Masking and Painting a Project

A couple of years ago I was building a custom mod computer and needed to cover some wires.  I made a cover for them using some Plexiglas, masking tape, a clear label sheet, and of course some Krylon spay paint!  The techniques used here can be used for any project you want to paint. You are only limited by your creativity. 

What you will need:
Tape
Hobby knife
Sandpaper
Paint
Something to paint

Other things you might need:
Label paper
Mineral spirits (for clean up)
Clear coating

No matter what you are painting it is a good idea to lightly sand the surface.  This helps your paint adhere to the surface.   When you have finished sanding clean the surface with a tack cloth.  This is a sticky, gauze material, that removes the particles left from sanding.  Next prime your piece with, what else, a primer.  When painting or priming, start before, and stop after, the edge of your piece. Apply multiple light coats, instead of one heavy coat, to prevent runs in your paint.  If a run does develop, let the paint dry, sand down the run, lightly sand the rest, tack cloth, apply another light coat, run fixed!  Once your primer is dry apply your base color, in this case it is white.

Before I started painting I planned what I wanted the cover to look like.  Since this was going to cover some wires in a computer, I wanted to make it look dangerous, so I came up with this label.  Once I had my design I printed out multiple copies on a clear label sheet.  Although they look white, the letters are actually clear (printers do not print white), that is why the white back ground.  I could have used a white label sheet but I had the clear sheets and I think they would hold up better.

Using one of the extra labels I made, I covered the area where my label would go, that would keep my background white.  Next I painted the whole thing black. After the paint dried I used a 1500 wet/dry sandpaper to make the white dots.  Next will come three red stripes.  To make these I started with a piece of Velum.  This is a paper material with a light sticky backing but you could use painters tape as well.  Using a ruler and an X-acto knife, I cut the strips out and pulled off the strip.  Now any area not covered will be the next color.  I re-taped the label to the top to block off my white area.  This will give me a nice outline and background stripes plus keep my background white.

With the masking done, all that was left, was to apply the red paint.  To keep you lines sharp, it is a good idea, to remove the mask before the paint dries.  If it does dry before you remove the mask, using a sharp X-acto knife, cut around the edge of your mask to break the paint.  This will keep your paint from peeling when you remove the tape.

All that is left to do is apply the final label and coat the whole thing with a clear coat to protect it all.  You can also see the finished cover in place.  Yes, this is one the right side of the case.  Not something that will really be seen, but it was fun to do, and I will always know it's there!  I did put a window on this side and the letters light up. To see how I did the letters, see my Instructable at https://www.instructables.com/id/Glowing-letters-for-your-computer-case/.  I hope this Instructable has helped you and please vote for me.
Thank you.