Laptop LED Mod

My Laptop is really old and looked very boring. So I always looked for a way to make it look cooler. After my attempt of a stickerbomb housing went totally wrong I decided to make a cool looking LED/backlit mod.

There already are some Instructables on this but I found it hard to understand them so I´m going to explain it all step for step.

What you need:

- a laptop (I do not recommend to use a new/expensive laptop for this and I don´t take responsibility for damages on your laptop)

- a small sheet of acrylic glass in any color you want

- a cutter

- if possible a dremel tool and an exacto knife

- a screwdriver, glue, maybe some spray paint

This is not very difficult if you are careful with the laptop screen and work accurate. Basically all you do is cut a hole in the back of the laptop. Laptop screens have backlight and when you cut parts of the backcover away, the light will shine through it.

I will add some better pictures soon:)

Preparing the Laptop

The first thing to do is preparing the laptop. You have to remove the backcover to cut in it.
Be careful with the wires to make sure everything works afterwards.

Before opening the laptop remove the power cable and the battery!
Be aware that you loose the warranty of your laptop when you do this.

Foil Cutting

I made a template with my lettering and attached it to the foil on the back of the backcover to transfer it to the foil.
After that I cut the lettering in the foil.

Cutting the Plastic

To cut the plastic of the backcover I used a cutter and a dremel tool. Just cut out the plastic under the foil. I decided to cut it from the inner side of the backcover because I didnt want to damage the front.

Optional: Painting the Outer Surface

I removed the ugly stickerbomb with a knife and accidentally scratched the paint. After that I removed the paint on the whole backcover because I wanted to paint it. But after I finished removing the paint I quite liked the look, so I decided to keep it as it was.

If you made any scratches in the paint while working on the backcover or just don´t really like the color of your laptop, this is the point to paint it.

Adding the Acrylic Glass

I just glued the acrylic glass to the inner side of the backcover using super glue. Make sure that the acrylic glass fits in the housing before glueing it.

Putting It Back Together

After the glue is dried, just put it all back together and enjoy the result.

If you have any questions feel free to ask me :)