Stating to get the hang of this...

[m-theory]

I've dabbled in these things since I bought Anderton's book, way back in the last 70's, although I never got real about it until a few years ago.  Since then, I've made dozens of circuits and boxes, and have learned all along the way.  This website has been an invaluable tool for me as I've plodded along.  I don't post that often, but I do read a lot, and have learned a vast amount in doing so. 

When I started to get more serious about these builds, I focused first on making them look nice on the outside.  On the inside, all I hoped for was that it would work, and that it would stay working, and to that end, I did things as best I could, but that admittedly wasn't very tidy very often. 

I feel as though I've gotten my finish process down pretty well now.  I can produce a consistent, quality, unique finish without difficulty now.  On my most recent builds, I've started to focus more intently on the inside of the box.  I've always been in awe of those builds that looked absolutely perfect, inside and out.  I know that this really isn't a realistically attainable goal, but it is a worthy one to keep in focus, nonetheless. 

With that goal in mind, these are my two latest builds.  I finally feel as though I'm getting a complete package now.  It's very time-consuming, but very gratifying to see results like this as well.  I'm sure I'll figure out ways to shorten the process a bit as I develop it, but, as always, it's a work in progress, and here's where I'm at today. 

Thanks to all for your inspiration and assistance along the way.  I feel as though I'm nearly ready to start dabbling in some designs of my own, thanks to what I've learned, mostly here, and through links I've found here. 

[punkin]

WOW! your stuff is first rate...inside and out! Fantastic!

[hubble]

yeah seriously, howd you do that paint job on the first one? it looks amazing

[MikeH]

Hey what do you use to glue your battery clips in?  I've tried gorilla glue and 2-part epoxy, neither worked for me.

[m-theory]

Thanks, guys.  I appreciate the gracious comments. 

Glue - I've tried everything that I could get my hands on, JB Weld and other metal epoxies, hot glues, crazy glue, gorilla glue, RTV, goop, numerous different epoxies, etc.  The ONLY thing that I've found that works to stick board standoffs and battery clips with is "Plastic Fusion," and another similar "plastic weld" epoxy.   I haven't a clue why it works on aluminum, but it does, so I don't question it.  It dries quickly (10-15 minutes), cures rigid, and is the best thing I know of to secure things rigidly to these boxes, short of drilling holes and screwing things down.

Paint - The "faux marble" technique is something that I learned in a previous life, when I sold auto refinish products.  Some of my customers were true artists that did this sort of thing with an airbrush, but the quick and easy way, for those of us who aren't artistic with an airbrush goes like this:

1.  Prep, prime, and finish sand
2.  Dark base color.  This can be any dark color, but black makes sense.  Allow this to completely dry to the touch.
3.  Silver metallic mid coat.  Before you spray this coat, take a plastic grocery bag, crumple it up into a ball, and stuff it into your pocket (this really isn't necessary, but it keeps it handy and crumpled...)
4.  Immediately after you've sprayed that silver coat, and while it's still quite wet (and you want this wet, too...don't worry about runs here), take out that plastic bag, unravel it, and lay it across the entire surface, and press down firmly. 
5.  After you've pressed it down all over, pull the bag off.  You'll leave behind streaks of black wherever the wrinkles in the plastic bag have pulled away the silver. 
6.  You can either clear it as it at this point, or apply a third coat, this time a transparent color.  I like to use Duplicolor "anodized colors," just because I like the colors and have had good luck with the product in general. 
7.  Clear

Here are a couple of other examples of this type of finish:

[SonicVI]

Hey what do you use to glue your battery clips in?  I've tried gorilla glue and 2-part epoxy, neither worked for me.

I use 3M's gray double sided acrylic foam mounting tape, works great.

[hubble]

thanks for the tip m-theory.  ps, i like the screen name

[aron]

That looks fantastic!!!!! Great job!