Top products from r/customcontrollers

I posted this guide in the comments section on my post on /r/smashbros , just in case anyone is interested.


Take apart the controller, obviously, and separate the top and bottom shells. Use a tri-wing screwdriver, I found mine on amazon for less than a dollar (shipping included, the price is subject to go up). I've read about people using a small phillips screw driver, and sort of forcing the screws to turn. If that works for you, great. I wouldn't try it, though. Why damage the screws when you can do it the right way?

1. Sand the shells down. I used 220 sandpaper, higher grit would be better. This gets rid of Nintendo's top coat, and allows the paint to fuse to the plastic better.
   
   
2. Wash the shells with soap and water. This'll get rid of all of the dust from sanding, and also make sure you're not painting on top of any sweat or dirt.
   
   
3. Primer? I didn't use any because the spray paint I had is designed for plastic and doesn't require primer. Unless you have this kind of spray paint, you'll need a primer.
   
   
4. Spray Paint. I did 2 coats of red. Keep the bottle a good distance from the controller and it'll turn out good.
   
   
5. Clear Coat it. I bought a clear coat designed for plastic. I actually wish the finish was a little different, but it worked perfectly for what I needed it to do. The clear coat will protect the paint from damaging. So if you drop it, the idea is the clear coat might get scuffed but the paint won't chip. (Also other obvious protection from aging etc. )
   
   
6. Let it dry for as long as you can wait. Honestly, 2-3 days is ideal. It may feel dry, but it's not. The paint takes a long time to set. You might even be able to use it a few hours after painting it, but I promise you it'll turn out better if you let it dry for a couple of days. I was really anxious to take the picture, so I let it dry from morning to night and then put it together. I took the pic, and put it in a well ventilated and cool temperature room of my house. There it will dry for a couple of days before I am ready to let my friends play with it.
   
   Good luck and post pictures! /r/customcontrollers & /r/smashbros
   
   

I would recommend a couple of things

1. Use thinner coats of paint. It's the key to a perfect paint job I swear! The first coat should be so light that not everything is totally painted (you should still see primer in some places, especially the edges)
   
   
2. If you want gold joysticks, I wouldn't paint them. Paint adheres especially poorly to rubber and if you're constantly touching them it doens't last long. Instead you can use a PS3 or xbox one joystick that is colored. They're really easy to replace and work just as well - it's just the cover of the joystick that changes not the actual mechanical bit of the joystick. Here is a link for gold xbox one joysticks on amazon
   https://www.amazon.com/XFUNY-Thumbsticks-Joystick-Replacement-Controller/dp/B00XKNLSRS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1468006950&sr=8-1&keywords=gold+xbox+one+joystick
   
   
   
   
3. If you want to have letters on your buttons I would reccomend using vinyl or waterslide decals. Vinyl decals are probably the easiest but have a bit of an edge so might be annoying when playing. Waterslide decals have no edges and feel just like the button itself. The other option is to spray paint over the vinyl letters and then peel it off. It may also be hard to find vinyl letters that small. I would measure the buttons and see if these could fit...https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00U1I54KW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
   
   
   
4. For clear coats I always recommend automotive clear coat -- specifically spray max 2k high gloss. It's about 20 bucks on amazon so it's a bit pricey but if you want a super shiny finish (you can check out some I've done to see how shiny) it's the best.
   
   
5. For the logo in the middle rather than trying to spray paint with a stencil I would try to get a custom decal made. I don't think a waterslide decal would work very well with a black background (and such a light text design) so I would recommend vinyl - which is the cheaper and easier to find option. If you clear coat the vinyl afterwards and try to find someone that makes extra thin ones unless you look really closely it looks painted on.
   
   
6. Just wanted to mention that the clear coat I recommended is also really good for buttons! The buttons eventually chip but because automotive clear coat is the hardest stuff out there it delays the process a bit.
   

There are a lot of tutorials online but basically I got a tri-wing screw driver off amazon. Then took apart the gc controller, spent a day sanding down the shell and buttons, spent another day spray painting, spent ANOTHER day painting yoshi on there, then spent the last day clear coating with a layer of polyurethane and then just put all back together.

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I replaced the buttons the other day with these

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took a week or so but all and all pretty happy with what I ended up with.

Looks great! If you want to take it a step further, I recommend using an automotive clear coat like this one. I made my first controller a few days ago, and it made a big difference. Here’s how it came out. (Note that fumes are toxic, hold your breath or use a respirator.)

It is four separate "buttons" underneath the D-pad that it presses on, so yes, it's certainly possible. The hard part wouldn't be cutting it, though, (a dremel would be the easiest way to cut it by the way), it'd be having them held in place after it's been cut into four buttons. There'd no longer be anything holding the buttons up, since the D-pad is held up by the leverage of that spindle thing in the middle. Maybe some very specifically sized springs under each button could work?

Before hacking apart the D-pad though, your best bet is probably to mod it into something similar to the Elite's D-pad, giving better control without having to separate them. I could have sworn I saw clip-on/mod versions of those for sale somewhere online...

edit: Found them. It's a magnetic D-pad with swappable covers.

http://www.amazon.com/Krylon-Colormaster-Crystal-Clear-Acrylic/dp/B0009X8LZ4/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1457397610&sr=8-3&keywords=clear+coat+spray+paint+plastic

That's what I used, it seems to be holding up pretty well too.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B008L3UUPS?cache=0b06ed0347f822de1e67e90fc4be283e&pi=SY200_QL40&qid=1413353336&sr=8-1#ref=mp_s_a_1_1

This is the one I have, and it's worked awesome since I bought it about a year ago.

You can buy waterslide paper on amazon. There are two options, clear and white. As for clear coat, it is recommended to use a two part urethane clear. I personally use this for clear coating but be warned it is harmful if you breath in the spray so wear protective masks and spray outside if you can.

https://www.amazon.com/Spray-High-Gloss-Clearcoat-Aerosol/dp/B0043B7UQY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1523970255&sr=8-1&keywords=spraymax+2k+clear+coat

Is this what you are looking for?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0000CO2UR?pc_redir=1397201403&robot_redir=1

Hyperkin makes one that is close:
https://www.amazon.com/Hyperkin-ProCube-Wireless-Controller-White-u/dp/B01BY7Z9OO

If you actually wanted to really do this, man, good luck. It'll be a total mess, a lot of board cuts and soldering... and in the end, if you're using it for smash, you have to plug it in at big tourneys, anyhow.