Custom Painting a DS Lite

Lord Malory

Okay, my favorite high-speed forumites of all time, need some advice.

Im thinking of custom painting my PS Lite, because its a color i dont like and I want to be super cool.

What would be best - using careful stencils and enamal spraypaint/paint? Just brushing with enamal paint.

Also, do i have to scour the painted surface before i begin the painting process.

Your input, as always, is more than appreciated.

much love, PAers

Anonymous Robot

MinionOfCthulhu

Oh god every time I see that I throw up in my mouth a little.

Lord Malory

So should i take that as a warning to stay away from custom paint and use cute little asshat stickers?

Dangerous

My best advice would be not to bother unless you really know what you're doing, and I guess this thread is proof that you don't :P.

It takes a lot of work and practice and you run the risk of getting paint in the wrong places or turning your DS into a hideous monster.

stranger678

Dangerous wrote: »

My best advice would be not to bother unless you really know what you're doing, and I guess this thread is proof that you don't :P.

It takes a lot of work and practice and you run the risk of getting paint in the wrong places or turning your DS into a hideous monster.

It took a lot of botched jobs before I got the hang of it, I'm thinking you don't want to learn on a piece of equipment that's over a hundred bucks.

Pheezer

I know that the GBA was relatively easy to disassemble, so long as you had the special screw driver. I don't know that the same really applies to the DS.

Obviously you'll want to use spray paint. The paint can't go on too thick because then it's not going to fit together quite right again. And you'll never get an even coat without brush strokes using an acceptable volume of paint.

Krylon Fusion I know to be pretty hot shit for modding consoles and PCs. It gives a nice plastic looking, shiny finish, and I do believe it will adhere to plastic easily.

Ideally you could just use a coat of primer and then go at it, but again, you don't want to put too much paint onto the case. If you're going to prime it, I would almost suggest sanding down the existing finish first as well, to account for that extra layer of paint.

Actually, sanding, priming and then painting, and using spray paint would probably be the best method. Most likely to work out, anyhow. You will obviously need to fully disassemble the case first, though.

Pheezer

oh, also, you'll want to mask off the inside, and any pieces that are supposed to seal against each other. You don't want to paint or sand those down at all.

Doc Holliday

DrDizaster wrote: »

I know that the GBA was relatively easy to disassemble, so long as you had the special screw driver. I don't know that the same really applies to the DS.

Obviously you'll want to use spray paint. The paint can't go on too thick because then it's not going to fit together quite right again. And you'll never get an even coat without brush strokes using an acceptable volume of paint.

Krylon Fusion I know to be pretty hot shit for modding consoles and PCs. It gives a nice plastic looking, shiny finish, and I do believe it will adhere to plastic easily.

Ideally you could just use a coat of primer and then go at it, but again, you don't want to put too much paint onto the case. If you're going to prime it, I would almost suggest sanding down the existing finish first as well, to account for that extra layer of paint.

Actually, sanding, priming and then painting, and using spray paint would probably be the best method. Most likely to work out, anyhow. You will obviously need to fully disassemble the case first, though.

I think primer is discouraged when using Krylon Fusion.

Like the man says, thin, even coats on a lightly sanded surface will look fine. You'll probably get some paint flaking/rubbing wherever parts fit together, so stay conscious of that.

There's nothing magical in getting a good paint job, it just takes an immense amount of patience, a prepped area for doing it (as dust free as possible) and the right equipment.

japan

Doc Holliday wrote: »

There's nothing magical in getting a good paint job, it just takes an immense amount of patience, a prepped area for doing it (as dust free as possible) and the right equipment.

I'm pretty certain that this is the reason most of the attempts we get to hear about fail.

Lindsay Lohan

I would suggest making your own decals as a start and then if you find you really like having it customized then maybe take the time to research exactly what you want to do. I'd even recommend picking up a cheap GBA or something at a yardsale/goodwill for practice first if you decide to paint it.

Decals actually can be pretty decent. I did two sets back when I had a DS Phat...here are the pictures...

Pheonix Wright






Trauma Center

Target Practice

Is it me, or is Edgeworth flipping us off

Lord Malory

Thanks guys, i appreciate the tips - answered all my questions, especially about the sanding, i was curious if it was helpful, as ive never custom modded something so small before. I really appreciate it.

Projeck

Post the results when you finish.

Sunstrand

you should look into getting some Vynil Dye, it's a littlte more expensive than paint but comes in a can aswell. What it does is actually stain the plastic so you don't have to worry about the pieces not fitting together or sanding and all that stuff. If you google it or check out a computer modding forum theere is usally someone using it for a keyboard, or other random piece of plastic.

JRosey

Here's a flikr I ran across with someone taking photographs of each step of their DS painting shenanigans.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/inajamaica/sets/72057594057131168/

Impersonator

Anonymous Robot wrote: »

win

totally

You definitely will want to use Krylon Fusion if you are just going for solid colors, can get some cool colors of that shiz. It is a dye and is hecka durable. I use it for custom coloring plastic mecha toys that I am gonna want to play with.

Or hey! Buy a new case. Shock! makes one that looks super pro and is available in many colors. It cost me 40 bucks to order a clear one. http://www.dsfanboy.com/2006/09/10/case-mods-for-the-technically-savvy/
Pretty technical to disassemble your DS though, and you need a tri-wing screwdriver. (and you void your warranty. But I think painting alone would do that too.)

DarkPrimus

Krylon Fusion actually bonds with the plastic, so yeah, using primer is a no-no. Also, it won't go over already-painted surfaces very well, but on the DS that's not much of an issue.

Yeah, if you were going to go the customizing route, I'd just order a Shock! case. I plan on doing it once my Lite goes out of warranty.

Inzigna

From that photo set someone posted, it appears that you would need quite a bit of patience, be a tad good with paint, knowledge of how the DS works, how to take it apart properly and put it back, and quite a big working area in general.

Good luck.

SpikedFreak

JRosey wrote: »

Here's a flikr I ran across with someone taking photographs of each step of their DS painting shenanigans.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/inajamaica/sets/72057594057131168/

Did he not sand after every coat of paint, or is that the sparkle in the original Phat paint showing through?