Okay, here's how I made my new VIP211 BLACK color to match the rest of my stuff.
After removing the 211 metal cover, I removed the plastic faceplate. There are 2 plexiglas insert panels glued with double-stick tape to the front of the faceplate. One panel covers the proposed new smart-card door. The other is over the IR remote sensor, the 5 buttons, and the power L.E.D. / button.
I took a hair drier (hey, I don't use it much anymore anyways, now that most of my hair fell out in my "old age") to heat up the glue on the double-stick tape. I wedged a dry-wall knife between to help removal.
I then used a fine scoth-brite pad and removed all the silver color on the main face plate. They also paint silver the back of the 2 plexiglas panels, so I removed the silver from there as well. Echostar stencils all the decals and switch descriptions on the front side of the panels. So when you remove the silver from the back of the inserts, the stencils are not affected.
I cleaned everything with Mineral Spirits and then sprayed several coats of Rustoleum Direct-To-Plastic Paint on the plastic faceplate and the BACK of the plexiglas inserts. This retains the stencling. No primer is required with this paint, and it looks great.
Now all I am waiting for is Middle Atlantic to have some other VIP211 owner ship them a unit so they can make a template and get the dimensions in their database. They have a form to use to just measure for a custom rack-mount cutout. However it does not account for the 211's nicely radiused outside front corners. So I am waiting until they get a real one to measure. If anyone has a Middle Atlantic rack and a new 211, please send it to Middle Atlantic so they can get it into their dabase, before you install it.
Then I will install the new rack faceplate around the VIP211.
After removing the 211 metal cover, I removed the plastic faceplate. There are 2 plexiglas insert panels glued with double-stick tape to the front of the faceplate. One panel covers the proposed new smart-card door. The other is over the IR remote sensor, the 5 buttons, and the power L.E.D. / button.
I took a hair drier (hey, I don't use it much anymore anyways, now that most of my hair fell out in my "old age") to heat up the glue on the double-stick tape. I wedged a dry-wall knife between to help removal.
I then used a fine scoth-brite pad and removed all the silver color on the main face plate. They also paint silver the back of the 2 plexiglas panels, so I removed the silver from there as well. Echostar stencils all the decals and switch descriptions on the front side of the panels. So when you remove the silver from the back of the inserts, the stencils are not affected.
I cleaned everything with Mineral Spirits and then sprayed several coats of Rustoleum Direct-To-Plastic Paint on the plastic faceplate and the BACK of the plexiglas inserts. This retains the stencling. No primer is required with this paint, and it looks great.
Now all I am waiting for is Middle Atlantic to have some other VIP211 owner ship them a unit so they can make a template and get the dimensions in their database. They have a form to use to just measure for a custom rack-mount cutout. However it does not account for the 211's nicely radiused outside front corners. So I am waiting until they get a real one to measure. If anyone has a Middle Atlantic rack and a new 211, please send it to Middle Atlantic so they can get it into their dabase, before you install it.
Then I will install the new rack faceplate around the VIP211.
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