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Tangerine Macbook project thread
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All right then, just one picture for now. I have an idea for it, you probably will all like it too!
whyyyyyy.. the edges look dirty and so does the area around the apple.. why didnt you use another coat or two
Because dye wont make an old and used MacBook look brand new? I never babied it, and unless I buy brand new case parts, thats how its going to look. I think it looks much better now anyway than before I took it apart...
Make a royal purple or red MacBook next please.
Supply the MacBook's and Ill do it.
Once I finish what im working on (more web design stuff), Ill post a few more pictures and what I have in mind for the topcase.
infinitethrill said:
So is it particularly mis-dyed or darker where the case had scratches / wear?
Supply the MacBook's and Ill do it.
Seriously? I'll send you one to experiment on! And it's utterly scratchless. I'm just too much of an anal wreck to contemplate doing it.
Exactly. All dye does is stain plastic, and different textures will take the dye differently.
If you really want me to, I could try it on a new one! Just let me finish this project first before I need another.
I can't wait for the full set of pictures.
The suspense is killer... It's like a new episode of Lost except it makes sense
And if I had any notion on how to take apart a Macbook that'd be the first thing I did when I brought it home.
Oh, and for the guy considering anodizing... How would you get anodizing dye? How would you get sulfuric acid and keep it from splashing, evaporating, or otherwise reaking havoc on your house and/or person? I have a personal rule for myself: only do one thing dangerous at a time. This violates that, first because you're dealing with an extremely dangerous acid, second because you're running electricity through an extremely dangerous acid, and finally you're taking apart something that you paid over $1,800 for. You'd have to have some serious stones to do that.
The suspense is killer... It's like a new episode of Lost except it makes sense
And if I had any notion on how to take apart a Macbook that'd be the first thing I did when I brought it home.
Oh, and for the guy considering anodizing... How would you get anodizing dye? How would you get sulfuric acid and keep it from splashing, evaporating, or otherwise reaking havoc on your house and/or person? I have a personal rule for myself: only do one thing dangerous at a time. This violates that, first because you're dealing with an extremely dangerous acid, second because you're running electricity through an extremely dangerous acid, and finally you're taking apart something that you paid over $1,800 for. You'd have to have some serious stones to do that.
Is this a MacBook or a MacBook Pro? ...
Wow, I wonder what happened if you could mimic a Macbook/MacBook Pro as a Dell XPS... Lol. That would totally scare my friend off... He's a DELL Fanboy.
You: Hey, look at the new Dell XPS!
Him: Wow! I never seen that before... Awesome, can I try it????
*Turns over the laptop and reveals Apple logo*
Him: Noooooooo...
Wow, I wonder what happened if you could mimic a Macbook/MacBook Pro as a Dell XPS... Lol. That would totally scare my friend off... He's a DELL Fanboy.
You: Hey, look at the new Dell XPS!
Him: Wow! I never seen that before... Awesome, can I try it????
*Turns over the laptop and reveals Apple logo*
Him: Noooooooo...
Sorry guys, I'm at a friends house (the one who was over during the staining, but that doesn't matter), so no pictures right now. Sorry
The thing is, the white palmrest (that I cant stain because of electronics) looks really bad on the yellow and orange MacBook. Following the idea posted earlier (Yellow with Black highlights), I decided that was a good idea.
Im going to get a BlackBook topcase, with dark orange keys. Thoughts? I think it should look REALLY good when done. I mean.. REALLY good!
The thing is, the white palmrest (that I cant stain because of electronics) looks really bad on the yellow and orange MacBook. Following the idea posted earlier (Yellow with Black highlights), I decided that was a good idea.
Im going to get a BlackBook topcase, with dark orange keys. Thoughts? I think it should look REALLY good when done. I mean.. REALLY good!
jusy spary paint it with this!:
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_...s&cName=Paint+&+Accessories&sName=Spray+Paint
we have it at our T.o sears
its great for plastics + its glossy
and some masking tape
"The revolutionary no-prep, super bond Fusion for Plastic® now makes painting plastic possible. No sanding or priming is required. It bonds easily to most plastics, PVC, resin and more. For use with: wood, metal, wicker, wrought iron, plastic, hard vinyl, glass, plaster, ceramic, paper, and paper mache."
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_...s&cName=Paint+&+Accessories&sName=Spray+Paint
we have it at our T.o sears
its great for plastics + its glossy
and some masking tape
"The revolutionary no-prep, super bond Fusion for Plastic® now makes painting plastic possible. No sanding or priming is required. It bonds easily to most plastics, PVC, resin and more. For use with: wood, metal, wicker, wrought iron, plastic, hard vinyl, glass, plaster, ceramic, paper, and paper mache."
I registered just so I could say this. Because I work with Ball Jointed Dolls (From Japan, dolls you can paint, customize, and are very awesome. XD) I can tell you alcohol will not dissolve the case. Acetone does this.
Also, a cheaper way to color your MacBook with much better results would be to spray paint. Make sure you use a spray paint designed for plastic. Start with a primer, and then paint the desired coats of any color you want. Get it as even as you can. When you finish, add a glossy finish.
This I believe is also safer, because RIT dye is known to sometimes weaken the plastic, because the plastic sucks the color in. The MacBook case is weak enough already. XD
its a very interesting project and lots of ideas, but why dont you just paint it green apple.....as the name says it all
I don't think any spray would be as resistant as dye due to the heat MacBooks often have to endure..
Same goes for MBPs, especially cause they get a little bit hotter than MacBooks, that's why aluminium usually gets anodized, and yeah, it's dangerous and expensive, I'd only do it with a 2-3 yr old MBP or Aluminium MacBook, especially cause of the warranty thing
Does it power up?
Ha ha, I really hope it does.
This summer I'm going to mod my iBook G4. Can't wait!
Just hoping I can put it back together......
Anyway, really nice job.
Actually spray paint (especially the kind "Fusion" to bond to plastic") holds up quite well if you light sand and clean the case first, use the plastic bonding primer and do multiple (5-6 or 7) light coats (think about doing spray paint on a foam model or something) and add a nice protective satin or gloss coating. I've painted quite a few and while some were g3 ibooks that i could paint inside, i did some g4s and a macbook as you can see in the link below which turned out and held up quite well.
I would recolor and sell them on ebay for a pretty nice profit, although the area for selling g3 and g4s is pretty much dead, it was pretty easy to make 200-500 per computer last year.
http://web.mac.com/katyelizabeth/Katy_Elizabeth_Stewart_/Other_Art/Pages/Recolored_Computers.html#7
but yes, if done right, paint holds up quite well, i'd say better then the quite plastic cases do to scratches, and the heat doesn't seem to matter much.
AND - anodizing is expensiveish and dangerous to some extent - BUT it isn't as easy as getting everything set up, it sometimes can take many many tries to get it to work, or the "dye" or anodizing solution to take correctly to the metal or get the right shade or even etc. In metals class a friend of mine was making an aluminum box of sorts with anodized accents and it took her the better part of 5 or 6 days (3 or more hours aday) to get the anodizing method to work correctly on her pieces all of which were about 2 inches square) it's quite a pain in the butt to get done well
PS. to the OP - You know you can (since you are getting rid of that top case anyway you may as well try) use bondo (or plastic filler, bondo works best) and some plastic slivers and actually fill in those breaks in the top case - sand, fill, sand, fill, sand, fill etc before and then take it apart and paint it. - just have to cover up the key assemblies and track pad well, but that's what i did for the red macbook pictured as the top case had those breaks/cracks in it around the edge too.
hot paint
actually if you are into cars you know that there is paint specifically for car engines. it is made to withstand the high temperatures on the engine manifold. I just helped my dad paint his '66 Mustang's engine so I know this. So you could paint your Macbook Pro. You could probably paint the Macbook with it but it is made for metals.
actually if you are into cars you know that there is paint specifically for car engines. it is made to withstand the high temperatures on the engine manifold. I just helped my dad paint his '66 Mustang's engine so I know this. So you could paint your Macbook Pro. You could probably paint the Macbook with it but it is made for metals.