alemauri.eu/src/x301/paintjob.md

Title: Thinkapd x301 Restoration: Paintjob Author: Alessandro Mauri

ThinkPad x301 Restoration Project: Paintjob

There are basically two options worth noting:

1. Automotive spray paints
2. Automotive vinyl wraps

Why Automotive products

Automotive products have to endure use, flex weather and extreme temperature conditions (think about parts close to the engine or winter cold), so they will endure much better the everyday life of a laptop. Also the risk of separation or flaking is lower and resistance to moisture is much better than with standard paints or vinyls that are not designed to endure such conditions.

Using paints

Using paint is the "basic" method of restoring any surface, basically it boils down to prep work and finding the right paints (color, texture, material compatibility etc.) but this process is very time consuming and very easy to mess up for beginners such as myself.

The pros of the paint are:

• Could lead to better results, closer to the original
• Could be more durable
• More options of color
• More brand and quality options

The cons of paint are:

• Longer preparation
• Harder to work with
• Different materials need different paints and/or base coats (metal for the lid and plasic for everything else)
• Harder to apply right
• Harder to fix mistakes
• Higher price

Using vinyl wraps

Vinyl wrap films are thin, sticky, texturized sheets of plastic which one can apply onto a surface, kinda like a very big sticker, in order to change it's color. This is not news for cars and for laptops, vinyl "skins" are a convenient way to change the color of a surface, they are removable, easy to apply and can form to most surfaces.

Pros of vinyl wraps are:

• Much easyer prep work and installation
• Good durability
• "All in one" solution to the problem
• Very cost-effective

Cons of Vinyl wraps are:

• Easier (by design) to peel and remove
• Unsure about age and durability
• Cannot double coat
• Thicker than paint
• More limited color palette
• Very few "good" brands/options

Vinyl wrap options:

1. 3M brand, sets the standard for all things adhesive, widely used in the automotive space and in good quality laptop skins
2. 1080 series films, cheaper and good enough for laptops
3. 2080 series films, pricier but newer and more resistant

Colors

One part of a thinkpad is it's color, black is the most obvious way to go, but what shade? There are many many shades of black and many more finishes. Do you want matte or glossy, dark or light, texture or no texture, metrallic shine or not; you get the idea. While making an all white thinkpad is an interesting project I think the best way to go is to stick with the default black, at least for the interiors, the lid may see some touches later on.

Here are some shades that I really liked:

Dead matte black