Nice. Dang you cut all that window with only a Dremel? I wanted to do that, but scared free-hand with a Dremel would be messy.

The front is awfully plain in this case, which really is to be expected on a low end case. I do like the start button though so I´ll leave that as it is. I won´t worry about the bays since they will be filled. But I do feel like adding some detail to it, following the rest.

Remember to set your dremel to low speed when cutting plastic, as high speed will just melt it and make a right mess of things.



The bad thing, in my oppinion about most simple cases is that the right side tends to be awfully plain and there´s not that much you can do with aside from a nice paintjob, which won´t be seen much in most cases since the window side is the one facing you in most cases.

Lucky then that this case has a modern chasis design and has the opening under the board, so hey, why not make a window?



I tend to use number 420 on the dremel line of discs (Heavy Duty Cut-Off Disc). And for this thin metal sheeting, it´s like slicing through butter with a hot knive. Regardless, remember not to push the dremel or you´ll burn through discs.

Right so let´s see it all put togueter with all cuts cleaned up (I don´t remember the specfic term in english, but it´s a sanding wheel for the dremel, that´s the way to go, personally I use the same cutting disc on it´s side to cut off all remnants and shave it down, and then I blunt the edges to prevent cutting).







The problem with the front mini-window is that, right behind it there´s a pseudo dual-fan mount, which makes the window look ugly and a bit pointless, so let´s cut it.



And now...



...much better!

Ok, now we´ve got to sand down everything that´s got paint in it, so in this case, all panels, as you can see the interior is bare in this case. Once done, clean it all up. I personally use distilled water, but you can use alcohol or any kind of non-corrosive cleaning product. Now wait for it to dry, specially if you´ve used any kind of chemical to clean it (i´d stay away from that option, just in case).

Now that it´s prepped, it´s painting time. Remember to always use a breather, this stuff is nasty in your lungs! Not to mention a well ventilated place, but not outside as you will get crap on your fresh paint, and you don´t want that.



A couple of notes about paint types. I´ve had quite a few discussions about this in several forums with all sorts of people. Some use x product and works fine for them, others say don´t use x product because of x reason.

Personally, I use acrylic paint, which is water based, it´s dries very quickly, so you don´t have to wait hours between coats, and it´s good for sanding down between coats to get an extra smooth finish. I stay away from sinthetic and plastic paints, for several reasons which I won´t go in to but regardless, if you want to take my advice, go for acrylic paints, be it in spray can or compressor & gun.

Right, down to it. First a coat of primer:







And now a base color as the effect I will be using (pearl) is almost transparent, so it needs a base color first, in this case, white.





And that´s it for today, more tomorrow.

As a small spoiler, no, the case won´t be all white, it´s simply easier doing it all in white and then painting on top as needed.

Now that the paint has cured, it´s safe for us to use tape on it, again go ahead and sand it down if it´s not smooth. I first used decal tape to mark lines (the blue tape) and then extra thick masking tape as filler (the yellow tape).









Let´s aply the first coat, of the second color. As with the white, I´ve gone with a pearl effect blue.







15-20 minutes later, I aplied the second and final coat of the blue. Notice how the light reflects on the pearl efect, making it look like there´s 2 tones.



I let that cure for 4 hours before remove the tape. Now it´s safe for us to remove it (gently please!). I´ve taken several pictures with and without flash, on different possitions to try and show you the pearl effect, though the pictures really don´t do it justice.













And that´s it for today really. There´s not much more to do on the case other than mounting the windows. In the next few days I´ll be posting the mini tutorials on each component and then finish it all in this thread mounting it all in the case.

Thanks for reading/watching!

That is some sick work there man! Can't wait to see more up coming projects. 

I´ve now started with the interior components, you can follow details on how to do them over at the following thread:

http://forums.evga.com/tm.aspx?m=1479490

Here is the finished CD/DVD drive:

This is very nice!

Thanks a bunch guys, it will be basic hardware though as it aint my main rig but oh well : )

Added the fan controller tutorial to the components thread:

http://forums.evga.com/tm.aspx?m=1479490

Here´s the finished look:

Added the Antec 620 H2O CPU Cooler Tutorial to the components thread:

http://forums.evga.com...90&mpage=1#1580850

Here´s the finished look:

Great new paint job...Love the way you hacked it all up like you did!!! +1

Final post before the end result : )

Today we´re going to do the windows. The material you need to use is plexyglass, it´s cheap enough to buy and you can normally find it in any building supplies or DIY store, I payed for a piece big enough to do 3 side windows on this case 12€ Have in mind there are two types, the normal one and the one prepared for exterior which is a lot more expensive and we don´t need so go for the first one.

Do not cut it with any sort of power tool as it will melt like plastic and make an awfull mess and you´ll find you will spend more time cleaning the piece up than if you cut it using a different method. A cutter for example (a decent one) will do the job. I find that to get a straight line, a metallic ruler does the job but of course feel free to use anything you feel comftable with to get a straight line.

So yeah, do a few runs with the cutter until you can see from the plexy border that you´re about at least half way there. Then you can bend it both ways (with care) until it snaps and you will have a clean cut. If need me you can sand the border down.

It goes without saying that you will have to measure the piece before you cut it so you know how big it needs to be. Have in mind to leave a decent space on each side if you´re going for as big a window as possible or you´ll find it prevents the side from closing on the case.



Once we have our piece ready we need to attach it from the inside side of the side panel. There´s several ways of doing this but I find the cleanest way is using decent double sided tape, for example, the 3M one is extremely strong and will do the job just find.



And we´re done, we can repeat the process for any and all windows on our case.

On a final note, if you decide you want to mount a fan if your sidepanel has the grill to do so, I would suggest you fit the window first (without the tape) and then measure where you need to cut to fit the fan. Personally I won´t be fitting a fan, I checked I didn´t need to temps wise and as a personal taste decision, I preffer it without one.

WOW looks great! Someone donate some blue extensions for this build! It would be amazing with them. 

Very freakin nice.

awesome job love the tutorials.

Thx for all the tips. Great stuff!