Custom PC - UK (2020-06)

Maskandgoggles

Most hardware stores

Acrylic spray paint

and primer

fatbuddhastore.com

Frog tape

Most hardware stores

Miniplastic greenhouse

amazon.co.uk

Microfibre cloth

amazon.co.uk

Plastidip

plastidip.co.uk

2 / USE SPRAY BOOTH AND PROTECTIVE GEAR

Wear a face mask and goggles in a ventilated area while spraying, and

it’s also worth donning some gloves. We recommend creating a booth

to contain fumes, and also to protect your objects while they dry. A mini

plastic greenhouse is ideal and also relatively cheap.

MODDING / HOW TO GUIDES

Spray-paint

motherboards

How to

3 / REMOVE HEATSINKS

Remove your heatsink screws, taking care to support the heatsinks

from the top side. Sometimes the heatsinks can be tricky to remove,

as the thermal paste acts like glue. Use a hairdryer on full power from

close range in 15-second bursts until the heatsink warms enough to

dislodge the paste.

Y

ourmotherboardmightsportRGBlighting,butthat’susually

the only way you can customise it to add a splash of colour.

However, it’s quite easy to spice up your board further using

spray paints. Traditional spray paints are easy to use and, as we’re only

talking about small areas, you don’t need to be a rattle-can expert to

get a good finish, nor do you need a huge amount of space.

As long as you have a well-ventilated area, you can spray the various

removable parts of your motherboard in a host of different colours, and

even spray the motherboard itself. If you want to be able to sell your

board later then you can still have some fun. Plastidip might not be as

good-looking as glossy acrylic spray paint, but it’s easy to apply and

removabletoo.

Antony Leather shows you how to

jazz up your motherboard’s shrouds

andheatsinkswitha coatofspraypaint

TOTAL PROJECT TIME / 48 HOURS

USING ACRYLIC PAINTS

TOOLS YOU’LL NEED

1 / IDENTIFY PAINTABLE ITEMS

Most large items on your motherboard can be painted, but you’ll need

to check whether there are fans lodged inside heatsinks, or if there are

displays on I/O shrouds, which you’ll need to mask later.

Wet and dry sand paper

Most hardware stores

Liquid electrical tape

amazon.co.uk