DazMode

More and more people are getting bored with dull and boring gray colored interior of computer cases. The HAF932 is not an exception from the list, so my first project for DazMode was to make our water cooling lab system more visually appareling with some black colored interior.

Not the smartest thing to do, but I intentionally did not read any tutorials to see how many mistakes I will make. Nothing earth shattering at the end, but some things could be done better. Read along.

First order of business is to pay visit to your local hardware store to get some spray paint. In my case we got 1 can of TREMCLAD gray primer and 2 cans of TREMCLAD black flat paint at Canadian Tire. The paint was on sale for $5.99 ea. So, if everything goes as planned, the upgrade cost is about $20.

The second item to buy (if you don't have it already) is a paint masking tape to protect parts that are already black and do not require re-painting. I used 3M Scotch tape I had left from my last home renovation.

The third set of items on my preparation list: some cardboard to cover larger pre-painted areas and set of screwdrivers. For HAF case you need 3 types: small flat, phillips and T-type for the top fan screws.

As all parts were in place I was ready to go!

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It takes 43 muscles to frown and 17 to smile, but it doesn't take any to just sit there with a dumb look on your face.

Some pictures of HAF packaging and case itself, before it get abused:

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It takes 43 muscles to frown and 17 to smile, but it doesn't take any to just sit there with a dumb look on your face.

Initial preparation for spray paint job requires all plastic parts and fans to be removed. With exception of 5,25" drive bay fixation latches, it was the easiest part of the project.
All you need to do is to remove and collect all screws in one safe place and store all removed parts in a box.

I have experienced only two problems:

1. It was not obvious how to remove 5,25" bay fixation latches. The proper solutions was to lift left side of the latch with a small flat screwdriver above metal bump on the cage surface and slide the latch towards back of the case. BEFORE SLIDING THE LATCH, MAKE SURE THAT LATCH DRIVE FIXATION RODS ARE NOT PRESSED THROUGH THE CAGE BODY. If they are, just press the button to release it.

Also make sure you don't lose any parts from latch assembly, especially two springs and make a note how latch was assembled (see picture below).

2. The second problem I have had experienced was removing lower front grill. Do not pull it too vigorously or you will end up with the same result as I did! If you do too, pay another visit to your hardware store for some super glue.

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It takes 43 muscles to frown and 17 to smile, but it doesn't take any to just sit there with a dumb look on your face.

Your end result should look like this:

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It takes 43 muscles to frown and 17 to smile, but it doesn't take any to just sit there with a dumb look on your face.

After some consideration, initially I have decided to paint case's interior only, while leaving side panels as is. The rationale for that was the fact that you can not see other side of one panel anyway plus I wanted to see if gray color of other panel behind motherboard would create some sort of shadow effect. Have to say right here, that I opted to pant back panel as well after checking the result.

As I have made my mind about what to paint, my next task was to mask all the black parts of the case.

If you have a box from keyboard lying around you can use it as it has perfect size to cover the top and bottom of the case. Using cardboard as protection was my first mistake. As I learned later spray paint got between cardboard and case, not a lot but noticeable.

Another "great" idea I had was to use UPS and Canada Post pouch self-adhesive labelopes for quick and easy cover up of large flat surfaces. This turned to a quite bad experience of removing damn plastic pouches with some glue left on the case body. So, additional self-imposed step of cleaning brand new case was introduced to the mix.

Overall the best practice is just cover everything with masking tape and be happy.

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It takes 43 muscles to frown and 17 to smile, but it doesn't take any to just sit there with a dumb look on your face.

As case is all masked up and all labels were removed, I was ready to prime it.

Some tips:

1. Believe me, you want to do this outside or in well ventilated area.
2. If working outside, make sure that is not windy day.
3. When painting large flat surface kill your urge to spray too close to the surface or you'll end up with paint runs. Patience is you best friend.

As all done, leave your case overnight to completely dry up.

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It takes 43 muscles to frown and 17 to smile, but it doesn't take any to just sit there with a dumb look on your face.

Next day I used what I have learned while priming the case and finished job with black paint. At the end, it is good idea to let case to dry for 10-15 minutes and check for missed spots. When satisfied let it dry till the next day.

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It takes 43 muscles to frown and 17 to smile, but it doesn't take any to just sit there with a dumb look on your face.

Next day is time to review results.

Not bad, but...some learnings.

1. As I have mentioned earlier removing UPS/Canada post labelopes was a big pain although they did a great masking job. Glue removing task was unexpected bonus.

2. A few spots were missed and need to be painted a bit more, especially in the corners under masking tape. Basically bottom of the case was painted perfectly and top is not, so it a good idea to put case upside down when doing second coat.

3. "Shadow effect" was a plain stupid idea, so panel behind motherboard has to be painted as well.

4.Got some primer between cardboard and top of the case. Ouch!

5. Need to paint some external screws for power supply and power supply cover.

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It takes 43 muscles to frown and 17 to smile, but it doesn't take any to just sit there with a dumb look on your face.

After second round of painting I've got what I wanted. The last task was to get case assembled. Nothing special - easy job.

This is matter of personal taste , but I have got rid of front 230mm red-LED fan and replaced it with black 230mm from the case's top. There is no need for interference with UV light I plan to install.

Everything looks as I wanted and ready for system build up, but it will be project on its own.

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It takes 43 muscles to frown and 17 to smile, but it doesn't take any to just sit there with a dumb look on your face.

Hey man,

I decided to paint my case, bought the items in your post but was wondering, do you have any paint chipping? I read other tutorials on overclock.net which seem grueling but they stress that you should use self etching paint and sand paper process.
Can you tell me how is your method working out, it seems waaaaaay easier to do and i really would prefer doing it that way

Yes, I do have some chips, but because of testing I removed and put sides back probably 50 times or more... Sanding will help to bond paint better, car paint will be even more stronger.

But, as with car paint chips if you bang metal hard enough against hard surface or scratch it with sharp object you will get damage with any type of paint.

Keeping in mind amount of physical abuse my case got for last 3 months , I'm pretty happy with result as it is and I will do just the same next time.

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It takes 43 muscles to frown and 17 to smile, but it doesn't take any to just sit there with a dumb look on your face.