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[Granulated]

Hey

So I painted my xbox about 3 years ago.  It was the first modding I ever did, and all I really did was tape off the case, take it out on the sidewalk, and spray the x blue.  I didn't even take the xbox apart!  

Later, after I knew what I was doing, I decided that wasn't cutting it, and my old xbox was born.



Well, that lasted me quite a while, but now that I know what i'm doing again, it's time to do a decent paintjob.  Decent meaning i'm using primer and clearcoat, and a hella lotta sanding.  So the xbox was dismantled, and after a bit of dremeling and putty, this was the result:






That was last week sometime.  The fins have been removed on the sides, and filled in on the top.  My goal is to make the top perfectly flat, cause I think it would look neat.   Here's how my xbox looks RIGHT NOW.  (Well, not exactly like this.  You can see wet spots, and you can also see it's sitting in front of a fan.  If you put two and two together, the wet spots are gone by now.  I washed it to remove all the dust from sanding.)





I'm off to paint the front panel, and hopefully I'll get the top ready for primer tomorrow.  So much sanding!

[Masterkizz]

It will look nice with a glossy paintjob.

But with all of the vents closed off this bad boy is going to heat up a lot.

What are your plans for cooling?

[Granulated]

Well, I've already got a 12v 80 mm fan in.

I'm going to remove shielding from the front of the xbox and perhaps run some makeshift ductwork back over the heatsinks.  

If this is insufficient, I have a couple of options:

40mm fan in front grille
open up vents in rear right side and add a slim fan, or something

It's a 1.0, with the fan on the processor heatsink, as well, if that accounts into any plans.

In the thread about removing fins, somebody posted and said his temp actually dropped 5 degrees when he closed the side vents.  Dunno how valid this is, but it's interesting.

[sobman]

coulda sold that case yo, and bought a $10 case in the bst.......

[d34th_r3c0n]

I LOVE THE FACT THAT YOU REMOVED THE M$ LOGO!!! when i get to it i am gonna do that.

nice idea, i can see some potential in there if you take your time.

~James

PS -
WHY is that such a popular paint combo??? i have the exact same combo, blue x and silver accents, on my box. Just wondering

[Granulated]

Nobody would have bought my case.  It wasn't that incredible.  Besides, this way was alot easier.  I doubt I would have made that much more money selling my case.


I chose this paint scheme because the blue had silver flakes in it, and they go together so well.  However, I made the mistake of using bumper chrome instead of real paint...I wanted a mirror-ish finish...that wasn't the way to do it.  On metal, yes, you get a brilliant shiny finish.  On plastic, you see every imperfection, and you get lots of dark spots.  

Front panel has two coats of paint on it, there is more filler drying on the top right now...I should see if the fan speeds that drying time up.

[Granulated]

UPDATE:

Got the front mostly painted, and the top primered.  The front needs a few more coats, and the top is gonna need some sanding/filler touchup yet.  





Okay, once I get a solid coat of paint down, what's the best way to clearcoat/sand it?  I want a very good finish...the front of the box is blue, the back is black, and there will be a fade effect on the top

I'm assuming I don't want to wetsand the paint...get a coat of clearcoat on top of the paint, and wetsand that, 'nother coat, wetsand with finer grit, and soforth?

[tjw]

looks good! a tecnique for the fade is to do black, then blue where you want it the boldest, then say start from the blue, and be about foot of the xbox, then as you go more twords the black, bring the spray can farther away from the xbox, this way you will get smaller particals, and will looks alot better.  then do the same with the black, going twords the blue. then let it dry, and do it all over agian until all the primer is gone and you can tsee it any longer... hope that helps!

[brokenglass]

its odd. but looking good. clean up the jewel area.

[Granulated]

QUOTE(brokenglass @ Jul 9 2005, 09:57 PM)

its odd. but looking good. clean up the jewel area.

Not odd, "unique"  I wanted to do something I hadn't seen before...people have done similiar ideas, but I haven't seen a finished one like this yet...

That was the filler i mentioned...it's already drying

[SilentAssasin64]

I like the idea.  Keep up the good work.

[SonyMobile]

Deffinatly very uniquge, don't think its my cup of tea, but its not done yet.

Looks as thought the front and rear "triangle" area's on the top are still slightly recessed? looks like it from the pic.

Second, just a suggestion, I don't know about you, but I have NEVER had a use for the 3rd and 4th controller ports other than to use my DVD kit, anyways, I thought mby you could throw a small fan behind those to suck  air in through the front? Just a suggestion.

Nice work so far  

[Granulated]

Yeah...i'm hoping it all turns out, in all it's "special" glory.  

I'm going to call it either the
Shortbus xbox (or something along those lines)
box (No X, get it?  Hahaha)

The front and rear triangle areas are recessed from the side.  I left it that way because the power/eject buttons would be a pain in the ass to mount flush with the front of the case.  Doable?  Yes.  Worth my time?  No.  From the top, the triangles are perfectly flush, I assure you.  You're probably seeing some of the filler through the primer.

I used to play alot of 4 person halo, but now that i've got 2 xboxes set up with 2 copies of Halo 2, I really don't have use for 4 controller ports, either.  However, I really don't like the look of a fan in the front panel...maybe it might be alright if I used the stock "holes", and just put a fan behind them....hmmm.

Then again, i'm sure i'll regret pulling those controller ports someday....maybe I have more friends than you?  Hahahah.


So far the verdict seems to be "Different, not sure if I like it, but lookin good"

[Granulated]

Oh, yeah, that's a double post  

[HMAWL411]

this is definatly unique i cant wait to see a pic of the finished "box"