Antec 900 Basic Mod Worklog

Sean89

New Member
I think slug busters are pretty expensive (I got mine from my metal fabs teacher), and have never used a hole saw, but the slug buster was really really easy and made a practically factory-made hole. If you can find someone (like an electrician) with a set of them, I'd highly suggest using them.

yea I know some electricians and mechanics they might have 1, how does it work u pre drill a hole and it has a piece on each side of the metal then u just tight it with a socket and it presses it in to cut it? or does it circle around like a bit to cut it
 

funkysnair

VIP Member
spray interior.... its a must!

you wont belive how nice it looks inside the case with it being black and good cable management
 

Kornowski

VIP Member

Yeah, for sure. Especially since you have the same PSU as me (and case). When you paint it black and get some good cable management, the cables are pretty much invisible. You can barely see them!

Lookin' good so far!
 

tuxify

New Member
yea I know some electricians and mechanics they might have 1, how does it work u pre drill a hole and it has a piece on each side of the metal then u just tight it with a socket and it presses it in to cut it? or does it circle around like a bit to cut it

Yeah, like in the pictures I took, you just cut a hole the size of the bolt going through the slug buster, then you put the pieces on either side, tighten the bolt, and it pushes the sharper, pointed side through to the bigger opening. Perfect cuts every time.

And for everyone suggesting to paint it, I plan on it. I just have to do the 2nd part of my mod, where I cut the hole in the bottom for the PSU fan. I got some flat black spray paint, and should get around to it today or tomorrow. I've seen the great pictures of non-gray interiors, and I fell in love :D.
 

Ramodkk

VIP Member
Yeah, I'd like to get one of those cutters, a 120mm (4.5") but I believe they're around $350, hehe
 

tuxify

New Member
I finished the PSU cutout today, and put the paint on, but for some reason the paint for the motherboard tray is really crappy quality. I've never spray painted before, so I probably just didn't do something right on that part. I'm going to re-paint it tomorrow, and post up the last of the pictures.
 

epidemik

Active Member
I've never spray painted a case before but I was under the impression you were supposed to sand first...

Danny did it, ask him.
 

funkysnair

VIP Member
I finished the PSU cutout today, and put the paint on, but for some reason the paint for the motherboard tray is really crappy quality. I've never spray painted before, so I probably just didn't do something right on that part. I'm going to re-paint it tomorrow, and post up the last of the pictures.

you need to clean the metal then sand it down with low grit sand paper (sanding gives the paint something to grip on to) then you use primer (grey primer) then spray it black.

whats happening to you is that the paint will be flaking off as the paint has not got anything to stick too!

what part did you miss out?

the sanding and the primer?
 

tuxify

New Member
I didn't sand or primer, but I probably should've.
Here's the rest of the worklog:

This is the tape I used when working on my case. Low adhesive blue painter's tape.
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This is how the PSU is going to be set. It is upside down from where it normally is.
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After a while of working on it, I finally found the center of the fan.
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Marked the center of the fan so I could cut around it.
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This is the case I was working on earlier to test out my cutting skills. I had never cut a circular hole in metal before with my dremel, and it was a good thing I practiced on the old case.
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Half of the hole cut out. Check out those kicks :D
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The cutting disc and dremel I used.
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The fully cut out hole. Not bad for my first try.
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The part that was cut out.
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I then drew out what I needed to cut out of the bottom of my A900 to allow the fan to run, and still keep the feet on the bottom of the case.
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Main arc cut out.
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Around the feet. Messed up a little on this part.
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tuxify

New Member
Fully cut out bottom.
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What was left over.
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It's kind of hard to see, but the first cut I did on the older case had pretty thick metal. The A900 has a lot thinner metal, making it easier to cut out than the older case.
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After I painted the case with about 6 layers of flat black paint. I didn't sand or primer the case, as I didn't think it would be necessary. Turns out it was pretty necessary, and now some of the paint got chipped off when I was installing the parts. It's not a big deal, but it's certainly a lesson for next time I paint something.
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It all fits as planned!
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Everything installed and plugged in. Couldn't have been happier with the results.
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Bottom of the case with the PSU fan poking through. I had to electrical tape the u-trim on, because it didn't want to stay on.
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With the side on.
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The lights in my room off.
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My entire setup.
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Before and After:
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I'm pretty satisfied with the results of this mod. On the next mod I try to do (and there will certainly be more to come, I had so much fun doing this one, and it was very basic) I'll make sure to sand and primer before I paint, among other small problems I had with this mod.
Thanks for reading my worklog. I hope you enjoy.
 

porterjw

Spaminator
Staff member
Looks nice - very elegant:) I'm looking for a new setup, too, I'll definitely keep that case in mind. Love your monitor - LG FWT!
 

Shane

Super Moderator
Staff member
tuxify that looks realy good :)

But yeah what i think is the best is to sand it down like Funky mentioned,then primer grey primer it...sparay it with Black plasticote and then buy a can of Clear Plasticote to give it a protective finish from scratches etc.

I heard that works well.
 
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