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LiamHD

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 5, 2014
69
0
I have had my 2008 Mac Pro for a few months and I am happy enough with it so now that I have decided it will be getting kept I am looking for ideas as how to repair all the scratches and scrapes on the case? I wouldn't mind taking it to a specific place to be repaired or something.
 

gochi

macrumors 6502
Mar 31, 2011
289
1
silver spray paint!!! :mad:


just kidding, in terms of repair i dont think you can really replicate the aesthetic aluminum finish
 

Snowleopard8

macrumors newbie
Sep 19, 2014
28
0
My third post on this forum, yay!

If I was going to repair my MacPro case I would begin with the removal of internal organs. Then I would sand blast or bead blast the exterior. Depending on the severity of the scratches or gouges I then would tig weld then sand to a flat finish. Last I would powder coat it to either original, flat black or glossy black or even burple. :)

Good luck!

SL
 
Last edited:

Macsonic

macrumors 68000
Sep 6, 2009
1,707
97
I have had my 2008 Mac Pro for a few months and I am happy enough with it so now that I have decided it will be getting kept I am looking for ideas as how to repair all the scratches and scrapes on the case? I wouldn't mind taking it to a specific place to be repaired or something.

You can try inquiring from third party online sellers or like this ad posting of an empty enclosure - http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Empty-A...4003?pt=US_Computer_Cases&hash=item2340859e53
 

Gav Mack

macrumors 68020
Jun 15, 2008
2,193
22
Sagittarius A*
My friend who sprays aluminium cars like Audi's for a living could make it look like new, though I would strip it to bits if you had to paint the cheesegrater face. Under the handles though he couldn't do! Masking the front and back panels very carefully to just do the exterior sides, top and bottom he's done a superb job on two he's done for me.
 

dxm765

macrumors newbie
Sep 12, 2014
23
0
I knew someone who worked at a facility where they did alot of sand blasting, i gutted the case and had them sandblast it inside and out. It turned out FANTASTIC to work with being what i considered "nude", i spent alot of time getting some of it cleaned up after the blasting...But then i did something many may disagree with, i took some glossy black spray paint and resprayed the entire case inside and out (with of course taping off some parts inside and out) and then redid the apple logo on the side.

I can't find the pictures this evening, but if i come across them i will post them and i wish you best of luck on your journey
 

LiamHD

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 5, 2014
69
0
Alright thanks guys, I did look at buying a new case but most of them were collection only on ebay and not near me and the ones I did find were damaged themselves. I think I will strip the mac down and hand the case over to a local firm to be sandblasted and resprayed. Thanks for the help :)
 

donw35

macrumors regular
Jul 3, 2010
170
1
Los Angeles
Just a thought, if its working fine and you are happy with it, leave it alone and use the crap out of it. ripping it completely apart will expose some risk in getting it back up.

If it was me, I wouldn't mess with something thats working
 

DPUser

macrumors 6502a
Jan 17, 2012
986
298
Rancho Bohemia, California
Just a thought, if its working fine and you are happy with it, leave it alone and use the crap out of it. ripping it completely apart will expose some risk in getting it back up.

If it was me, I wouldn't mess with something thats working

My Mac Pro 4,1 was purchased with a bent rear lower leg (for a nice discount). As reported previously, I call the machine Stephen, as in Hawking... great internals, f'd up body.

Today, it sits proudly, a faux 5,1 with a hex CPU, propped to a level position, in an air-conditioned machine room, out of sight, but always on my mind, the heart of my recording studio. It is a beast with battle scars, chock-full of SSDs, that reliably allows me to make (usually) beautiful music day in and out.

I wouldn't change a thing.
 

dxm765

macrumors newbie
Sep 12, 2014
23
0
Would be awesome, with some before and after pics....

Unfortunately i do not have the pictures where i repainted and reused Mac guts, the only project i was able to dig up was one where the Mac shell i purchased has liquid cooling damage or water damage. The gentleman said liquid cooling..but i never knew of a liquid cooled Mac, anyways the case was gutted, back panel cut out,original Apple logo was saved for this project and painted around, custom stand offs made to support a new motherboard tray while still using the same orientation that Mac does (inverting the GPU), and a new motherboard, cpu, and GPU were installed..The plan was to use Hackintosh, that didn't go over so well so normal windows 7 was installed.

Please note, the following link to pictures may be to graphic to some Mac fans as it contains pictures of a Mac with non Mac hardware inside, as well as the Mac pretty much being ripped apart. ;)

http://s245.photobucket.com/user/dxm_xp/library/Mac

This is also a project from 2010...and i didn't really care about cable management as this particular project was gutted again shortly after completion lol
 

paulrbeers

macrumors 68040
Dec 17, 2009
3,963
123
The gentleman said liquid cooling..but i never knew of a liquid cooled Mac,

The G5's were liquid cooled....

It's a pretty neat project. My only critique is the use of blue LED fans on the front really detracts from the beauty of the case. Just my .02 worth. The cheese grater front really makes it obvious where the fans start and stop. Of course I cut all my LED's on any case I buy that has lights because I hate them, so it's all personal choice....

And no, I won't knock you for running windows (well not much anyway!)....:cool:
 

dxm765

macrumors newbie
Sep 12, 2014
23
0
The G5's were liquid cooled....

It's a pretty neat project. My only critique is the use of blue LED fans on the front really detracts from the beauty of the case. Just my .02 worth. The cheese grater front really makes it obvious where the fans start and stop. Of course I cut all my LED's on any case I buy that has lights because I hate them, so it's all personal choice....

And no, I won't knock you for running windows (well not much anyway!)....:cool:

Huh how about that, learn something new every day :) . the original plan was regular fans, but the blue was what i had laying around. It was one of those "im bored on a weekend and have these spare parts" kinda project lol
 

LiamHD

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 5, 2014
69
0
Okay so I think I will make some progress on this as a new issue has cropped up with the Mac Pro that means it's going to need to be disassembled quite far so I think I will send the door and a couple of other removable bits away to get redone by a local firm thats run by my dads mate. So should be nice and cheap :) I will take a few pictures now and after when some stuff has been repaired for now I will mainly work on the removable stuff and look at getting the main case done in a couple of months when funds are more readily available as I have just bought more RAM and a new SSD for the MP and obviously it will cost a few pennies to have the bits repaired that I'm going to send away this week. I will also have to wait on the new front panel arriving from the U.S so I should have some time to get the bits away, repaired and sent back to me.
 

LiamHD

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 5, 2014
69
0
i have imac 27 but lcd is damage , can i rebuild my imac on a mac chasis ???
any ideas ?
Most definitely not. The design of the iMac and the Mac Pro are worlds apart they would not be able to just merge together.
 

omarads25

macrumors newbie
Sep 25, 2014
6
0
i know they are quite diferents but you think cant be placed , and connected , ,i mean (hd , motherboard,) can find a place , im worried about memory , (botton on imac ) fans , and connector ....... ,

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i know they are quite diferents but you think cant be placed , and connected , ,i mean (hd , motherboard,) can find a place , im worried about memory , (botton on imac ) fans , and connector ....... ,
 

LiamHD

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 5, 2014
69
0
i know they are quite diferents but you think cant be placed , and connected , ,i mean (hd , motherboard,) can find a place , im worried about memory , (botton on imac ) fans , and connector ....... ,

----------

i know they are quite diferents but you think cant be placed , and connected , ,i mean (hd , motherboard,) can find a place , im worried about memory , (botton on imac ) fans , and connector ....... ,

It just isn't possible if I were you I would open up the iMac and disconnect the display and then run the iMac through a different monitor
 

P00t

macrumors member
Mar 14, 2012
78
3
Nottingham UK
Might as well just buy a new housing, spending time, effort and money on refurbishing would go over the cost of a new one.

Also sandblasting your existing case wouldn't be advisable since Alu is a soft metal, it would just scratch it to death, I believe they usually dip Alu in stripper and re-dip with the colour of choice, this however isn't cheap, especially for a Mac Pro sized case.

2008 Enclosure Part Number 922-8493

http://www.dvwarehouse.com/922-8493-Apple-Enclosure-for-Mac-Pro-Early-2008-p-37626.html

http://www.macpalace.com/922-8493-enclosure-without-power-supply.html

Bonus is that you get all the fans and parts inside, so it's just a case of taking the motherboard etc out from your existing Mac Pro and you'll get brand new dustless fans etc from the new enclosure.
 

LiamHD

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 5, 2014
69
0
I'm in the UK mate so it would cost me around £180 delivered whereas my buddy says he can get her good as new for £80 hence me giving the case to him.
 
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