paint my wagon

adnans

i mean my mouse. IntelliMouse USB explorer. Microsoft one with five buttons. and i want to paint it black so it compliments everything else. what kind of spray paint do i need to this?


need to spray paint the left and right mouse buttons and the area with the MS logo.

andans

Drazhar

well first id recommend finding a way to take it appart. My Optical has no screws, just the plastic clips inside, that i cant get near

After you do that, give the pieces a rub with a piece of sand paper, fine grain

After that, if you can get some of the Citadel Paints black undercoat, its great for plastics, its the stuff they use for Warhammer and Warhammer 40k games

PPC

MS Mouse Painting - Applies To ANY Plastic Components

Step 1:

Remove the 4 oval shapped 'glide pads' on the underside of the mouse, and unscrew the screws behind them

Step 2:

seperate the red base from the rest of the mouse's body, then undo the two screws on the inside top of the button\body assembly

Step 3:

sand down the body assembly with 1200 grit wet and dry sandpaper, then wash with fairy liquid and water, dry well.

If u wish to spray the button assembly..........IT TAKES AGES! mainly due to the fact MS have used a rubberised coating on all the dark grey areas on the mouse...............which reacts with paint
I scraped it off gently with a stanly knife blade, and then sanded with 1200, and washed\Dryed

Step 4:

spray the mouse parts with plastic primer, and alow to dry. then give them a very light sanding again......wash\dry.......then.......spray them the desired colours

for more detail on the spraying process check the 'paint ur drives in 8 easy steps' guide

Step 5:

once dry (24 hours) re-assemble the mouse, and give it a polish

By Iver Athlon

UPDATE

Spraying Plastic Components

If you have a plastic computer component [mouse, keyboard, monitor . . . ] and want to spray it a standard colour, black for example, you will get a much better result if you use dye. Halfords sell spray dye called flexible vinyl paint, and it's very good for spraying. The advantage of a dye is that it doesn't need any surface preparation other than a clean, and if scratched it is black underneath. It keeps the original texture of the plastic too, so if using a mouse it won't make it slippy and shiny.

By Caged

Originally posted by Iver Athlon


in this case i belive a little more info is needed:):

any surphace that is going to painted needs to be prepared. the more time spent doing this the better the results.

Sanding of items, be they metal or plastic is absolutely nessary, this gives the paint a good surphace to stick to, and so will not flake off.

for computer related products i suggest the course'est paper u consider using is 600grit. on detailed compoents like drive fronts i suggest 800-1000grit as the cours'est. Always use 'Wet&Dry' sandpaper.....wet

Cleaning is best done with fairy liquid and a tooth brush. this removes all the nasty grease (finger prints etc...), waxes (polish'es etc...), and the mess left behind from all that Wet&Dry sanding. make sure the object is dryed stright after rince'ing, and that its done very well. just 1 drop of water will make a right mess when spraying. i always use a compresser to blast out the water that gets into the crannies as its easier and faster

Priming like sanding this gives the top coat a better surphace to adheare to. primer will fill in minor sanding scratches as well as acting as a 'grip'. it will also act as a barrier if the object has something nasty on it (like a small amount of polish or a incompatable paint...see 'important info' at bottom) that would make the top coat 'react' or 'pickle'.

Plastic items need a 'plastic primer' whilst metal items need normal primer.

Get a primer cloest to the colour of your top coat. to my knolege only.....grey.....white....red.....yellow are avaible

Make sure the primer can is at room temp.

Shake it like a mad man for at least 5 mins.

Hold the can 30cm or 12" away from the object at all times when spraying.

Use constant sweeping motions to ensure even cover.

When spraying large areas....spray left -2- right, untill covered....then spray up -2- down. this will also ensure even cover

Primer will be suitably dry in around 5 hours if at room temp+

A Primed surphace should be very lightly sanded with 1200+ grit paper and washed before top coat is applyed, this will give nice smooth results.

Top coat Use exactly the same methods as with primer. only extra things to watch are:
dont spray on a cold day or the paint will 'bloom' or go misty

Top coat takes at least 24 hours to dry propley.

if using a cutting compound like t-cut (see below) the paint must be left for around two weeks

Laquer EXACTLY the same as 'top coat'. dont spray laquer on to thick, only a couple of dust coats are needed

Cutting compounds & Waxes
cutting coumpounds like T-Cut are mild abrasives in liquid form. these will smooth out and polish painted surphaces and give even more impressive results, but be warned use too much\rub to hard and ur say goodbye to mr topcoat and hello to mr primer. Waxes like Turtle wax are non abrasive polishes that will add that 'showroom sparckle' and finishing touch to any painted surphace

IMPORTANT INFO
there are many different types of paint. ie. enamel\acrilic\celleouse etc.... these different paints will react with each other, this is bad. to aviod this only use 1 type of paint on your project, Acrilic is best and most widely avaible.

spray in a dust free, warm, well ventilated area. this will give your project the best results and be a bit kinder on your lungs

spray cans are far from ideal for large areas like side pannels due to their small spray area. a compressor will give much better results as the nozzle is adjustible to give virtually any size\shape jet u could ever want

Link

KdjaCL

Why not buy a black one??


Kdja

adnans

Originally posted by kdja
Why not buy a black one??

MS doesnt manufacture this kind of mouse in black. and why should i buy another mouse when i have a working one right here.

thanks PPC. ill take photos when im finished.

adnans

Drazhar

okey dokey, id go with PPC there. If only going on painting WH40K plastic Minatures, havent had a chance to get my mouse appart yet, hmm, next project

po0k

don't bother sanding.
That;ll only fckit up.

Go into any car shop, get some plastic primer (the stuff for bumpers)
It'll adhere to the plastic and provide a matt surface which the top paint will cling to perfectly.
After aplying plenty of thin coats of spraypaint, apply a few thin (very thin - it runs eaily and is a bitch to clean up afterwards) topcoat (clear spray varnish).
After that apply rubbing compoud for a good tough finish.

Take your time at all steps.
Don't rush it or you'l end up with a horrible mouse.

adnans

i really dont want to see my face in the mouse. so any varnish is a no-no. normal black colour would be ok. ill follow the steps untill i come to the varnish bit.

adnans

PPC

You could just use some dye on it.

I read on OcUK its pretty much the same way but not using paint.

po0k

Adnans, I'd seriously advise putting on the clear coat.
It's not all taht reflective, a mild sheen maybe, but it protects the fragile colour layer from getting tatty.
And seeing as it will be sitting in you hand the whole tme it'll get roughed up fairly quickly without some sort of protection...unless you want to wrap it in a condom or something.

Cake Fiend

<adnans> i needs a condom for meh mouse
<chemist> fnarr