Project: Taking my sweet time (A+ Black Pearl)

[idleuser]

This is funny! I'm working on the exact same case right now. I'm still in the process of planning out my water cooling setup. I also bought the same fittings from jab-tech because the compression fittings cost too much. Btw, have a fast and speedy recovery with your surgery and what color theme are you going for?

[Jonni Nitro]

Btw, have a fast and speedy recovery with your surgery and what color theme are you going for?

Thanks! I am going for the stock finish on the outside. I like the brushed black aluminum finish. Inside will be flat black or suede finish on all the panels. I was going to go with gloss black tubing, but I think with all the black some of the details might start getting lost. So, I think Im going to switch out the tubing for some Primochill Clear 1/2id and 3/4od and do some dark blue UV coolant. The mesh will on the side panels also be painted dark blue to match the coolant.

[idleuser]

Yeah, I know what you mean. I'm going for the all black and blue theme. I think you should stick with the black tubing. It'll look really nice imo and are you mounting your Rad vertical or horizontal on the bottom?

[rge]

Jonni, nice paint job on mobo tray... what kind of prep/paint?

[Jonni Nitro]

what kind of prep/paint?

Scuff bare aluminum with 80 grit, fill holes, primer coat. I do light coats until I get full converage. Then wetsand with 200 grit, and feather high spots, add filler to anything I missed. Another primer coat and 500 grit wetsand. If things look good I continue with first base coat, and then wetsand with 500/1000/1200 grit in between coats. This is all with a rattle can. I havent busted out the airbrush in a while now. Hopefully the mid panel will be done tonight.

I just went and watched Inglorious Basterds, and it was really good. One of my farvorites on the year for sure.

[rge]

Thanks, I'll have to give that a try next time I try to paint inside of mine.

[aol000xw]

Thanks, I'll have to give that a try next time I try to paint inside of mine.

Same here.

I think I have neither the patience nor the skills to get a decent paint job, so every single advice helps

[Jonni Nitro]

It is true what has been said by many. The more you prep the better the paint job turns out and it does take time. I usually will mix in other tasks while I am working on a panel so I dont get bored and start rushing things.

So I am second guessing keeping my D-Tek Fuzion v1. I have been told that I could do better for my Q6600. What do you guys think?

[Jonni Nitro]

Ok so I have a final update for the night.

The mid panel/shelf is almost done. Its all smooth it just needs a couple more coats to give it some depth.



Thought I would piece together a sneek peek to see what things would look like. I still think I would like the clear tubes with blue coolant a little better.

[dreamaxx]

This Black Pearl is second one who making nice worklog with Black Pearl nowadays. First one was @shazza's case.

What? This one was posted in March? Therefore the first Black Pearl worklog. And not even that, theres another guy I can think of who has a worklog on here too

Anyways, how did you cut those grills in the sidepanels? They look awesome, and the mesh behind them will look fantastic too!

[Kibbler]

I saw those barbs on Sidewinder, they sure look swank. I agree, go with clear tubing and show them off!

Suggestion: Since you used bondo/filler I'm sure you're painting the plates yourself. From this photo and the unpainted version before it it's noticeable that you sanded by hand and not with a flat sanding block. Powdercoating tends to be more forgiving but spray paint less so, and I'm worried that under the wrong light (e.g. in this photo) the uneven-ness will be pretty apparent. I'm far from a painting pro, that's just from limited experience and what I've read.



Suggest a few more light coat -> sand -> light coat -> sand -> light coat on the whole panel to even things out. With a sanding block.

Good luck and wish you a speedy recovery on your surgery.

[Jonni Nitro]

This is just a shot in between coats. I am using a sanding block and the pic might be a bit deceptive. I will post a final pic of it today.

[shazza]

What? This one was posted in March? Therefore the first Black Pearl worklog. And not even that, theres another guy I can think of who has a worklog on here too
...

No worries ... there are some other Black Pearl logs if you search the web as well. Hopefully, we'll see even more now. I checked out Jonni's log again before I made my purchase and glad to see he's got some more time to work on it. We've also got sargatanas' V2000 log going now, as well as the V2000 by exemay and his cool blue case!

Love the attention to detail, Jonni!

[Jonni Nitro]

Ok, so I did manage to make some progress today. I did have a few distractions, but I will get to that latter. All I really managed to do was finish up the interior pieces. Here are a couple of shots.





What a minute....this is a strange looking item....



I guess you will have to wait and see what happens......

Now about that distraction. At long last I have one and not just any a new thinner, meaner version



Yep, scored a new PS3 Slim today. Got a call from a local GS and they had just gotten them inside the store as I pulled up. I love my 360, but I have been waiting for the Slim, as I didnt have a PS3 until now. I finally have a Bluray player, and I popped in Dark Knight and my 61" Samsung A750 was enjoying all 1080 perfect lines of resolution. The sound is also amazing.

I should have less disturbances tomorrow. I am saving most of the game time for the week after my surgery.

If anyone out there reading this has an extra mesh panel from this case I would love to take it off your hands. I am replacing mine with an acylic one, but I need the mesh for other stuff on the case. I would order some but I need it to match. Thanks.

[Stvwndr219]

modder's mesh or a mesh trash can from walmart?

[Jonni Nitro]

Yeah, I know I can get modders mesh. I am using the stock mesh panel on my lower vents but there isnt enough. I dont know how well modders mesh will match, so I wanted to get another panel of this.

[shazza]

Best of luck with your surgery, and enjoy you new Slim!

[Stvwndr219]

hrm... if you don't mind waiting 2 or 3 weeks, I can rip off the mesh I have on the black pearl I just got and send it to you. I'm just on the other side of the country out of school atm. I was going to replace with one of those windows from ppcs anyways. Have you done this with yours?

[Jonni Nitro]

My mesh, I am using it for other pieces on the case. If you look at the pic of my side vents, you will see I am putting mesh behind it. I also have another piece I am making but I dont know if its going to turn out yet. LMK, if you dont want it I can send you a little cash for it and shipping. No rush.

[Stvwndr219]

sure, I have no problem just mailing it to you. Don't worry about the cost - it was probably something I'd never end up using either. PM me your zip code and I'll send it to you a couple days after I get back to school around the 15th of September.

Oh and good luck with your surgery! Waiting to recover and get back to being mobile is always the hardest part.

[aka_GK]

Your son is so cute Jonni
Also nice work with the case

[Jonni Nitro]

Your son is so cute Jonni
Also nice work with the case

Thanks.

Well, I am back from my surgery. Not fun, let me tell ya, ended up taking an extra hour longer then they planned. I guess it went well though. I felt like crap last night, I hate being put under. At least for now the updates are on hold until I can get moving again.

[Stvwndr219]

Glad you're alive and well! Enjoy recovering with that PS3!

[shazza]

Thanks.

Well, I am back from my surgery. Not fun, let me tell ya, ended up taking an extra hour longer then they planned. I guess it went well though. I felt like crap last night, I hate being put under. At least for now the updates are on hold until I can get moving again.

Glad you have the surgery behind you - now on to a speedy recovery

[Jonni Nitro]

This is sort of an update. I went for my post op appointment today. The doc gave me the go ahead to do some walking with my walking boot on. This means I should be able to start modding again tomorrow. I am excited to get out of the house and back of the project.