Hello good folks in the Lemmy Thinkpad community!
I have recently built a T420 from parts. Things have been running well. Since it’s mostly from scraps, it’s far from perfect, but it works.
One of my pet peeves is some discoloration along the edges and corners of the top cover. I am guessing this is the part where the paint got worn off from bumps and frictions. Is there a way to restore it? I honestly don’t care about the rubberized coating, but having that consistent matte black would be really great.
I was thinking of that plastic model paint. Would it work well?
Also, the back part of magnesium chassis that’s supposed to be painted black seems to have its bare color exposed.
The only reasonable thing is to disassemble, sanding it down and then spray painting it. Even if you get the color right, the texture of the missing rubber coating will always make it stand out.
the discolouration looks pretty cool ngl
I feel like repainting it would make it look more janky, unless you repaint the whole cover
I have the same discolouration on the corner of mtyt430 btw
I also kinda enjoy these “battle scars” on my ThinkPads. Shows that it’s a well used tool.
You could consider applying a vinyl wrap or something similar?
![[HELP] Discoloration on the Exterior of T420(sopuli.xyz)](https://sopuli.xyz/pictrs/image/4231b336-77e5-4fb7-9bbd-d792a8133511.webp){kind=link}
Sandblast and armonite?
It’s the rubberized coating itself that came off. I had the exact same look on a remote control where its rubberized coating began to wear.