Hardware White Decals vs White Shell?

[Dan-the-Rebirth]

hey i ordered my 2nd switch this weekend and iam thinking about upgrading it alittle bit.

I love the looks of the white switch you can find online, but pictures can be deceptiv.
there are 2 basic ways of moding the outside of a switch: a replacement shell and decals.
anyone got any epirience with either of these?

i did buy the snes desing decals for the new3DS and the printing was kinda grainy (meaning the gray one not 1 solid color but multible dots of different colors) but that could just been a printing error

 

[Michael Morsette]

I have two switches, one I put decals (Skyrim theme from GameStop) and the other was painted by Colorware.

The decals I've played with always look like decals, you can just tell. But the price is cheap and the looks arn't bad so I use decals for the kid's Switch.

The paint job from Colorware looks like it was always meant to be that way. It is beautiful and somehow makes it even feel more quality... maybe something to do with the paint finish. But it is very pricey, and my kids are never allowed to even touch lol.

 

[maruuu07]

I have two switches, one I put decals (Skyrim theme from GameStop) and the other was painted by Colorware.

The decals I've played with always look like decals, you can just tell. But the price is cheap and the looks arn't bad so I use decals for the kid's Switch.

The paint job from Colorware looks like it was always meant to be that way. It is beautiful and somehow makes it even feel more quality... maybe something to do with the paint finish. But it is very pricey, and my kids are never allowed to even touch lol.

pics?^^

 

[Michael Morsette]

Here is my painted Switch:

I don't have a picture of the decals on my kid's Switch, they ripped them off long ago; but here is a stock photo of what we had:

 

[maruuu07]

Here is my painted Switch:View attachment 136334 View attachment 136335 View attachment 136336
I don't have a picture of the decals on my kid's Switch, they ripped them off long ago; but here is a stock photo of what we had:View attachment 136337

The decals are repulsive but your painted switch setup is simply stunning. The "Take this" on the backside of the controller is the cherry on the top. I'm so jealous right now. 0/10

 

[ShaytheStar]

I've had some experience with both. My dad bought me the officially licensed Zelda decals last year, which were pretty poor quality and some of the more-touched parts rubbed off to become white. I peeled them off two days ago and they left lots of glue residue. Not worth it.

Two days ago, I took apart both joycons and have the materials to spray paint them when the damn rain stops (fine sandpaper, matte blue spray paint + primer, and glossy finish which was the only one I had). It was very easy to do and it seems like it'll go back together just as easily. You'll need to buy a triwing screwdriver though of like 1mm, I think? I'm not worried at all about a issue with a spray paint job coming off. Regular joycon housing is so cheap that I'll just buy new housing to spray paint if it starts coming off after a while...but I do hope it doesn't start coming off only a few months in or worse!

 

[Odb718]

Stickers, in the long run, aren't worth it. Even if they last a year they're going to turn to crap.
I've been painting consoles since 2002. You want car spray paint. Or another high quality paint.
DO NOT BUY KRYLON. It comes out like garbage compared to Duplicolor. And they're like less than a $1 difference.
Plus you can get metallic colors like the gold MrBland has.

If you've never spray painted anything before, look up some quick tips on youtube. One key thing you'll want to get down asap is starting about a foot away from the object, spraying, and Swipe. Never start the spray pointed directly at the object.

If you're going to sand, I dont recommend anything under 1000 grit.

 

[ShaytheStar]

It looks all right to me. You might be interested in seeing. I didn’t do the best job, but I think it’s serviceable. I expected less than this honestly. The sparkly finish isn’t for everyone, but it does help hide any sanding marks in case you were rushed by a week of predicted rain + a bit lazy.

DO NOT BUY KRYLON.

Oops, I bought Krylon.

 

[Odb718]

I hope your hands dont end up sticking to it. When I was painting Xbox controllers krylon wasn't the most comfortable.

Any pics of it back together?

 

[ShaytheStar]

I hope your hands dont end up sticking to it. When I was painting Xbox controllers krylon wasn't the most comfortable.

Any pics of it back together?

You're right, it is a little sticky. I'm putting it back tomorrow just to make certain it's completely dry, so I'll get back to you when it's put together.

 

[Odb718]

You may want to hit up a car store. Like Advanced Auto or something like that. Duplicolor may have a clear coat. I've NEVER had good luck clear coating spray paint but I end up buying krylon or some other basic spray paint. It always bubbles or some weird crap ends up happening.

 

[Xenon Hacks]

You may want to hit up a car store. Like Advanced Auto or something like that. Duplicolor may have a clear coat. I've NEVER had good luck clear coating spray paint but I end up buying krylon or some other basic spray paint. It always bubbles or some weird crap ends up happening.

You need to spray left to right in small bursts that's why

 

[ShaytheStar]

A clear coat would be a good idea, but I’ve actually put it back together already. Here it is. The only issue was that I lost one of the triwing screws for the back of the Switch, but there are 10 more screws holding it on so it doesn’t make a difference.

I expect it’ll come off for sure, but I’m not sure when, so I’m going to wait until it does. You can still see the parts where the paint ran a little and where I sandpapered, but I don’t mind it at all. P.S. Fire Emblem Warriors is a fantastic game ;0 Edit: Turns out I added a "topcoat," not sure if that counts as a clear coat though.