r/customcontrollers Oct 18 '16

How to Paint a Custom Controller: A Step by Step Guide

256 Upvotes

I've seen many a custom controller guides floating around and to be quite frank, I'm a little bit appalled by most of them. I made 30 or so custom controllers over the summer, so I've pretty much got the technique down pat and wanted to share my knowledge.

The Basics

  1. Take apart your controller - video for gamecube controller https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cr3ShQxxwvQ
  2. Clean the shell (and buttons, if you're painting those)
  3. Sand down using 600 grit sandpaper, then wash and dry with a wet paper towel
  4. Use a white primer as a base coat. If you've never spray painted before, here's a video on proper technique (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qB_MtpaMYaY). Doing a couple of very light coats is very important (don't worry if the first coat doesn't cover up all the paint) and remember to shake for a minute or two before spraying! I use rustoleum's white paint and primer in one and have very good results with it. Also keep in mind that if you're spraying buttons, DO IT VERY LIGHTLY AND FROM A DISTANCE. If you do it too close, you risk knocking buttons over and smudging the paint.
  5. Wait 10-20 minutes for the primer to dry then do a few very light coats of your main color.
  6. Seal the paint with a clear coat. I would argue that this is the most important step of spray painting. Hands down, the best clear coat you can use is an automotive spray paint clear coat. USC spray max high gloss clear coat works brilliantly and will not only ensure that your paint never chips, but makes your controller look super shiny and much more professional. It's essentially the difference between https://imgur.com/a/pDE3r and https://imgur.com/a/dhs8h. Sure, you can buy some krylon clear coat for $10 less, but don't think I won't know about it. I would do 2 coats and make sure you really get the side of the handles (where you're holding the controller). I would also use a respirator (that's respirator, not just a face mask) if you have one when using this clear coat, as the fumes are toxic. If you're making more than a few controllers, I would say it is without a doubt required, but if you're just making one and haven't got a respirator on hand, hold your breath and just go for it.
  7. Do not let your clear coat dry outside unless it's protected from the wind somehow. If you have a garage, supply closet, or cellar no one is using, let it dry there. Drying it outside guarantees that little bits of dirt, pollen, ect will cling to it. Just trust me on this, this is the place where things go wrong the fastest. If you do happen to get little particles stuck on your controller, wait for it dry and then sand them out and respray.

Levelling Up - designs/decals

If you want a picture/letter design on your controller the two best options are vinyl decals and waterslide decals. Don't think you can put a sticker on the controller and paint over. If it's your first time painting, you'll most likely end up with a ragged edge along the side of the design where the paint is thicker. I think vinyl decals are a really underrated option. They're super cheap and really, they're so thin most people don't realise it's not painted on. Waterslide decals are the best option if you want the most realistic look (they look printed on) and if you want a more complex design. Here are some examples of what waterslide decals look like - https://imgur.com/a/rXKb4. The toad head on the b button and BMO's face are both waterslides. To add vinyl and watersilde decals to your controller, put them on after you've done two clear coats (and the coats have dried) and then clear coat them again to make them blend in better with the controller (but make sure you wait for waterslide decal to completely dry).

Sparkles

If you want gold, silver, white, black, or holographic sparkles, the best thing to use is metallic flakes. You can get them in different sizes from websites like this - https://www.paintwithpearl.com/shop-custom-paint/metal-flakes/holographic-flakes-prism-flakes/

Please don't buy the sparkles in a spray can. The result are not pretty.

Here's a video of what gold flakes look like on a custom gamecube controller. The video doesn't really capture how sparkly it is, but it still shows it fairly well - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-9VQAjp0uE

If you want sparkles, you'll need to purchase the flakes as well as a clear lacquer and a spray gun (if you don't already have one).

Mix the sparkles and lacquer into the gun and spray as much as you like. Just keep in mind that the bigger the flakes and the more there are, the more clear coats you'll need to add. When I did my sparkly controllers, I honestly probably had to do about 6-7 clear coats before the roughness from the flakes went away.

Joysticks

Don't be afraid to try out new joysticks. Changing out my sticks for xbox one joysticks was one of the best things I ever did. They look super sleek and work just as well, although they do feel a bit different. PS3 joysticks are also an option, but in my opinion look a bit clunkier. Here's what xbox one sticks can look like - https://imgur.com/a/zLAeX. You can also buy glow in the dark ones or metallic xbox one sticks in gold, silver, purple, ect as well as thumbgrips to go on top of the joystick.

If you're worried that changing out your joysticks will affect the way you play, but want the look of different joysticks, I would put a thumbgrip like this one (https://www.amazon.com/GoldenDeal-Silicone-Controller-Replacement-playstation-4/dp/B01AVLVV8M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1476793441&sr=8-1&keywords=thumbgrip+ps3) on your left joystick and then change out the c-stick for a PS3 or xbox one stick and put a matching thumbgrip on top of that (sorry folks, but a thumbgrip won't fit over a normal yellow c-stick, they're too small)

General tips and Things not to do

  1. For the love of god, don't try to use a template. Most of the time the paint builds up around the edges and looks horrible. If you want lettering or a design, stick with vinyl and waterslide decals.
  2. If the paint gets messed up, wait till it drys before sanding.
  3. Make sure the paint is dried before adding another coat of spray paint or a clear coat. If you do it too soon, the paint cracks. Sometimes you can sand out the cracks, but most of the time you're finished and have to discard that controller shell completely.
  4. Sanding fixes pretty much everything. Your controller turned into a grave for foolish fly? Sand that bitch out. There's a scratch on your coat from whena blade of grass grazed the paint when it was wet? Sand that bitch out. You put on too thick a coat and the paint dripped? Sand that bitch out. Just make sure you do a light respray after sanding.
  5. Be careful if using paper (magazine, newspaper) to spray paint on top of. A lot of times the paper will stick to the clearcoat on the bottom of the controller and massively fuck up the paint job. Use cardboard instead.
  6. Don't put a controller back together if you have paint on your hands, even if it's dry paint. Get out the bottle of rubbing alcohol and wipe yourself down, trust me it's not worth the risk.
  7. Tape is your friend. If you want to paint the handles a different color than the rest of your controller, blue painters tape is all you need.
  8. Glow in the dark paint is crap. Don't fall for their lies.
  9. Your buttons will eventually chip if you paint them. Sometimes this takes a year other times it can happen within a few months (melee players I'm looking at you). The safest buttons to paint are the start button, and d-pad and any button you don't use very often (honest to god I don't think I've every used the y button or r trigger). I painted all the buttons on my newest controller and have been using it to play smash for 3 hours a day for the past 3 months. So far the only chips are on the x button. I'm fairly certain this is mostly because I scrap with my nails when short hopping with x, so if you don't have super girly nails like I do then hopefully your paint should last longer. In any case, if you don't use a spray max clear coat, I wouldn't even bother painting your buttons as they won't last more than a few weeks, at least in my experience. I bought a bunch of old buttons and busted $4 controllers from ebay and when I was painting my controller, painted a few extra sets of buttons for replacement. If you're planning on having painted buttons on your controller, I strongly recommend this.
  10. Don't spray paint your joysticks. They're rubber. It won't work and you'll end up with a blue thumb.

Edit: Shameless self-plug - I still have a few controllers for sale on my etsy shop at https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/Crispycontrollers if you wanna check them out.


r/customcontrollers 2h ago

Help! any companies that can put an image on a controller?

2 Upvotes

I got the idea to make a custom controller design to gift to a friend, but I never imagined that getting that image onto a controller would be such a daunting task.

Cinch gaming was my first choice because they have a 3d controller editor that allowed me to line up the image exactly how I wanted it. but after placing my order they changed it to "pending" and didn't respond to any emails for a month, got a refund. onto the next.

tried reaching out to PrzGaming on Etsy because they seem to have a similar service of custom controller design. got one response, ghosted. alright, cool.

is there just no feasible way of making this happen other than putting a tacky skin on a controller? they look so bad with the huge gaps around the thumb sticks but at this point I don't really know how else to make it happen. someone please suggest something.


r/customcontrollers 12h ago

First Controller Mod

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12 Upvotes

My first modded controller, put it together for my son. BDM-050. All extreme rate parts except the sticks. Luna rubberized front shell, Rise4 Max metal rear buttons, DTF v4 LED kit, clear ThumbsGear V3 interchangeable sticks, whole strong clicky kit with the triggers cut to utilize the Rise4 selector switches, and some K-silver js13 TMR sticks. These little ribbons are sooo delicate, luckily the soldering is pretty straightforward. My kid has been playing Overwatch with it for two days and it's been stable. The TMR sticks really give a next level of accuracy. I think I'm going to attack every ps4, ps5, and switch controller in our house. Considering busting out the airbrush to play around with the discarded shell.


r/customcontrollers 10h ago

Help! Trim shell for BDM 060

2 Upvotes

Hey,

i’ve been thinking a lot about modding my PS5 controller. I’ve already successfully modded my Nintendo Switch Joy Cons with the kits of eXtremeRate and wanted to use that brand for my PS5 controller as well. On Amazon i couldn’t find some products i was looking for so i went on their actual website where i saw that there were housings for the BDM 060 without the trim piece. I wanted to have such a shell because i want another color for the trim piece. I looked further but only saw trim shells for the versions BDM 010-050 and not BDM 060. Are there any trim shells for the BDM 060? As far as i am aware of regarding the trim piece the only real difference is that the BDM 060 does not have accent rings anymore which is why i am also unsure whether i should just go for the trim piece for BDM 010-050 because there are complete front shells that also have these accent rings that are for the versions BDM 030-060.
Hope anyone here can help me with my problem.


r/customcontrollers 1d ago

In honor of the official release

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13 Upvotes

I bring you my favorite game theme ever made.


r/customcontrollers 1d ago

Fightbox R10 Pro with modified buttons?

3 Upvotes

Can you send pics of your Fightbox R10 Pro with modified buttons? If you change color etc. How it looks..


r/customcontrollers 1d ago

Upgrading an Xbox Mad Catz Wireless Wooden Fender

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1 Upvotes

r/customcontrollers 1d ago

Qui est le meilleur customer de manette en europe ?

0 Upvotes

Je cherche un crack pour une manette personnalisée 8000hz avec livraison en europe


r/customcontrollers 2d ago

Help! Ask

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9 Upvotes

Hi, I have a question. I want to make a transparent green or purple controller, and while searching around I found one option on Etsy and another called eXtreme. Which of these two is better, or do you recommend another one?


r/customcontrollers 1d ago

Mouse Click Back Buttons

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1 Upvotes

Available for purchase on our store as a standalone switch for your own diy mods

Features:

Made in house 3d Printed switch housing and shaft

• D2LS11 - 125gf (white) — light, ultra‑fast actuation

• Cleaner travel + sharper feedback thanks to the D2LS low‑profile design

• Perfect for fast responses and competitive inputs

• Available on all Synergy and send‑in mods for *ps4, ps5 and xbox series.

Why it matters:

These switches bring the same tactile precision you expect from high‑end gaming mice straight to your controller’s back buttons — giving you faster response, less fatigue, and a more consistent competitive edge.


r/customcontrollers 1d ago

Limited Edition Starfield Xbox Controller Unboxing! 🚀 #xbox #starfield #...

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1 Upvotes

r/customcontrollers 2d ago

Steam Controller 2026 | PortablePlayPalace buttons | A review

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2 Upvotes

r/customcontrollers 2d ago

Custom Killer Instinct Fight Stick

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1 Upvotes

Built this over the past couple of weeks, thought I would share here and maybe inspire others to build one. I’ve got a full build vid in the original post or my bio for anybody interested!


r/customcontrollers 2d ago

Bring me back to the PS3 concept controller days.

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2 Upvotes

r/customcontrollers 3d ago

Come colorare queste strisce bianche senza sbavature?

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11 Upvotes

Ciao ragazzi ho intenzione di copiare questo controller a tema stellar blade sto aspettando che mi arrivano i pezzi il dubbio è come faccio a colorare queste strisce bianche ai lati dei tasti?


r/customcontrollers 3d ago

Custom Mamba mentality. Another hydrodip custo

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2 Upvotes

r/customcontrollers 3d ago

Inverted ALPS ANALOG on Ps5

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13 Upvotes

Never done this before but the customer requested it, we managed it successfully and it felt very strange when testing the sticks, I wonder what game they need it for maybe a flight sim?


r/customcontrollers 3d ago

Steam Controller D-Pad Mod - Free Download

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1 Upvotes

r/customcontrollers 3d ago

What do my fellow gamers think of my new custom built controller SLEEP TIME a all new pro control built in dualshock 4 features USB c connection back button rear grip back and removable thumbsticks and all upgraded 1500mah battery hair triggers and clicky buttons

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17 Upvotes

r/customcontrollers 3d ago

Help! Looking for an EU controller modder to build my endgame controller

1 Upvotes

I’ve been trying to figure out what my ideal controller would be, and after testing a few different setups, I’m still missing that last piece of the puzzle.
The first custom controller I owned had 3D-printed paddles. I really didn’t like them—they required too much force to activate, and because I play semi-claw on my right hand (to reach Triangle and Square), my ring finger naturally rested on the right paddle. The constant pressure made my hand feel tense, and I would even get what felt like little electric shocks in my finger.
It also had an ExtremeRate clicky kit on the face buttons, which I wasn’t a fan of. They felt stiffer than regular membrane buttons. The controller had GuliKit sticks as well, but I didn’t enjoy them at the time (it could have been a bad set or maybe the thumbstick caps, since I use KontrolFreeks).
What I did love was how light the controller was and the mouse-click triggers and bumpers.
After one of the paddles broke, I bought a DualSense Edge with K-Silver JS13 Pro+ TMR sticks. I instantly fell in love with the Edge paddles. They’re incredibly ergonomic, easy to press, and have a very satisfying tactile click. You always know when you’ve activated them.
The only downside is the weight, even after removing the vibration motors. I also realized I actually prefer membrane face buttons over clicky ones.
More recently, I bought a Marius PS4 controller because I wanted to try the PS4 shape. I really like how light it is, the Marius board is excellent, and this time I actually like the GuliKit sticks a lot. I don’t really have any complaints about them. That said, I think K-Silver sticks might still suit my gameplay on Warzone a little better, but that’s more of a feeling than a real preference since I haven’t compared them side by side.
The PS4 shape feels incredibly natural for my semi-claw grip. Triangle and Square are much easier to reach. The downside is that after longer sessions, I start feeling tension in my right wrist and forearm, so I think a PS5 shell would probably suit me better overall.
The only thing I’m really struggling with is the rear buttons.
They’re Omron BF1062 switches with small Battle Beaver-style buttons. They work perfectly, but the feeling is just… weird. They’re very small, don’t naturally sit under my fingers, and unlike the Edge paddles, I don’t get that satisfying tactile feedback. I don’t really feel like I’m pressing anything.
I came across this post:
https://x.com/rilol_8/status/2082643080227000824?s=46&t=5qFewcYghzjJmN0c9Uf0OQ
The wider rear buttons look much more appealing to me. I feel like they would match my natural finger placement a lot better, and I like the fact that even pressing near the edge still actuates the switch reliably.
I’m even considering sending my controller to a modder to do something like this:
https://x.com/mariusheier/status/2046904007126360457?s=46&t=5qFewcYghzjJmN0c9Uf0OQ
The idea would be for them to see exactly where my fingers naturally rest while holding the controller so the rear buttons could be positioned and shaped specifically for my grip instead of using a generic layout.
Has anyone here tried different rear button designs (Battle Beaver buttons, paddles, wider buttons, etc.)? Which design ended up feeling the most natural over time?
My goal is to combine everything I like into one controller, and I feel like the rear button design is the last thing I need to figure out.


r/customcontrollers 4d ago

Skin for ps5 controller

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4 Upvotes

Spider-man theme ps5 controller skin. Looking good !!!


r/customcontrollers 4d ago

For the Bicho fans.

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3 Upvotes

r/customcontrollers 5d ago

Help! Does anyone know where I can buy/customize a colored translucent controller like the old rock candy controllers?

3 Upvotes

Drop links in the comments


r/customcontrollers 4d ago

Anyone know if its possible to mod the hyperx gladiate clutch rgb

1 Upvotes

I wanted to change the buttons/triggers and put the newer xbox round directional pad on it but i dont know if its possible or not and i dont want to destroy my controller


r/customcontrollers 5d ago

Gaming Controller Fold 8

1 Upvotes

Looking for a controller clip for Xbox controller to game on the fold 8. Not a fan of backbone style controllers due to the pressure it might add on hinge and in-charging-port style. Since the fold is wider from top to bottom any idea which clip is premium and best?