Guide To Re-Spray Painting your controllers for melee(Updated 4/3/07)

[piZ]

Painting the control stick and cstick removes the rubbery like surface and makes it really strange, that's why we left the sticks on that white controller. Also, theres no start button because the back wasn't on in that picture.

 

[MZero17]

I'm thinking of making a Mr. G&W based conrtoller. The contoller looks so badass in my mind.

 

[The Mad Hatter]

Any one having trouble with clear coat wearing off?

 

[Flamestar666]

not off my shell..

i'm careless with my controllers so the paint chiped

 

[LeeWanderer]

WOW. Some of you are pretty talented. I can't wait to head down to Home Depot and pick up what I need to mod my own. Maybe I'll make a few extra to give away as tournament prizes. But first I've got a few questions.

I want to do my Wavebird's radio receiver bit. Do I need to take it apart and remove its innards as well, or can it be painted whole? Should I spray paint it, or use a brush? Also, has anyone replaced the LED in it? If so, where did you get the LED? How about the LED in the Wavebird itself, can it be replaced? Also, are there any major differences in painting a Wavebird as opposed to a regular controller? For example, does the plastic need to be sanded more or anything like that?

Thanks very much for your help.

 

[Flamestar666]

if you paint it whole, paint will get between the buttons, and it won't work well
it's not that hard open it

the LED is uber small, and would be really hard to replace...
not worth it in my opinion

all nintendo gamecube controllers use the same kind of plastic
prime, sand, and paint,
or sand the plastic directly like i did


high gloss acrylic helps loads

 

[Peaches]

hmm, this is interesting. Perhaps I'll make a Peach controller with a stencil (aka paint a turnip on there).

 

[The Mad Hatter]

Here is my controller. I did this over thanksgiving break.

 

[Flamestar666]

lol lookx like you jizzed all over it...
erm i mean, it looks cool

good job

 

[The Mad Hatter]

Ahh poo. You figured it out.

 

[JustaPnoy]

viewtiful, what did you use to get that white design on?

 

[The Mad Hatter]

Well there are different things you can use. I like the paint pen because its fast and easy to put multi coats. If you want a more detailed design I would go with air brush or a pin striping brush. I have used all in the past and am working on one with air brush now. If you want fast, I would go with paint pen. You can get them in Wal-Mart in the craft section.

 

[Captain_Obvious]

Pff...walmart.

I want to make some golden controllers as trophies for an upcoming tournament. I went to go pick up the stuff from Fred Meyer and was able to find the color I needed, but no primer. I talked to the manager, but he said that since the invention of plastic paint (no primer needed) he hasn't carried any plastic primer. Not to be deterred, I grabbed some metal primer (I figured that metal is a tough surface to bind to, so it should do the trick with the plastic) and some 400 grit sandpaper (highest they had). How long did you sand for, and what did you do about the dust?

Thanks for the help!

- Captain R.D. Obvious

 

[cultofrubik]

wow this thread is absolutely amazing. i read the first ten pages and nearly cried, lol. as i was reading this i was already able to take apart controller numero uno to clean it. that in itself is absolutely amazing.
I will try to be getting to home depot to make my desired controller customized very soon. but i do have some questions:
for making a logo, what should i use for that? some sort of stencil?

if anyone has any ideas please let me know! =)

 

[Red Exodus]

You should sell some of those, they look really cool. I would buy a red one .

 

[Ronin686]

So I've painted my controller & buttons, and clear coated it, but the buttons stick to the shell, making it impossible to short hop, etc. So I sanded the buttons and the button slots on the shell for a long time as best as I could, and it's still slightly too big. The shell doesn't go back together smoothly, making the buttons barely protrude at all to begin with. I haven't been able to put the L and R buttons back in. It's such a pain in the *** hooking the bottom plastic sheet in the little slot while keeping the shoulder buttons in position. Did I completely ruin my controller, or is there still hope? What can I do to make the buttons slide in and out of the shell as easily as a non-painted controller? How can I make my shell fit together as easily as a non-painted controller? Any tips on putting the L and R buttons back in?

 

[MisterZ]

NO! now go ehway bayfur ah taunt you a seconed taammmm

 

[yes!]

ronin666,

it sounds to me as if you put a few too many coats of paint or clear coat. making the shells difficult to fit together and the buttons difficult to work properly. your best option would probably be to use a higher grit sandpaper to sand paint off were the 2 shells meet. (that's if you did paint too much.). as for the L/R buttons, i understand that newer versions of the controller don't have the screw holding them down onto the shell. however, that shouldn't be a problem, the spring in the shoulder buttons should already have sufficient force to keep the entire shoulder button rig held tightly enough for reassembly. hope that helps.

and misterz: what is with that rrrrrridiculous french acccooooonnnnntt??

 

[The Mad Hatter]

686- Too many coats. Your going to have to sand it back down in order for it to work right. The grit you use really depends on what type of paint your going to use. Most people just use spray paint and 220 grit is by far the best for it. But yeah, sand it back down and dont put as much paint on it.

 

[Sick_ShEiK$$$]

wow i like did everything up there and it made it a really light pink controller
then i applied the clear coat
then i went to put it inside and when i picked it up it stuck to the god **** carboard box -.-
so i had to tack all the paint off and redo it..
but i was laughing cause it looked really cool with primer/normal old coat
kind of a white purple camo =]
but anyways
how long do you leave it to COMPLETELY dry?
a few days?
cause i dont want to smudge the paint and leave finger prints..at all
anyone no?

 

[The Mad Hatter]

Most spray paint primer dries really fast. I still give it at least 3 hours to cure. When I put the color coat on I will give it no less then 24 hours before I clear coat. I have rushed a paint job before and it didnt workout for me. Just take your time next time. A bad *** paint job is well worth the wait.

 

[Sick_ShEiK$$$]

people telling me that 250-400 grit sandpaper works best but i got uhh the 600 grit
ima buy a new controller today cause i F\/ck mine up =[
so
sandpaper it
prime it
wait a few hours
then
color coat it
then wait about a day and clear coat it
then how long does clear coat take
can says 15 minutes but ill give it an hour?

 

[The Mad Hatter]

For spray paint use 220 grit. By far the best. The point of sanding is not to make it smooth (I mean sanding for painting purposes) but to give it a surface for the paint to stick to.

Clear coat also depends. I like spray enamel (crystal clear). It seems the most durable and keeps the shine longer. Its best to give it a good 24 hours before you handle it as well. Too soon and youll end up with finger indentions all over it.

All these times really depend on the conditions your painting in also. The colder it is, the longer you should wait. I have a paint room (I dont think you have one) and there is very little humidity with a temp of about 69 F. Just dont paint if there is a lot of humidity and freezing.

edit- Here is my latest controller (I got more also)

 

[Yomon]

Wow, really nice job on the decals Viewtiful Jon. :o

This topic has inspired me to paint the Indigo controller that came with my Gamecube. I hardly used it because I liked the wavebirds better. Then I went to OC2 and found they are quite embarrassing at tournaments because some times they don't work.

So yeah, I saw Flamestar666 at OC2 with his greenish-blue GCN controller. And I was like "Wow! I want to do that!"

Then I found this topic and read pretty much every post on every page out of boredom. <_<

Thusly, I am inspired to paint my own controller. So I bought some white Krylon Plastic Paint, and a silver paint pen, and a light blue paint pen. I'm going to make my controller all white, and then draw either an armored frog silhouette or my bass clef-like logo above the start button.

I was going to start the painting today, but I couldn't find a 1.8mm screwdriver. So I gave up and ordered a screwdriver on Play-Asia.com for those little Y-shaped screws. I'm hoping when I get it (should be in 5 business days or more) that it will fit.

So anyways. When I'm done, I'll post some pictures of my newly painted controller. Here's to hoping that I succeed and don't mess it up badly

 

[Sick_ShEiK$$$]

im making a new controller tomarrow
and i have no idea what color i should do it!
its been hard to choose
so i can thinking
can anyone just post up some nice colors that clash together..
i was gonna make a controller with allmost every rainbow color
Yellow,Orange.Blue,Green etc etc.
but that would be a pain in the a$$
=[
but i just might
but can anyone just post up some colors that look good and match well..
need help

 

[Sizzle]

My Latest. This was made for Trevyn, the excellent Link player.

 

[Yomon]

Nice controller there, Sizzle. Great job on the Triforce too :O

Sick_ShEiK$$$: How about... monochromatic style. For example, you could make the colors fade from black to white. Or dark blue to light blue. Something like that <_<

 

[DXY!]

I'm planning on painting my Wavebird once my screwdriver gets here.

I'm stoked. Thanks for all the wonderful information in this thread.

 

[Sick_ShEiK$$$]

idk if walmart carrys that kinda paint...theres a hobby shop like a mile away ill check that out
but ill try that
like a candy paint...
that would look bada$$

 

[Yomon]

Haha, if it doesn't work out, that's cool. Just an idea. <_<

So anyways, I painted the plug part on my GCN controller. It came out really nice. but when I tried to put on some light blue paint decal, it ran through the painters tape and smudged. So I painted over it, but the paint cracked a little; even though I didn't touch it for an hour... It's not really bad looking, but eh... it's ok I guess. <_<;;

I'll live. I just hope the same fate doesn't happen to my controller...

Also, the paint on my controller plug is a tad bit sticky. Even after a couple of days. Will the paint remain sticky for a while? If so, should I get some clear coat to make it smooth? <_<

 

[The Mad Hatter]

Man, there could be a million reasons your paint is doing that.
But I can give you some advice. If you happen to mess up, its best to wait a few days and sand it back and start fresh. I know this from exp.

 

[E3E_IceClimbers]

This may not go along so much with modifying your controller with paint but its still only cosmetic. I decided a few months back that with all the tournaments I go to I needed a reliable control because my wavebird ran the risk of being interfered with, so while sitting brainstorming with my bro he suggests I make a corded wavebird. Crazy at first then it made perfect sense. I would have a reliable controller with the wavebird shell I love. Well after only a tiny bit of modifying I made it and it works fine. I have used it in several tournaments and plan to use it at FC6(after KishPrime inspects it). I just thought I would share it because people tend to find it interesting and this is the only topic I could find that it was fit to mention in. And I even have a picture for you.

Nice.....good idea....i prefer the wavebird shell also. Use a thumb stick in place of c-stick and paint it up, would be one hot controller. Very functional and unique.

Since your post was mid last year, have you had any problems at tourney's with this controller yet?

 

[Sick_ShEiK$$$]

this is my Wavebird =]
a stone'ish looking color
Black/White/Red
Specs
turned out nice too me
Really smooth also

 

[E3E_IceClimbers]

^^ i like that....looks good

 

[Yomon]

That's kinda cool! Almost looks like rust :O

And I'll try sanding my controller plug, see if I can undo my mistakes. I also got some paint on the controller wire thing... could I sand that off too? <_<;

And umm... still waiting for my screwdriver. I got the one on play-asia.com and I'm wondering if anyone knows if it will work for GCN controller screws. Because it said it was made for GBA/GBA SP and stuff like that. :S

Crap. <_<;

 

[OoNoiRoO]

Came out better than I thought.

Now... what to put in the middle...

 

[Sick_ShEiK$$$]

that gray controller came out bad bro
just needs a other color to make it stand out you no what i mean?
but hey
how many coats of paint and clear coat you put on that controller?
looks Really smooth

 

[OoNoiRoO]

2 coats of primer, 3 coats of the gray, and 2 coats of clear top coat.

TBH, I really like the gray because it's really simple. Not extremely exotic or anything XD

PS: Is switching the sticks tourney legal?

 

[Yomon]

The gray isn't bad IMO. It's different, and it reminds me of that jet black N64 Nintendo released. <_<

Hmm... I think to make it pop out more, apply some lime green. I'm thinking bar code stripes would look really awesome. But that's just my mind exploring again.

Also, I'm not sure about the stick switching thing. But I think there was a conversation about it earlier in this topic.

 

[sweetooth]

I just took my spice controller and my black controller and switched them around. it works for me. i do want to try the paint though