Patrick Guest

Basically I have a dell m1730 laptop, but I hate the lid design, and want to create a smooth flat surface as a base for some airbrushing artwork.

The back is mostly plastic with two acrylic type wings. I was thinking about using some sort of fibreglass car body filler to create the smooth surface and then paint it black to create a background for the artwork.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Patrick

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Sorry for the poor photo quality my camera phone isnt really up to the task.

stressfreesoul

It looks very shiny as it is now, you will definately need to rub that down with some glasspaper for a key
surface. I think using body filler is one of the more original methods. Therefore it will probably work the best. Bear in mind, you only have one shot at getting this right, practice makes perfect! I think your idea will produce an excellent customised effect. You might want to check into The Mod Nation Forums for the nitty gritty advice. Most of those who would give you information in there will have done countless numbers of projects like yours.
I hope this goes well for you, do keep me informed, I love deep customisation like this. Airbrushing and grafitti art are both big parts of my life, so post me some pics to drool over!!

wrench97

Body filler chips/cracks easily and is really only suppose to be less than 1/4" thick the edges will be chipped easily, Fiberglass resin and cloth would be a better solution but I would remove the cover before any sanding or fabricating begins

Patrick Guest

Ive bought a second laptop lid off ebay to tinker with without risking my laptop. I work in halfords so have access to a large range of body repair items, looks like fibreglass is the way to go.

is this the correct procedure;

1) Roughen up the surface of the laptop case with rough sandpaper
2) Mix the fibreglass resin
3) Apply resin to case and lay on fibreglass sheets
4) Apply more resin
5) Leave to set
6) Sand as nessiccary

Any tips or corrections would be appreciated.

Patrick

wrench97

You can lay it up to 1/2" thick at a time and use fiberglass cloth on the top and bottom shred some fiberglass mat by pulling it apart to use as filler on the low spots let it dry and sand with 20 to 40 grit to even it out then lay the final cloth over top any small imperfections can then be filled with plastic body filler sand with coarse grit working your way up to 400 grit before painting.