Any advice on how to spray paint consoles?

Harsky · Jan 29, 2015

I found a spare Gamecube console in my attic that I want to try and recolour. The last time I attempted this was over 10 years ago with a cheap Playstation console and even cheap spray paint which looked horrible because I was in a rush. For the Gamecube, I want to do this properly. Ideally, I want it to try and make it look like this:

Unlike last time, I would actually like to take the time and effort to research this before I commit to spray painting. Is a primer essential or is there a type of spray paint that can be used on plastic that dries quickly?

steveroo · Feb 3, 2015

lesson I learned when doing my arcade joystick; never spray paint on a flat surface laying on the ground, or else you'll get orange peel effect. Always have the casing standing up while spray painting. A cheap stand I used was a oil 5 liter jug. I'd hang the case off the lid of oil and paint. Another tip; always scratch the paint with a scuff pad after each layer of paint. The final coat use a finishing clear coat for a shine.

What I learned about painting my joystick; the cost is very expensive, it takes a lot of time, room mates are going to hate, the finished product has little re-sell value.

I suggest looking up painting arcade joystick to learn how to paint your dreamcast, there is an abundance information on the shoryuken forums

The Real Jdbye · Feb 3, 2015

Harsky said:
I found a spare Gamecube console in my attic that I want to try and recolour. The last time I attempted this was over 10 years ago with a cheap Playstation console and even cheap spray paint which looked horrible because I was in a rush. For the Gamecube, I want to do this properly. Ideally, I want it to try and make it look like this:

Unlike last time, I would actually like to take the time and effort to research this before I commit to spray painting. Is a primer essential or is there a type of spray paint that can be used on plastic that dries quickly?

The post above mine gives a lot of good tips, another thing that's important is to sand the surface before you paint it. Paint doesn't stick very well onto smooth plastic.

Sicklyboy · Feb 3, 2015

The Real Jdbye said:
The post above mine gives a lot of good tips, another thing that's important is to sand the surface before you paint it. Paint doesn't stick very well onto smooth plastic.

Adding to this, not something rough like a 60 grit. You'd want probably at the lowest a 300 grit, maybe something around a 400 grit. Remember, you're not looking to completely take the surface off, you're looking to lightly scuff the exterior so the paint has more surface area to adhere to. With each coat that you apply and lightly sand it'll smooth it out more and more. I've also heard you can use #0000 steel wool to kind of buff the finish, though I've never used it myself.

You might also consider using a primer for plastics as your base layer.

Also, make sure the paint dries very, very well between layers, especially if you're giving each layer a light sand.

Digital.One.Entity · Feb 3, 2015

Any good Acrylic or Clear coat for the finish gloss ?

Also got a few GCs laying around all Platinum been wanting to mix things up Visually...

Sicklyboy · Feb 3, 2015

I usually just use Krylon polyurethane spray-on clear coat. It can come out decently enough though I've found it can dry with the slightest yellow tinge to it sometimes.

RevPokemon · Feb 4, 2015

Painting A Gamecube (Rad Racer Style Part 1):

That guy is spray painting a GC and looks nice (there are 3 vids he has). It may be something too look at

Issac · Feb 4, 2015

Yeah, sanding and clear coating (also if you want it to really shine, wetsand the clear coat and re-apply several times as well (each time with even finer grits / use car buffing polish) I'll link a video of a part of a guitar build dealing with clear coating the neck (it's long but interesting and shows the result well, and you can skip around to parts that interest you).

Harsky · Feb 4, 2015

Thanks for the advice so far. My only concern so far is that if I decide to go for primer, paint and then clear coat, won't the power button/reset button/lid open button get stuck easily?

RevPokemon · Feb 4, 2015

Harsky said:
Thanks for the advice so far. My only concern so far is that if I decide to go for primer, paint and then clear coat, won't the power button/reset button/lid open button get stuck easily?

While you paint it cover that part so the paint won't wick on it

Plstic · Feb 4, 2015

Do you want that metallic car finish or if you don't care I can recommend vinyl die, no sanding needed.

steveroo · Feb 4, 2015

I also windex'ed after each coat of paint to eliminate any dust or dirt.

the picture of the red joystick in my first post is my end product after painting it.

Sicklyboy · Feb 4, 2015

Harsky said:
Thanks for the advice so far. My only concern so far is that if I decide to go for primer, paint and then clear coat, won't the power button/reset button/lid open button get stuck easily?

The best thing to do is disassemble it and paint all of the individual components separately. You could either tape off inside the power button slot and around maybe the bottom 3/4 of the button itself, or you could paint it and then sand it down as needed afterwards.

Any advice on how to spray paint consoles?

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