Tutorials on How-To Customize: Post them HERE.

[Kraft]

So I've done my share of painting and what-not but I was wondering how people do these custom faceplates. Anyone up for including a simple how-to on how they created certain plates? I'm not for ripping off ideas and stuff but maybe a little instruction would encourage people to try and branch off and start making their own creations.

[SpaceGhost2K]

I started these forums with a couple of hopes in mind. One would be that it would bring a fragmented collecting community together where they could help each other complete their collections. The other was the bring the customizing community together so they should share ideas, helpful hints, and to also help people make some of their own creations.

Artistpavel has a video up on YouTube that shows a little bit about his process. You can find it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbEeA7CG79Q

I have been taking some pictures of the process and will be writing a basic tutorial for how I do it. The few people I've talked to who make customs all have their own way of doing things, so it's best to experiment a little bit and find out what works for you. I'll see if I can find some time today to get something posted.

[FlawIe55]

Here is a fairly simple tutorial on how I create some of my custom faceplates:

First I get ahold of a SILVER microsoft brand faceplate. I say microsoft brand because the first time I ever got a custom faceplate it was a "TSZ" branded faceplate and the bottom usb door broke off right when I took it out of the package, and I dont want that to happen to A: something that I spent so much time and effort painting, and B: something I am going to sell to someone.

alright, the reason I use silver is because when sanding it down, it becomes a surface which is pretty close to white. I use 3M fine 180 grit sandpaper. When sanding I try to go in a circular motion so as not to get long indented streaks or gouges in the plastic.

Before actually getting in and painting on the plate, I try to do some sketches on paper of what I want the plate to look like. These pre paint sketches help alot because they help me realize when a design isn't going to look as good as I thought.

Now I personally haven't primed the surface on a plate I've done yet because I use acrylic paints for handpainting the surface of the plate, and I like how the paint bonds to the rough surface of the plastic after sanding.
or I use krylon fusion spraypaint(made for plastic), thus meaning the paint shouldn't eat at the surface of the plastic faceplate. (a nod to Spaceghost for letting me know that Non-plastic friendly spray paints could eat at the surface of the plastic)

For the handpainted plates I use a pencil to outline what I want to paint to make it much easier on myself when painting.

I always let the paint cure for at least a day or two when using acrylic paints.

after that, I use two coats of "decoart triple thick brilliant gloss glaze" to seal it up and protect it. I haven't tried flat clear coat yet because it doesn't seem thick enough and Im afraid to ruin something that took 10 hrs to paint.

the can says the clear coat is dry in 24 hrs, but I like to let it cure for a week, to make sure its good and strong.

Hope this little tutorial helps. Thats my little piece of the custom faceplate world.

[SpaceGhost2K]

Here are my two cents. Sorry about the sucky pics. New camera is in the mail.

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How to make a custom Xbox 360 faceplate.

THE PLATE



First thing you have to do is get a plate. What plate you use is entirely up to you. You can pay more and use a first party Microsoft plate. You can go cheap and get a third party plate. If you get real lucky, you can get a first party plate on clearance. Or you can shop around and try lucking out at an online auction.

When I first started doing this only a few months ago, I found Microsoft faceplates on clearance at Toys R Us for $5.99 or $6.99 depending on the store. That was a deal at the time because none of them had been marked down anywhere else. They were all still $19.99. Since then, they have dropped to $14.99, and then down to $9.99. I’ve even seen them for $6.99 but I don’t know if that was a new low price or a clearance price. Anyway, if you want first party, don’t spend more than $9.99 because there’s no reason for it.

If using third party plates doesn’t bother you, Gamestop’s last couple of shipments have had the Pelican TSZ plates for only $1.99. My local manager (my boss at the time) emailed the corporate people and they sent ten plates instead of the regular one or two. They haven’t gotten anymore in since then. He’s going to send another email and try to get fifty of them, but he’s on vacation this week, proposing to his girlfriend on some secluded beach. Ah, l’amour.

Two issues I’ve had with the TSZ plates are this… for one, the logo is apparently affixed to the plate with a heat process, and even if you sand the logo completely off, there will still be an uneven area after even four coats of paint. The other thing is that the camo plates have a high petroleum content in them and neither primer nor paint will adhere to the plate, so don’t even bother.

GameStop carried a few plates that were acceptable and cheap. They had the Pelican plates branded with the Gamestop logo and sold as a two-pack, which I have picked up for as little as $7.99. They’ve also had the Superman Returns two-pack for $9.99. I know from experience that stores are horrible at maintaining prices changes, so just have them scan everything for you. It could help make your decision easier for you.

Kmart had their first party faceplates on clearance for as little as $1.60. It was worth a drive all over the state to get some of those and I think I’ve pretty much cleaned out Central California from Madera to Bakersfield. The more Podunk your local K, the better chance you’ll find some, and possibly a whole BUNCH.

(This is a good time to throw this in here – if you like custom plates, even if you have no desire to make your own, buy every one of these plates that you can find. You can use them to barter for someone to make you a plate, or you can just sell them to a customizer and get a couple extra bucks out of it for the hassle.)

Last, is eBay. I’ve purchased “lots” (not a bunch, a “lot”) of faceplates and gotten them for about $2.50 each including shipping. Others I’ve paid up to $5.50 but those were first party plates.

OK, I guess that isn’t last. This is. Don’t worry too much about what’s on the plate unless you know for sure that you want some part of the design of the plate to be incorporated into the final design. For instance, I used the Tropical plate from Gamestop/Pelican as a backdrop for a Lilo and Stitch plate. I’ve also used the first party silver plates for Silver Surfer, and I’ve purchase (and paid a LOT more for) clear plates that needed to be seen for the final effect. You can even use something like the Saint’s Row, Full Auto or Tropicana Twister plates. Buy one for the collection and paint the rest.

[SpaceGhost2K]

THE DESIGN

OK, so now you’ve got a plate. La la la, there’s a plate. It’s kinda like writer’s block. There’s a blank page or a blank plate, staring at you, begging you to be creative.



Some common themes among requests for my plates include favorite bands, favorite games, favorite TV shows, favorite movies, pop media from their childhood, or in my case, toys and action figures. I’ve seen a font and it made me think of a plate (a stencil font became the A-Team). I’ve heard things that became sayings on plates (“This IS my job” and “My girlfriend kicked my ass at Halo.”) Some of them are inspired by a gamertag or nickname. Or it could be simply an image or emotion. I painted something as a kid that I’m going to incorporate into a plate. It was called “Foggy Day Schedule” and it was swirls of gray and purple.

Once you’ve an idea for what you want on the plate, you have to figure out how you’re going to implement it. I’ve had ideas that just died because I couldn’t find figures I wanted or the figures were too big to use.



In my case, my secret weapon is the sticker guy who cuts vinyl stickers from my jpgs that I use as a spray mask. Honestly, it’s a “poor man’s” way around not owning, or knowing how to use an airbrush. Others draw with Sharpee’s or use oils or acrylic paints. For all I know, you could use nail polish. I’m sure some of you guys have some. Probably black.



I know from watching Pavel’s video that he sketches a design onto the faceplate with pencil before painting it. I make stickers, some times in an assortment of sizes, then I can move them around to find a good layout before I stick them down on the plate. The easiest way is to take a standard people of paper (keeping in mind that it’s just a little shorter than an actual faceplate), trace around a faceplate, and use that as a homemade template. Just be flexible enough that if you have to move/stretch something a little bit that it can be done. I bought some mini figures to attach to a plate and then found out that there was just simply no way to attach them without getting in the way of the DVD door or the mem card ports. Anyway, make sure when you’re doing your design that you don’t inhibit the functionality of the plate, or that you are “okay” with any functionality that might be lost.

[SpaceGhost2K]

MAKING THE PLATE

Now you’re ready to begin. Chances are, your plate has something as a top coat that will keep paint from sticking to it as-is. You need to do some prep work.



First, I would recommend removing the i/r button. Trim or Dremel off the back part of the plate where the purple plastic is secured to the plate and it will slide or pop out. Next, you have to address the power button. Hello, power button. You can remove it by trimming or Dremelling the part that holds the center part of the button in place. Another option is to cover the clear ring of light and the center of the button with some kind of sticker mask to keep the paint off so light can pass through them later.

In some cases, you may even want to remove the mem card doors, but be SUPER careful. Springs will go “sproing,” and never be found again. The extremely tiny rod where the spring lives can break easier than you’ll ever believe, especially trying to put them back on. In the case of the USB door, putting it back on sufficiently is almost impossible so I wouldn’t recommend removing it.



The next step is to sand the plate. I like to use 400 grit and take my time. The larger the grit, the faster the top coat comes off but the more likely you are to leave scratches. You don’t need to take the paint off all the way down to bare plastic. All you have to do is sand it down enough that it is no longer shiny. Once it has a “matte” finish, your primer will adhere to it.



I use American Traditions Plastic Primer but there are other primers out there. I like this one because it goes on clear with just a slight haze to it. That’s important if I’m using a clear plate as a base or if I need the color or design to show through. In most cases you can get away with a white plastic primer, but for me, the one I tried didn’t stick that well and it tool a lot longer to dry before I could go to the next step.

Make sure you use a PLASTIC primer. Using a regular spray primer, or painting directly onto the plate will not turn out good. The petroleum products in the paint will react with the petroleum products in your plastic faceplate. In some cases you’ll end up with a tacky faceplate that never dries. In extreme cases, you could end up with a gooey puddle of plastic. The PLASTIC primer not only gives the paint something to grab onto, but it creates a barrier between your paint and your plate. There are plastic-friendly paints that you can use, but they’re much more limited in colors and I’d still recommend using a primer.



Once you’ve primered the plate, you can use pretty much any paint you want, at least in my experience. I’m sure there’s something out there that isn’t a good choice, but I haven’t found it yet. One thing I will suggest is trying to stay with one brand of paint, or two, as much as possible. The more paint brands you use, the more likely you’re going to find a couple that react negatively to each other.

Here are a couple of things to keep in mind when painting:

- Well ventilated area.
- Stay away from ignition sources.
- Use a spray mask so you won’t breath the paint particles. A paper mask will block the paint but allow the fumes. A regular paint mask will stop fumes as well.
- Wear safety glasses. Don’t ruin your eyes or your glasses.
- Use the least amount of paint you can. Too much paint will run. Too much paint on one layer will cause it to shrivel if you add any other paint on top of that.
- Let it dry longer than you think it needs to.
- Use flat paints as much as possible. Additional coats don’t like to stick to layers of glossy paint. If you have to use glossy, make it the last layer.
- If you use stickers like I do, or if you use masking tape to block off areas of the plate, make TRIPLE SURE that all of the adhesive is off the plate before painting or sealing, or you will not end up with a smooth plate. Even if you think you got it all, check again. Use a piece of tape and dab at it. Don’t use a chemical like GooGone.

[Steeps5]

I wanna do the entire xbox from changing fans to painting the case...

I still have yet to find anything to cut the case with... everything ive tried has chewed the crap outa it...

I've heard a dremel stand works well, I forget the exact name but it's something like that. I assume even a dremel by itself would work.

[Steeps5]

Here's what I've done.



I didn't make the faceplate. That's AirEffex creation.