Alright, I know what you're thinking. It seems pretty early to be painting, and you're right. In truth, there was a bit of test fitting before the paint stage, but probably not nearly as much as you'd think.

Like the keyboard fitment, the painting of the PreComputer seemed to be a make-or-break step. I wasn't sure how the 30+ year old plastic would take paint, and I definitely didn't want the thing to be blue. If it was going to be a hacker's computer, nothing but proper "Balaclava Black" would do.

So after filling in surface imperfections with modeling putty and sanding the case down with 400 git paper, I sprayed on a few coats of high-build automotive primer:

Now I said before that I wanted the case to be black, but more specifically, I wanted it to be a textured black. That's because all the 3D printed parts (bezel, lid, etc) that would be getting mounted to the case would be done using the textured bed of my Prusa i3 MK3, and I wanted it to match.

So after a couple coats of flat black, I went over the whole case with spray-on truck bed liner. This gave the case a rough and gritty texture that I absolutely love.

Not only does it look great, but it's extremely strong. Even when I intentionally tried to scratch up a test piece with a knife, I could barely put a mark into it. Under normal circumstances, I'm confident this finish will take whatever abuse comes its way.