# Paint My Thunderbolt?



## CC268 (Jun 27, 2011)

So I will be getting a whole new casing maybe even screen from repair universe just to freshen up my phone and I thought about maybe painting the casing of my phone white just to see how it would turn out. Any recommendations on what kind of white spray paint to use, primer, etc?


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## samdevor (Jun 10, 2011)

i would sand it with some coarse then some fine sand paper, use a thin primer, make sure its for metal, thats about all i can reccomend
http://www.homedepot.com/Paint-Spray-Paint-Primers/h_d1/N-5yc1vZas1n/R-202531910/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

thunderbolt has an aluminum frame to it so im assuming you wanna paint that, after that you should be able to paint it whatever color you want, use minimal amounts of coats of paint or you may run into problems, post pictures if you do this, id love to see the results!


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## CC268 (Jun 27, 2011)

samdevor said:


> i would sand it with some coarse then some fine sand paper, use a thin primer, make sure its for metal, thats about all i can reccomend
> http://www.homedepot...catalogId=10053
> 
> thunderbolt has an aluminum frame to it so im assuming you wanna paint that, after that you should be able to paint it whatever color you want, use minimal amounts of coats of paint or you may run into problems, post pictures if you do this, id love to see the results!


the whole casing is aluminum? The battery cover is plastic so I would probably need to sand the plastic as well as the aluminum and use plastic primer and aluminum primer then spray with white spray paint right?


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## Turdbogls (Jun 7, 2011)

i actually saw someone that painted their phone (cant find the thread for the life of me) white. it looked OK.

and if the case is actually aluminum, best bet is to sand it down, primer it, and paint it.


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## CC268 (Jun 27, 2011)

alright thanks well i may or may not do it, but I think I will, I will have to buy like four cans of spray paint though, primer for plastic, primer for metal, white for plastic and white for metal..lol might be a bit expensive


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## Jaxidian (Jun 6, 2011)

If the body is aluminum, why not just sand it down, polish it, and leave it bare? If you don't like it, then paint it.


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## mkjellgren (Jun 18, 2011)

The thunderbolt does NOT have an aluminum unibody frame. It has aluminum structural pieces within a plastic housing but the only aluminum showing on the outside of the phone is around the camera and flash housing. The kick stand and htc logo are stainless. Everything else is plastic, mine is scratched/chipped in a couple places and it is VERY apparent that is is plastic and not aluminum. The htc inspire on att is aluminum and if you have ever held one of those it is very clear that the tbolt is plastic. Not that that is necessarily a bad thing, the plastic happens to actually be more durable than the aluminum. Anyway, you will still need to sand it down some and use a layer of primer otherwise the paint will look uneven and possibly chip off. Post some pics when it's all said and done. Sounds like an interesting project.


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## CC268 (Jun 27, 2011)

Got all the paints, one can of aluminum primer (which I guess I won't need according to the above post), one can of plastic primer, one can of white glossy paint, some medium and super fine sandpaper, and some painters tape. I may start this tonight. I should sand all the plastic am I right?


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## sk3litor (Oct 3, 2011)

CC268 said:


> Got all the paints, one can of aluminum primer (which I guess I won't need according to the above post), one can of plastic primer, one can of white glossy paint, some medium and super fine sandpaper, and some painters tape. I may start this tonight. I should sand all the plastic am I right?


I think you mite have to put a clear coat on it as well. But def. Post a pic. I polished my kickstands to a mirror finish and would be very interested in a white bolt


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## CC268 (Jun 27, 2011)

Yep got some clearcoat from the past already I will see if I can do it late tonight


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## sk3litor (Oct 3, 2011)

CC268 said:


> Yep got some clearcoat from the past already I will see if I can do it late tonight


If your taking suggestions throw a big lightning bolt on the back. Ha ha


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## CC268 (Jun 27, 2011)

what should I use to pry the bottom piece up so i can seperate the frame from the screen?


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## dvgb173 (Jun 8, 2011)

CC268 said:


> what should I use to pry the bottom piece up so i can separate the frame from the screen?


I think the guy who patched,then painted his white used a shaved down credit card.


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## CC268 (Jun 27, 2011)

started painting tonight...had to redo it once, strip it with paint thinner so I just redid light primer coat. the battery cover has been primed and painted and is looking good. I will say patience is a virtue on this particular job and the key is super super light coats. To do it right its going to take some time. I will finish painting the casing tomorrow morning after the primer is all dried and ready to go. I may add a clear coat to is as well


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## Jaxidian (Jun 6, 2011)

CC268 said:


> started painting tonight...had to redo it once, strip it with paint thinner so I just redid light primer coat. the battery cover has been primed and painted and is looking good. I will say patience is a virtue on this particular job and the key is super super light coats. To do it right its going to take some time. I will finish painting the casing tomorrow morning after the primer is all dried and ready to go. I may add a clear coat to is as well


Good luck on the painting and patience! Definitely interested in pictures!


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## CC268 (Jun 27, 2011)

yes will do when it is finished tomorrow. its not going to be a silky smooth finish, it will most likely be a bit grainy but I can't say for sure yet. should still look pretty sweet though


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## britewood (Nov 1, 2011)

I would have just purchased a decal skin for the phone. That way when it wears down you can replace it. Otherwise you're gonna wear the paint down and it will look terrible.

I saw some white decals last night from mightyskins (I think that's the correct name... Mighty something) and they looked sweet.


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## g00s3y (Jul 12, 2011)

britewood said:


> I would have just purchased a decal skin for the phone. That way when it wears down you can replace it. Otherwise you're gonna wear the paint down and it will look terrible.
> 
> I saw some white decals last night from mightyskins (I think that's the correct name... Mighty something) and they looked sweet.


Putting a skin decal on a phone is like putting flame stickers on the side of your car and thinking it looks cool. Don't say it's going to look terrible if you haven't personally done it yourself. If done right, which it seems like the OP is doing in taking his time with this project, it will probably come out looking awesome and stay that way for quite some time.


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## CC268 (Jun 27, 2011)

I had full white carbon fiber ghost armor. but unfortunately I dropped it and the corners still got scratched so this way i sand it down and it looks good. and i am getting a whole new frame for my phone from repair universe anyways so it doesn't really matter it was just a small project. this one was a bit rushed but if you really took your time on it it would look good. I am just waiting to paint the front of the frame now. and then once it dries a light clear coat


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## want a droid (Jul 23, 2011)

Can't wait for pics


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## CC268 (Jun 27, 2011)

Got it all done...its not perfect, in fact its pretty sloppy, but I didn't have a ton of time on my hands. It would look great if you took a lot of time on it. The front looks great but the back is not very good. Even with sanding and primer its difficult to spray paint it and make it look perfect. Super light coats are the key. Here are some crappy pics (sorry camera isn't charged right now):


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## CC268 (Jun 27, 2011)

Anyways I just ordered my new casing and backing so this casing will be my experimental one. Most likely I will strip it again and take more time on it


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## jr313 (Jun 10, 2011)

I think it looks good man. I dont understand why carriers dont offer up different color phones to choose from, im sure they would sell. If i had a choice of a white bolt or this color when i bought mine i wouldve chose white right off back.


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## CC268 (Jun 27, 2011)

I completely agree! The back is the only part that looks crappy. When I get the new casing and battery cover I will redo this one and take a lot of time on it. I don't understand why these companies don't do some better colors! That's the one thing I like about the iphone is how clean it looks and the white is awesome looking. Would anyone happen to know how to get the plastic piece at the bottom of the screen to stick down again and not pop up?


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## jimmydene84 (Jul 11, 2011)

Damn, looks pretty bad a s s in the pics!

Sent from my HTC ThunderBolt using Tapatalk


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## CC268 (Jun 27, 2011)

It is definitely sweet, but there are some spots I missed a little bit and its not completely even. One bad thing is I cant use my siedo convert case because the hard case just rips off all the paint, so I have to use a silicon case I have


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## Nick.Tbolt (Aug 14, 2011)

Definitely looks sweet.... I would have rather a white bolt

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk


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## jr313 (Jun 10, 2011)

Not sure what you would use to keep the screen glued dwn. You would need a clear drying adhesive.


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## Jaxidian (Jun 6, 2011)

Just use double-sided tape. 3m sells the real stuff and you can get it on Ebay for about $10 but a good double sided tape will work.


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## CC268 (Jun 27, 2011)

thanks jax will do


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## Jaxidian (Jun 6, 2011)

CC268 said:


> thanks jax will do


"3M Roll of Double Sided Adhesive 2mm Tape Rolls" is specifically what I purchased on ebay.


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## sk3litor (Oct 3, 2011)

Looks great! I as well am a huge fan of white


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## Texas_T-Bolt (Sep 25, 2011)

Gotta say dude very impressive I would do my candy blue glossy! Good job...


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## spencettu (Jul 15, 2011)

I just finished painting. Will post pics next weekend after the paint fully cures.


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## tadlock2699 (Aug 1, 2011)

Looks awesome thus far, and I don't really like white phones!



spencettu said:


> I just finished painting. Will post pics next weekend after the paint fully cures.


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## Turdbogls (Jun 7, 2011)

Nicely done. Looking forward to seeing the final outcome


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