I'm going all out and repurposing an old CRT monitor by making it look fresh and new. I plan on using spray paints and giving it the works.
I know enough about disassembling it and taking the precautions with leftover electricity and whatnot. But I've hit some snaffus and need some questions answered.
1.) Anyone have any idea what plastic monitors this old are made out of?
2.) When taking apart, I discovered that the plastic was extremely brittle, especially on the inside with some of the tabs holding the frame to the back of the monitor.
It's not extremely sun-damaged, but it feels more fragile than I'd like.
Is there a spray paint I can coat the inside of the monitor with to give it increased strength?
Like Plasti-dip spray or something?
3.) With spray painting, how imperative is it to sand since it's plastic and all? I plan on priming it (using Rustoleum Spray Primer) and using a Rustoleum color spray paint (not sure which color yet).
There's a lot of nooks and crannies in this monitor and hard to get to with conventional sanding (using 220 grit).
I don't want to half-ass it, but I want to make sure I do it right.
It's not glossy-glossy, but it's that typical CRT monitor plastic texture.
I definitely want to:
- Sand it
- At least 2 - 3 THIN coats of primer
- 2 or more thin coats of color
- Finishing off with x amount of coats of a clear gloss sealer.
Also, I have pretty bad luck with spray painting.
I swear I do it right. I know to apply multiple thin coats between however many minutes the can tells me to apply them.
But unless I live in a shitty climate that's always humid, it's like the paint never dries, or it's never permanent.
I guess it's because I never sanded and primed before, but I guess that makes all the difference between something being extremely delicate to handle to something withstanding scratching without revealing the color underneath.
>>968136
Few thoughts:
-i cant think of many good suggestions for re-inforcing the plastic from the inside. plastidip is a cute idea but I don't think its really going to help, short of "if something cracks it might stay in place because its effectively got a huge layer of glue on the inside holding things in place".
I would just be as careful as possible and use superglue to put broken bits back together, or the superglue/baking soda trick. or a 2 part epoxy. youll never see it once sanded and painted so it wont be a big problem
-sanding and priming is -crucial- to a good paint job
-let the paint dry for a minimum of 30 minutes between coats. the longer the better. (I tend to wait an hour or two, I live in Houston, a horribly humid place.)
-yes plastic needs to be sanded to promote good bonding for the paint/primer. sand as much as you can, its okay not to sand the various crevices that you can't get to (if you cant get to them, nothing will be touching or rubbing them, so the paint should be safe)
-if you're wanting a god teir paintjob to be proud of, watch youtube videos on wetsanding for car paintjobs. also "orange peel" and how to remove it well
the BEST tip i can give you, is take your time and DO NOT RUSH. I started painting as a kid doing model cars. The biggest factor that improved the quality of my paint (for both models and anything else as i progress in life) is the more time I take, the better the end result is.
>>968450
I've watched videos on how to paint. A lot of them use air brush guns which is a whole tier above what I have at my disposal.
Though I am impatient, I can understand the timing between multiple thin coats. My biggest thing is the sanding which is tedious. I'm doing an all-around rub with 220 grit, and it gives an almost brushed metal-like texture in the light. Do I continue to sand over that with even higher grit, or if I do multiple primer coats and multiple color coats (and a top coat), will that texture show through??
>>968450
Also, thanks for the info! I've been spending more time researching the best materials for the job instead of actually doing the job.
I went with Rustoleum because it was more recommended than Krylon (which probably has a better ad campaign advertising their Fusion brand) but I don't trust it.
Don't want the thread to die. I'll take some pictures of my progress when I get home.
Why don't just get one that isn't a piece of shit?
>>969019
Where's the fun in that?
>>968129
You do know that many old CRT leak ionizing radiation, which can weaken and embrittle plastic?
Just because you got the electrical hazard covered doesn't mean this is safe.
Some nice old ones even leak powerful x-rays, which is why they have so much lead shielding in the case. I know I thought about some cool experiments I could do with such a powerful electron beam gun. Eventually realized how dangerous it could be and backed off on the idea. At least till I have a better setup to deal with such issues.
>>969123
Not that I doubt believe you, but source on that. how old are you talking? Like up until early 90's?
>>969161
Not previous poster, but I think this is a risk regardless of the type and kid of unit -- the accelerator emits X-ray band (and probably other ionizing frequencies) as part of normal operation. It makes the screen glow.
Anywho just reiterating be super careful with this especially with units that have seen better days and the shielding might be compromised.
Why the interest in CRTs in particular?
>>968450
Rustoleum paints should have secondary coats and so on, applied within a few minutes, or after a week. Waiting an hour between coats with that paint will actually be detrimental to the end quality.
>>969328
I was gonna say, reading the instructions, it says to apply each coat after 15-30 minutes and then like any time after the 49th hour. Very weird specifications, I thought.
>>969371
It's just their formula. Between certain time period they're in a cure phase, and having two coats curing at different rates will cause lifting and separation. So you either need them to cure at similar rates, or apply new coats to fully cured layers.
>>969376
Good to know, thanks!
In the benefit of making the best paint job I can, would cleaning the surface with methylated spirits prior to priming help? I understand it cleans off the dirt and oils from handling, but that's not something that will melt the plastic of the monitor itself, will it??
>>969397
I'd be careful with plastics, especially older ones. Isopropyl alcohol is usually a safe bet, but not always. You can always test on the inside of the case where a fudged spot won't be seen. The safest bet is washing with dish detergent like Dawn, then rinsing with distilled water. And of course ample dry time.
Just for the sake of saying, avoid things like self etching primer when working with plastic.
>>969161
check out
http://www.fda.gov/Radiation-EmittingProducts/ResourcesforYouRadiationEmittingProducts/ucm252764.htm
They watered the terms down so normal people don't panic, likely a number of political agendas tied in, but the bottom line is all CRT units emit some level of dangerous radiation it more of an debate on how much is "really" harmful. Which is why the people who make these cases have to do extra steps to so they are not irradiating the public, the FDA frowns on that kind of stuff.
That fact you talked about the inside plastic being weak was a red flag to me, as one thing that can case that is a sizeable radiation leak. Even if it was very weak it still would mean it would make Ozone in your room, and we all saw what happened to the Ion Breeze once people realized what that in room Ozone did to people's lungs.
This is why CRT and other things like this can be such a interesting project as high energy means high fun, but also high risk.
But for custom casing for you own look, I would look at LCD screens parts. Easy to find some new laptop ones or check a thrift store to save big money. Just triple check compatibility as screen, drivers, and controller boards are a pain if they don't work together.
LCD are much safer to mod. The old ones used tiny florescent tubes which have mercury vapor, but are perfectly safe as long as bulb is not cracked, also it won't light up is bulb is cracked. The newer LED ones are a bit more static sensitive, but I have yet to hear of some one actually frying the parts.
Sidenote: what's the best way to reinforce these tabs? There are only two screws holding the frame to the housing; the top part is just kinda supported by these tabs.
Problem is, they're especially brittle. If I don't take the frame off very carefully, I'll break off another one of these tabs.
1.) What's the best way to reinforce the ones I have left?
2.) Whats the best way to make some more makeshift "tabs" to replace the ones I've broken off and since lost?
>>969490
>>969184
Thanks for the source, but I'm wondering, does this extend itself to radiation leaking only when active, or is there radiation that remains in the plastic well after the unit has been inactive?
>>969795
Another picture of the tabs breaking and flying off into oblivion.
>>969799
One of the more annoying OPs in recent memory. Could inspire a new bingo card.
>>969874
How so?
Hate to make it out to be 20 questions here, but what's the best way to cover up small intricate logos from being sprayed on?
Either my google-fu is shit, or I can't find anything. Best I found was painting it with a thick later of petroleum jelly before spraying??
>>969799
It seems you got your xrays confused with other types of radiation. At the very least, read some articles on wikipedia.
Furthermore, CRTs don't emit xrays under normal operating conditions and there are safety measures in place in damn near all of them, that shut down the guns when the voltages start getting high enough to cause xrays to be emitted.
Roughly what the FDA article is hinting at as well, although in not the exact wording.
>tl;dr OP has a higher chance of getting superpowers from paint fumes than xrays.
>>969874
>Posting a diy project on dyi
>annoying
Its faggots like you that grind my gears
>>970073
Image of the Apple logo I want to cover up so that I don't paint over it.
Is petroleum jelly the best way to go about doing that? I was thinking about covering it in clay or play-doh or something. It's hard enough to sand around it, but spray paint has no precise control.
And should I have this thing sanded to the point where the entirety of it is matte? Obviously, because it's that 90's desktop computer texture, I'm sanding the top layer but there's still some shiny nooks and crannies.
Is that fine, or should I bite my lip and go to town with 100 > 220 > 400 > 600 grit sandpapering until there's absolutely NO gloss texture at all?
>>970352
It's an old CRT monitor, nobody cares what it looks like.
>>970352
It's an old CRT monitor, nobody cares what it looks like. At all. Nobody.
>>970350
Get some tape and an exacto knife. Place tape over logo, trace with knife, remove extra tape, paint, and remove tape. You dont want to use jelly because I'm sure that will run.
My advice on painting is to not worry about every last spot being covered on the first run. Multiple layers will cover those tiny imperfections. Do this to avoid runs.
Please keep posting pictures. Not enough people do. I am interested in seeing what you come up with.
>>970727
I figured that would be the best way. Spray paint has been tricky for me, getting into spots I didn't want regardless.
Regarding priming/painting, especially to anyone who has used Rustoleum paints.
I understand issues with temperatures and relative humidity and whatnot, but what's the best way to even go about going from priming to sanding?
>Dries to the touch in 20 minutes
>Handle in 1 hour
>Fully dry in 24 hours
>"If top coating a new finish," which I would imagine being the color I want to paint over top this primer, "recoat within 30 minutes of after 49 hours"
It seems like everyone has their own tried and true method for priming, and following those examples would be easy enough, but taking into account of the difference in chemical paints and brands makes it seem more difficult than it really is. But if I'm reading this right, and it's not some weird typo, the window between hour 49:00 and 49:30 is oddly specific to start adding my coat of paint.
I want to believe it's supposed to say "30 minutes OR after 49 hours", but leave it to me to get hung up on a maybe possible typo on the instructions.
>>971206
Looking at other primers, they say "x minutes OR after y hours"
It took over 30 minutes to figure this out, so now I have to wait 2 days.
>>968129
1.) Anyone have any idea what plastic monitors this old are made out of?
Since nobody else answered this one, it is made from ABS plastic.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acrylonitrile_butadiene_styrene
>>971547
Thanks for that. That'll make it easier to know what epoxy to avoid for gluing broken bits back together.
>>971971
NP Dude. There are "glues" that are actually solvents expressly for welding styrenes together. I suggest that you use pieces of the same material as patches on the unseen side of the repair to strengthen it.
>>968129
damn i didnt get here in time
i was going to say dont sand it just paint in
in fact, dont paint it either. dye it. i have done this. you clean it insanely well, wipe down with alcohol after, let dry, then spray it all over with vinyl dye. it actually colors the plastic and soaks in so it doesnt scratch off, and will make a shitty old beige monitor look 100 times better by making it a nice deep black.
why did nobody suggest this
you get it at the auto parts store or walmart its in a can just like spray paint google this shit
>>971547
It's probably not ABS. ABS isn't brittle, and electronics crap is almost always just cheap polystyrene, or acrylic if it's shiny.
My money's on PS. You can weld it like ABS since they're both styrenes, but yeah.
>>972062
I don't know if it helps any, but I do know when I rub the plastic vents, it makes that same cricket chirp noise like the Commodore 64.
>>972055
Also very interesting idea. I didn't even know that was a thing. I might have to look into that.
