Vinyl is Not Dead!

Well, I was going to talk about how to mod your broom, but someone suggested I should lay off the Harry Potter references. Bah! Maybe I can slip it in near Halloween.

So, instead, I bring you vinyl skinning! No, I’m not talking about how to skin an actual vinyl or nauga – we’ll leave that to the hunting blog. I’m talking about skinning your computer with vinyl.

I can already hear the masses, “No, not that stuff, it looks terrible.”

Vinyl often gets a bad wrap (I mean that literally). Folks look down on vinyl mods because much of the vinyl skinning out there has been done with mass produced and, frankly, trite graphics. A mod kinda loses its flair once everyone on the block has the same thing. It doesn’t help that, for many folks who apply them, there are no instructions (it’s just a big sticker, right?), and the results can be a bit lack luster with wrinkles and air bubbles abound. This has lead to the general opinion that vinyl applications can be neither unique nor attractive.

Oh contraire, mon Friar Tuck!

With some original thought, instruction, and practice, you can do a custom vinyl mod that will rival any rattle can paint job. Bonus - unlike paint, if you mess up, starting over is easy. The above case from MNPCtech was done in cut vinyl. That means, it’s an original mod, not a store bought design – and you know MNPCtech only does quality work. No bubbles and no wrinkles.

The secret? You have to know how to apply it! Lucky, the picture above is the result of today’s bit of bling (below). MNPCtech filmed a pretty straight up tutorial on how to apply cut vinyl.

I will warn you though, it takes practice. People who do it for a living (in the sign industry) still get the occasional air bubble. Small bubbles can be cured with a needle and a quick rub. I will also point out that everything needs to be very clean before you start. If you mess up, you will lose the vinyl during removal, but you can get the adhesive off the case with isopropyl and start over.

Obviously MNPCtech sells a selection of vinyl and supplies (the very ones they used on that case). You can also checkout local sign shops for raw vinyl sheet and tools (as well as advice). Selection and price will vary and multiple suppliers might be required if you are getting complex. You can even have sign shops do custom cuts on vinyl if you have shaky hands – we won’t tell. There is no need to cover an entire case with vinyl though. A few touches here and there combined with other mods can really add up to an original case.

As I said, our bit of bling today is MNPCtech’s tutorial on vinyl application.

Happy Moddin’!

Post some results in the Modder’s Workshop!