09-09-2006, 10:23 PM

Well, it was either Calculus II homework or working on my newest toys (my Apple G3 & G4) and guess what I chose...

After seeing a few people post "how-to" articles on making your graphite G4 clear, I was very interested. After all, a clear G4 is just plain cool. Add to that I had already ordered some blue LED fans to replace the fan in the power supply and side case fan, and it would look especially cool with clear sides. So I got to work...



Here is the test subject with CD/DVD drive dismounted.



From the side. The graphite G4 is one good-looking tower in my opinion, but I can make it better... I hope.



Here are the innards with side case fan, power supply, and CD/DVD drive removed. This is where it all starts...



To take the side panels off, simply remove the 4 hex screws and then pinch the plastic tabs on the side and pull the panel off. Pinching the middle thing is pretty hard, but I finally grabbed it just right and "BAM," it popped off with my heart pounding believing I had broken it. But all is well and I continue...



Here the motherboard is removed. There are 4 screws to remove for the logic board, then you have to take the heatsink and processor off. Carefully use a screwdriver to pry off the heatsink clips, then unscrew the 3 screws and pull the processor board directly upward. Be very, very careful. Then there are 3 standoffs where the processor screws into. These have to be removed; using a nutdriver worked perfectly.



The removed parts. Make sure to keep track of the screws. I like to screw them back into place after removing parts so I know for sure they will be in the right place.



Taking the pull tab off the side is a little difficult, so be very careful. I pried it off carefully with a small screwdriver. The motherboard-side panel comes off by removing the 4 hex screws and then the 2 screws above the tab clip thingie. You HAVE to remove the motherboard and processor to take this side panel off!



I used 91% isopropyl alcohol but the higher the percentage the easier it is to remove the paint. I tried finding 97 or 99% but I could only find 91% at K-mart. The grocery stores around me only carried the 70% rubbing alcohol. Be careful when handling the alcohol and melted paint. I let the sides soak in alcohol in the bath tub for about an hour.



While we wait for the alcohol to soak, I'll take you on a tour. Above is my PowerMac G3 that refuses to work! Grrr...

09-09-2006, 10:25 PM

This is my PC rig...



My PC again all lit up in the dark...



While waiting I swapped the side case fan and power supply fan. Dismantling the power supply and changing the fan is NOT for the faint of heart! This was a royal pain in the &$&*^ and I had to bend and tear, but luckily with the old paper clip trick and a power cord it tested out just fine and looked really cool.



There's me wiping the paint off. After letting the alcohol sit, remove it with a rag or cloth. The longer you let it soak the easier it is to remove. After an hour, it came off very easily. For the hard to reach places, use Q-tips and let alcohol-dampened rags sit on areas that do not soak in the alcohol. Once again you must leave the alcohol to soak for a long while.



The finished product sitting to dry. The clearing alcohol process took me quite a great long while, but 100% all of the paint was removed.



Here she is all put back together. The LED fan doesn't show up too well with the flash...



So here she is in the dark...



The rear end...



In the dark. It looks really cool in person and it really lights up awesomely!



From the front...

09-09-2006, 10:26 PM

From the side...



From the latch side...



And in the dark...



On the inside.

Overall this was a lot of work but I really like the final product. Having a clear G4 is really cool especially with the blue LED fans. I would certainly recommend this to all the G4 graphite guys and gals that are up to the modding challenge.

Next up is adding my new Seagate 160GB hard drive, upgrading to a G4 733MHz, and flashing my 9800Pro and installing it, and finally putting in my KVM switch for its final use.

09-09-2006, 10:33 PM

Awesome write-up!

That looks sweet with the blue leds!

09-11-2006, 07:33 PM

Nicely done!