That's the most thorough way of doing it but if for someone who isn't so inclined to de-rivet a case which involves tools and quite a bit of work isn't it possible to just use painter's tape? Granted, you're not going to get the most complete job as when you remove the rivets but for regular DIY I think painter's tape works pretty good - just take your time and do a clean taping job. Of course things like fans, plastic brackets and anything that can be removed tooless or with a simple screwdriver should be removed.

Oh nothing wrong with that - it's the best way to do it but for noobs like myself I trust my taping skills more than my riveting skills.

That's what I meant by taping.

I thought it was going to be troublesome taking those out but it was actually pretty easy.
tip: use 2 fingers - one on top and the other at bottom, squeeze gently and then slide it out.