Snake skin touchpad

Do you have a touchpad that has seen a lot of use, and the paint has worn off in an unsightly way. Well you most likely can repaint it and have it looking like new again. I did a lot of research online to make sure that if I did paint my touchpad that it would still work. I’m not saying that it will work for you, but I had no problems, I did have some very interesting and unexpected results from my paint job…… A snake skin touch pad!

I would think the first question people would ask is: What does it feel like? Answer: It actually feels very nice to use, it’s textured but my finger slides over it quite nicely. Then the next question is: How did you do this? Answer: By accident but here is how you can do it on purpose:

What I did first was paint 2 coats of Testers #1147 Gloss Black enamel, I then let it dry for 24 hours. Then, I sanded it with the finest steel wool that I could find. It dulled the gloss but was very smooth to the touch.

I then sprayed it with 2 coats of Rustoleum American Accents Matt Clear # 209689. Then let that dry for 24 hours.

When you spray the first coat of Matt Clear the paint starts to change, you wait a few minute then put on the second coat. I wasn’t sure what to think when the clear coat was drying but it was looking pretty nice. The 2 paints had a weird reaction but created a very nice finish.  The end result is much better than it was and gives the keypad a nice leathery look.

My wife told me I should do the whole computer and sell it for big bucks. If anyone out there tries this and has some nice pictures to share I will post them with this article.

Dan