Now it is time for the money shot. The last thing you should always do before painting is wipe the parts down with a soft dry cloth. Look for finger prints you may have left and wipe those off too. Use some canned air (or a compressor like I have) to blow any lint or dust off right before you spray. Painting is the easy part. Keep the can 8-10 inches away and lay down very light coats about 5 minutes apart. You should be able to see through the first coat in some places. 3 very light coats will give you just the right coverage. Because the tray is hanging down on a wire, start by painting it from bottom to top, twisting and moving it or walking around it to get all the tight areas. Paint the area around the wire last. When painting the bezel, start by spraying the sides first the front of it. The reason for this is you don’t want to lay down a great coat of paint on the top then spray the sides and get overspray in the coat on the front. Allow the paint 24 hours to dry. Some paint companies will say you can handle it in 1 hour, don’t be tempted by this. You will have to handle these parts a bit rough to get it all back together and if the paint is just a bit soft you will leave fingerprints in it forever.
Putting it all back together
So you waited a day before touching any of the parts right? Now it is time to see the work pay off. If you took it apart you should be able to put it back together with out to much trouble. If not go back and read the guide again… If you have any parts that seem a bit sticky in operation try the soap trick I mentioned earlier. The final results are always worth all the attention to detail.
Conclusion
To sum up, careful preparation and attention to detail are the real secrets to quality results when modding. Painting seems glamorous until it hits you that all the work is in the prep. The actual painting takes only minutes. Most of the mods around are rushed and poorly planned. You can avoid adding yourself to that list of mundane mods by remembering to take your time and follow a plan. With a little patience and planning you too can wow with your modding skill.
