Area-51 R1, Disassembly, repaint, etc.

I forgot to ping (hopefully) @Cass-Ole for some help. 

CmndCntr > Vents > check box 'keep vent position at' > closed - mid - open < try mid or try open, see if that does it … (Set a fixed vent position. The temp/fan-speed-based vent position option seemed to me a gimmick) … as I said, what the vents do & how many times the fans rev or not is can or will be a function of which W10 build you're on, different builds can produce different start-up behaviors, lol …

Corsair Ax1600i | Seasonic 1300 | NZXT 1200 below … sometimes fan can jut out a tad for better leading edge of air flow in, or outermost fan edge will orient about at the metal edge (Ss1300), regardless u still get maybe 1/4" 5/16" gap = 'just enough room'

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@Cass-Ole wrote:

You'll ruin the top panel before u get it separated from its backer (I assume u want to 'push' the dings back & otherwise flatten them starting from behind, but u really can't),

so for the panel dings I'm forced to suggest 'Bondo' then sand then prime then paint, or try to find a new panel & paint it

 

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Yes, I was planning on using bondo.  It's not visible in the photo, but there is also a crease in one side which I was hoping to clamp down to a more or less flat position before working on it. The epoxy I suspected might be the case, but unfortunately not what I wanted to hear. I might try finding a clean replacement.  There's only one listed on eBay right now, but like more than the entire PC. 

The white looks good.  I was going for anodized metallic blue, with a two-tone look.  So paint the doors and side panel metal parts blue. But leave the vents black.  If I can find a black front bezel that would be ideal to match the vents.  Otherwise, the front bezel will be blue too.  I'd prefer a back ALX front panel to get the two toned look if the price was right, and then swap with an ALX MIO board.  

Yeah, I also don't really want to cut out vents in the chassis for the PSU fan, detracts from the original look.  The filter is a good idea with the fan sticking out.  I also like the idea of painting the inside chasses like in your first photo.  I hadn't thought about that either. 

 Oh this is funny, the "glitch" you're describing is exactly the behavior that I want them to do.  I was trying to get the vents to stay up when I shut down the PC but they keep closing. So I guess it's working correctly now, and was glitching before.     https://www.alienowners.com/threads/area-51-r1-fix-top-vents-not-closing-w-windows-10.8004/

Hi, Cass,while you are helping r72019, can you help explain how to remove the top vent and repair a broken spring of the front USB ports in front of the first fin?  It seems a common problem that the FIO port stays down and not bounce back to full height when pressed.  From your past post you said it is due to a broken spring.

What cables does one need to disconnect before the vent can be physically separated from chassis?  And to repair a broken spring, does it mean the spring retainer plastic is broken from the USB port which needs to be fixed?  If yes how?  Thank you.

1) Remove both door panels 2) Remove / unscrew both top smoked-acrylic trim pieces 3) Unbolt top vent assembly on both sides 4) Inside case, in the upper-right DVD/Floppy bay area, there's a cable with mostly red/org wires & x3 connectors (normally held by a plastic cable strap), disconnect the x3 connectors (x2 LED strip x1 vent motor) 5) the front panel bezel is held by clips, unclip the top ones on each side of case & 'pop' the front panel 'out' a half inch or so, in order to give room for the front I/O area of vent assembly room to lift up & out 6) lift vent assembly up & out

Pics were on page 2 & 3 of A-51 R1 front panel 10-1 USB to ASUS 20-8 panel pin

7) Using page 2 pic of vent assembly front I/O area (viewed from underneath), inspect if the spring is there & attached (if so, 'remove two screws', slip out the I/O portion & 'test' the up/down clicking action. I/O portion can also be disassembled, you'll see two large-headed screws, unscrew those to understand how the I/O portion fits together & works & to look for abnormalities in the spring/clicking action). Repair if needed, re-afix spring if needed & reassemble everything

7A) Typically, the plastic 'hole' where spring afixes is thin, it cracks & the spring breaks free. If the plastic is cracked, 'remove two screws' & slip the I/O portion out. Page 3 shows the front of spring & a 'repaired' black ABS-type plastic where the spring afixes (the hole where the spring-end clips on). To repair, 1st I used superglue on the crack. Next I got a typical black zip-tie, cut a small 3/8" strip & super-glued it onto the plastic as a backer which could reinforce both sides of the crack. That may be enough as a repair to get by. However, I then used a soldering-iron to lightly plastic-weld the ziptie to the repair area (melt portions of ziptie to ABS plastic), then hit it with a dollop of black plastic 'liquid-tape' just because … good luck with yours

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@ r7 > AlienOwners has a recent thread on looking for front panels. I check eBay more than I'd like to admit for spare parts over the past 7years, & front panels have dropped off the map in the past 2-3years (from google too), very hard to find these days.Taobao.com used to have them but u need a foreign buyer or middleman to help w/buying & shipping etc (may have to join the site just to search items also)

I have my own not-well-documented nor well-worded process (1 | 2) to detach the top panel from the rest of the body, but, an owner told me he unscrewed & removed the top black shiny metal portion where the silver power-on button resides (see the red circles) & later slipped the top panel out (see text below), but I haven't tried that way. Also note that if painting, both chrome sides are removeable, they can clip off & clip back on etc (see blue parts)

"I started by removing the bottom cover that gets hidden when the ODD Door is in the down position by pressing the 4 retaining tabs on the backside of the bezel.

Then get the ODD Door bottom guides off the tracks and keep the Door in the down position.

Take a philips head screw driver and unscrew the 4 screws holding the top panel with the power button, the bottom screws can be unscrewed at an angle.

Then remove the ODD surround by popping out the top two clips then the bottom two and pull up and out carefully, it will pop out of place by slightly moving the ODD Door forward a bit. Remember the ODD Door must be the furthest down it can go. You can then push the two top guides on the ODD Door towards each other gently then remove the ODD Door"

***Vents: scroll down to Privacy and turn ON 'Use my Sign-in info' etc to induce glitch?

***PSU fan clearance: I re-checked just now, my Ss1300 has more like 6/16" - 7/16"+ of room to breathe, & there are 5 'slits' in that top metal floor portion of concern which are 'open' & laughably could represent extra snorkels to grab air, little as that might be. Ideally u want the PSU fan to also be a 'case fan',  so when choosing a PSU, try to avoid a 'silent operation' PSU that won't kick the fan on until a certain temp is reached, & do try one that kicks the fan on low by default etc

Just remembered … above is a blurry-ish pic showing the plastic 'backer', such that the reality is the top panel is in fact three parts, like a sandwich:

1) the true backer above (bottom slice of bread)

2) the painted aluminum 'face' or skin (top slice of bread)

3) the plastic backer that the skin is epoxied to (thin meat in the middle) which ultimately 'clips' onto the backer seen above

Such that the painted skin/face can remove from the backer above … the painted face is epoxied to another thin plastic backer that clips onto that backer above, clips in several places & to remove the face (to separate them) you have to prise them apart / break them free / break the clips free. I have no guide better than that, other than the above bezel was damaged & as a test I removed the painted skin from the backer, probably not caring if I damaged it in the process or not, I cant remember. I cant say that if u attempt to separate the skin from the backer that it may help with a crease repair or a paint job, but with care & if u feel the need to try u can try to free the skin off the backer at your own risk … I think I used just my hands to do it, may have enlisted a tool like a paint scraper / spatula etc as a 3rd hand

edit: with that said, the fact is the painted skin still does have a backer epoxied to it & you'd most likely damage it in the process of trying to separate them for a ding repair attempt as I said in my 1st post (*I also tossed whatever skin I removed & cant provide a pic of what the 'true' back of the skin looks like after removal*)

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@Cass-Ole wrote:

 

Just remembered … above is a blurry-ish pic showing the plastic 'backer', such that the reality is the top panel is in fact three parts, like a sandwich:

 

 but, an owner told me he unscrewed & removed the top black shiny metal portion where the silver power-on button resides (see the red circles) & later slipped the top panel out (see text below),

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1. Awesome, thanks so much!  I did it your way.  Except, note, the sandwich goes sideways, not top to bottom, so the metal plate is in fact removable from the plastic (no epoxy holding it in place, just clips, no damage to remove).  There are two strips on the side that are epoxied, and the rest snaps into place.   Photos shortly. 

2. I thought so too looking at it yesterday, and the first thing I did when I came back to it today was remove the top power button.  But it doesn't come out that way (it's locked at the top and cannot slide out unless you twist it at an angle perhaps, but that seemed risky) and as far as I can tell there serves no purpose in removing either the back of the alien head button or the top power button.  Your way, out the bottom, seems the only way to go. 

Photo 1. 

Photo 2. 

Photo 2

Photo 3. 

Photo 3

Photo 4. 

Photo 4, part 1. 

Out of space, need to start new reply. 

Photo 1.  Back of the alien head button.  Don't remove this piece.  The metal bracket is plastic melted in place, it doesn't come out this way. Put back on. 

Photo 2. Unclip LED cable.  Mark which side is up. 

Photo 3.  As you noted, remove the chrome pieces, three clips per tab and they glide out.  Red arrows. 

Photo 4.  I don't see the purpose in removing this piece, the backing for the power button. But it was already out and will help with painting so I left it off. 

Photo 4, part 1.  Take a snapshot how the ribbon goes back into place, mark which side is up. 

Photo 4, part 2.  Tape the LED ribbon so it doesn't get in the way. 

Photo 5.  The metal separates from the plastic with just clips.  The edges only are epoxied. 

Photo 6.  Example, clips, there are a lot of them about 10. 

Photo 7. Damage - before straightening out. 

Photo 8.  After.  I think even with sanding and Bondo the overall piece is going to have imperfections.  At the end of the day I'm thinking I will need a new bezel. Hopefully something pans out.  This is probably just a good practice exercise for now.  I'll paint this bezel piece first just to get an idea if the color I've selected is any good (Anodized Metallic Blue) or if I need to change to a new color.  Paint en route, eta 2 weeks (ground shipping only). 

Photo 4, part 2. 

Photo 5. 

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Photo 6Photo 6

Photo 7

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Photo 8

Also, I can't believe how easily this thing scratches.  The pcie plexi sliding door cover piece did this.  I lined them up sideways in a box. I mean, I'm going to paint it anyway so not too worried, but doesn't mean I want to go out of my way to ding it up. 

Is there a follow-up post to this awesome project?