anyone show how they have their TE’s side painted? i know there was one…but i’d rather have an example of blue if possible.
Over at the MPC Forums I frequent we’ve had similar discussions in regards to coloring plastic music equipment parts. Just check this thread for some legit info:
http://www.mpc-forums.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=109029&hilit=orange+controller
This is my first attempt at customizing a joystick. I think it turned out OK. I was happy that I was able to match the paint to the baby-blueish color of these sanwa buttons. I got all of my parts from PonyBoy, who I highly recommend. I did actually mess up the sticker a little bit, so I’ll replace it eventually. I guess this color scheme would be a nice fit for a chun-li stick. I dunno what do ya’ll think?
Gradius that stick came out sick man!! looks pro to me.
I’m also curious to know if anyone has tried dying the sides of their TE stick with rust-oleum dye. I just bought some gloss black for my bezel and I think I want to paint the sides. just not sure if paint or dye would be the best option.
I would assume that you’d have to sand since it is a glossy surface? I could be wrong though.
Hey thanks for the compliment evilninjachris. I don’t have a TE stick but maybe I can still help answer your question since I’ve got some experience in dyes, airbrushing and painting stuff like this. The short answer is yes you can dye it without sanding no matter how glossy the finish of the plastic is the dye will penetrate the surface of the plastic. You should sand if you think there has been some varnish applied or if you want a deeper color. I would stay away from anything rougher than 1000 grit though, meaning use 1000 and above.
Also here some usefull info on dyes FYI…
http://www.techpowerup.com/articles/modding/46
Really looking forward to painting the sides and bezel of my TE, i just wish Rustoleum made green dye to match my new artwork :arazz:
Starting this tonight on an SE I picked up at Fry’s for $50.
Home Depot here are a bunch of noobs and don’t know what I’m talking about 90% of the time.
Had to resort to Wal-Mart and get Krylon Fusion, the Royal Blue.
Couldn’t find Krylon Clear Coat, so the guy suggested I use this.
http://www.rustoleum.com/CBGProduct.asp?pid=166
Kinda worried it might not work well for $5.
Oh well, results later.
So I’m working on mine. I started it today, independently of this thread. Going with the same red as the OP. Besides art, mine is going to end up looking a lot like his, which is kind of funny since we both came up with this independently. Black buttons, red casing. My art will be primarily black though, with red Sanwa OBSN-30s and a red bat-top Sanwa JLF.
My question is, I’ve read others talking about the buttons (Start and Select/Home) sticking with the paint. Do the switches up top stick too? Has anyone besides the OP painted them? I think I will go to Advance Auto Parts tomorrow and look for some of the Rustoleum Vinyl Dye. Has sanding generally worked well to keep them moving freely?
Lastly, because of the thread, I’m going to do a clear coat. I wasn’t going to, but I want to be extra cautious. Not sure that I’ll bother to polish it like the guy in the guide does, but we’ll see. So far, I’m really happy with how it’s turning out.
Good thread. I’ll post pics when I’m done.
Advance Auto opens at 7:30, and that’s when I was there. They didn’t have any Rustoleum vinyl dye, so I bought the DupliColor Vinyl & Fabric. Being in a “dicking around with my arcade sticks” mood, I decided to take apart my Agetec and see how it would look if it were black. I gave it a good scrubbing with soapy water and a brush, dried it off and then went to work.
Verdict is, don’t use Krylon Fusion. It’s good for what it is, but the vinyl dye is way easier to get right and dries even faster. I’ve got two coats on and for the most part, you can’t tell this didn’t come black from the factory.
how did you put the image and in the buttons like in the other pic?
I was gonna use Krylon but after reading this thread I decided to use Rustoleum Vinyl Dye.I’ve painted before but this is my first time using Rustolem and all I can say is that I’m extremely happy with the outcome.
That looks incredible. I’m still actually really happy with how the Krylon is turning out, I’m just even happier with how the DupliColor Vinyl & Fabric dye turned out on the Agetec stick/buttons for the SE. If I had it to do over, I would use the vinyl dye right off the bat.
What did you end up doing for the art? I know there’s the other thread for that, but yours somehow looks better than a lot of others. I’m thinking about getting mine printed on vinyl, it’s more expensive but I’ve heard the LamiLabel is starting to peel for some folks.
Anyway, great job! Looks awesome.
I used Rustoleum vinyl/fabric dye as well and it turned out decently aside from user error…
I managed to get some runs in the dye. When I get more time I might be repainting (dying) it.
I finished mine this past Sunday with black Dupli-Color vinyl dye. I must admit I’m not the most crafty person in the world, and I’m better with functionality than I am with form, but for the time I spent on it (and it being the first time modding a stick), I don’t think it turned out half bad.
Also, over time it seems the vinyl dye auto-corrects your mistakes when the dye is absorbed into the plastic. I would have been effed with Krylon due to my noobiness.
Next time I will take more time, as well as use the straight edge at work to cut my art template, so I’m only left doing the corners.
Pics coming soon, and thanks to all who contributed to this (and other) threads re: modding the SE. A true help.
I also considered getting it printed on vinyl,but I didn’t know where to go,so the art is LamiLable.I had to do it twice though because I screwed the first one up horribly.The first time I did it I just put the art directly on without taking off the plate first.I tried to use a razor blade and use the lines on the case as guides to cut it,big mistake.I ended up with cracks,chips,and plastic shavings from where I had applied too much pressure because the razor was kinda dull.
Yeah, the method widely suggested is to remove the bottom 1/3rd of the lamilabel backing and get it put on nicely aligned, etc. Then put the cover back on the case, screw it in, and slowly apply the art. This way you have a clean fit as well as no screws showing.
In retrospect, although my first stick is not horrible, I will be doing that for my second stick. The first time I just tossed it on the best I could… which for my technique, went well.
Not sure if you guys would be interested, but Arthong, the guy who makes Plexi for TE and HRAP sticks is going to try to make Plexi for SE sticks so those interested may have an alternative to a lami-label.
I painted my stick with VHT Vinyl Dye yesterday (24 hours ago) and it’s got some runs in it. Everyone on the internet says that it’ll fix itself up in time, but I’m skeptical that it’s going to get any better than it is already. Will the runs continue to go away, or am I just screwed at this point? The runs seem fairly prominent.
I just picked up a TE stick that should arrive next tuesday and wanted to do a dark blue vinyl dye for the bezel. Now I’ve been googling around and some topics I read mentioned dyeing it white first and then dyeing it your chosen color. So do I need to do that or can a dark blue go over the red just fine?
If you get runs from vinyl dye its most likely you put it on WAY too thick. Just remember, lots of light coats. Its always easier to add more than to have to clean up a run.