case paint (SANDY LOOK)

[Rankenphile]

One easy way is to put down a medium tan layer once you've primed the case. From there, apply light patchy areas in darker and lighter colors (medium brown, ivory, etc), very lightly, from a distance so that the paint atomizes and almost dries before it hits. Get about four or five colors and swap back and forth. Dust them from a distance in very light coats - about two to three feet away should be sufficient. This will give you a colored, speckled look that will seem uniform from a distance but will show the sandy grain up closer. It also gives a very rough paint texture that should help create a good matte finish. Go over this with your clear coats once you've finished it off, but this is one paint job you won't want to sand much, as if it is too glossy it will ruin the effect.

I did this on an entire sheet of plywood once that was used as a desert terrain gaming board for Warhammer and the like. It provides a very good effect. I'd recommend practicing a bit on a piece of scrap to get the hang of it, but once you get started, you'll see how easy it is. Don't forget to add a touch of black in, dusted lightly, to add a good range of color, but you probably won't want to go full white - a bleached bone ivory color should be about the lightest you'll want.

[DaveW]

Back when i was in school, we had to make a model bridge. We made the arch out of wood, but it was suppossed to be sandstone in real life, so i came up with a crazy idea: let's stick sand to it!

We spent days trying to get sand to stick to the damn thing. Eventualy we managed it, but in the bus on the way to the competition, it all fell off because of the bumps. We came second in the presentation part (due to some 3D drawings which i'm still pretty impressed by: i can't for the life of me remember how i did them!) but our model was a wreck.

Just though i'd share my tale of sandy woe: personally, i'd pour water over my PC before i stuck sand to it. Take into consideration the damage it might cause if it comes loose: is there an alternative? Have you thought about scrapping polystyrene packing foam with a knife and painting the rough side? It would be safe-ish as long as your computer doesn't get too hot...damn...that's a good idea in theory, but my suggestion is rediculously unsafe. Please disregard.

-Dave

[Rankenphile]

Dave brings up a very good point here - sure you can stick sand on your case, but if you've ever been to a beach, you know sand has a way of getting everywhere. No matter how well-glued, it will find a way into the PSU, all your fans, and on and on. Imagine what sand would do if it got into the CPU! Or your graphics card! Yikes.


If you're hell-bent on using real sand, however, the best method I've gound is making a gooey mixture of white glue (Elmers, etc.) with river or beach sand. I've had best results getting the sand at a river or beach, soaking it with a light bleach solution for a full 24 hours, then baking it in the oven at about 300 degrees F for a few hours to dry it out and kill any buggers that live in it - pervasive little things. Then sift it through a piece of screen - nylon or aluminum, whatever, and put it in a sealable container until you're ready to use it. Keep it out of moisture, as it will clump up and won't work as well, nto to mention harboring stinky bacteria and such.

Apply the sand in thick, gooey clumps to your surface, smooth them out with a heavy brush, then let dry as long as it takes. If you're applying it to metal, you'll want to rough up the surface a lot first - use a wire brush like you use to clean a barbecue grill with, or rough-grit sandpaper, to give the surface some tooth for the glue to adhere to.

I do not recommend using this for a computer case, however, for the exact reasons Dave pointed out. It is just much easier and safer to get the desired look using clever painting than it is to try and glue frickin' sand all over your computer. That's just asking for trouble!

[lil_josh]

Hmmmmm...........so what should i do then. Try to do some sort of painting on it?

[lil_josh]

Thank You!

[Rankenphile]

lil_josh sent me a PM of the following. I didn't see anything that was personal in it, and I thought it might help, so I'm reposting the message here in case others find it useful in the future.

Originally Posted by lil_josh
what other dark and light colors should i use besides medium brown and ivory???

medium/dark grey and black should give you a good mixture.

Test this method out on a scrap piece of whatever you have laying around - a piece of wood or even cardboard should work fine. the trick is to "dust" the piece you are painting with the paint - hold it so far away that it has time to almost completely dry before the paint hits it, which will give youa rough, speckled final appearance.

Do us all a favor - take pictures between each step to show how it comes out.

If you have any other questions, just let me know. Always glad to help.

[Cevinzol]

You mioght get a good sand-like texture by applying a thin coat of bondo to a panel and then texturing it with the end of a stiff bristle brush, kind of like texturing stucco. the bondo should hold good all you'd have to do is paint it after wards.

On a side note.
Are you sure this is something your brother would want? I mean he has spent a long time in real sand, maybe he'd like to think of something else.

[lil_josh]

Alright im going to prep the case probably tonight or this weekend. Im haveing trouble finind time between school and work. But yeah i'll post some pics.

[Rankenphile]

Once again, before you start in on a case, do a test on a piece of scrap you don't want. The last thing you need is to find out that the effect you tried didn't work to your liking and you now have to strip paint, or worse, from a side panel of a case. That's no fun at all.

After all, luck favors the prepared.

[RangerDanger]

a quick effect u can add iis putting paint on a toothbrushh and flicking paint on..or....wet the toothbrush...flick the water on the case then paint it.