All of the aluminum panel parts are glued/epoxied to the ABS-type plastic backers, 'permanently'. I'd say they can not be removed/separated & then reapplied/glued/expoxied afterwards, the metal would warp or dent or wrinkle or otherwise incur damage in the attempt of prying apart. While plenty of people have done paint jobs successfully by carefully masking-off areas (ie chrome strips etc) You'll ruin the top panel before u get it separated from its backer (I assume u want to 'push' the dings back & otherwise flatten them starting from behind, but u really can't), so for the panel dings I'm forced to suggest 'Bondo' then sand then prime then paint, or try to find a new panel & paint it. Try to chat @ Dell Spare Parts for part# R841R lunar shadow front panel / bezel, or try google/eBay Tip: take great care of the ribbon cable when putting the bottom panel back on / back together (per photo #1) Any thoughts on what color change you're after? For PSU, just slide in an aftermarket type when you're ready for one, it will have fan clearance no problem, just needs a 120/140mm dust filter (or screen-mesh) to catch/protect from falling sc rews etc, see my page  I can't visualize what your vents are doing, lol, generally, launch CmndCntr & uncheck the box > 'flare on startup' … other times, vents & start-up 'behavior' can change based on which W10 build/version you're on now or were on or will be on in the future, for better or worse For vents on W10, try here? Area-51 R1 Fix Top Vents Not Closing w/ Windows 10 "Start button, Settings, Accounts, Sign-in-options, Scroll down to Privacy and turn OFF 'Use my Sign-in info to Automatically finish setting up my device and reopen my apps after an update or restart' ... now shutdown PC, did vents close? If yes, good." … if not, try the other tips [IMAGE]  
I made an impulse purchase on an old Dell Alienware Area-51 R1.  I was looking for a classic case to potentially use with a new Alder lake build next year (and before ATX12VO PSUs become the industry standard). I was hoping someone might be able to answer some questions about the Area-51 R1. Disassembly and repaint.  The front bezel (top half) has some dings. I’d like to try a repair. Also, I’m considering painting all panels a new color.  [IMAGE]   [IMAGE]   [IMAGE]   Power supply.    The OEM power supply is the old front/back passthrough style that isn’t used any longer.  The current design uses top (or bottom) to out to accommodate 120mm fans.  Both there’s this metal plate blocking the top (or and bottom). However, the OEM PSU is also outsize so there would be a small gap under the metal plate for some airflow.   [IMAGE] AWCC – Vent Fin Flare ups    So I got the OEM system running fine (I think).  First, I added a HDD and installed Win 7, and AWCC 2.8.9 (the Win 7 version).  Win 7 activated and I pulled all the updates.  Then, I set the fins to stay fixed in the up position, LEDs all worked. Great. Moving on. Next, set aside the original Win 7 HDD.  Clean installed 10 pro different HDD.   No prior activation.  Oh well. Scrubbed drive.  Made a duplicate (clone) drive.  Upgraded clone to win 10 pro, this time it activated fine. Got all the updates, then installed AWCC 2.8.11 (the Win 8 version).  The upgrade knocked out the top LEDs and power button LED.  Got the LEDs working, but now the vents do this annoying thing where the fins flare up whenever I start up, and flare down whenever I shut down. Or maybe it’s cool, just not when you want them to stay up so you can remove a fin.  I don’t think it’s an MIO setting.  It seems to be triggered by the Thermal controller program in AWCC.    [IMAGE]
Area-51 R1, Disassembly, repaint, etc.