Need Help Painting My Dreamcast...

[Wombatula]

I really want to paint my Dreamcast, but I want to keep it fairly simple because I have limited experience doing something like this. I even purchased three extra Dreamcast shells in case I screw up. I'm considering two color schemes, kinda.

First, I was thinking of painting the main body a dark blue with the lid, buttons, and controller port a different color but not sure what. Also not sure if I should go with a satin or gloss.

Second, I was considering this, an iridescent blue, but again, not sure of a secondary color for the buttons or controller port. For this color I was thinking a metallic silver or chrome.

Also, a guy at the paint store said a clearcoat wouldn't be necessary. Is that true? Last time I used clearcoat on plastic, the surface felt a little different, it wasn't smooth like it had been before. Maybe it was something I screwed up, I don't know. I really want to get good at this, that's why I bought the extra shells to practice on. Any advice on console painting would be great.

[AznKhmerBoi]

1- clean the console off of any dirt / no need for primer
2- shake can really really well
3- make sure you set the working area at a decent height so your not crouch down spraying it.
4- spray from distant and when you first spray make sure you start spraying off the console then moving in on the console .
5- do light coats and let it fully set ... once fully cured, do another lighter layer of paint. and repeat until you get the color you want.

- most important in spraying is that you keep your distant and do very light coat and having it set in timely manner.

[Wombatula]

Any suggestions on a good secondary color to use with either the blue or the colorshift paint?

[AznKhmerBoi]

make sure it doesnt look like this. And when you paint it mask the logo please !



Here are good example blue DC

[Ziggy]

http://www.krylon.com/products/fusion_for_plastic/

Krylon Fusion is the only paint I can recommend, I've used it a few times in the past for console painting and it always comes out great. If you let if fully cure, you don't have to worry about clear coats. If you follow the link above, it'll show you all the colors Fusion is available in. Maybe some of the available colors will give you ideas?

I have to paint my Dreamcast too. It sat in direct sunlight for way too long and the top is horribly yellowed. It's just the top though, the rest of the console is normal color, so I'm actually gonna try and paint just the top of it. Fusion has a few whites that look like it might match close enough to the Dreamcast color, even if it's a little off it'll still look better then the horrible yellow.

Anyway, as a testimonial to Krylon Fusion, take a look at this SNES I sprayed using it: http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopi ... =2&t=11594

For consoles that weren't glossy to begin with, I think making them glossy looks horrible. But that's just me. But it's important for you decide if you want it flat or glossy beforehand. When you buy a paint, pay attention that what sheen it is. A lot of the Fusions come in flat, satin, or gloss. I would get satin either way. If you wanna make it glossy, do it right and do multiple gloss coats with sanding in between. When ever some one sprays a console with a gloss spray paint, it always looks bad to me. Check out Jeffro's process for a glossy finish:

http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopi ... 25&t=26220

You can see a Genesis controller he did here: http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopi ... 25&t=26145

But yeah, I can't stress it enough. If you're going for a glossy look, follow Jeff's process. Otherwise, stay away from a glossy sheen and stick with flat or satin. I like Fusion's satin, I think it looks great. If you go with Fusion, you don't need a clear coat afterward. And one coat will probably be good enough. Just make sure you let it fully cure. Fusion says it's cured in 7 days, which is probably true most of the time. If I leave something to cure in my basement, it takes more like 14 days. You can handle it soon after spraying it, but you wanna be careful with it until it cures. You can reasseble the console and all that after a day, but be careful so the paint doesn't chip. But in my experience, after it cures, it's very strong and wont chip under normal conditions (maybe a fall down the stairs - but I haven't tried that out).

Just make sure the console is super clean, including clean from any cleaning product's residue as well. You don't have to sand. Spray a nice, even coat. Be careful not to go over the same area too much so the paint doesn't pool. Get a piece of cardboard to practice on if you want. I think Fusion recommends something like 6-12" spray distance, but if you practice on something you'll see how it turns out. Some times I like to hold it further away and let a cloud of spray paint just fall on the plastic. This method has worked out good for me a few times. But test it out on cardboard and see how it goes. Or your spare DC shells, I guess.

I realize this is a lot to read, I guess I'm feeling kinda chatty right now lol. Might be the beer I have in me. Anyways, any questions about what I said (cause I might not have explained something good) let me know.

[Wombatula]

I have to say, joining this group has been a wonderful thing for my new hobby. Thanks to all the great responses, and those pics gave me some great ideas as well. I plan on taking this project nice and slow (I'm a bit of a perfectionist), so if I have any other questions or problems along the way I'll post them here so as not to create any needless new topics. If anyone has any other tips or ideas, or maybe some other pics, I'd love to hear or see them posted here as well. Thanks again, I hope to have some wonderful pics of a beautifully painted Dreamcast within the next couple of weeks.

[Wombatula]

Does anyone know how well this stuff works?

http://www.levineautoparts.com/dupmirpainsy.html

[noiseredux]

post reserved for something about budsmoka.

[Wombatula]

Through searching the forums I've read about budsmoka. Though I never saw his green ps2, I did see the black and white version. Was it as bad as bhart's red and black Dreamcast of instant eyeball death?

[Ziggy]

Hahaha, oh yeah! Wombatula, please take your time or you'll end up with this:



God, I still wish I could get the pic of the PS2 with the pot leaf on it. That pic is priceless.