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Black Newton

Here's an old art project that got lost in the shifting sands of the web. The original description follows:

So, you've got an old OMP or MP100 hanging about, and you don't use it anymore since you got a shiny new 2000, or, like me you find a deal on one too good to pass up and figure it will make a handy rolodex or something. Well, as long as you're going to have it around, you may as well customize it, right?

The one I got was in very loved condition, a good bit of the orignial rubberized coating had worn off, and there were a few nicks in the screen. My thinking was this: 1) It needs a more permanent surface treatment and 2) if I screw it up I'm only out twenty bucks.

Fair warning: do not attempt to do this in a hurry or under the effects of alcohol or coffee. You may seriously harm or kill your Newton doing this. Be careful. Taking it slow and thinking about what you are doing will make life easier and your Newt will live to ping another day. Also if there is any important info on the Newt, back it up first.

First I took the thing apart. Sean Luke has some good instructions for that here: cs.gmu.edu/~sean/projects/newton/MP100Power.html
I will add that you need only take out the screws holding the outer body together. These are the black screws, the brassy ones can stay put. You will need to remove that screw under the PCMCIA switch. It's not that hard, just take it easy. Unhook the speaker from the front, and get the little piece of cloth that covers it out too. While you've got the thing apart, go ahead and do the cleaning Sean describes, it'll save you grief later.

Now looking at the parts you have you should have the following:

Front half of the case
Rear half of the case
Battery cover
Screen and innards

Put the screen and innards somewhere safe. Carefully, very very carefully pry the little apple off the front, you want to take great pains not to mar the plastic around it. Put the little apple somewhere safe for the time being. Remove the little wing from the upper part of the case, it just screws in. Now carefully remove all the little rubber feet. They tear very easily and I don't know of a good source for them. Stow them safely also. Remove the rubber port cover and store it too. Now you need to clean the plastic casing.

I tried several different ways to remove excess rubber from the outser casing. I found the best solution was a Pink Pearl Eraser. It got the rubber off and didn't mar the finish too much. If you're really hardcore you can use 000 steel wool, but you really don't need to remove all the rubber, just the loose stuff, so take it easy on the abrasives. Next, clean the plastic off of any eraser shavings, and/or steel wool bits, and rubber dust. Just use water, no soap, now let it dry

Okay, now we get into the fun stuff, paint. Having spent a good chunk of my formative years building model cars I went straight to my local hobby shop and picked up Testor's spray paint. This won't craze the plastic, it will create a hard shell, and it will cost a lot. Be forewarned. I got Flat Black, and Matte Laquer. Also grab a little bottle of Flat Black and a good brush. On the way home I stopped at Wal-Mart and got some Rust-Oleum Metallic silver for the little apple. You may be temped to paint the whole thing in Rust-Oleum and save some dough. Don't. Bad things may happen. Plastic will warp, and the surface will go all funny.

Now lock up all children, pets, and soul mates, because you will be painting and there are few things that will ruin a perfectly good relationship faster than someone inadvertantly ruining an attempted paint job.

If, like me, you live in a humid part of the world with air-you-can-wear, just be that much more careful, as the paint will take longer to dry, more on this in a minute. Set up your painting booth (in my case an old cardboard box with holes cut in all sides) somewhere you can get overspray without upsetting anyone and somewhere well ventilated. Lay the bits and pieces out and paint them. There is a lot to be said about painting technique that I won't go into here. Be sure to cover all surfaces of the case, this will mean moving around the parts, you may have to take them out of the box to do this. I usually set my work on a double thickness sheet of cardboard, and place the spray box over it. This allows you to move the box and get in all the little crannies, like the pen holder, or the indention below the screen. Use several coats, overspray, and be patient. Again: avoid coffee or alcohol. Trust yourself, but don't get cocky. There is a zen at work here.

Now that everything is painted your first instinct may be to pick everything up and play with it. NO! Let it dry for a few hours at least. If you live in a humid world like me, you may want to carry the board that the parts are laying on and sit it on the open door of your stove set on the lowest setting. This created a less humid environment for the case to dry in. Do not put the parts in the stove! Be careful of the little wing with feet, it will warp if you are not careful.

Now laquer everything. This is much more forgiving than the painting, but still needs to be done evenly. This will give you a a chance to hide mistakes, but don't over do it.

Okay, now sit back and let it dry. You can enjoy a cold one or a cup of coffee now if you wish, you've earned it. Let it sit at least overnight.

The next day take a look at the parts and make sure they fit together well. Clean edges free of paint or laquer with an X-acto knife. Put the rubber feet back in place, and screw the wing back to the rear of the case. It may have warped some, just pull it back into place with the screws, go slowly. Now go find the screen, you'll notice two parts of it will still be visible. If like me you are a perfectionist, you will want to paint the power switch and the PCMCIA eject button. The same rules of spray painting apply with a brush. Take it slow, and don't scrimp on paint. Testor's is pretty forgiving if you don't let your brush get too dry. Let that dry for an afternoon.

Now, put the whole shebang back together, go slowly, the plastic will have gained some thickness from the paint and laquer, clean edges with an X-acto as you go, test fit before you shove things together. Finally, screw it all back down, replace the batteries, and fire it up. If it looks like this, you're good to go.

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Taken on: November 11, 2005

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