Give your HP MediaSmart Server a Bitch’n New Paint Job

I love my HP EX470 MediaSmart Server. But after all of the cool new rigs I’ve seen (including those in the DIY Gallery), my little workhorse was starting to look a little, well… boring. In this article, I set out to spruce it up a big with fresh coat of paint. I’m partial to bright red sports cars so naturally that was my color of choice. I didn’t know how the small air vent holes in the grills would fare with a can of Krylon (would they just clog?), so I choose to leave the front and back grills black.

Warranty be damned, let’s get started!

1. Power down the MediaSmart Server (duh) and unplug all of the cables.
2. Remove the top gray plastic piece by sliding it towards the back of the unit.
3. Lay the unit of it’s side (on a towel to prevent scratching) and with your hand pressing down firmly, slide the side panel towards the back. This will take a little effort.
4. Repeat the last step for the other side.
5. Here are some pictures of my recently “naked” MediaSmart Server.
    
6. Note that if you plan on using your server while you paint it (and let dry), do like I did and place something like a yellow pad on top to allow for proper air flow around the hard drives.
7. Using a flat screw driver, gently pry up and them remove the 4 rubber feet. Set them safely aside (sticky side up) so we can reuse them later.
   
8. Remove the 4 screws that were beneath the rubber feet.
9. The bottom panel should now come off.
10. Find a dust free area where you can spray paint and hose it down if possible (the water will reduce the dust). Wear a face mast if you are painting in an enclosed area like a garage.
11. Using painter’s tape, mask off the under side of the bottom panel. It contains information like your WHS installation key.
    
12. After all parts are dry (I waited 24 hours as the can specified), reverse the disassembly process.
13. After assembly, the huge blue drive lights look a little out of place with a bright red case. Let’s take care of that as well. Remember the Easter Egg article that I wrote some time ago? Four Pulsing Red drive LEDs should compliment my new paint job just fine!
    
14. Here is a photo of the finished product!