Noctua NF-A9x14 Respray Guide (This will void the warranty)
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- Опубліковано 29 вер 2024
- A detailed breakdown, rebuild, and before/after testing of the Noctua NF-A9x14 fan, as well as a whole lot of information for you to respray your own Noctua NF-A9x14.
Hope you get all the information you want out of this video, and if I've missed anything, or you have any questions just let me know in the comments!
Official Noctua warranty information: noctua.at/en/w...
Official Noctua FAQ about this procedure: noctua.at/en/c...
Amazon Affiliate Links:
NOCTUA NF-A9x14
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NOCTUA NH-L9i
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NOCTUA NH-L9X65
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Components used:
Case - Thermaltake Core P3
CPU - Intel i7-6700K
Motherboard - Asus Z170 Pro Gaming
PSU - be quiet! Dark Power Pro 11 (750W)
GPU - EVGA GTX 1070 FTW
RAM - 2x 8GB G.Skill Ripjaws V DDR4, 2x 4GB Crucial Ballistix DDR4
LED Lighting - CableMod WideBeam Magnetic Strip RGB LED Kit (3x 30cm)
Music Credits:
Dance, Don't Delay by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommon...)
Source: www.twinmusicom...
Artist: www.twinmusicom...
"Soaring" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
creativecommons...
"Cipher" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
creativecommons...
This video was unbelievably helpful to me when modding my gpu fan. I have one of those itx gpus with a very loud fan that I wanted to replace with a noctua. I was able to disassemble my 92mm noctua fan, cut apart the frame, bond the plastic base to the existing gpu shroud, then reassemble the fan back on top of it. The result is a silent, high performing ITX gpu which would not have been possible without your detailed teardown and reassembly process. Seriously, thank you so much! I'm sure there are other cool use cases out there that that require detailed noctua teardown/reassemblies that may find this video some day. This is also an awesome video OGs can point to back before noctua released a black variant, to really highlight the dedication of modders
(This is a repost of my original comment because it was autohidden when I tried to edit some typos)
Great Video, very informative! No need for softboxes and perfect lighting, we aren't here for cinematic shots. 👍🏽
The only thing I can suggest are timestamps considering tis 40mins.
I always spray them without tearing them apart, they work as if nothing happened.
That's fair, if it works, it works. As for this paint job I wasn't confident that I'd be able to cover the spokes behind the blades with even coats of paint all round (same goes for the underside of the blades behind the spokes), so separating them was that easiest way to guarantee full and even coverage.
Good to know there's another way to do this, at least some people might stumble across your comment and have an easier option. Thanks for checking out the video and sharing your experience, and I hope you enjoyed the video (albeit being mostly pointless for you since you've already painted your fan haha, ah well).
I actually used your tutorial to to spray a brown NF-a15 fan. I discovered that it is easier to remove the blades of the brown fans compared to the chromax fans.
We're you ever able to remove the chromax blades?
@@Nordic_Goon Unfortunately no. I ended snapping the frame trying to remove it. Seems the chromax nfa15 fans are built differently from the regular brown ones. I have successfully removed the blades from 2 brown fans now.
@@GSXone I should have just bought the brown ones haha, ow well. They'll stay black for now
Very nice, particularly the disassembly portions. Noctua now makes the CHROMAX line which are BLACK for those allergic to beige / brown. Available in most sizes. Some chromax items are more expensive. In the case of the NH-L9a-AM4 +$10 and they have anodized the cooler black. Other fans about +$5 . Fan + Black cooler a little more. Save time buy the black fans if available.
very good work to demo how to disassembly the Noctua fan!
Permanent Marker?
cheap, quick and easy, no need disassemble
very nice video, a lot of work! thanks !
¿Can i instead of painting that fan that looks horrible change it for another brand fan with some RGB or something like that?
My question is: why? Noctua fan's color it's perfect
I did it with Permanent Markers.
"oh the lighting was really bad in that shot"
Right, you're permabanned! Is that even a word haha :P There were some really dodgy shots captured but most of them were edited out (they were mostly from the garage with lots of orange lighting)
Thanks for checking this one out, hope you enjoyed it!
No no no ...
Black color is look like cheap fan from default pc case...
I like the original one...
I'd say the original fan could be considered a fan from back when PC cases were all beige.
The only reason people are fond of the colour is because the colour is linked to the performance now. If be quite! or any other quiet high performance component manufacturer released a beige fan most probably wouldn't be happy, and probably wouldn't be quiet about it.
Likewise if Noctua had only made black fans they'd be regarded as great fans like any other, but of course they wouldn't have their "iconic" colour scheme that makes them easily distinguishable today.
The only reasons to keep them beige is nostalgia and the few that like the colour scheme because they like beige and brown (not those who like them because it's Noctua - that falls into the nostalgia category).
Noctua has now made a move to create consumer black fans at a reasonable RPM, and that's likely because they realise the market is advancing, and just being a good performer isn't enough when there are other options that perform very well, and look great (by today's standards) too.
IMO the fan looks great in black, and I have a feeling I'm with the majority based on the amount of people that go out of their way to create beige builds (not seen many beige mods around). But I'm not going to say the beige colour scheme should die, only that there should probably be an equivalent in black (which there sort of is now which is great). Maybe the limited edition LTT fan sales had an impact on the decision on create a black range, or maybe they were the test run to see how black Noctua fan would go down...
No no no ...
Brown and tan is ugly on a PC no matter how you slice it. It’s literally the color of poop. Yeah I recognize a Noctua fan instantly by the color, and it’s the reason I haven’t bought any until recently (because aesthetics matter in a custom PC - it’s half the fun). When I learned about their Redux line that don’t cost an arm and a leg because they’re not that stupid tan and brown color, come in a less fancy box, and don’t have the rubber isolators (which are still cheaper to buy separately), only then did I jump on the bandwagon. Still they’re more gray than black, but at least usable in a PC that has a window of any sort.
Why not embrace the brown lol
With all due respect brother I have a much better solution…….
……Buy Scythe!!!!
Noctua is nice but it’s a bloody ripoff.
wtf too much intro!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And make it perform worse.
Literally tested the performance difference and presented it in the video... you didn't even look did you?
@@AVTechy it's not about the current performance. Lifespan, weight, noise should decrese over time. Else noctua would be worse than you are at enginerring black fans
So where's your evidence for it getting worse? Why would adding less than a gram of weight to a 20+ gram fan blade cause a substantial shift in performance over time.
Why would adding in multi purpose oil (usually used for bike chains, sewing machines, etc.) cause the bearing to drastically fail or lose performance?
I don't think you have any evidence for any of your opinions. You're just salty for some reason that someone wants to change the current colour the the A9x14 fan.
If it's not just pure salt, please add some highly relevant evidence that actually stands up with your thoughts on changing the paint of a Noctua fan.
@@AVTechy no i love black fans, but you're saying you beat noctua to the punch. There must be a reason there's delay on chromax versions of these fans right? If it was a simple paint/powder coat no one would havr any problems.
1 it's inconsistent.
2 it can make the fan blades noisier, and for me it worsened the performance by about 7% which is outside error margin for me at least.
3 it makes the surface uneven if not done properly.
There is a reason noctua delays those.
A black paint mod is of course inconsistent. But there are no major issues with Noctua creating black fans. If this is the case then we're also saying Noctua is less capable of sourcing a black plastic to cast with than other companies that have been doing it for donkeys years.
It's never been that Noctua aren't capable, it's that they've chosen to not be capable. And it's only now that they're waking up and realising there are lots of benefits to adding a black fan option to their lineup (profit is probably one of the key driving factors - they are running a business after all).
Nice job! Some people are going to complain regardless of what you do . They lack tolerance and proper feedback skills. It's disheartening; but stay the course. You’re producing quality content. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Damb you noctua
Would it kill you to come out with different color fans
Nice vid mate I appreciate the 40 min vid although i didnt whatch it all but i appriciate the work put in to editing it. You really are getting this channel really going keep up the good work
Haha I completely understand that, and you certainly shouldn't watch it all if you have no intention of painting the fan.
As always, really appreciate the support, hopefully we can get back onto some really interesting case reviews now that we have the test system sorted. I'm so desperate to get back to those!
Excellent video. This is exactly the kind of tutorial for modding that I like. Very clear and methodical explanations.
I like the effort put into this kind of videos. With quality like this you should grow fast. Good done and thanks by the tutorial ;)
Thank you very much, it took so much longer than it should have haha. I'll do what I can to keep the quality up, and with any luck improve the rate of video production a little, I'll see what I can do.
Thanks for the support, I'm glad you enjoyed the video!
Four years later.... this let me disassemble & clean the failed NF-A9x14 in a much-neglected computer that had become very dusty (it was my main gaming machine several years ago, now it sits in my exercise room solely to run Zwift, not a big priority to open & clean). Pressing down the copper disk around the drive axle was the trick, I'd probably pulled it up when removing the fan blades. Thanks for figuring that out! I ordered a replacement anyway, but at least for now it no longer stops at POST with a CPU Fan Failure message.
To folks that don't like long-form videos: change the playback speed to 1.5 or 1.75.
Fortunately, you can buy now some noctua black fans :)
Watched the whole video, loved it. I really appreciate your effort.
No heat is required to remove the fan hub and blades. They're just a push fit, no adhesive. It comes off exactly the same as in the video with no heat applied.
I don't like the fact that you assumed we will complain, reported!
jk ;)
I’m amazed by your knowledge and calm way to disclaim ;) and explain the different steps you go through. Thank you for making this tutorial, this is exactly what I want to do. Nice job!
The most useful, accurate and analytically correct work I've seen on such fancy subject so far. I've little words to describe my feelings about it, but I really appreciate your efforts, such videos make UA-cam not only entertaining but also very helpful at some moments of your life. Thank you for the great job 😊
Very well done video, thank you for your time and effort spent. Well worth the 40 minutes.
Thank you very much, I really appreciate the support!
You presented a thorough and clear idea of your mods...ps just ignore the wannabe wankers
Just for future reference using that high of heat one that kind of plastic isn’t really the best idea. I know it turned out alright but that’s a good way to end up warping your blades.
It may seem like a stretch, but since you slightly increased the surface area of the fan blades, the fans should be pushing slightly more air than stock.
there's a full black version now but i admire the effort when this was done. who knows, this might have been also a factor why noctua gave in to produce black version of their products.
Excellent job, sure 40min but I prefer the details and of course I watch the whole thing. That journey of learning curve, great stuff. Now everyone knows what to expect when trying to get one of those poop mixers apart^^
And Noctua should give you a fan-technician badge.
Calculating the travel speed of that flying part...lol
Can’t wait for you to get monetized again...DAMN YOU UA-cam *fiststothesky*
I got the hints in the beginning, I won’t bug you to much about your lighting anymore^^ It was very watchable and I think you have a good understanding of what works for your environment. As I said many times before, your vids are already way in front of soo many others. You are on an excellent course and I am looking foreword to what’s to come. Keep up the great work and please keep your fun and enthusiasm.
Thank you very much. I wanted to cut the video down further, but to do that I'd have to cut out the whole learning process. And it's the journey that makes these kinds of videos interesting, and of course puts emphasis on the most important parts.
Should I also have a fan-destruction badge to go along with the fan-technician badge haha.
Haha I was genuinely interested in the speed since I've seen loads of people calculate speed from frames of footage and known distances, but it was very underwhelming. But what can I expect from flicking some metal from a light plastic clutch.
I'm right there with you on waiting for monetisation. UA-cam is saying it should be done at the end of June... I have a feeling it's going to take longer than that.
I know you know I'm not in about you and the lighting comments haha. I've had some rather lengthy, let's call them "debates", lately with a couple of commenters about various older videos, and I feel like I have to disclaimer these things before the video actually starts so I can reduce the amount of pointless comments. If I've accidentally done something wrong I should be called out on it (that's the sort of criticism you generally provide, and it's helpful), but if I've intentionally done something incorrectly I need to be the first to say so since the backlash from not doing so is ridiculous. It's all part of the UA-cam creator experience I guess haha.
We're going to get back to some awesome case reviews now. I think I'm going to very quickly do a video testing the Mastercase Pro 3, and then we'll finish off the CR280 review, start the Q300L review, and then it's the Silverstone RVZ03 (looks pretty interesting). Not sure when to finish off and release the Dust Vs Thermals video, that's 75% complete and I was holding it back for the remonetisation (which we should have had by now), but by the time I've done a couple of reviews we should have it back and then I'll finish it off and release it - we'll see how everything goes though, plenty to do before that!
As always thanks for the support, and I'm really glad you liked this one, it's been 3 long weeks of work haha (oh dear, it should have taken way less time). Anyway, catch you in the next one!
AV Techy Well you could wear the broken fan on a chain, like a old school rapper^^
I know where your coming from and why you feel the need to do so many disclaimers, considering some maniacs lately. But I think there’s a more „fun“ way of handling it. People hear disclaimer and it automatically feels like history class in school ;-)
Instead you could just pop in a „I know lighting is poop, it’s a garage...give me a break^^“, kind of stuff like that. It robs jerks of their ammo and probably saves time instead of explaining all the why’s and how’s.
If you have the dust vid mostly settled, might as well send it and work on the cases in the meantime, as I don’t know if that one would be of more „monetary“ value hehe. Cases probably get searched more.
On the point of cases, I stumbled over one that looks promising, Kolink Stronghold, it’s a ATX case but it comes with tempered glass, open internals, a basement, can fit 2x240s maybe even a 360 in front, has a dust filter on top, with 2 fans installed (molex...meh) and is listed for 40€ so dirt cheap.
For that price might as well toss a matx in there...
There is also a version with glass in front, don’t know what it’s called, looks like the Corsair 460x. Just a pointer, not like you don’t have enough already^^
used this as a disassembly guide for repairing an 80mm case fan. where i am it is impossible to find new ones for reasonable prices. all it took was a disassembly, thorough dusting, a little 6 in 1 oil and it spins again. thank you)
Exactly the video I needed! Planning to paint my older noctuas white, though I think I will use primer and airbrush instead of spray paint, but I was very much in need of the disassembly and reassembly information
Conclusions: the extra 2 euro to get the black edition totally worth it :)
I agree :D
small nit pick that doesn't really matter both paint jobs were probably 74g as the one you showed weighing was missing the rubber feet on one side. but besides the point quite interesting and q1 2019 noctua is supposed to be putting out full blacked out coolers on top of there cromax stuff thats already out
Noctua has since changed the mechanical design, the metal pillar and bearing assembly is now permanently injection molded to the fan blades. Don't remove the metal pillar from the blades or it will destroy the fan. And actually, don't remove the blade at all as it will cause play in the bearing.
Lol, how to respray your fan black for only $250 (incl. breaking 1 fan, breaking 1 tripod, 3 cans of paint, you know, everything). Amusing, honest video!
How much damage would come from submerging the fan in a dye solution? Be it alcohol or water based. I have 3 of the gray fans and would hate to have to buy all new ones though, I am building a second PC anyhow. I have two spare Noctua fans I may just throw caution to the wind and try it on one of them. The issue I see would be displacing lubrication (even more so with an alcohol based dye) I don’t exactly feel the PCB or windings would become damaged. Clearly you’d want to make sure it dried fully. I see so many potential issues but again, I’m curious... If I do decide to attempt this, I’ll report back. As a side note, if you disassemble the fans ANYWAY Dye would still work assuming they’re glass fiber reinforced nylon.
Stop thinking about what people will say and just OWN YOUR CRAFT, this is entertaining for those who clicked on that video
Amazing job. I used to paint mine but just the blades with UV reactive for black lights. I painted my black blades. I had to primer them 1st to not need loads of paint.
Hmm. Random thought. Couldn't we just put the motor and blade on a fan frame from a different company? If possible you could make a Noctua fan with an RGB frame. ;)
Thank you AV Techy for your contribution to pc building enthusiasts across the globe. Here's a link to my latest creation. Keep up the good work. pcpartpicker.com/b/tkKBD3
Interesting , would like to see the results if you used turbine oil .
Why put so much effort into doing disclaimers to not get negative comments, a comments a comment just let the idiots say what they want n ignore them either way you getting paid 😂
this really helped me!
I bet the modified one giving slightly better performance is due to the oil you put in it, nice job
This. Is wonderfully made. Subbed for this man, just awesome.
Thanks very much, it's painful that about 1 month after I made this video that Noctua announced the release of the black version of this cooler... Ahh well, it was a good learning experience. Thanks for checking this one out, and thanks very much for the sub. I really appreciate the support!
@@AVTechy whaaat when will that be released? Regardless, this has immense amounts of useful information. I've been curious about fan painting for months and this covered literally every question I had about this exact fan.
Really nice video, I can see you are pretty perfectionist.
An airbrush with a little compresor its not very expensive, and it will allow you to improve the paint control application, and the quality of the final result. You can apply a coat of paint much finer than with spray, I think that with a 0.2g of black paint will be enough to make a good cover of all the rotating fan.
On the other hand, I think the important information is the differences of weight of the rotation part. The rest of weight compararions are not so important.
The increase of weight of the rotation part its almost 5% (about 4,5454%), I dont think its too little, and in teory can increase the air pressure, i think. Any way, oil differents can be the most important factor of cause of the results.
Thank you very much!
Perfectionist, maybe, but as you can tell I don't really have the skill set to back it up haha. I'll get better with time though, at least that's the plan...
Thanks for the advice on the paint application, I'll take a look into it if I plan on doing any more painting.
You've got some interesting points as to the changes of the fan, I've got a few other theories to add to the discussion, but I'd be lucky if I knew what was actually making any differences.
As for the weight of the blades, I think when it comes to the friction from the air resistance at top speed, I think 5% extra weight is negligible. Similar to the fastest cars, their weight isn't as much as an issue to hit their top speeds as their drag coefficient. A 5% weight reduction to a fast car wouldn't make as much of a difference compared to reducing the friction of the wheels or the body of the car (Not the best analogy, but it's nearly there).
Something that's a difficult to tell is the friction of the new paint (or the lacquer) compared to the original finish. And the thickness of the blades is something that's also tricky to tell, but we're probably looking at less than 0.5mm.
All in all though, I think for an amateur shot at painting it went pretty well. Of course we lost a fan in the process, and found out that Noctua have two different fan specifications for the NF A9x14 fan, but not too bad. It's good to know there's not much different in the speeds of the fans, but it might be a good idea to retest this in a year or so to see if over time there are any changes. Of course we lose the knowledge of the control over time, but it could be interesting.
Anyway I've gone on long enough, thanks again for the advice, and thanks for checking out the video. Hopefully we'll be doing some interesting fan reviews in the future, but there's a lot of work to do before then.
About the airburst paint, I usually paint miniatures (Games workshop and other company’s miniatures). For this fan work I recommend to use Vallejo model air paint: black 602 surface primer, mixed 50% with a airburst thinner. This paint has a thin pigment itself, and with the thinner, even thinner . The black choice is because it is the “color” than cover the best others colors with the less paint. Other dark colors of the surface primer may also work very well, like 603 German panzer grey. Its important to use surface primer paint, and not the regular model air paint (directly), the surface primer its made to really get fixed to the model, the regular is to use over the first cover of the already dry primer paint. For sure there are other good airburst paints beyond Vallejo, but it’s the one that I know. Citadel make excellent normal burst paints, but as I know they don’t make paint for airburst.
The paint application should be easy. A pressure of 15-20 psi is normally used for fine details, although this depends on whether we wish to work at close range(6 cm.approx.) or with a pressure of 20-25 psi at a distance for larger surfaces (15-20 cm.) Working at close range the paint is applied with accurate. At long range, it works like a calm down spray (with a paint and an air regulator). If we use the close range only after taking practice with the airburst, we can paint the cooler without dismantle it
About the friction, we can see in the video that the spray paint have change the shape of the original making it more rugger, its rise the air friction, any way rugs I think are much less than 0.5mm. The lacquer fall the friction, and now I can see it’s an excellent idea.
“it might be a good idea to retest this in a year or so to see if over time there are any changes.”
Agree.
that would be great
Thanks for the paint advice, I've got a friend with an air compressor and an air brush tool head, so we might have to mess around with that. The compressor is about 20 years old and is about 1m long (weighs a ton, for small vehicle workshops I believe), but it could be of some use (I have a feeling it won't end well haha). If that fails, do you have any budget air compressors you would recommend?
The lacquer did smooth it off nicely, but I don't think it's appreciating the use case since it's very slightly peeling in some areas (perhaps a more specialist lacquer is required). It's not too bad, but it's slightly noticeable.
I'll retest the fan in a year and see if we experience any changes, but all these issues will be great to know for someone looking to do some similar fan painting. It should be good.
www.artesanialatina.net/en/sets/1202-aerography-basic-set-as-200-27085-27100.html
I have this one. It´s a low cost product, a good option for beginners. The airburst if very good for the price, and I haven´t got any problem with it, cleaning it properly with a cleaner after using it.
Even so, I can’t recommend this set as the best option.
I had a problem with the compressor included on this set. The power supply of the compressor box, overheats easily. After 30 minutes of use, in a normal day, it´s turn off, until it refreshes. Finally my power supply broke, and I had to use a laptop power supply to fix it. Now with this fix, I´m very happy with the benefits of this set. The best of it is the little size, the yellow compresor box have130mm long. The worst, It´s
badly designed.
Although its not a recomendation, it can help to have and little idea of the low cost airburst/compresor prices and characteristics.
Also possible: if you're re-using the old numbers instead of retesting the unmodified fan in the current testing environment, another variable like cooler mounting pressure or the paste application setting in could be contributing to the discrepancy. If I recall, that cooler had come off to test the 65mm cooler before going back on in the end.
Good points, but I don't think there are different factors that you've mentioned in this situation. I should have clarified this in the video, the clip testing both fans initially was cut to keep trying video time down.
The second fan performed identically to the first both hitting 2600rpm. The third fan hasn't been tested with since it's the lesser 2200rpm version.
As for mounting pressure and thermal paste. All applications get more than enough thermal paste (more tests the same as just enough and is easier to avoid having too little). And the screws are tightened until they hit their presdesigned stops which should eliminate mounting pressure tolerances.
But even if any of those were relevant factors, it wouldn't explain how both tested hitting the same numbers, and after the first few tests the original fans performance dropped off. If there were any differences with mounting pressure or thermal paste they would have shown up in first test of Prime95, and all tests following it at a similar rate.
There's some difference between these two which sees the original fans performance degrade over continuous full speed use. I can only think that the different lubricant can be that deferentiating factor.
Thanks for adding your thoughts to the mix, it's always good to rethink over these factors incase something was missed. And of course thanks for checking out the video :)
How to be passive aggressive in a flattering accent 101.
Wow! That is a long video. I will definitely consider this mod cause I have this CPU cooler and it is very annoying to stare at a brown fan.
Haha, well I was sat at my desk with 6 hours (150GB) of footage to edit, and I thought "ah crap, how am I going to cut this down...".
There's a couple of "twists" in this video, and if you attempt to paint your fan please be extremely careful to get the heat and pressure right. Last thing I want to hear is you informing me of a broken fan haha - but seriously, get the heat right and it'll make the whole process so much safer (for the fan that is).
Let me know if you have any questions about it, and best of luck if you go for it!
question is: why does Noctua not make black and RGB fans anyway? they would get a big chunk of the fan market no? who can answer this question?
I had the same question about the black fans. They've got a licence to print money at this point.
Although they do seem to have delays on some of their current projects which suggests they're at capacity. Maybe something to expect from them in the future.
What a mammoth effort. Well done. I'm not sure I would've removed the blades. Couldn't you spray paint in situ? Probably wouldn't be as neat a job I suppose. What about using a Silent Wings 3 instead?
what is the name of the blower you used to dry the water in noctua fan?
It's called the Compu Cleaner Xpert. It's pretty powerful and comes with a set of tools to spread or concentrate pressure. I'd certainly recommend it.
Really late to the party, of course... but...
I have a dumb question: If you attribute the 'performance improvement' to some aspect of bearing performance, instead of the surface qualities of the painted fan blades, wouldn't that improvement, necessarily, have been a consequence of increased RPMs? Just a thought.
Great video, and an important lesson to Noctua that they need to do something about their color-scheme. Thanks.
hell yeah I void warrantys B)
Which paint brand did you use
Those temperature differences can be variances between the individual fan(s). Differences in fan efficiency, control speeds, etc.
dude, the lighting is bad in every scene in this video. get better lighting.
Eh, I wasn't in an idea environment, and I was learning on the job. But hey, it's a free video on UA-cam, and this is the first complaint about lighting on this video. So maybe my response should be "dude, it's a free video on UA-cam. Chill out about the lighting.".
But rather than sound like... That. I'd encourage you to look at more recent videos to understand whether the lighting is better now rather than comment on a video that's old where your comment on lighting might not even be relevant anymore.
IMO if having a black fan is that important to your build, just invest in black fans.
I learned way more about how to excellently present a detailed project than I did changing the color of a fan :)
No time stamps?
Normally I would put them in, I do for all other videos. But this one was pretty unstructured, so I found it a little tricky to specifically define certain points of the video. I could have given it a shot, but this video includes all you'd need to know to undertake this project, it's just a case of scanning through the video for the bits you want, or watch the whole thing.
This is a great video, thanks! Over the years have you seen a degradation in performance?
24:10 As Dr Isaac Kleiner would say - His relief is almost palpable
Great Video! I have sprayed many of them over the years , I always found it funny that You Tube Modders NEVER suggested this ! They would make entire videos about how ugly they were and how Noctua needed to make black fans, But NEVER pick up a can of paint! Ha ha! I have used the Vinyl paint and regular Hi Temp Flat black like VHT both with success! The only problem I have with disassembly is getting the "Fluid" for the Fluid Dynamic Bearing back into the housing. Also How much fluid should their be? Personally I would use synthetic motor oil but be guessing at the amount.
Dupli Coler Vinyl and Fabric (automotive) seems to work well dries fast and a long narrow spray pattern
This is great, thanks for the video. Your attention to detail is amazing
@AVTechy
Thanks for another great and very comprehensive video.
Regarding the risk of damaging Your fan when using the heat gun, I think it would be possible to protect the blades (and frame) "simply" covering it with "something" that won't catch fire or "blow away"... I myself think I would try Aluminium foil attached in a suitable manner as I have successfully used that "technique" previously.
Best regards.
(In my personal opinion there is no need for disclaimers, unless it's regarding receiving payment or products. In which case I reckon it's "mandated".
Though I can see how You might want to "defuse/avoid" some comments I'm just saying they are not needed for us "normal viewers" :)
Thanks for checking it out!
I think you're right, if I did this again I'll definitely use some aluminium foil to prevent heating the blades too much. It's interesting how many seemingly basic techniques I'm learning on these DIY escapades which seem obvious on reflection :P.
I too think the disclaimer included is kind or ridiculous, frankly I would have thought that any customer of Noctua looking to do this would have the intelligence to understand what does and does not void the warranty of the product they've purchased. It shouldn't be up to anyone else to inform them, especially when I'm not working with Noctua on this.
However Noctua contacted me requesting to make sure any viewers were aware of the warranty when watching this, and I don't see any reason to not respect that request (however much I feel it's unnecessary). Apparently several viewers had been in contact with Noctua after seeing this video, and Noctua wanted to ensure the right information was being reiterated at the source of these 'fan painting' ideas.
Anyway, I agree with you that it's not requires, and it wasn't present in the first week or so of its upload. It's interesting how little it takes to get the attention of a manufacturer though.
Thanks for checking this one out, and I'm glad you enjoyed it! :D
如果猫头鹰做过动平衡，那这样干会破坏动平衡吧
Best way to dye those kind of plastic parts at home, is in boiling water with the proper dyes for this technic. I made a lot of plastic color changes in many PC and RC parts by this method and it worked every time. There's absolutely no problem to bath those kind of plastics on boiling water. Make a search for boiling water dye and maybe "Rit dye more" product (one of many).
Nice! Have you got any recommendations of products for this? DIY and Modding is really a new world to me and I'd appreciate a pointer in the right direction.
Thanks for checking this out and taking the time to help :)
@@AVTechy The following video link, might not be the best out of many in UA-cam, but it's certainly a good start. I dyed many plastic RC parts this way in the past and I never had any problem. I've sent you this video specific, to see the ultimate color change from white to black. The result is very impressing I think. The water doesn't necessary have to be boiled so there's no problem of ruin small details on plastic parts. Give it a try and even if the instructions on such products ask for boiling water, you can just add up to the bath time in lower temperatures. I already did that once with very thin plastic parts I was afraid to put in boiling water, but still they dyed properly as well in some extra bath time. ua-cam.com/video/wFif1YXe6CE/v-deo.html
@@Katsoulinos This is a very interesting way to color plastic parts, I'm intrigued and I just might do this if I consider the noctua cooler, thanks !
The temperature may be different because you removed the heatsink and re-applied thermal paste to the CPU. The application of thermal paste will always change the temperatures slightly because of different amounts of thermal paste been applied.
I see what you mean. I attempt to counter this by always applying too much thermal paste to ensure there's always full coverage. Any excess ends up around the sides of the IHS.
All the data I've seen and carried out myself suggests too much thermal paste is as effective as an optimal amount, so by applying too much I always ensure there's never not enough.
In CPU cooler reviews I expose how much thermal paste is used, and how the application spread out under the cooler to gauge the effectiveness of the mounting solution.
Hey, I have just spotted this video. Could you tell my why did you heat the fan? Is it necessary?
It is necessary in disassembling it without damaging it.
thank you no i cam redo all cables on my build and painte
Are these fans still working okay? Any issues with dust or the paint moving more to the outside of the blades? I love the details of your testing. I’m just concerned about the long term issues.
Surprisingly the one fan that survived (not the one I butchered :P ) is working completely fine. It tested a good handful of systems after its reassembly and now sits on the shelf.
The only issue I've had with the finish is the lacquer I applied which has flaked off in some areas a few months after its application... so perhaps skip the lacquer step if you want to try it out yourself.
It's not put a step wrong so far mechanically, and I can't see it going wrong after this much time. But that doesn't mean it won't :P.
AV Techy Thanks for the quick and thorough reply!
AV Techy So it was a bit of a fail in the long run if the painting process wasn’t done correctly. Perhaps a primer should have been used.
@@dogbog99 The paint is perfectly fine underneath the lacquer, it's just the lacquer finish that hasn't held up well. I presume it's drying up too much which is causing the flaking.
I took apart a fan using the methods you describe but had a different outcome. I used a heat gun at 400 degrees c 15cm away from the center for 10 seconds. I wiggled and seemingly made a little progress. I repeated two more times and the fan came off however the other components did not come off with it. It seemed a more simple task in reassembly in that I only needed to add a little adhesive and snap the fan back on the 'silver post'. After holding it in place I notice the slightest wobble as the blades turn. I would like to know if your fans have had any wobble upon reassembly and if you have any knowledge of if it could be detrimental and should I try again. Suberb info btw.
Interesting, I'm not surprised the other components were left behind since the clutch has quite a lot of grip. I can imagine it was less of a headache to reassemble though which is always good.
As for using adhesive in the centre, the fan wasn't constructed using adhesive so there's no need to use any on reassembly. I used some oil to replace any that had evaporated or was washed away and made sure there was enough in there.
I've not experienced any fan wobble with mine. I had originally, but after the second attempt and reseating the centre assembly any fan wobble was unnoticeable. It's a bit irritating that your getting some after not needing to fiddle with the centre assembly. Maybe it was pulled out a little during the disassembly and it needs to be pushed back down a bit. Let me know hat you think, maybe we can find some sort of solution to it.
@@AVTechy I agree that it is probably due to a shift in the components when I popped the fan off. I should have used pliers to give the inner workings a push down while the adhesive was still heated. The fan is performing considerably well (normal). Regardless I have a matte white Noctua fan in my PC! Keep it up.
Not a stator but who really cares
FOURTY MINUTES?!
seriously? Just spray the damn thing LOL. I've done four so far. Light mist on each side, wait to dry then mist again. Done.
Quick question, if that's the case why are you watching videos on how to paint a fan?
@@AVTechy I wasnt. I was looking at Noctua cooler videos as they are now getting competition from Deepcool for a large air cooler... and stumbled upon your video painting it so I clicked and saw you taking the whole thing apart and figured I'd let you know that you are way over complicating it. Just set it down and do a few fine passes on each side and you're set.
What if you want to paint the blades and frame different colors? That's why I'm watching this video and it's information is invaluable
@@RYTHMICRIOT I've masked blades and hub before with tape and sprayed the frame. Takes a few mins of prep. It doesnt yield as perfect a result as taking the whole thing apart but good enough that its not noticeable in a case and especially if the computer is running and fans turning.
This is just proof that being black is cooler.
Are you referring to me or the fan? Either way I think it would be hard for me to argue against you there :P
7:06 BRUH 😭😭
شي يقرف
Enjoy your unbalanced blades by having an extra coat of paint on them
Thank you, I'm enjoying them a great deal as they're still performing as well as they did before.
It’s a video, edit it Before uploading
I don’t know why you’d suggest one temp setting and time and then retract it just 10 seconds later..
anyhow, handy video and great to show what’s behind the fan
How is the paint holding up? Any regrets?
The lacquer didn't stand the test of time, but the paint underneath is still solid. I'd just buy the black fans that are out now, but if they weren't available and you wanted these fans in black I'd still have a go at this.
@@AVTechy I have new old stock of some nf-f12s .... I think 9x the Chonomax version would break my bank.
That would break most banks :D you going to try this on those?
@@AVTechy Most likely =) my Mo-Ra 3 is black.
imagine taking 40 minutes to explain how to paint a pc fan
You don't have to, it's all been done for you...
@@AVTechy 👍
Excellent job!
Thanks very much, it's funny how about a month after I finished this Noctua unveiled their upcoming black NH-L9i... That was a bit of a bummer haha.
But it was an interesting project and test, so not all is lost.