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

[ChRed2AKrisp]

if you've got a newer controller, it's differnt from the picture on the front of this thread.

you need to take a phillips head screwdriver and uncover the trigger. then slide the "button" piece at the base of the spring up and out, which will allow you to pull out the trigger pieces firest horizontally towards you and then out of the controller. Don't worry if the spring slides of the trigger, you can just slide it on again later.

 

[Sizzle]

I appreciate the critique on my controllers. I know that they are not in fact the best paint wise, but I had a hell of a time with bad luck and weather when I painted the first two. So they look fine in my mind, especially because of all the crap I had to deal with.

The logos were actually put on in a method I created. They were the logos that guys wanted and it is really a simple process. They are not stickers. They are actually just printed on paper. What I did was get them wet with a small amount of water over the whole area to give it a more solid nature than the paper which would bubble for sure. It also gives it a semi translucent look. The wet paper sticks in one place pretty well also on the controller. So after I wet them, I stuck them on and immediately sprayed the clear coat over them. The logos turned out better than I thought they would.

 

[Bailey]

 

[Volrec]

Daaaaamn, Italy has never looked so sexy haha

 

[The Mad Hatter]

Not my latest, but I dont think Ive posted the pics in here yet.

 

[vericz]

What's on the back of the italy controller?

 

[Puffinator]

is it ok if i just skip the clear coating? cause as soon as i put the clear coat on, it started to act as a solvent or something like that, and messed up the paint.

 

[ChRed2AKrisp]

that's weird, but you really shouldn't skip it, the paint will chip and flake otherwise.

 

[yes!]

puffinator: are you certain the color coats are COMPLETELY dry? clearcoat shouldn't do that. a layer of clearcoat helps protect the color, especially when your hands are sweating cat and dogs after some intense smash. sweat's acidic and that coupled with lots of rubbing eat away at paint eventually. if you got the type of that paint doesn't require a finishing clearcoat then that's when it's not needed.

 

[Puffinator]

puffinator: are you certain the color coats are COMPLETELY dry? clearcoat shouldn't do that. a layer of clearcoat helps protect the color, especially when your hands are sweating cat and dogs after some intense smash. sweat's acidic and that coupled with lots of rubbing eat away at paint eventually. if you got the type of that paint doesn't require a finishing clearcoat then that's when it's not needed.

Yeah im sure that the paint was completely dry...we waited for like 7 hrs and it was out in the sun for that long. Also the brand of clear coat was the same brand as the paint. I used Rustoleum specialty paint for plastics, and i used a rustoleum painters touch semi gloss clear coat. If i dont put the clear coat on, how long do u think my controller will last without chipping the paint off? i have no idea why it's doing this...but it sux...any help? lol

 

[Binx]

Dont mind the hamburger. I took it on top of a counter.

Yup! That's me...And my finished controller. I did it with some good help of a friend and I managed to get my initials on the controller. Notice how I faded the color of the controller from Baby Blue to Navy Blue...Nice trick, huh? Thanx for the help in this thread. I really appreciate it!!!

How would you get a fade like this?

 

[Joe_Sumo]

free bump.

Instead of a triwing i had my friend grind down a screw driver into a triangle. its crudely made at best but it worked just fine

 

[Espy Rose]

As much as I usually hate reviving old topics, I finally got my controller painted. Picture quality is crap though:

Had some issues with paint thinner and such, and the front end is slightly thicker than the back for some reason, but it still feels great to me.

 

[red stone]

i comepletely twisted my flathead for this.

 

[Tesserex]

I decided for mine that, since I never even owned a Gamecube, I should replace the original logo on the controller with that of what it's actually used for. It's not a Gamecube controller, it's a Smash controller!

 

[spiritdragon]

How'd you get that smash logo on there? Looks very nice.

 

[Tesserex]

The logo was done by printing the image, and cutting it out of masking tape and just placing that over the controller.

 

[brawlpro]

this is some nice stuff!

 

[red stone]

i just did something wacky. i replace both sticks on my gc controller with the sticks that you get from wii nunchuks. is it still tourney legal?

oh btw, it feels great and gives you a bit more control. i said nunchuk, but i really got it from a classic controller cuz it's cheaper that way.

 

[Elen]

i just did something wacky. i replace both sticks on my gc controller with the sticks that you get from wii nunchuks. is it still tourney legal?

I'm gonna try this

 

[Falco&Victory]

i just did something wacky. i replace both sticks on my gc controller with the sticks that you get from wii nunchuks. is it still tourney legal?

I don't know, but you get 18 free bad@$$ points *buddies you*

 

[StressBot1]

Hey. I'm new here, and I'm considering painting my GC Controller for Brawl, with a White Case + Plug, A Button + B Button + Z Trigger, and then a Grey D-Pad + R Trigger, L Trigger + Start Button while leaving the C Stick Yellow. How would you suggest I go about this?

 

[omG_A_coW]

do i paint the inside too?

With the buttons, could i just paint the part of the button that will show and nothing else.

 

[red stone]

yeah so this is my controller with WII STICKS (ones from nunchuks)!!!! oh also i painted it too. i love it. it feels and handles great.

those who are asking about buttons, use very light coats and it'd be good if you just went ahead and did the whole button.

 

[brawlpro]

wait what exactly do u mean by wii stick, you replaced the gc controllers stck with a nunchuk one???

sry brawlpro = too lost in this thread!

 

[red stone]

yeah i replaced the gc sticks with the ones from the nunchuks...ok really from the classic controller but same diff right?

 

[brawlpro]

sure i guess so, but wouldn't some tournies ban your controller??

 

[red stone]

i actually asked about that a few posts up

 

[brawlpro]

oh sry, i didn't read all of it...


my apologiez.

 

[Xephalon]

hey guys is there any specific thing i have to do to keep the shininess of the controller?

 

[red stone]

just make sure you got a good coat of clear coat. if you don't, dirt is gonna stick to it sooo much

 

[brawlpro]

speaking from experience red stone???

 

[red stone]

yeah brawl pro...yeah

 

[Xephalon]

are there any good people here at doing this sort of thing in New York? cause i kinda messed up...lol.. i forgot to shake the can before i sprayed...so now its uneven..can i request a controller and like buy it? im willin to pay, name your price

 

[AePulse]

I'm surprised this still hasnt been stickied.

 

[Imperial Wraith]

Hmm. This thread is WAY too good not to be stickied.

But anyhoo, WOW at your controller redstone, it looks awsome lol. How do the nunchuck sticks compare to the normal c-stick and GC controll stick? I might try mine like that.

On the whole "Wii coloured theme" im trying to paint mine white, with a few black gashes down it (as if its been rent by a sword in places. If anyones done such a design, or something similar i'd love to see it!

 

[red stone]

Hmm. This thread is WAY too good not to be stickied.

But anyhoo, WOW at your controller redstone, it looks awsome lol. How do the nunchuck sticks compare to the normal c-stick and GC controll stick? I might try mine like that.

On the whole "Wii coloured theme" im trying to paint mine white, with a few black gashes down it (as if its been rent by a sword in places. If anyones done such a design, or something similar i'd love to see it!

i'm extremely adaptive with controllers so this may not apply to everyone. it took me like 5 minutes to get used to them. i believe they allow greater precision and will also last longer.

 

[Yeroc]

I don't see why they'd ban it. The functionality of the controller hasn't been altered in any way (I mean, they're still joysticks, mirite?). More on that later.

I've been painting controllers for years now. I see I wasn't the only one to make a black wavebird, though I think I may have been the first. The back of the solid/clear-backed blue controller with the LED that I took to Smash Aid V (the one mentioned near the start of this thread) is in one of the following pics.

This is the 2nd iteration of this latest controller of mine, which was seen around Gettin' Schooled 2, and lately FCD and Smash Aid X. It features 3 LEDs placed in the motor housing and each handle (there is no motor inside anymore). Learning from my previous attempt with a painted clear-back, I knew that the LEDs wouldn't show through the paint scheme I had in mind.

I borrowed several ideas I saw in this thread, so to whoever posted them all, many thanks.



I used a mixure of paint brands and types on this project, including 2 grades of primer. Darker for the shell, lighter for the buttons. I tried to replicate the appearance of a sunburst finish on a Gibson guitar, except in blue. The white buttons I snagged from my old black wavebird. The sticks, self-explanatory. I decided to leave the GCN logo visible after washing the shell. The sharpie I had traced "Gamecube" with had all washed off of the silver paint, but stuck to the lettering, which was my original intent with the sharpie, and it looked awesome so i just kept it. In the third picture you can see my Avvy. I got the idea from someone's post explaining how to do homebrew waterslide decals in this thread. Thanks again whoever you are. The fourth shot is a detail of the holes in the side with the LEDs lit. Sorry it's blurry, that was the best of all my attempts at capturing the image. Hope you like it!!!

 

[red stone]

awesome controller yerok. where did you get the clear shell? anyways, it's awesome you got your avatar on there (minus the sludge thing) and it's definitely a great looking controller. don't know when i'd use the led lights but it's a cool feature to have regardless. did you drill the holes in yourself?

anyways, it seems that the controllers are somewhat evolving and becoming more intricate as more and more people get inventive ideas on here. or it could just be my imagination.

 

[Yeroc]

In addition to the black, purple, and orange (well, and indigo and whatever else they did in japan) and eventually the silver, they sold a purple controller that had a clear back. So I picked one of those up and lightly sprayed it with blue, and did the top all in blue. So it looked blue, or mostly blue, and you could see the LED glow inside too. It was pretty sweet.

Yep, drilled all the holes myself. I work on my guitars too so I feel fairly comfortable doing handy things like that.

Also, just gotta say that I'm loving the Wii sticks. Anyone feeling adventurous I recommend you at least try them out.