- Joined
- Feb 8, 2013
- Messages
- 90
- Motherboard
- ASRock Z370
- CPU
- i7-8700K
- Graphics
- RX 5700 XT
- Mac
- Mobile Phone
So, I've never really liked my Corsair Carbide 400R. It's functional, sure, but also just one big black block. At the same time I never really liked people's efforts to "pretend" they have a Mac when they build a hackintosh. Why do people put a Apple logo sticker on a conventional PC tower? Why create a PowerMac G5 case mod and then keep using Apple's "G5" CPU cover when there's no actual G5 in it? Then however I saw TheLaserHive's G5 Full ATX conversion kit. And I thought that if you can avoid some WLAN antennas sticking out of the case this might be clean enough for actual use.
So I bought a G5 case on EBay classifieds. Since you don't need a working unit you can just buy a defect one for cheap. The seller promised the case would be in good condition. When it arrived however I saw some mind-blowing scratches, dents and even inside out bumps. As if someone tried to pry the case open with a crow bar. Then I ordered a second one. This second case still had scratches, but was far more usable. I guess I will start a second forum thread on that one.
Now what to do with the case I first ordered? I saw some people here on the forum repainting the whole thing black - but isn't that black look exactly what I wanted to avoid? So I went to my next hardware store and looked at the spray painting cans they had. A bit before that Apple revealed to journalists that a new modular MacPro would be in the works for a release in 2018. People speculated what it would look like. Obviously the "space grey" look of the late 2016 laptops would be the way to go. The reveal of the iMac Pro pretty much confirmed that. This latter announcement however came too late for me. Instead, I looked at my iPod Shuffle and noticed that this product, too, is space grey, but with some red sheen on it. So why not repaint the inner cage of the G5 in black, but the outer hull in dark grey with a red shimmer?
Next I researched a professional car paint workshop. They had me select a color and for 130€ they repainted the two parts of the outer hull. Then I used black spray paint for the parts of the inner cage. I grinded the inner parts with metal whool, cleaned them with aluminum cleaner, did a base coat layer, did multiple black layers.
Unfortunately the whole thing turned into a failure when I tried to put the outer hull onto the inner cage. Probably because the black coat was a non-professional job the black color on the inner cage was too soft to be re-assembled. The outer hull is a massive metal part and has to be pried open to fit. There's just a lot of strain going on. So, when I put the outer hull on the inner cage the black color would visibly scratch. You can see it in the pictures. My guess is that these scratches would have happened even if the paint job of the inner parts would have been a professional one. I guess we will never find out.
Next, I wanted to put a black Apple logo on the case. I contacted multiple spray paint workshops in my area and it turned out nobody of them wanted to do it, citing legal issues. Registered trademark etc. Which is nonsense, by the way. Yes, it's a trademark. You can however use it if your use case fits three criteria: it has to be 1) non-routine, 2) non-public and 3) non-commercial. Try to explain that to people afraid of Apple's trademark lawyers. So, no Apple logo. Feel free to photoshop it on some of my pictures.
To sum up, I invested a significant amount of money into this little experiment with no intention of ever really using it as a case. I just wanted to anticipate Apple's 2018 MacPro a bit. What I have here is unique. A one of a kind. It makes sense as a look. It's elegant, a bit "feminine". Apple could actually go that route. So yeah, overall it might have been worth it.
Bunch of pictures zipped. They are not great, since I only have a Huawei P8 Lite, no real camera.
Hosted on my own website | Mirror
So I bought a G5 case on EBay classifieds. Since you don't need a working unit you can just buy a defect one for cheap. The seller promised the case would be in good condition. When it arrived however I saw some mind-blowing scratches, dents and even inside out bumps. As if someone tried to pry the case open with a crow bar. Then I ordered a second one. This second case still had scratches, but was far more usable. I guess I will start a second forum thread on that one.
Now what to do with the case I first ordered? I saw some people here on the forum repainting the whole thing black - but isn't that black look exactly what I wanted to avoid? So I went to my next hardware store and looked at the spray painting cans they had. A bit before that Apple revealed to journalists that a new modular MacPro would be in the works for a release in 2018. People speculated what it would look like. Obviously the "space grey" look of the late 2016 laptops would be the way to go. The reveal of the iMac Pro pretty much confirmed that. This latter announcement however came too late for me. Instead, I looked at my iPod Shuffle and noticed that this product, too, is space grey, but with some red sheen on it. So why not repaint the inner cage of the G5 in black, but the outer hull in dark grey with a red shimmer?
Next I researched a professional car paint workshop. They had me select a color and for 130€ they repainted the two parts of the outer hull. Then I used black spray paint for the parts of the inner cage. I grinded the inner parts with metal whool, cleaned them with aluminum cleaner, did a base coat layer, did multiple black layers.
Unfortunately the whole thing turned into a failure when I tried to put the outer hull onto the inner cage. Probably because the black coat was a non-professional job the black color on the inner cage was too soft to be re-assembled. The outer hull is a massive metal part and has to be pried open to fit. There's just a lot of strain going on. So, when I put the outer hull on the inner cage the black color would visibly scratch. You can see it in the pictures. My guess is that these scratches would have happened even if the paint job of the inner parts would have been a professional one. I guess we will never find out.
Next, I wanted to put a black Apple logo on the case. I contacted multiple spray paint workshops in my area and it turned out nobody of them wanted to do it, citing legal issues. Registered trademark etc. Which is nonsense, by the way. Yes, it's a trademark. You can however use it if your use case fits three criteria: it has to be 1) non-routine, 2) non-public and 3) non-commercial. Try to explain that to people afraid of Apple's trademark lawyers. So, no Apple logo. Feel free to photoshop it on some of my pictures.
To sum up, I invested a significant amount of money into this little experiment with no intention of ever really using it as a case. I just wanted to anticipate Apple's 2018 MacPro a bit. What I have here is unique. A one of a kind. It makes sense as a look. It's elegant, a bit "feminine". Apple could actually go that route. So yeah, overall it might have been worth it.
Bunch of pictures zipped. They are not great, since I only have a Huawei P8 Lite, no real camera.
Hosted on my own website | Mirror
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