)