I recently bought a NeXTcube with NeXTdimension from a member here.
It was in decent shape - no missing or seriously damaged parts. Though it also had a a fair amount of scuffs and scratches.
As to be expected after 20 years the keyboard was quiet dirty. So the first was to take the keyboard apart an scrub every part clean.
Then I took the cube apart:
- removed the back panel
- removed main board and NeXTdimension card and placed them into antistatic bags
- removed the fan from the back panel and cleaned it
- removed and cleaned the plastic rails for the cards
- removed the power supply and internal drive rack
- removed the metal screen from the bottom of the cube an cleaned it
- removed the backplane board
- de-assembled the remaining cube housing down to the last part and even popped the NeXT logo off
Now I'm debating what to do about the paint of the housing
a) only touch up the the scuffs and scrapes
b) strip off the paint and repaint it
c) strip off the paint and anodize it black
a) and b) would keep it original but it would scratch easily again.
Also where do I find the original paint if it is even still available after 20 years?
c) would be less authentic but more durable
Any recommendations?
Further I'm thinking about a few upgrades
- adding more memory (more than half of the memory slots are empty)
- adding a CD drive. Does anyone know which CD drive (or burner) would fit? I assume it needs to be a slot in as the opening in the front panel is to small for the usual trays.
- adding a 2.88 MB Floppy drive - if I can find one
Thomas,
check out this post:
http://www.nextcomputers.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=644&highlight=paint. I think you still can get the original paint from the OEM. Then it should be relatively to repaint the cube. Maybe a good autobody shop could do it. Of course new paint won't remove dings and scratches, but it would be a nice improvement.
Brian
Thanks for the link.
So far my research led to these information on the color:
NeXT black:
Numerical definition using
CIE L*a*b* Color Scale
L* = 27.8
a* = -0.25
b* = -1.39
DE* = ±0.5
GLOSS = 13°±3°
Sherwin Williams
KEM AQUA 600T & 600S
F73WXB7530-4386
NeXT BLACK
So the next task is to find someone who can mix this color.