Model F Nicked Case

[JCMax]

I got a really small chip on the case of my F77 repro from Ellipse. I think it showed up after I got it. And it's REEEAAALLY driving my OCD bonkers right now!

Will getting the paint job touched up be enough to fix it? I really don't want to have to buy a replacement case.

Model F paint job.JPG (468.63 KiB) Viewed 2296 times

P.S. I am well aware that this might seem like a stupid question, but I thought it wouldn't hurt and was still worth asking. I will not take any chances with how much I spent on this keyboard.

[vvp]

There are people who specialize in mixing paints to just match the right colour of an older paint. Find them and get the nick painted.

That being said, you will likely always be able to recognize the painted location if you really want to. Therefore my recommendation is starting mental exercises which will teach you to ignore such an irrelevant detail like like a tiny bit of chipped paint. It is better for your purse as well as your mental health.

You can paint the whole case anew

[JP!]

Even vintage boards got chips and needed touchup paint. Have the paint matched and carefully dab a little on that spot. I wouldn't sweat it too much and worst case the entire case could eventually be repainted.

[JCMax]

That being said, you will likely always be able to recognize the painted location if you really want to. Therefore my recommendation is starting mental exercises which will teach you to ignore such an irrelevant detail like like a tiny bit of chipped paint. It is better for your purse as well as your mental health.

You can paint the whole case anew

Yeah, I've tried that. I'm in-cureable.

I have been able to make progress, though. Especially more minor things. That's why I think even after touching it up, it will be ok even if I can't un-see it. I've seen fine scratches here and there that are so minor I can ignore...ok.

Even vintage boards got chips and needed touchup paint. Have the paint matched and carefully dab a little on that spot. I wouldn't sweat it too much and worst case the entire case could eventually be repainted.

I would have repainted it black, but I'm not too big on the way pebble-pearl keys look with that. Either Unicomp White/Gray or black keys for me!

Doesn't Ellipse use a special type of powder coating with these cases?

[hellothere]

>Doesn't Ellipse use a special type of powder coating with these cases?
That's almost a definite yes, for powder coat. I don't think it's necessarily "special."

>Therefore my recommendation is starting mental exercises which will teach you to ignore such an irrelevant detail like like a tiny bit of chipped paint. It is better for your purse as well as your mental health.
Can I sign up for these courses? When are you offering them?

[Meowmaritus]

I imagine if you asked Ellipse he may just tell you what finish is used

[tridain]

If you find the nick bothers you too much (given where it is and my own personality, it would bother me), I'd suggest looking into having the case Cerakoted. I have three of Ellipse's F77s (two black, one industrial grey) and two original 4704 keyboards, an F107 and an F50. The latter two are Cerakoted in matte black, and I much prefer the look and feel of the Cerakote to the powder coat on Ellipse's keyboards. I use my F50 paired up with one of the F77s as my work from home setup, so I can directly compare them that way.

I can't promise what you'd pay wherever you are, but I paid about $130 each to have those boards Cerakoted a little over a year ago, including removal of the existing (and very worn) powder coat. The F50 came out perfect; the F107 slightly less so, but the issues were where the case itself had suffered, so it couldn't be avoided.

I know I've read some threads on here where Cerakoting didn't go well on plastic, but on the zinc cases (or whatever the specific alloy is) of the original 4704s, I've not had any problems in daily use for over a year. (The F107 is the keyboard on my personal desktop, so I use it just as regularly as the F50/F77 pairing.) It's smooth, essentially neutral in temperature (i.e., it doesn't feel hot or cold, regardless of season, air conditioning, etc.), and has not suffered any nicks or wear in daily use on both keyboards.

I would guess--but it's only a guess--that the metal cases of Ellipse's boards would work as well. I've actually pondered having my work from home F77 Cerakoted just because, but then inflation kicked in.

[mrprofessor]

If you find the nick bothers you too much (given where it is and my own personality, it would bother me), I'd suggest looking into having the case Cerakoted. I have three of Ellipse's F77s (two black, one industrial grey) and two original 4704 keyboards, an F107 and an F50. The latter two are Cerakoted in matte black, and I much prefer the look and feel of the Cerakote to the powder coat on Ellipse's keyboards. I use my F50 paired up with one of the F77s as my work from home setup, so I can directly compare them that way.

I can't promise what you'd pay wherever you are, but I paid about $130 each to have those boards Cerakoted a little over a year ago, including removal of the existing (and very worn) powder coat. The F50 came out perfect; the F107 slightly less so, but the issues were where the case itself had suffered, so it couldn't be avoided.

I know I've read some threads on here where Cerakoting didn't go well on plastic, but on the zinc cases (or whatever the specific alloy is) of the original 4704s, I've not had any problems in daily use for over a year. (The F107 is the keyboard on my personal desktop, so I use it just as regularly as the F50/F77 pairing.) It's smooth, essentially neutral in temperature (i.e., it doesn't feel hot or cold, regardless of season, air conditioning, etc.), and has not suffered any nicks or wear in daily use on both keyboards.

I would guess--but it's only a guess--that the metal cases of Ellipse's boards would work as well. I've actually pondered having my work from home F77 Cerakoted just because, but then inflation kicked in.

Could you share some pictures of the cerakote job?

I have one F62, I have been meaning to powercoat/cerakote.

[tridain]

Could you share some pictures of the cerakote job?

I have one F62, I have been meaning to powercoat/cerakote.

I posted some pictures back in September 2021 in the "Post your keyboard/keycaps!" thread in the Gallery forum here: viewtopic.php?f=62&t=7834&p=493156#p493156

You'll see in those that the F107 has some nicks and such in it. The Cerakote does nothing to conceal underlying damage. But the F50 was physically in pretty much perfect shape and came out the same way. If you'd like some more pictures, let me know. I'm terrible with photos in general, but I'd be happy to try.

[JCMax]

>Doesn't Ellipse use a special type of powder coating with these cases?
That's almost a definite yes, for powder coat. I don't think it's necessarily "special."

>Therefore my recommendation is starting mental exercises which will teach you to ignore such an irrelevant detail like like a tiny bit of chipped paint. It is better for your purse as well as your mental health.
Can I sign up for these courses? When are you offering them?

Damn. That's what I should have asked.

I imagine if you asked Ellipse he may just tell you what finish is used

I think I will. And then see if I can find somebody that can touch it up.

You'll see in those that the F107 has some nicks and such in it. The Cerakote does nothing to conceal underlying damage. But the F50 was physically in pretty much perfect shape and came out the same way. If you'd like some more pictures, let me know. I'm terrible with photos in general, but I'd be happy to try.

I wouldn't mind seeing more. It looks pretty bad ass. Made even more bad ass after reading that people do this to their guns.
Just curious, is there a way to smooth out nicks on some of these cases? File them down or fill them in?