Lian Li 1200 Inside Case Polishing

[tasty]

will the mirrored finish very easy to rust?
or there are also ways to keep it shine?

any idea?

[Levish]

Car wax? should be fine on bare metal since it's not actually out in the elements.

[Dark Prodigy]

Thanks for all the compliments folks =) Makes it almost worth the effort. And having a custom cut mirror made sort of takes away from the overall effort and purity of the mod.

I wanted to keep the inherent beauty of the case and the designed cut outs as well. I like mods that keep the integrity of the case, I'm not into alot of cutting and panel design, just nice elegant solutions.

will the mirrored finish very easy to rust?
or there are also ways to keep it shine?

any idea?

Well, its made of aluminum (like all Lian Li V-Cool series) and as far as I know aluminum does not rust. So I don't forsee any problems. And I don't see a need to put any sort of carnauba wax on it. A rub with a microfiber cloth every now and then does just fine to keep it clean and shiny.

[Nazu]

All those polished Lian Li's have got me thinking that maybe I should polish my P160W You guys have just used very fine wet sandpaper and some kind of polishing compound?

[Dark Prodigy]

All those polished Lian Li's have got me thinking that maybe I should polish my P160W You guys have just used very fine wet sandpaper and some kind of polishing compound?

::little old man cantonese voice:: "...its an ancient Chinese secret..."

[lowfat]

I am glad you took the time and decided to do the wetsanding as it makes the world of a difference on anything polished.

Just so you know, be VERY careful when removing and/or putting new motherboards/equipment in the case. It will get damaged very easy. Over the 2 years i had my V1000, i polished the inside a good 4-5 times because it would get a small little scratch and you would need to redo the entire thing over again so it would remain a flat looking surface.

[lowfat]

All those polished Lian Li's have got me thinking that maybe I should polish my P160W You guys have just used very fine wet sandpaper and some kind of polishing compound?

for case interiors ya that is all that is really needed. If you are talking about the exterior most cases (with the exception of Cooler Masters) have a clear coating outside which would need to be stripped off first. I tried doing a Super Lanboy, after 8 hours i gave up because i couldn't get the clear coat off.

[Andrew LB]

Hmm.... this makes me want to polish up my CoolerMaster ATC-200....

I have some nice pneumatic tools that would do a killer job polishing my aluminum case.

[.Logic]

Awesome polishing job, I had to do a double take on the last picture!

I am glad you took the time and decided to do the wetsanding as it makes the world of a difference on anything polished.

Just so you know, be VERY careful when removing and/or putting new motherboards/equipment in the case. It will get damaged very easy. Over the 2 years i had my V1000, i polished the inside a good 4-5 times because it would get a small little scratch and you would need to redo the entire thing over again so it would remain a flat looking surface.

Newspaper over the polished surface while working on it?

[MichelinGuy]

having a custom cut mirror made sort of takes away from the overall effort and purity of the mod.

You got it wrong, you can buy a mirror in a local hardware store and you can cut it to the right size with a dremel and engrave you name in it or something with the dremel again. The coolest part is when you put CCFL's under the mirror the letters pop out pretty sweet. Maybe the polishing looks cleaner but the mirror looks a thousand times cooler with the CCFL's. And you can't really see effort, I bet your mates will think it was already polished in the factory.

[Bei Fei]

Nice work

[lowfat]

Awesome polishing job, I had to do a double take on the last picture!



Newspaper over the polished surface while working on it?

i guess that would work

[Dark Prodigy]

You got it wrong, you can buy a mirror in a local hardware store and you can cut it to the right size with a dremel and engrave you name in it or something with the dremel again.

There's nothing wrong about my assessment at all. Basically it boils down to our individual preferences. I don't like adding anything to cases, but would rather enhance the natural lines and beauty inherent to Lian-Li or any other case I may buy.

In my opinion, those types of additions are tacky and tasteless. And the last thing I'd do is engrave my name in my PC, a family crest or business logo would be much more elegant and NOT on a mirror at the bottom of a case.

It all boils down to what we think is best and what best reflects our character.

[Dark Prodigy]

I am glad you took the time and decided to do the wetsanding as it makes the world of a difference on anything polished.

Just so you know, be VERY careful when removing and/or putting new motherboards/equipment in the case. It will get damaged very easy. Over the 2 years i had my V1000, i polished the inside a good 4-5 times because it would get a small little scratch and you would need to redo the entire thing over again so it would remain a flat looking surface.

You're right, it does make a world of difference. And trust me I've been taking serious precautions so I won't spoil the finish as I'm building.

Awesome polishing job, I had to do a double take on the last picture!

Nice work

Thanks for the compliments. Just if people were wondering, my inspiration comes from admiring elegantly designed PC's such as VoodooPC. May not be anyones favorite on these forums because of their astronomical prices and many prefer to build rather than buy, but you'd hard-pressed to find a more classy integrator.



This is what I was trying to emulate.

[bball4ever39]

Well you did a great job emulation it

Looks awesome

[tinha_net]

I just wonder if you guys have any buffing scratches left on the finish stage because I can never get rid of the buffing scratches. I use Autosol metal polish. What polish paste do you guys use? Do you guys use hand buffing or machine buffing? The most important is how do you guys get rid of the fine scratches (buffing scratches)?

Thanks!

[michaLcoughliN]

ide recommend using 1000 gritt, 1500 grit al the way upto 2000 grit.
then use some polish / buffin

[kinghong1970]

would love to git my hands on a Voodoo Rage cage... damn...

nice work!

[Dark Prodigy]

I just wonder if you guys have any buffing scratches left on the finish stage because I can never get rid of the buffing scratches. I use Autosol metal polish. What polish paste do you guys use? Do you guys use hand buffing or machine buffing? The most important is how do you guys get rid of the fine scratches (buffing scratches)?

Thanks!

I'll take the question being the OP of this thread . Assuming that you have done the proper preparation of the metal, that being making sure its a very flat surface using multiple stages of wet-sanding e.g. 800-1000-1500-2000 grit. Use only light pressure and let the sandpaper do the work and use LOTS of water.

When applying paste for buffing, use only medium pressure and use a soft terry towel because you can make fine scratches as you apply the polish. Make sure you use a microfiber cloth when remove polish - especially in the final stages.

Depending on the area you can hand buff or use an electric polisher.. medium speed & pressure so you won't burn through the polish.

This is what I used for the final metal polishing...



Mothers™ Billet Metal Polish. Its very pricey for this small - $20 USD - 4oz can, but you don't need much of it. And I've rtried alot of other stuff and this is the best I can recommend. Remember, take your time and don't rush and it'll turn out super nice.

[tinha_net]

Hey Dark Prodigy, thank you very much for the tips! Do you use all hand buff for the final stage and should there be any fine scratch in the finished surface?

[Dark Prodigy]

Hey Dark Prodigy, thank you very much for the tips! Do you use all hand buff for the final stage and should there be any fine scratch in the finished surface?

Your welcome =). Since the areas that I polish are relatively small, I hand buff.

Metal is not as forgiving as paint. Your prep of the metal needs to be near flawless in order to not have any very fine scratches, sometimes its unavoidable. However, they can be diminshed greatly by knowing the amount of pressure (usually medium/light) to use both on wet-sanding AND applying and removing polish.

Make sure you use a microfiber cloth and not a terry cloth for the removal of the polish - hard fibers and lint WILL leave fine scratches, spoiling your mirror quality finish. The more you do it, the more saavy you'll become.

[tinha_net]

Your welcome =). Since the areas that I polish are relatively small, I hand buff.

Metal is not as forgiving as paint. Your prep of the metal needs to be near flawless in order to not have any very fine scratches, sometimes its unavoidable. However, they can be diminshed greatly by knowing the amount of pressure (usually medium/light) to use both on wet-sanding AND applying and removing polish.

Make sure you use a microfiber cloth and not a terry cloth for the removal of the polish - hard fibers and lint WILL leave fine scratches, spoiling your mirror quality finish. The more you do it, the more saavy you'll become.

Yeah I bought a microfiber cloth especially for this polishing project. I will just take my time and hand buff for the rest of the finish stage.

Thanks again =)

[zerazax]

This thread is making me want to go wax my car lol...

[Ohlins]

That's incredible! Nice job.

[cozwin]

If you think thats hard work you want to try polishing a whole Wavemaster

WOW