Folks have been painting or skinning cases in vinyl for some time. What I would like to be able to is cover one in suede (ok - no letters guys. You can use anything you want. It doesn’t have to be an animal product. Besides, I’m still in hot water for trying to mod the family cat). The first problem I ran into trying to cover a computer with anything thicker than paint or sheet vinyl, is that things like side panels will stop working if you wrap something thick around them. Undaunted, I got the idea that I would make upholstered panels using a stiff backing that could be attached to a case.
The second problem is that I know almost nothing of upholstery except what I got from watching my father upholster hot rods as a child. And being a child, I was more interested in mud and frogs than hot rods. Silly me.
Ok, I confess, I did pay a little attention. However, I don’t really feel good about possibly wasting suede on something I have limited experience with. And, upholstering a computer is not exactly the same as recovering an ottoman.
Solution? A little R&D - a.k.a., practice on scrap cloth and cheap materials!
EULA time: Any safety reminders given herein are not to be taken as a substitute for proper training and, if required, supervision. You (the reader) are solely responsible for any outcome, positive or negative, resulting from use of this information.
I’m doing this in two parts so I can go into a bit of detail and point out any discoveries on the way. In this first part I will get the backing panel ready.
For my backing I decided to use hardboard. The smallest and most inexpensive I could find happened to be patterned as white bead board on one side and a bit harder than the stuff I’m used to. You can find this material at most home improvement stores. It’s sometimes called “pressboard” or may go by a brand name. I will use the hardboard as a backing to attach fabric and batting to with adhesive and a staple gun.
Step one is to cut the hardboard sheet into a panel I can use. I decided to make a panel for the top of my modding practice case (a.k.a. FrankenMod). I had just installed a blow hole there, so the panel would require a hole in it. This is perfect practice!
I measured the case top and transferred that to the hardboard. Cutting hardboard requires a saw. A utility knife or rotary tool (i.e. Dremel) will only work if you want to turn this into a six month project. I suggest a jig saw, although other saws will work as well. Be aware though, you want to be comfortable and safe with your tools - and wear safety glasses!
Um, who’s manning that saw?
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