Building a Stealthwork: Space Cadet edition

Framework Laptop 13
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Hey guys! I’ve been watching Framework for probably over a year now, and recently got my hands on my very own 13 inch. It’s been a great experience! I love the DIY aesthetic of everything, and I was inspired to try a new challenge: a Stealthwork. This is, essentially, an all-black Framework. It was coined by someone else who did their very own version, doing a vinyl wrap. An image of their laptop is below:

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It looks great, but it seems that it was a fingerprint magnet and I can’t get in contact with the guy to see how it’s holding up today. That’s why I wanna try my own version. I’m calling it Space Cadet Edition to differentiate it from his, and also it’s a cool name. Who knows, I might get some white specs on it to look like space.
This thread is designed as a documentation/journal of the process of getting this working. The order that I have is these:

  1. Get Materials List
  2. Get Plan worked out
  3. Gather all materials
  4. Practice run
  5. Do Input Cover
  6. Do Bottom Chassis
  7. Do Top cover

I am at Step 1: Get a materials list.

So for right now, I am probably going with a vinyl wrap. I think that is the smartest, least destructive way to go about it. The only question is, what wrap do I get? Which would be good for a place where my hands rest, meaning residue/oils get on it frequently? I did some rudimentary research and found the 3M 2080 Matte Black roll, however I don’t know how it will hold up.

I’m thinking I will be getting an actual wrap for the bottom cover, and then get the Dbrand skin for the top cover. I am looking for suggestions, however, and any help will be greatly appreciated!

Also, it doesn’t have to be a vinyl wrap, it could be something like anodization or painting.

I am looking to complete this before Fall 2024 (so we have a few months, definitely feasable). I am currently in university, so that will make this harder to do, as I will need to make sure I have a stretch of time where I don’t need a working laptop in case this takes a few days.

I hope you all follow along with this adventure!

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Very cool project idea. I’ll be following along. One thing I may offer is, I believe at one point I was reading an article about wrapping when looking into it for my vehicle. The wrap tech recommended going a satin rather than a matte for most people. In your use case, satin might not be as much a fingerprint magnet, though it may lessen the desired stealth/space asthetic.

“In general, a matte wrap is a good choice for people who plan to leave their vehicle parked inside most of the time. A satin wrap is a better option for those who plan to use their vehicle outside regularly.”

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Interestingly, it seems that Rvinyl (which sells that 3M wrap I was talking about) has a dedicated laptop wrapping section!

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you can also check out dbrand they make a black keyboard and bottom skin you can add onto most of the top cover skins. I didn’t realize there were options to do that when i got a top skin so i missed out on the keyboard/body skin options.

I didn’t see a way to buy those without buying a cover skin.

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That’s one of the things that makes me want to do it myself. The bottom covers are good, but there’s a lot of missing pieces that I think could be done better. I understand why they did it, but I want it all black.

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I just purchased this to see how it works. I’ll be making a quick test application soon, and we’ll see how it holds up. This might go faster than I intended (damn you hyperfixations!).

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I’m also reaching out to a local anodizing company to see whether that’s an option. It would be the first framework to be color anodized from what I can gather if I do that.

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My dbrand skin is kind of an in between, I do like how the silver between the keys remains but the rest is black-ish. And the transparent bezel was definitely a good decision XD

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okay so after a quick chat with them, they would want to do anodizing. but even if possible, i realized that the trackpad would not be able to be anodized. Anodization is off the table.

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they’re here! im going to do a practice round with the input cover :slight_smile:

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update: i did two tests, and neither did really well. the first try, i cut too short and some silver same out. the second one, it looks good but the trackpad didn’t work once replacing. any other ideas?