deskthority

Even though I had already restored a model F AT before, this time I wanted to do something a little bit more drastic: ANSI mod!...kinda.. I also wanted to give it a cool paint job as well.

When the board arrived, it looked like this:


Which actually wasn't as bad as the first model F I restored, so I was in high spirits at this point. I decided I wasn't going to sand-blast this plate, but instead hand sand it (mostly because I didn't want to keep pestering the owner of the sand-blast shop - that guy must think I'm nuts by now, going in every other week to get some keyboard plates blasted). When I started taking apart the insides though, that's when I realized this project was going to be much different than the first F I restored:





The foam had melted on to...wait, disintegrated on to - still no, assimilated with.... "become one" with the barrel plate, and even some of barrels.

I had never had to replace foam before, but I was up for the challenge!

The first thing I did was paint the top case - which went really well!





Next was sanding down the plate.





I read a lot of guides out there on how to replace foam, and settled on some art foam that I found at Hobby Lobby. I didn't have a template (at that point in time) so instead, I thought it was a smart idea to put some foam underneath the plate and then spray paint the plate, thus also painting the part of the foam that I needed to X-acto knife away:




As it turns out, using nothing but an X-acto knife to cut circles is the stupidest idea anyone can come up with....okay second stupidest idea anyone can come up with (keep reading...)



So I went out and bought a die to finish it



But I wasn't very happy with it, mainly because it was still all jaggedy and didn't look nice, which means absolutely nothing since no one sees it, but it still really bothered me, and plus I was worried the spacing was a bit off, since some of the edges for where I should have cut were a bit fuzzy.

That's when I got in contact with wcass (thanks again dude!) and he provided me with the templates that I needed for me to start over, and I was much happier with how the second one turned out




Now you're probably thinking "but gains, that one looks all jaggedy too, you should probably also redo tha -" NO. NO, OKAY!? FUCK PUNCHING HOLES IN FOAM. I DON'T WANNA DO IT.

*ahem*

So anyway, this is where the real challenge started: re-assembling the keyboard.

I consider myself a reasonably well-minded man. I got my bachelor's in mathematics, and my master's in teaching. Every day on the job I am teaching my students to assess problems before just jumping right into trying to solve them. I tell them to examine what might be the best ways to start each problem logically.

Well apparently when I'm off the job, FUCK logic!

I had all the barrels in with all the springs (i forgot to mention, the springs had all rusted, and some have split in twain - luckily I had a model F XT lying around and harvested the springs from it - BTW, did you know the flippers for XT and ATs are different? The XT has a trapezoidal looking shape, while the AT is rectangular) - I was feeling pretty good about this. so I elevated the plate a bit so I could hit the end of it with a rubber mallet to slide the tabs into place. So far so good.

Except, for some unknown reason, I put a block of wood against the side of the back-plate I wasn't hitting....so I was just hitting this backplate with a hammer over and over and trying to figure out why it wasn't moving at all. I just kept swinging the hammer harder and harder and harder, and eventually bent the end I was hitting....

I did that for like an hour before realizing that I'm a fucking moron....

after some time of re-evaluating my critical thinking skills and overall mental well-being, I went back at it with a more normal strategy and got them locked in place. But of course, I had done a bit of damage...so here's what it ended up looking like:






I can't really say I'm proud, but fuck me if I was about to go through re-doing all that shit again...maybe another day when I have free time and don't know how to kill it... I was pretty upset with my stupidity from earlier too, and I just wanted to be done with this project.

Overall, I guess I'm happy with it. I'm typing on it right now, and since you can't see the knicks in the plate while the top case is on it, you'd think it was a really well-done restoration!




I still need to make a converter for it. Right now, the backslash key/"such that" key (vertical bar key....set notation joke) does nothing. Also I'd like to move esc to where f2. I thought about also including the alt-key mod in the restoration, but decided I didn't want to cut the plate for the two extra barrels.

Anyway, even though it was a pain, and even though I had a brief moment of stupidity, I did ultimately have fun restoring the board. It works great now!

Thanks for reading!
またね。
//gainsborough.

I can't really say I'm proud...

Wrong, you should be! That's some solid work. That yellow foam looks great under the indy-grey! Without the proper tools a foam replacement is an annoying task. From my badge GB I know wcass is a very knowledgable guy. Fohat also knows about foam replacement. Good work! The AT is the most usable F, very worthwhile for a restoration like this. If you ever sell this drop me a line.

What paint did you use? Looks fantastic

What a magnificent painting work!!
You've got a PM.

I really do like this gray paint for the industrial look. What paint did you use? This would look sick with a black PC AT badge. Did you paint the bottom piece as well?

Getting all the proper tools been one of my struggles as well. It looks like you nice a nice job masking the badge and lock lights. I normally can get those out with some hot water and a very thin flat blade screwdriver (and some patience).

Yep, I've rarely seen such a good looking industrial paint job. Congratz!

I also wonder which paint you used.

Thanks for the post! I think you're realistic about how tough it is to do a great job with these boards. Every board I've worked on has one little thing that I know is just a tiny bit off and it drives me nuts. Always keep learning.

Dang, thanks for the compliments =) I will say that after getting some sleep and then walking into my office this morning, it does look nice!

Here's a picture of the paints I used - the front is the case color, the back two are primer/paint I used for the barrel plate:



Before painting the case,I used a "magic eraser" to make sure it was as clean as possible, then used some blue painters tape and an X-acto knife to cut the tape to just fit over the badge and lock lights sticker. When painting I applied 4 light coats - I wanted to try and keep the texture of the original, which for the most part seems to have been retained!

I ended up not painting the bottom case. I may decide at one point to do that, but I kind of like the grey top and beige/white bottom - it has an NCR-type vibe about it.

I have an AT that needs paint but will loose its texture due to the condition of the case so am just sanding it down all the way. It should be interesting trying to create a textured effect with primer + textured paint + hammered paint + final color + maybe a matte clear coat for protection. I was going to go with an off white paint but you may have me talked into gray now. I wish I seen this a week ago. I bought bought some Rustoleum dark machine gray paint and am hoping this might work out.

Also I do like how you have spruced up the layout without cutting the plate. Also you could just touch up the paint on the plate to cover up the bare metal and call it good enough as it would not be visible and should prevent any surface rust. I was considering having a barrel plate powder coated but realized this might be a bad idea if it chipped during reassembly.

Nice paint job and mix of colors.

Nice job, I am considering replace the foam mat with genuine leather, doable?

I don't see why not, as long as the thickness works. Not sure how it would stand the test of time. Seems like a neat idea but expensive compared with foam.

Mr.Nobody wrote: ↑Nice job, I am considering replace the foam mat with genuine leather, doable?

woah this sounds super cool! I definitely want to see pics if you end up doing this. Maybe your AT would take on some of the leather smell too!

JP! wrote: ↑I have an AT that needs paint but will loose its texture due to the condition of the case so am just sanding it down all the way. It should be interesting trying to create a textured effect with primer + textured paint + hammered paint + final color + maybe a matte clear coat for protection. I was going to go with an off white paint but you may have me talked into gray now. I wish I seen this a week ago. I bought bought some Rustoleum dark machine gray paint and am hoping this might work out.

I thought of powder-coating as well - I think it's more resistant to chips than just regular spray paint, but what would worry me is adding to much thickness to theplate - specifically around the barrel holes. It would be a shame if you had it powder-coarted, but then had to sand the holes down a bit to get the barrels to fit in properly. That being said, I have seen a few guides where he/she did powder-coat, and it turned out just fine. Good luck with the case painting, though! I'm interested in knowing how the texturizing turn out!

Mr.Nobody wrote: ↑Nice job, I am considering replace the foam mat with genuine leather, doable?

You are not likely to get it back together without clamps. The 1.5mm +/- (1/16") foams that most people use compress to almost nothing under the edge rim/feet of the barrels.

Maybe could use deer leather which is thinner

Paintjob can be a total bitch, I've done a restoration to my HHKB Pro1.. almost all came off
I need to give it another try. But yours look very nice, don't mind the few scratches on the backplate, you can't see it if it is assambled.

Cheers

removed.

cookie wrote: ↑Paintjob can be a total bitch, I've done a restoration to my HHKB Pro1.. almost all came off
I need to give it another try. But yours look very nice, don't mind the few scratches on the backplate, you can't see it if it is assambled.

Cheers

Thanks =)

alienman82 wrote: ↑I did this to mine recently with the exception of the plate. It was my second one as well, and I had similar issues with flaking paint. Needless to say, I didn't redo it either. I even did clear coat with several layers, i think I spent a week painting it.

I hope to do the 7u spacebar mad later to mine, and repaint the plate when that time comes.

Yeah that's pretty much my plan as well. Though, that time might be a ways off, haha.

codemonkeymike wrote: ↑Maybe could use deer leather which is thinner

Or suede but kind of overkill...in fact genuine leather can be really thin and soft...faux deer leather is perfect for this job...no need to kill the lovable animal for its skin lest some animal protectists on DT come and kill you.

Mr.Nobody wrote: ↑

codemonkeymike wrote: ↑Maybe could use deer leather which is thinner

Or suede but kind of overkill...in fact genuine leather can be really thin and soft...faux deer leather is perfect for this job...no need to kill the lovable animal for its skin lest some animal protectists on DT come and kill you.

I hit a deer last month, would have been a perfect candidate to test out this foam to flesh restoration. While we are at it we can paint the keyboard IBM (deer blood) Red

I've tried Rusty but the paint always seems to dissolve under even mild solvents like bodily oils and meth

I've been thinking of using superglue to coat it at a fraction of the price compared to other 2 part paints

Wingklip wrote: ↑mild solvents like bodily oils and meth

Unless you're referring to methyl-ethyl-ketone or methylated spirits?

Try a test surface for the cyanoacrilate glue, I doubt it'll look that good.

Wingklip wrote: ↑... like bodily oils and meth

codemonkeymike wrote: ↑I hit a deer last month, would have been a perfect candidate to test out this foam to flesh restoration. While we are at it we can paint the keyboard IBM (deer blood) Red

This thread has taken a dark turn! hahah.

I see you have a broken plastic clip that holds those wire stabilizers. My project AT has a broken one as well. Does anyone one have any suggestions for repair or replacement?

Wcass' washer trick might work in lieu of a replaced/repaired clip. workshop-f7/bringing-the-ibm-pc-xt-into ... ml#p187102

JP! wrote: ↑I see you have a broken plastic clip that holds those wire stabilizers. My project AT has a broken one as well. Does anyone one have any suggestions for repair or replacement?

I figured out how to fix it - or at least work around it. You can just use a stab (barrel insert style) from a model M. Works great!

emdude wrote: ↑Wcass' washer trick might work in lieu of a replaced/repaired clip. workshop-f7/bringing-the-ibm-pc-xt-into ... ml#p187102

Thanks for sharing that tip. That is some MacGyver stuff