Discussion:
Plastic fix for SGI cases (maybe)
(too old to reply)
d***@yahoo.com
2008-06-07 03:42:37 UTC
Permalink
Greetings,
Nice to see some posts besides that M15 idiot. I've read all the
threads on methods of removing scuffs, scratches, etc. from the
beautifully designed plastic SGIi plastic cases, but I do have a
couple of questions:

1.) Being a mechanical designer with my own fairly well-equipped
home machine shop, I often design and fabricate my own parts, metal or
plastic. If it's plastic and going to be used repeatedly I'll make my
own molds from a mold-making rubber and cast them with resin epoxy,
both fairly inexpensive. Why not make say a box mold as long or wide
as your biggest boo-boo and make a mold of the texture on a good
surface of your case?
2.) Is there some reason I don't know of that almost any color
under the sun can't be Pantone color-matched? Which includes the slick
magenta of the Max Impacts every one desires, but are always rather
battered and bruised?

If there is no reason the above can't be done, I don't understand
why you couldn't just contour putty (or any putty you prefer for
plastic) the cracks, scratches and scuffs one at a time and press your
rubber texture mold onto (with the proper lubricant of course) the
putty, let it dry, peel it off, go on to the next area until the whole
case is finished, airbrush the entire case with the Pantone matched
color and Viola! brand new case. As far as I can see, the most
expensive part of this approach would be the paint because you'd have
to buy a certain quantity to make it worth the mixer's time, but if it
works (and I don't why it wouldn't), there are probably quite a few
other SGI owner's out there that would love to get some of that paint
from you. You would have to paint the entire case though as I
seriously doubt the new paint will look the same as the old simply due
to the aging, not the color.
Does anyone see any reason this wouldn't work? I don't and I have
a magenta case that practically makes me cry to look at and this type
of thing is my idea of fun anyway (I know - pathetic, isn't it?) and I
really have no reason not to give it a whirl on my own time. Any
intelligent responses welcome. And sorry for the long-winded post.

Davec
legalize+ (Richard)
2008-06-10 20:21:49 UTC
Permalink
[Please do not mail me a copy of your followup]
1.) [...] Why not make say a box mold as long or wide
as your biggest boo-boo and make a mold of the texture on a good
surface of your case?
2.) Is there some reason I don't know of that almost any color
under the sun can't be Pantone color-matched? [...]
[putty fill, texture and airbrush over patch]
Does anyone see any reason this wouldn't work?
Granted, I'm not experienced in working in this areas (I'm a software
dude), but I don't see any reason why this wouldn't work well,
provided that the paint and the putty filler are chemically matched to
the plastic. One thing I've learned about plastics used in these old
computer cases is that the chemical composition of the plastic changes
over time from normal decomposition due to age and exposure to UV. So
you might need to do some experimenting to ensure that your choice of
putty and paint are a good match chemically so that you don't have the
putty just peeling away from the base in a few months.

I have a spare plastic purple foot for an Indigo2 that would be
perfect to experiment on. Occasionally you can buy the feet from ebay
(people tend to separate the feet and the unit, so the feet come up
for sale separate from the machine), so that would be an inexpensive
way to experiment with the technique and then let it age for a few
months and see how well it endures.
--
"The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" -- DirectX 9 draft available for download
<http://www.xmission.com/~legalize/book/download/index.html>

Legalize Adulthood! <http://blogs.xmission.com/legalize/>
d***@yahoo.com
2008-06-12 02:01:19 UTC
Permalink
Post by legalize+ (Richard)
[Please do not mail me a copy of your followup]
1.) [...] Why not make say a box mold as long or wide
as your biggest boo-boo and make a mold of the texture on a good
surface of your case?
2.) Is there some reason I don't know of that almost any color
under the sun can't be Pantone color-matched? [...]
[putty fill, texture and airbrush over patch]
Does anyone see any reason this wouldn't work?
Granted, I'm not experienced in working in this areas (I'm a software
dude), but I don't see any reason why this wouldn't work well,
provided that the paint and the putty filler are chemically matched to
the plastic. One thing I've learned about plastics used in these old
computer cases is that the chemical composition of the plastic changes
over time from normal decomposition due to age and exposure to UV. So
you might need to do some experimenting to ensure that your choice of
putty and paint are a good match chemically so that you don't have the
putty just peeling away from the base in a few months.
I have a spare plastic purple foot for an Indigo2 that would be
perfect to experiment on. Occasionally you can buy the feet from ebay
(people tend to separate the feet and the unit, so the feet come up
for sale separate from the machine), so that would be an inexpensive
way to experiment with the technique and then let it age for a few
months and see how well it endures.
--
"The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" -- DirectX 9 draft available for download
<http://www.xmission.com/~legalize/book/download/index.html>
Legalize Adulthood! <http://blogs.xmission.com/legalize/>
Hi,
Thanks for the reply Actually, after posting this I decided the
resin would be a better, not to mention stronger, solution than putty,
You can buy a kit here in the U.S.around $25 $30, more than enough to
repair the worst case, within reason. Also, the rubber mold-making
compound doesn't stick to the resin at all.
Thanks again,
Dave

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