I thought I'd customize some tech for fun.
I'm still in the mood to customize my own personal belongings. Last year I started simple with hydro-dipping, marbling, and acrylic pouring over upcycled food containers. This year I'm feeling brave enough to paint directly on some tech.
Continue reading to learn what errors I made and what eventually sort of worked for me.
My First Two Attempts Failed
Because I wasn't sure how this customized craft project would work out, I opted to practice on an old portable external hard drive. One side was textured with the company and product's name printed on it. The flip side was smooth and perfect for painting.
I used painter's tape to mask off the sides of the drive. I thought I didn't need to mask off the part I considered to be the 'bottom,' but I did manage to accidentally get paint on it anyway. I'd recommend masking off all areas of the drive you don't want painted.
I initially sanded the smooth side of the external drive with a 220-grit sandpaper. It roughed up the surface well. I applied 3 coats of Artist's Loft acrylic paint on the rough surface. I let the paint dry for several hours in between coats.
However, I struggled to achieve full coverage over the surface. I rubbed a paper towel over the painted surface. The paint came off too easily because the paint couldn't adhere to the surface.
I cleaned off the paint and sanded the surface again, this time with a 120-grit sandpaper. I thought if the surface were rougher or more textured that my acrylic paints would adhere better. That wasn't the case as the paint wiped off easily again.
My Third Attempt
I cleaned off and sanded the surface again, reusing the 120-grit sandpaper. This time I sprayed a single coat of Rust-Oleum's paint and primer that "bonds to plastic" according to the bottle. It claimed "fast drying," but I let it sit overnight before painting over the surface. Do you know if gesso would've worked in place of the primer?
Unfortunately, much of my acrylic paint was chunky or solid. I assumed it's because of the container the paint's stored in. I bought it on sale last summer, but the lid doesn't seal closed completely. So, the paint likely dried out, making it hard to thin and mix well enough to create a custom color. I struggled with getting the right color for the Freezer Bunny.
My Dad suggested that I got what I deserved for only buying cheap supplies that I'll never be able to create decent quality art with. Maybe he's right? I'm a cheapskate and hate spending money on anything, even when I was employed and earning a good income.
Nevertheless, I ended up with a design I was OK with. Actually I think it's cute.
Painting on another External Drive
I wanted to try again, but this time with version of the Freezer Bunny that appears as a pop art painting within The Sims4. I followed the same steps for masking, sanding, and spray painting over the top of an external Blu-ray drive.
Because I already had experience using my acrylic paints on the last project, it was much easier to complete this project. Since there were more layers, it also took a lot longer to complete. I let the paint dry for several hours in between coats and layers. This was my favorite project by far.
No Protective Coat
I didn't apply a clear protective coat or finish because I don't know what to use. I thought about using Mod Podge or an acrylic spray varnish over the painted surfaces, but I' afraid of messing something up. I'll do my research to see what others suggest, but for now they're going unfinished. If you have suggestions, please share them with me through the comments or email.
My Thoughts
Like any craft project I do, I thought this was fun! This was one of the longer projects due to the amount of time I left everything alone to dry. I can't give an accurate estimate on how long these projects took. I worked on these over several days because I wanted to make sure the paint was dry before repainting over it.
There were several lessons I learned through trial and error that I didn't research beforehand:
I should mask off all areas of an external drive I don't want to accidentally get paint on. I thought I wouldn't have to worry about the 'bottom' of my drives, but I still somehow managed to get paint on that side. Fortunately, acrylic paint is water-based, so it wiped off easily with a damp cloth.
Swiffer dry sheets are great for cleaning up sanded dust particles and dried up paint pieces. By the way, I also think Swiffer dry sheets are great for cleaning up glitter messes.
I can't simply apply acrylic paint over a sanded surface. It has nothing to adhere to and will ultimately wipe off easily despite the textured surface.
Acrylic paint probably shouldn't be stored in a container that doesn't seal closed completely. Some of the paint, which I've only had in the container for less than a year, was chunky or solid. I was able to thin most of what I wanted to use with some water, but some still went onto a surface thick and chunky.
Cheap beginner's paint isn't the best quality option for painting on something other than paper or canvas. At least to me they didn't work as well in both external drive projects. I could see the brush strokes clearly, unlike when I paint within my sketchbook. I also found it challenging to mix different pigments to get the 'right' color of the Freezer Bunny. I'm not entirely sure if that's because I was using cheap paint.
Spectrum Noir Metallic Markers and Sharpie Paint Markers don't layer over the acrylic paint well. They appear streaky over the acrylic paint I used. They do layer well over one another and other mediums though.
Screw perfection! Initially I tried to replicate the Freezer Bunny "to a tee," but I'm not a good enough artist to do that... yet. I especially couldn't get the colors right, so I gave up trying to replicate the Freezer Bunny exactly. I'm glad I did because I had more fun free styling the pop art painting, which looks more like the original than when I tried to replicate it exactly.
What's Next?
I'll share a post on customizing My Nintendo Switch Lite cover after it arrives one day eventually. I may also have a part two on customizing external drives (I have a lot).
For now, I'm curious to know... Have you or are you interested in customizing your own belongings? Login and Sign up to share what you've personalized, your lessons learned, or why you haven't yet customized something. I'd love to hear from you!
Don't forget to subscribe below to be notified by email when I post something new.
Thanks, and have a great day!
Simply Jelly Jam
Comentários