deskthority

I was wondering how I'd go about disassembling the case/frame of my Filco Tenkeyless to maybe paint the frame (or whatever it's called, that main piece of plastic on the top that goes around the keys and separates the clusters of F keys and such) a cool* color.

Firstly, for the actual disassembly... Are there screws under the rubber feet, or are there snap tab sort of things around the edge where the top part snaps onto the main bottom part of the "outer shell?" Really not sure how I'd go about taking it apart, decided I'd just ask you guys instead of trying something and ending up breaking it.

Second, for the paint... From what I've read about painting stuff like mice and PC cases and the like, I'm guessing I'd have to sand it down a bit first for the paint to stick well, right? Or is there special "for plastic" paint where you don't need to do any sanding? I'd be buying those cans of Krylon something-or-other you can find at hardware stores.


What do you guys think? Am I crazy? Any pointers? Thanks.

I'd probably wait until it heats up a little before I do any actual painting though so that I could do it outside (getting spray paint all over the place ftl); but I'm starting to plan everything so once I actually go about doing it it should be easier and I'll know what I should be doing.


* - Don't worry, I don't mean a "cool color" as in something totally flamboyant and obnoxious like bright lime green or neon lemon yellow. I was actually thinking maybe a dark Ferrari red type color or a dark navy blue.

If it was white I'd suggest dying it, but I'm guessing it's black.

The case does not have any invisible screws from what I remember. There is one under the warranty sticker though. The rest is indeed snapped on... VERY HARD. You will definitely feel like you are going to break it apart when opening it the first time. The construction is snapped together in a very solid way.

People suggest a butter knife usually, drag it along and hope most of them unsnap. The front ones can be opened in the same way and much easier afterwards.

Filco opening instructions here. Pay attention to the order and where the friction strips are located.
http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=Island:6342

Crazy9000 wrote:If it was white I'd suggest dying it, but I'm guessing it's black.

If he used a solid layer or primer, he could choose any color he wished.

sixty wrote:The case does not have any invisible screws from what I remember. There is one under the warranty sticker though. The rest is indeed snapped on... VERY HARD. You will definitely feel like you are going to break it apart when opening it the first time. The construction is snapped together in a very solid way.

People suggest a butter knife usually, drag it along and hope most of them unsnap. The front ones can be opened in the same way and much easier afterwards.

I used a guitar pick, it's my opener of choice for not damaging the plastic on stuff. Metal like butter knives and screwdrivers tend to nick the plastic casing.