Antec PC Case Restoration - Back to Home
One story I've mentioned ad nauseum on this site is the "forest computers" from 2020, when I found a giant pile of abandoned computer junk in the woods while mountain biking. One of the things I brought back home was a cool old Antec case & motherboard, but of course, it was completely trashed from sitting outside. Because I'm a computer hoarder, I still didn't want to throw it away, so I stashed it away under my deck for the past 4 years. This month, I finally dug it back out & saved what I could.
This was the state of it after getting it out of my backyard. Before this photo was taken, I took out the I/O shield and fan, so I could clean them separately.
The rust on the inside of the case was atrocious, there's no way I'd attempt to save the metal chassis. The main thing I'm after is the plastic faceplate, which I want to try & save. Salvaging the power button would also be nice, since I'm always out of power buttons for my PC builds.
As you'd expect from sitting outside for 4 years, the entire case was dirty, but the backside of the faceplate was by far the worst. I had planned to just wipe it off with cleaning wipes, but I ended up having to use the garden hose & soap, the first time I've ever done that for a PC part.
I'm not sure if the fan still works, but if it does, I'd be quite impressed. The motherboard I/O shield layout is pretty generic, so there's a decent chance that it could be compatible if I needed it for a random motherboard.
The plastic of the faceplate will always be discolored, but otherwise, it came out pretty good. After I rip out the power button & lights, I'll probably hang it on the wall over my basement workbench, just as decoration. My main goal was to get the case out of my yard, which was a success, even if the main chassis had to go to the dumpster.