Thinkpads Forum

If you followed my thread in the General Thinkpad forum I recently refinished my z61t's finish. The Titanium lids suffer from a clear coat with poor durability. It quickly wears off and leaves the Titanium-aluminum alloy bear and vulnerable to fingerprints, scratches, and oxidization. I took three paths in refinishing.

1. Applying Plasti-dip rubberized spray. The finish had a great feel, but it lacked durability and was ultimately removed.
2. Painting it burgundy with spray paint and then using a matte spray clear coat.
3. Just using the matte spray clear coat.

The second and third results are shown in this picture:
http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk15 ... G_1369.jpg
The silver Thinkpad has a small dent in the cover

Here's another look at the burgundy thinkpad:
http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk15 ... G_1373.jpg

A zoom-in of the Thinkpad logo on the burgundy thinkpad:
http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk15 ... G_1376.jpg
The metal logo on the Thinkpad I ended up painting was all messed up. It was in rough condition before I started painting and the 3-4 coats of primer, 4-5 coats of paint, and 3-4 coats of clear coat made it look even worse. I tried to clean up the look a bit with an xacto-knife and only made it look worse. So I decided to cover it with a Thinkpad logo sticker. I used epoxy under the sticker to even out the surface (the raised IBM making it uneven) and improve adhesion. Unfortunately I got a small dab of epoxy on it below the "d" while positioning it, but its barely noticeable (unless you have eyes like a macro lens).

Lighting was a little poor, I might retake them during the day.

Let me know what you think!

I think it looks amazing!

I am a fan of the classic black lid, but objectively these look great, and you've done a very professional job.

Thank you!

And I like the black lid as well, I tried to get it with Plasti-dip, but if you look at the other thread, it was a failure.

sparta.rising wrote:Here's another look at the burgundy thinkpad:
http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk15 ... G_1373.jpg

That's a great color! I'd like to try that myself. How did you prep the lid? What type of paint did you use?

Primer was Rustoleum Self Etching Primer Grey http://www.rustoleum.com/CBGProduct.asp?pid=397
Paint was Krylon Indoor/Outdoor Burgundy Satin Finish http://www.krylon.com/products/indooroutdoor_paint/
Clear was Krylon Matte Finish http://www.krylon.com/products/matte_finish/

The paint was from Home Depot. The clear was from Ace Hardware. Walmart also sells the same paint. They sell a flat clear coat, but its not the same as the matte I used (http://www.krylon.com/products/acrylic_crystal_clear/)

Clean the metal with rubbing alcohol. Tape off the indicator lights, the bottom edges of the cover, and the logo. Spray 3-4 coats of primer, 3-4 coats of paint, 3-4 coats of clear.

The first time I painted it I used Krylon Crystal Clear Satin finish (because I couldnt find the matte or flat) and the finish came out really poor so I sanded the case down with 320 grit and then 800 grit sandpaper till I had an even finish. I reapplied a coat of or two of paint and then did the matte finish clear coat.

That looks great!

Of course being a Thinkpad fan means I like the classic black look, the burgundy really does go very nicely with the unit. Very nicely done.

I also really like the raised logo, I think it adds just the right touch of flair to the unit without being too ostentatious, or screaming "look at me, I am a logo!".

Thanks for the info on the prep and paint. I'm going to be filing this away for a future project.

Is it wise to use wo many coats of primer?

They were very light coats. I just sprayed until the surface was covered. I went heavier per coat with the clear coat.

will the finish hold up?

Finish has held up pretty will. Paint in one of the corners chipped with I threw the laptop in the same bag as a screw driver and a pair of scissors, but other than that it looks as good as when I first did it.

Did you completely dismantle the lid first?

Yes, I wouldnt recommend painting without first dismantling.