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Ever Seen a Black MacBook Pro?

MattZani

MattZani

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Apr 20, 2008
2,554
104
UK
My MacBook Pro has a small dent on the bottom, and i was thinking in a few months of getting it fixed. If i fix it myself, then it will require a total Strip Down, as the Bottom is pretty much the last peice.

Now here's the interesting part. Aluminium can be anodized, making a perfect smooth coating thats very thin, and there are a few places that offer this service near me. I would also Dye the Plastic Joints Black (If they come loose from the Metal)

Has anyone seen a Black MacBook Pro? ColorWare, or other wise, as other than mock ups, i cannot find one. Obviously the track pad and keypad will be staying silver, so i would want to see real pictures of a black MBP with silver trackpad and Keyboard if possible.

Of course, this is all just an idea, it would be great, but im not sure if i want to strip my MacBook Pro down to nothing, and im not sure if i should take out AppleCare (Or if i got them to fit the parts, if it could still be under warranty....?)
 
MattZani said:
My MacBook Pro has a small dent on the bottom, and i was thinking in a few months of getting it fixed. If i fix it myself, then it will require a total Strip Down, as the Bottom is pretty much the last peice.

Now here's the interesting part. Aluminium can be anodized, making a perfect smooth coating thats very thin, and there are a few places that offer this service near me. I would also Dye the Plastic Joints Black (If they come loose from the Metal)

Has anyone seen a Black MacBook Pro? ColorWare, or other wise, as other than mock ups, i cannot find one. Obviously the track pad and keypad will be staying silver, so i would want to see real pictures of a black MBP with silver trackpad and Keyboard if possible.

Of course, this is all just an idea, it would be great, but im not sure if i want to strip my MacBook Pro down to nothing, and im not sure if i should take out AppleCare (Or if i got them to fit the parts, if it could still be under warranty....?)
Click to expand...

When i went to the US i visited this company that gold plated them using the anodising process, ive also seen them painted gold using the same method cars are spray painted (electrostatic). It actually looks really good (in terms of how the paint looks on the aluminium) but its not for me.
 
kastenbrust said:
When i went to the US i visited this company that gold plated them using the anodising process, ive also seen them painted gold using the same method cars are spray painted (electrostatic). It actually looks really good (in terms of how the paint looks on the aluminium) but its not for me.
Click to expand...

Im not thinking something elaborate, just to increase the wow factor, and to make it my own. Im also thinking its not going to cost much, as it will be industrial places doing it.

Another thought is to have the outside case black, and keep the inside case stock, when its closed it looks like a black MacBook Pro, when open i dont get the KB and Track Pad sticking out....
 
MattZani said:
Im not thinking something elaborate, just to increase the wow factor, and to make it my own. Im also thinking its not going to cost much, as it will be industrial places doing it.
Click to expand...

its actually quite hard to do by the way, especially the screen and around the apple logo. youll need lots of double sided tape.
 
darngooddesign said:
Just thought I'd mention that the MBP is already anodized so we did know that.
Click to expand...

Well Done Smart Ar$e. What i mean is that Anodization is possible, which will give a much better finish than painting, and add very little thickness, if any at all.

The Next thing is, if the Top was Engraved after it was Anodized, would the Metal underneath be silver? I Can't remember if Anodizing changed the colour all the way through (I Would think not). If it came through silver, then i may even engrave it....
 
I like the sound of the whole outer case being black sounds cool. I have seen several hardcases and personally I dont like the look but I could see this being very individual

please post pics if you do!

D:apple:
 
MattZani said:
Well Done Smart Ar$e. What i mean is that Anodization is possible, which will give a much better finish than painting, and add very little thickness, if any at all.

The Next thing is, if the Top was Engraved after it was Anodized, would the Metal underneath be silver? I Can't remember if Anodizing changed the colour all the way through (I Would think not). If it came through silver, then i may even engrave it....
Click to expand...

I googled laser etched MacBook Pros and it looks like the "drawings" are white, so I guess if you laser etched the black anodized MBP it would look awesome, depending on what you want to draw, obviously, it should be black & white, I doubt there would be any silver, but it probably also depends on the strength of the laser.
 
MattZani said:
My MacBook Pro has a small dent on the bottom, and i was thinking in a few months of getting it fixed. If i fix it myself, then it will require a total Strip Down, as the Bottom is pretty much the last peice.

Now here's the interesting part. Aluminium can be anodized, making a perfect smooth coating thats very thin, and there are a few places that offer this service near me. I would also Dye the Plastic Joints Black (If they come loose from the Metal)

Has anyone seen a Black MacBook Pro? ColorWare, or other wise, as other than mock ups, i cannot find one. Obviously the track pad and keypad will be staying silver, so i would want to see real pictures of a black MBP with silver trackpad and Keyboard if possible.

Of course, this is all just an idea, it would be great, but im not sure if i want to strip my MacBook Pro down to nothing, and im not sure if i should take out AppleCare (Or if i got them to fit the parts, if it could still be under warranty....?)
Click to expand...

Yeah! Here (colorware), blow a few hundred quid and have your own unique look!
 
Cue Really Dodgy Photoshop Mock Up!

Untitled-2.jpg


This is the idea for the etch, 5 Aces, in a fan shape, with the middle top Ace being an Apple Logo Suit, and the Apple Logo is the main picture on the card. I've always liked the iconic symbol that is the Ace of Spades, all the aces etc, so really like this design, i think it incorporates the apple logo well too.

Cant decide if i want something around the edge though....

Any thoughts?
 
darngooddesign said:
The etch will just be a different shade of grey so the Apple logo will stand out. I think it would look better as a decal.
Click to expand...

Have you read the rest of the thread?

Im not having no decal, Black Anodized, then Etched. Etch appears a white silver, rest is black. I Dont mind if the colour isnt perfect, i want it etched.

Here's a ColorWare Mock Up, the silver inside isnt the right silver, its a ColorWare colour.

BlackBookProMockup.png
 
Sorry for the double post, but have just thought of a few things.

1. The Apple Logo, can it be removed from the Top Case Section? How is it secured in? I Couldn't find a picture of the inside of the top case.
2. The Battery, obviously i cant Anodize the assembled battery, and im pretty sure disassembling it is dangerous, but how dangerous....? Any idea's how i can make it black? Or should i keep it silver (Not going to see it anyway)
3. Plastic in the ports on the bottom case section, and the foam inside the Slot Loader, is that on the case, or the drive?
4. Will plastic be ok going through the anodizing? I Know its not a boiling solution, and the metal pieces are only covered because of the negative charge placed on it, so in theory, the plastic should be ok....?

Thanks for any help.
 
darngooddesign said:
Yes, and you asked for our thoughts.

Can you even anodize on top of Apple's anodizing? If you strip the silver anodizing will it sill look good anodized?
Click to expand...

I imagine the Anodizing already in place will be stripped, to reveal bare metal, then re-anodized.

As Anodizing is a chemical process (With Electricity) it will always come out the same thickness, and even and smooth.
 
Double Post again.

Spent some time on the Etch Design tonight, realised the way the cards were spread wouldnt work, so had a rethink, also did it alot neater this time, and spent ages aligning, only to mess it all up!

CardEtchIdea.jpg


I Really like this, and even if the Anodizing doesnt go to plan (I Really hope it does) I'll still probably etch this on. :D
 
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