Duct tape laptop skin

When you have a laptop the concept of portability means scratches and bruses. When they become more obvious than the laptop's logo it's getting a llittle bit ugly. When this happens it's time get a skin or why not make a skin? I had already a skin on the laptop but it was an year old - i needed a change. So this is what i came up with.

Step 1: Materials

This project is very cheap and easy. All oyu need is one black and one white roll of duct tape.

Comments

[mommysdarkside3]

just giving a sugestion.... if you do not want to stick the duct tape on ur computer u can make a sheet of duct tape and then cover the other side in duct tape so it isnt sticky and make it to fit ur computer and then just slide it over

[danlynne07]

i love that idea thank you.

[justanado]

Hey! Love your ible, but i was just wondering, would it be easy to peel off the laptop afterwards?

[ssgtgibby]

I think it shouldn't be hard to get it off.. if it's sticky use some goo gone or rubbing alcohol

[hummer_head]

Easy -yes, sticky - of course :)

[CookieMonstah123]

Lolz..... Not To Be Rude But I Know That Mostly Gurls Like Zebra Print And So I WAzx Wonderin If Dis WAzx Ur Laptop However This Is So Awesome! I Love Zebra Print And I Come FRom A Wealthy Family so I Basically Live In a Zebra room Because Myh Parents Can Afford All The EXpensive Zebra Stuff I Think Itsz Awesome....And DOnt Take This as A stereotype comment because i respect the instructables rules ! :) Ur SO CReative And Awesome .....Thanks For Being Here For Ideas!

[soilman89]

try making various types of skin

[Tommy Jae]

Umm..... Are you sure that's DUCT tape? Looks more like electrical tape; duct tape is usually wider in its original size, is a lot more stringy and has a lot more adhesive gunk that quickly melts off with even moderately high temperatures.
I do believe you have to actually use Duct tape to enter the Duct tape contest. But that's just me. Anywho, other than that it's pretty cool and I'd never be able to make it look that good. Kudos to you.

[vee-man.mol]

i saw that to :)

[hummer_head]

I know that's not the duct tape that you are used to see, but i'm from Bulgaria and that is what i have here. The wider colored duct tape isn't easy to find.

[mommysdarkside3]

hey is this a skin or did u just wrap ur screen in duct tape?

[slu6alka]

Ne e zle ima6 1 glas ot men :P

[hummer_head]

6te se revan6iram:)

[dnorm]

from Wikipedia (Zebra / Stripes)... comes this info... 'It was previously believed that zebras were white animals with black stripes, since some zebras have white underbellies. Embryological evidence, however, shows that the animal's background color is black and the white stripes and bellies are additions.[1]'

my guess was wrong... yours was right...

[Broom]

They did an experiment where they asked children this question. Not surprisingly: white children tended to say "white with black stripes"; black children "black with white stripes".

The embryological evidence is a neat tack, since zebes are actually 50/50...

[hummer_head]

So i was right that was tough question! Cool hhaha! Thanks by the way:)

[katerlyn]

I saw leopard brown and black duct tape in walmart last night. 8-)

[hummer_head]

Go for it :)

[xPiixaaa]

niceeee ill try it :) thnx!!

[confusias]

I think I would add clear tape or a clear coat of something to keep the duct tape from peeling up. My wife makes bags and wallets out of duct tape and they get a dirty look when the edges of the tape peel up and collect dust. Awesome job though! My wife would love it. Maybe a pirate design though.. hehe.

[hummer_head]

Thanks for the advise

[ckirkwood9]

i've had issues with laptops overheating... (and causing the processor to loose contact with the motherboard) also with fans not doing their job.... i wonder if this will add to the heat-factor?

Granted the majority of the heat is in the base, not the screen... BUT i wonder how much (if at all) the temp will be affected. If you go into the bios on some laptops, there's a 'temperature' screen to tell you the current running temp. I'd be curios to see it before/after this hack.

[bpfh]

There will be no difference in the heat dissipation. The heat sensors are (rightly so) installed under the CPU for the CPU temp, and if you have any others hanging around they will be :

- On the mainboard for ambiant system temp
- In the hard disk drives
- Under the graphics card central processor (GPU)

Those will monitor the main system component temperatures.

Now, there is not a lot of heat in the screen. Yes, the LCD panel does give off heat, but in negligible amounts. The screen illumination is either a cold cathode tube (tubes) on the top/bottom/both edges of the screen, or an array of LEDs, depending on make and model.

Having a cover on the screen will of course affect the screen heat dissipation, probably by a degree centigrade, but not by much more, as the active face of the display is already dissipating most of the heat anyway

[pinkpurlknits]

The screen is not where the overheating is occurring,it is happening in bottom part of the laptop. It is not a problem to do this. Sounds like your machine is dirty, can lead to fans not working properly and is the most common reason for overheating.

[hummer_head]

I'm not sure that the black light behind the screen has something to do with the cpu's temp but now its too late to check the bios because i've never checked the before temp. I don't remember feeling heat on the top of the laptop at all, neither now.

[Ebby1]

Love it! I'm going to give this one a whirl. Maybe i'll try cheeta though! Thanks :)

[hummer_head]

Thanks! Glad you like it! Post a picture to see it after you make it.

[ElvenChild]

make a lion for upcoming os x lion

[lindaoak]

Great idea, but one question: For those of us sensitive to the plastic smell, would duct tape cause even more odors when hot?

[mman1506]

the screen wont get hot for any working coputer the backlight is too small

[cameronhirsch]

Looks great, but they sell zebra stripe duck brand tape here. Does give me some good ideas though.

[Opcom]

I like it but I am always concerned about the duct tape glue seeping out and it is very sticky and messy.

[hummer_head]

i'm not a pessimist и enjoy the moment :)

[Ted1491]

A little Zebra and some large band Aids, a little bit camo spray paint a couple of 14 gage wires hanging out and you never have to worry about anybody stealing it.

[Nicholin]

I would like to see how you wrapped the edges; where you stopped the tape on the sides, front and how you did the areas around the hinges. This is a nifty idea, but if you added a bit more detail for those of us who are OCD about the little things, that would be great.

[hummer_head]

My camera isn't with me right now. i'll post pictures asap.