How To Paint a Motherboard

[@hollisnelson5925]

Despite the colors being just a bit off, it still looks good. I would love to see the completed build all fired up.

[@since1876]

Give me a match and some lighter fluid and I'll get right on it, sir.

[@exquelioxv241]

@@since1876 nice one

[@JFHeroux]

Tip: You can go to a paint store and have paint made to match some already existing sample. So in this case, they could have sampled/scanned the paint on the graphics card and produced a spray paint that would have matched it almost perfectly. ;)

[@since1876]

If he does that, he will need to rent or buy a sprayer, or he'll need to paint it with a brush. And brushing can be hard if you have no practice. But, yeah, it's pretty easy to color match, these days.

[@JFHeroux]

@@since1876 As I said, they can easily make a spray paint (in a can) out of that color-matched paint. I had that done a few times. Paired with one of those plastic spray can handles, you get much closer to paint sprayer quality without needing to rent anything... or buying a freakin' expensive compressor. I have a decent 5gal compressor, it does everything else I need it to do. But if course, spraying paint requires a much bigger compressor. With one of those custom-made spray cans (which come with a good quality nozzles) and a handle, I can achieve almost the same result (so, decent amateur quality) without having to own a large compressor AND having to clean a sprayer (which I hate doing ). ;)

[@nimamaster6128]

I'd recommend to paint the gpu as well

[@JFHeroux]

@@nimamaster6128 Not a bad idea given the fact that the color-matched paint is never 100%... well, matching. ;)

[@XXxdjangox]

1 trick I learned from spray paint was if you work in a low temperature environment is to put the spray can in a bucket of hot water. It helps keep the paint from spraying unevenly.

[@BasedEMT1776]

I think the problem is more Florida's humidity. Even on a "dry" day, it'll be 80% humidity. It makes spraying anything a nightmare. I think he did well. In the future I would've primed it first with sandable primer, and then spray like 5-7 extremely light coats. It's what I had to do in Florida to spray anything and let it be smooth and nice. Otherwise, total nightmare.

[@hazardouscookies1164]

One thing that can be done with metallic paints to make them look a bit more, "metallic", is to spray a gloss black base coat before spraying the metallic. It makes it more shiny and pop out more.

[@Katjaneway]

I would highly highly recommend krylon fusion paint. It's meant to fuse to just about anything, including plastic and metal. I painted my MSI x570 Gaming Edge wifi board heat shroud/sinks white (the coverage of fusion paint is also incredible from black to white) which took a lot of masking as I wanted to keep the silver/mirrored accents on all the pieces. But it's held up really well and it looks great. Also used it to paint my RAM sticks (gskill) silver and the outside of the o11 dynamic mini [white version] black parts silver. I even painted the black thumbscrews silver and it sticks like a champ. Love that stuff.

[@andrewredding3132]

That texture from the clear coat is actually a reaction between the two incompatible paints. I've experienced this myself many times before, that's why I cringed when I saw you whip out the Rust-Oleum clear to go ontop of the krylon. If you ever need to use clear and want a near perfect finish you need the 2k "spraymax" brand clear coat.

[@blahorgaslisk7763]

That's something I wondered about also. But I think he showed that it got that crackelated texture after the paint coats. Makes me wonder if it didn't react with the original white paint already, and it wasn't the clear coat that caused it.

[@HighCastle0824]

Yeah, I got a similar effect when I was trying to paint my daughter's Dell prebuilt. I realized after the fact that I had gotten the matte clear coat, not gloss. 🤦‍♂

[@jawnTem]

You could also paint the GPU shroud to match. I've painted several of mine in the past. Some of that clear paint reacts to other paint and spatters. A clear glaze paint from an art supply might have been better. Some paint isn't conducive to plastic so care has to be taken to either prime-paint or use paint specific to plastic. Maybe even paint-highlight the case to match. Just offering suggestions not criticism, in case someone wants to replicate this. Awesome job Greg and final result.

[@MrGoodFella]

Looks great! To help with blotching you can wet sand after the first coat to make it smooth and than paint over it to give it a clean surface 😉🔥

[@blahorgaslisk7763]

There are a lot of things that could have helped, such as sanding before painting. Wet sanding between first, second and perhaps even third coat, more layers of clear coat for that deep shine. But this was more of a "Look how easy it can be done!" video rather than a "Look at how AMAZING finish you can get!" video. That might be an interesting second video though, trying to show just how far you can take it without having to go to ridiculous lengths such as taking the parts to a professional. Keep the cost at about the same just apply a lot of elbow grease and patience... I've seen some videos of people managing to get very close to perfect results when spraying cars using only spray cans, though they usually go for the custom blended paint to achieve this. Now I have never sprayed a car, just small parts, and even then I'm a whizz at making it run. So while I know the theory I can't claim to actually know how to do it IRL. Something I thought of was that I think he applied the paint just a little thin for each layer. I've been told by a professional painter that is one of the most common faults amateurs do when spraying. Thing is the most common fault is that you instead apply it to heavy and get runs. So consistently getting the coat just heavy enough it flows, but not so heavy it runs is part of what makes a good painter. Sounds simple enough... Oh I just remembered that ha also talked about painting wet in wet. In other words not wait for the paint to set entirely between coats. I guess that's another thing you have to learn or you will get runs. It was so much easier when my dad sprayed his cars. Sure he liked when they looked shiny, but most important was that the paint was thick and could take a beating while making sure nothing rusted. So it there were a run here or there wasn't that important to him. Now if he got a run in the paint or varnish on his boat on the other hand... So much time was spent sanding on that boat...

[@12Jsilva]

@@blahorgaslisk7763 id start with the basics of prep work. clean debris, sand to a thick grit for primer to stick, then THIN coats of the base color. slowly adding layers. so if you wanted something in a WHITE finish. use a light gray primer and do a base coat of white, then do a bright white. with what you said about painting wet to wet, id bet that applies to applying clear coat.did some work. for me, i'd rather do thin coats of Clear coat wet sanding and cleaning in between and letting it cure. with wet to wet coating, you run the risk of introducing dust to what you are painting and not being able to have the means of removing it. and yeah, the more coats, time cured,wet sanding and polishing. im not a professional, but i did my research and did some projects with those. turned out pretty great just using spray cans (automotive ones that have a wide fan nozzle)

[@welcometoronsworld6589]

I love that rough look it gives the motherboard character and a different look. Greg that is awesome for it being your first time that is dynamic. Greg you should do that more often.

[@shrek7428]

For the little texture, use a drill and sand bit and sand it down, then paint again after you blow all the shavings off, will look better. Also I recommend using a primer, it helps against that too

[@therealpixy]

WoooW! Shades of black and gold look good with each other! Nice jobs!

[@itsdarktrooper]

Been needing to paint my mobo white, thanks Greg!

[@zellar1]

AWESOME! I never even thought of spraying a MOBO!!! Thanks for the info

[@Tech215Studios]

Ok Greg I’m excited to see how you prep, clean and paint. The hidden secret that I swear nobody ever uses is “Thin Tape”. It’s what we used to tape up super intricate stuff. It’s super flexible too for turns and perfectly straight lines. Let’s Go Greggie Poo!!!!!

[@GregSalazar]

Ha! None of that needed with this motherboard! :-D

[@Tech215Studios]

@@GregSalazar Very True - I just got mad excited when the notification came through!!! 😂🤣

[@V-Amp-Customs]

You should paint the gpu fan shroud with the same paint so they both match each other.

[@martyburgess341]

If you warm the paint up( a bucket of hot water) for a few minutes before spraying it will flow better and it will fix the areas around the perforated panels.

[@mb14u2c2]

Metallic spray paints are a tough one to make look perfect but I think it looks great… I actually like a textured look better

[@glOckcOma]

Sanding between several coats works wonders and also hardens the paint so it doesn't chip easily. Sanding was definitely the key missing factor here. It's actually not tough at all.

[@watercannonscollaboration2281]

Okay that does look really good. I was not expecting gold to look really well on a motherboard but that end result looks cool

[@GregSalazar]

Glad you like it! I like that it looks so different.

[@philipowen7799]

Keep up the good work Greg I think your paint job is magic without breaking the Bank

[@kairon156]

I'm glad I kept my old MOBO. sure it's blue, light blue, and white but you raise a good point that everything black is boring. Also this gold on black looks sweet and I too wish modern MOBO manufacturers gave us more colour options. Not everyone are all that into RGB stuff.

[@Dracossaint]

you did pretty well for a matching the color! That beading and pitting is common with metal flake paints like that, the quickest way to deal with it is sanding it with 500-600 grit sand paper between coats. Which is a pain! A shame ya couldn't find that color with some self etching primer mixed in. Makes sense tho

[@patricktrakzel9657]

Spray from a larger distance Greg. Cost more paint but it will be worth it. The clear coat reacted with the color coat as well. You have to let it dry for at least 24 hours. You should spray the shroud of the graphics card as well for a uniform look. That would look awesome.

[@saurabhsinghmakrahi]

Ur channel is so educational...I've learned most of what I know about hardware from u 🙂

[@The1PatSmith]

Faults, Greg? - A blind man would be pleased to see them. - Great vid as always, and much appreciated. Have a super Christmas to you, your family and all your watchers! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🎄🎅🎄🎅

[@Grotomode]

I think it actually works interestingly this way. The darker shade on the motherboard gives the illusion of depth. ;) Also, despite the fact that the trend in coloured builds is to slap the same shade of a colour all over or to do two completely contrasting colours, it is a "thing" to have different elements divided in more than one shades of the same basic colour. Not just for depth emphasis or what have you, but just as an aesthetic choice.

[@Qassu78]

Looks like your paint wasn't fully dried before you sprayed additional layers so it boiled. A good way to avoid that is to use water based paints and for durability a two component epoxy clearcoat on top of that.

[@aytviewer2421]

The final result looks stellar! You should do a "bottom" coat or two on the reverse side and let it dry for a day. THEN, the next day flip it over and do your paint job. In my experience, it would have helped a bit with the issue around the holes as paint is already adhered to the hole edges an will not want to run down inside of the holes a bit, thus affecting the top's coverage. While you're at it, I think I would have taken off the GPU's shroud and given it a gold coat to match. Awesome job --it is inspiring.

[@shepherdoflight]

The color gold hasn't really ever set with me well but I can just imagine how good the build is gonna look cant wait to see it.

[@TheCrazyDevil95]

good to know, now i can spray next the computer really colorfull. thank you

[@MarcoGPUtuber]

Brings me back to the days when Greg was painting his GPUs white.

[@GregSalazar]

Like a BAWS

[@MarcoGPUtuber]

@@GregSalazar Like a Scientitian in his studio!

[@Gamingtechgg]

aaa hi gpu man

[@ogbenchmarks7127]

While I know you wanted to feature the GPU, the painted board looks so nice on its own that a black GPU (horizontal mount) would look pretty clean.

[@ToastyBeard_i]

Nice job painting the motherboard it looks nice well done

[@2528drevas]

I would have sanded the parts and use a separate self etching primer. Still looks good.

[@GregSalazar]

Honestly was just more time-consuming. Like I said in the video, this should last plenty long. My issue was more with the spray consistency itself.

[@johnstancliff7328]

knowing the original paint is powdercoated.... you did a good job... NZXT needs to offer their motherboards in more color options. wonder what a build would look like in purple, or green....

[@deebo429__]

Oooo looking forward to learning a skill i will never use in my life. Keep up the good content Greg!

[@darthmayhem2523]

GS - make more coats with the same amount of paint. light, light coats with metallic paints. I would suggest the primer too...it'll help with the pitting. All in all though it looks gorgeous and you're right - we need more colorful boards!

[@dmanpc1379]

Flash back to your older videos 😍😍😍😍😍😍

[@shaneomac8289]

13:41 it’s kind of like how the shades of gold on apple products changed. the gpu represents the older gold and the mbo is the newer.

[@PLr1c3r]

1st problem was not filling in the porous finish. Use a sandable primer, sand down first then use some body filler for the deeper pores. For the finish to match the video card you have to use some satin clear not gloss. Also when painting you always must sand between coats or at minimum between stages for the best results. And like "measure 3x cut once" philosophy you have to apply that to cleaning the pieces between any steps. Painting is one of the more meticulous things because small mistakes are very evident.

[@pronoob8213]

Thats so cool. I think I do a lighter blue very soon.

[@WolvenSpectre]

I knew it wasn't going to match because the card is Champagne and the rattle can was metal feck. You could also paint the card. Totally agree about manufacturer colourways. I am surprised that no company has done a custom colourways service for computer hardware other than cases.

[@naufalzaidan3259]

How about "How to cover your motherboard"? I want to make my own diy vrm heatsink and covers for my mobo lol. I want to cover it with full black colour like nzxt did with their B550 black.

[@brennonpitigliano1184]

Have the Z590 variant of the NZXT board. This is such a great idea I may have to try!

[@m_jameem]

That painted motherboard is looking so cool than the Graphic card.. Awesome 😎

[@iowadirt99]

Not bad for your level of painting skills. Have you thought about painting the GPU to maybe match the motherboard?

[@mrgoatbeard]

Definitely when adding spray paint to something it works better in the long run if you stripped and sanded off the old paint...lends to much better adhesion and a much smoother look, but definitely does take a considerable amount of time to prep. Primers are a must as well, but nice making me want to build a new one considering I am still rocking a Z-170 board so can't really upgrade anymore.

[@Jay_the_Caffeinator]

Thank you for making this Greg!! I love seeing what I could do to make my components stand out.

[@VEN0M415]

Honestly if that GPU had a black shroud but the thin parts in the vent area were gold that would have looked perfect in that build.

[@lanceripplinger8352]

Cool DIY project! Merry Christmas!

[@amy-joe5772]

I like that idea instead of painting the whole mobo it has the hammered gold look

[@ianseow12]

Looks good in the case, though next time, get the gpu color matched, buy/rent an HVLP sprayer, sand/prime the shrouds or at least prime, then spray many light coats, allowing time to dry in between, also use a makeshift spray booth, difference will be night and day, or if HVLP is out of budget, at least use s spray booth and do many lighter coats.

[@LuKoFi]

It looks real nice. Looking forward for the full build.

[@giovannip.1433]

I'm surprised that there aren't more custom cases. Just cut the mounting plate out of a case then remount it into another object with the use of spacers. Wooden boxes, laminated products, drums etc. With the right stand off you could mount a PC to the back of a free standing room fan, or in a ventilated cupboard under the desk or in an old printer or typewriter etc...

[@brando3342]

"If you enjoyed this video, be sure togiveitabightsdjupabandfhslike this video" Hahahaha that was amazing.

[@fhadesson9525]

I pictured this actually still looked great regardless of the color difference. If it bothered me too much I would have just painted the GPU shroud as well. Still, Bang on Job, greg. Amazing Job!

[@deebo429__]

Dont worry Greg, im color blind and cant tell the difference between the two gold colors. Looks great man id love the see it in a full build.

[@Masterwu22ontwitch]

I’m always hyped for an upload

[@flamestoyershadowkill]

Why not airbrush and use preshading? Primer also helps. Multiple tones of one color when well placed can look very nice

[@LBVFISH]

I think it looked great for the amount of time spent on it....if Greg wanted it perfect, he could have spent more time on it by priming properly, wet sanding to remove the orange peeling, polishing, etc....

[@jooolz]

Can you do a tutorial on making vinyl patterns next on mobo's or PC cases?

[@simohillali9079]

you probably should have painted the graphic card's shroud too, make it gold even, maybe it may look better, it deserves a second episode

[@rosvaldasbolys4504]

Perfect opportunity to do a video on how to paint a graphics card now

[@nophobia123]

if you would have wet sanded before applying the paint it would have come out a little better, also using a white self-etching primer would have promoted adhesion and possibly led to the base coat being a bit lighter color. not bad for a first time though.

[@sig3ldunc4nI]

Love the custom touch paint can bring to the table.

[@jaymacpherson8167]

A brand new can might have a few initial seconds of poorly mixed paint/solvent if it sat on a store shelf a long time due to the internal draw tube having poorly mixed paint. Also Montana-Cans makes awesome spray paint. Cool idea Greg! (Is “cool” still in vogue?)

[@eddiea3782]

I think it came out real good Greg. I really like the textured look.

[@GR-cd2kx]

Yeah that’s gold looks noice! I’m picturing it in a white o11 air mini…….

[@brads2041]

Good job. Nothing wrong with a two tone theme

[@ThomasAndersonbsf]

sounds like you needed a decent coat of primer over that original color, or a light sanding to rough up the surface more.

[@mrkacha7670]

Looks good Greg!

[@_Livid_]

I think it looks good. You probably could’ve gotten even closer if you’d have sanded inbetween coats. One thing I have to ask is, what’s the temperature rating on that paint? I know some paints get brittle and crack/peel went heated. If someone did this to a mobo they daily drive I wonder how well it’d hold up or if they’d need a special higher rating heat paint?

[@GregSalazar]

The stuff we painted on this motherboard is non-functional. We obviously don't advise painting heatsinks with this stuff. Stick to engine enamel.

[@mccullummedia]

I would take a litte brush or vinly, and paint the NZXT letters on the top of the IO part.

[@matthewwallis794]

That turned out really well!

[@bongodoug]

You are skilled at disassembling a GPU. Maybe paint the GPU the same color gold? Just a thought. I think you did great painting that NZXT mobo.

[@frank6048]

Damn that's an interesting topic. I think I've never seen someone talk about this. Edit : I have the same 5700xt, so this is especially useful for me, in case I dare to do this one day The motherboard looked amazing inside the black case, I'd love to have seen it with the GPU horizontally for now. You'll probably use some noctua fans for the full build. I'd have also painted the graphic card because since I already scratched the paint by mistake (almost invisible), keeping the original color it doesn't matter that much for me.

[@sevenfawm]

A champagne gold would have worked perfectly. It still looks really nice though

[@niteowl9733]

More coats of less paint per coat. Light dustings for the first 2 or even 3 coats. Let more super light coats until it's good. Pits happen when the previous coats were not dry or you went to heavy.

[@Mr.Morden]

I've seen some guides about using spraypaint and they say to heat the can up before using it.

[@ElTeeger]

Looks great! You should use the dominator ram sticks with this build. The design on the dominator matches well with the holes on the heat sinks and vram

[@Gamingtechgg]

that color scheme looks nice :D I'm curious about powder coating

[@stopstealinngr3960]

Why not paint both?

[@crazedgamerhd]

Here is how you fix it. just get custom sleeved cables with the two different golds and try to theme things around that

[@crazedgamerhd]

also do some gold on the front panel maybe

[@itsKurisudesu]

I don't know how painting on metal surface works the same as plastic, but if the same method could be done, first you gotta clean up the painting surface, give it a light wet-sanding, then apply thin layer of primer, then paint it with a silver metallic color, after that you paint it with a clear gold color. It would looks more similar to the gpu color imo

[@LEECHINLEONG0705]

Nice Paint Motherboard Gaming

[@officialbigfootresearchtea4950]

To make it lighter and smoother u have to lightly sand the dried paint to a smooth finish using a 000 metal soft sanding material..then after that applying your polyurethane in long smooth easy strokes and it will the best way to paint thus type of project..also when painting remember long smooth steady painting spray is the best way to paint

[@jaredvarner6099]

OMG! The Trident Z gold ram sticks.. would look good!

[@dermothoyne2393]

Probably time to need a request some GSkill Royal DIMM Sticks, to compliment this planned pkg....

[@joe_3105]

10:24 that weird texture while spray-painting is called orange peel because it looks like the texture of orange peel

[@unclejrok9083]

Yeesssss!!! You should do a GPU next. Most people (I think) want to customize a GPU for their rig

[@Joshuralize]

Boy you better be putting some Trident Z Royal RAM I'm that final build

[@ukjent3159]

love your vids. keep them coming

[@GroudFrank]

"Greg, what are you talking about this older card for." LOL some folks would be lucky to have a HD8000 series in this market 😂. Great video though👍🏿

[@dazeweeble]

Greg, What are you thoughts on possibly giving the GPU a coat of the metallic paint to match the mobo? Regardless can't wait to see how this comes together.

[@IIHydraII]

Looks awesome!

[@iam4740]

If you're wanting prograde results with a rattle can, wet sanding and clear coating is your "investment". While not auto perfect, very close.

[@whiskeredgundam7765]

If you can find some ram that matches the color of the gpu or paint some closer to the color of it. I think using the two different shades of gold will look awesome.

[@BRUTALSHANZ1988]

I would attempt to paint the GPU housing to match the board and keep the fans black.

[@dannyw6854]

you could hydro-dip these and have awesome graphics on them

[@internetjesus]

So, this build needs the TridentZ Gold RAM, yes?

[@jaredmyers4250]

I was surprised NZXT didn't go the route that PlayStation 5 did and offer different color plating. Hope they don't take your idea ;) Great video Greg!