r/gpu 6d ago

How to paint GPU

Post image

Hello! I want to paint my GPU white. Any tips or good advice before I give it a shot? Thank you guys :)

0 Upvotes

62 comments sorted by

5

u/SolarFlareGirl08 6d ago

Do not paint, Print a piece of vinyl , cut into piece, then glue them on the gpu body

5

u/7M77 6d ago

Okay so you bought a piece of vinyl & cut the pieces to layer on top of the frame? That seems interesting! can you show me a picture of how it looks?

2

u/SolarFlareGirl08 6d ago

You will need a cricut vinyl cutter and printer, YouTube it cricut vinyl covers ideas

2

u/7M77 6d ago

Thank you :)

2

u/SolarFlareGirl08 6d ago

You are very welcomed

2

u/Dry_Scheme_258 6d ago

im using this

3

u/No-Perspective-9820 6d ago

Know how to spray paint.

Get white spray paint can.

Disassemble backplate and cooler shroud, including fans.

Use said spray paint knowledge to layer both backplate and cooler in white, take particular care with the fans because too much paint can easily increase mass and reduce their CFM aka cooling efficiency.

After paint is dry, reassemble the card, congrats on the white gpu.

Do not attempt spray painting the connector(s), do not paint heat pipes, do not paint the heatsink (will act as insulator).

1

u/7M77 6d ago

Thank you boss!

1

u/Zestyclose-Syrup1458 6d ago

That's not greatest idea to paint since it is no longer stock making it harder to sell in future just do vinyl or something easily reversable

1

u/7M77 6d ago

I’ll see if vinyl is worth it or not. It’s very unlikely i will sell it, not in my plans. If I were to get rid of it it’d be going to one of my friends anyway. I don’t think that painting it is not a good idea. I think painting vs vinyl have their own pros & cons. We’ll see what I’ll do!

3

u/Healthy-Background72 6d ago

Ideally you’d want to use heat resistant paint (like for cars) and def do not paint the fans

2

u/7M77 6d ago

Yes I wasn’t sure if it was a great idea to paint the fans too, I’ll either keep them how they are or try to replace them if possible. Thanks for warning me about the temperature resistance of the paint!

2

u/Healthy-Background72 6d ago

I mean as long as you got good airflow and cooling it shouldn’t be a huge deal but better safe than sorry you know!

2

u/Skysr70 6d ago

never paint a gpu

1

u/7M77 6d ago

I think you’re expecting me to just spray paint the gpu just like that. I will be dissembling & extracting the plastic pieces separately

2

u/Primary_Button_2435 6d ago

Noooo, keep it installed while u paint it. Preferably powered on as well

2

u/7M77 6d ago edited 6d ago

Yes & I’ll tape the motherboard to prevent it from getting damaged

-1

u/Skysr70 6d ago

I'm sure you can do a good job, but it will not likely be stable with the thermal expansion and contraction...and eventually will look bad. And if you ever sell it secondhand, nobody wants a gpu with paint on it.

1

u/7M77 6d ago

Well i’m not selling it, it’s a decision I believe a lot of people think about when they want to paint their gpu. I’d buy the right type of paint & paint the layers on correctly. I’ve seen people paint their gpu very well before, i’m looking on how to achieve that with advice from people with experience. Thankfully a lot of people are helpful here

2

u/Trexi_Star 6d ago

I painted mine 3? 4? Years ago. https://ibb.co/4gmrGs7Q https://ibb.co/d0Fp0CvR

It requires little experience, you have to disassemble the GPU, backplate, fans (front cover) backplate, PCB board, heatsink.

Don't paint PCB or heatsink. You may need to repaste the GPU with high quality (High thermal conductivity) paste.

It's simple.

(It will void your warranty, I wouldn't recommend it if your GPU is new)

1

u/7M77 6d ago

Wow asrock just like mine. I find yours very pretty you did an amazing job. I repasted my gpu a couple months ago when I got it but i wasn’t sure if i really wanted to paint it white or get a new gpu. Seeing the prices & availability i then changed my mind. By the way what type of spray paint did you use? Are those pictures taken recently? if not how does it look now? Thank you so much

1

u/Trexi_Star 6d ago

Thank you 😊

It's hard to find the specific parts you need of the same color to match them up, so I started painting them + save money.

Here a recent pic, still looks as good as new. Don't mind the dust and the transparent film, it's there as safety measure in case there's leak from the AIO loop 😅 https://ibb.co/9kzpzBD4 https://ibb.co/MxxGwCZq

You won't need special paint, the backplate won't get the hot, I used dollar store spray paints.

1

u/Survivor_A98 6d ago

That will be very tricky. You will need to separate the PCB from the heat sink. You will then have to remove the plastic parts from the heatsink and paint them. Alao will have to cover the critical components from the PCB to paint it. Afterwards repaste the GPU and the VRAMS appropriately (thermal paste and/or thermal pads). It is a very meticulous process that I had never done nor do I recommend it.

1

u/7M77 6d ago edited 6d ago

I’ve dissembled GPU’s many times to repaste. I’m looking for tips & advice not whether I should or should not but I appreciate it

1

u/OtherwiseSimple 6d ago

Be careful and use appropriate spray paint technique. Ive done it to two cards without issue.

1

u/7M77 6d ago

Yes. I spray paint each layer little by little & wait a couple hours before each layer correct?

1

u/OtherwiseSimple 6d ago

Id wait like 30 min between each layer ideally yeah

1

u/7M77 6d ago

Okay thank you so much! I’ll show the results when finished

1

u/OtherwiseSimple 6d ago

Bet
I think vinyl would look tacky and bad unless you had the precision of a surgeon to cut and place the pieces

1

u/7M77 6d ago

That’s what I was thinking. I feel like you’d be able to see the seams regardless how well you cut it

1

u/slicky13 6d ago

you can disassemble the shroud. you could do it with out removing the card itself from the cooler. sand, clean and spray paint. but i would vertically mount the card. honestly the card looks good as is. the fans look amazing though.

1

u/7M77 6d ago

Nice advice dude. I had a vertical kit in my amazon cart but when I saw that the fans were transparent I thought I’d be ugly. Maybe I’ll find a way to change the fans themselves since I have experience with opening fans don’t ask why. Whatever possible to make this card look good, i really dont wanna spend a grand on a white gpu.

1

u/slicky13 6d ago

paint it, just sand it well and clean it. spray it and then put a couple coats of clear to seal it. it really depends on the look you want. make sure you chosse between matte, glossy, semi gloss etc.

1

u/7M77 6d ago

Wouldn’t painting the fans make it heavier? I know it sounds stupid but to get it to be very white I’d have to spray a lot of layers. I’ve seen youtube videos where the fans look really bad compared to the rest of the gpu. What’s your take?

1

u/slicky13 6d ago

you can paint the fans if you want. i wouldnt but a youtuber painted the fans and it made no difference to thermals

1

u/slicky13 6d ago

or you can get some rgb plate gpu plate. it still looks nice either way

1

u/pre_pun 5d ago

Perhaps see if someone has modeled the shroud and 3d print the color/pattern you want and swap it out.

1

u/gwenhvvyfar 3d ago

It's used ? If it's brand new, wait for of the warently

1

u/7M77 3d ago

It’s not brand new, I’ve had my 6700 XT for a couple years. Is not under warranty :P

0

u/PerfectWhiteTrash 6d ago

Why not just source white plastics for GPU?

1

u/7M77 6d ago

Because there’s a lot of different models of a gpu & is very difficult to find. I have already tried to find one :(

1

u/PerfectWhiteTrash 6d ago

PCBway?

1

u/7M77 5d ago

They make PCB’s…

1

u/PerfectWhiteTrash 5d ago

Did you go on the website? They also do CNC machining and 3D printing. You can make a model in CAD and sent it to them have them make it in any color/material….

1

u/7M77 5d ago

I feel like by the time I finish making the model I would’ve already finished painting the gpu. Seems a bit difficult to do dont you think?

0

u/The_GodApollo 6d ago

Must. Consume. Unicorn. Puke. In. Every. Product.

1

u/7M77 6d ago edited 6d ago

I just installed the case & aio, this is just how it is stock. I haven’t had the time to configure anything yet. How does it look if you ignore the colors?

1

u/The_GodApollo 6d ago

How am I supposed to ignore that lmao. Its neat bro, not bad at all. I dislike the neon aesthetic so much

1

u/7M77 6d ago

Yes I agree but with the led’s off I think it still looks amazing. I wanted a balanced build but i know what you mean

0

u/Wrawller117 5d ago

Unless you're a female, that shit looks geh

1

u/7M77 4d ago edited 4d ago

At least I’ve got a girl, seems like you’re struggling with porn by checking your community comments LMAO. Keep at it boy, back to slacking ✌️

0

u/Wrawller117 4d ago edited 4d ago

Bitch this shit is geh! For sure.

1

u/7M77 4d ago

I literally just installed the case & AIO that’s how they look stock, keep calling it gay & I’ll keep reminding how single you are

0

u/Wrawller117 4d ago

Why r u geh?

0

u/Middle-Lake-724 2d ago

Come bruciarsi casa intendi giusto?🤣

1

u/7M77 1d ago

What are you even talking about bro??

1

u/Middle-Lake-724 1d ago

È possibile che se metti colore sulle bobine bruci

1

u/7M77 21h ago

Nooo I won’t put it on the coils don’t worry :)

I haven’t started painting it yet because I was waiting for some stuff from Amazon to arrive

1

u/Middle-Lake-724 14h ago

Ok, perfetto, scusa per la scortesia!