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141 lines
5.6 KiB
141 lines
5.6 KiB
Title: ThinkPad x301 Restoration: Paint-job
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Author: Alessandro Mauri
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# ThinkPad x301 Restoration Project: Paint-job
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There are basically two options worth noting:
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1. Automotive spray paints
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2. Automotive vinyl wraps
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## Why Automotive products
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Automotive products have to endure use, flex weather and extreme temperature
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conditions (think about parts close to the engine or winter cold), so they will
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endure much better the everyday life of a laptop. Also the risk of separation
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or flaking is lower and resistance to moisture is much better than with standard
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paints or vinyls that are not designed to endure such conditions.
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## Using paints
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Using paint is the "basic" method of restoring any surface, basically it boils
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down to prep work and finding the right paints (color, texture, material
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compatibility etc.) but this process is very time consuming and very easy to
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mess up for beginners such as myself.
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The pros of the paint are:
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- Could lead to better results, closer to the original
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- Could be more durable
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- More options of color
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- More brand and quality options
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The cons of paint are:
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- Longer preparation
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- Harder to work with
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- Different materials need different paints and/or base coats (metal for the
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lid and plastic for everything else)
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- Harder to apply right
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- Harder to fix mistakes
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- Higher price
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One "paint" that [some people][pdip] use on old ThinkPads is PlastiDip, It is
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a rubber coating paint that goes on without preparation and can be peeled off.
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It has the best of both wolds, the ability to apply multiple coats while
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requiring no prep and being easily removable.
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Also, as seen in the video, the wear does not peel it like vinyl wrap, instead
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it "scrapes" off like paint which looks much better. Lastly I think that the
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texture and feeling is much closer to the original as with the vinyl.
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Unfortunately PlastiDip is not sold in my country (Italy) but there are some
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alternatives, or even resellers that import the original from America. Either
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way I have to research more alternatives and choose the best one, maybe even try
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some.
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## Using vinyl wraps
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Vinyl wrap films are thin, sticky, textured sheets of plastic which one can
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apply onto a surface, kinda like a very big sticker, in order to change it's
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color. This is not news for cars and for [laptops][dbrand], vinyl "skins" are
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a convenient way to change the color of a surface, they are removable, easy to
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apply and can form to most surfaces.
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Pros of vinyl wraps are:
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- Much easier prep work and installation
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- Good durability
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- "All in one" solution to the problem
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- Very cost-effective
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Cons of Vinyl wraps are:
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- Easier (by design) to peel and remove
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- Unsure about age and durability
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- Cannot double coat
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- Thicker than paint
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- More limited color palette
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- Very few "good" brands/options
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Two big cons of vinyl wraps are:
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1. Texture, since I would be using automotive wraps they are going to be as
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smooth as possible (I imagine); this is not good for a laptop since it will
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attract more fingerprints and in general make the whole thing feel worse
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to the touch, there is a reason why originally Lenovo went with a rubber
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finish.
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2. Damage is worse on vinyl; with paint if you scratch it at worst you reveal
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the material under it, in most cases you uncover the coat underneath. With
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vinyl wraps, since it is basically a big sticker, bumps and scratches
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risk peeling part of the wrap out, making it obvious it is not a real paint
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job.
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Another consideration is thickness, my plan for vinyl is to apply it on the
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completely disassembled laptop, in order to wrap a bit on the parts that are
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"internal" to the assembly, basically squeezing it to prevent it coming off.
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With a sheet that is close to a millimeter thick there is just not enough
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tolerance to comfortably fit it in between seems.
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Lastly, one thing peculiar about the x301 are the port icons on the up side,
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they wear out easily but I really want to recreate them if possible. This would
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require painting on the vinyl, which I don't think can be done properly.
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Vinyl wrap options:
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1. 3M brand, sets the standard for all things adhesive, widely used in the
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automotive space and in good quality [laptop skins][dbrand]
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1. [1080 series films][3m1080], cheaper and good enough for laptops
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2. [2080 series films][3m2080], pricier but newer and more resistant
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## Colors
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One part of a ThinkPad is it's color, black is the most obvious way to go, but
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what shade?
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There are many many shades of black and many more finishes. Do you want matte
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or glossy, dark or light, texture or no texture, metallic shine or not; you
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get the idea.
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While making an all white ThinkPad is an interesting project I think the best
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way to go is to stick with the default black, at least for the interiors, the
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lid may see some touches later on.
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Here are some shades that I really liked:
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### [Dead matte black][deadmatte]
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## Removing The Paint Altogether
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Another option, that would look good and also be cheaper is to remove all the
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paint and replace it with, well, nothing.
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There are many examples of people doing just this [1][np1] and although some say
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that exposing the bare metal and plastic to the environment will deteriorate it
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but maybe covering it with a protective layer will help.
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[dbrand]: https://dbrand.com/
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[3m1080]: https://www.3mitalia.it/3M/it_IT/commercio-e-servizi-it/new-car-wrapping-colours-1080/
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[3m2080]: https://www.3mitalia.it/3M/it_IT/p/d/b5005081006/
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[deadmatte]: https://www.sirvisual.it/3m-wrap-film-serie-2080/3m-wrap-film-2080dm12-dead-matte-black!0-9223
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[pdip]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQ1HCSXNHX8
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[np1]: https://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=121754
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