The perfect color for your Xbox controller color exists — it just might not be sold by Microsoft. If the standard-issue hues don’t match your personal tastes, consider finding your next controller color from an auto shop. We’ll explain how to easily spray the perfect hue to match your eyes, couch, or favorite zoo animal.

A Word of Warranty Warning
There is no way to disassemble and paint your controller without voiding its warranty. Anything you do to alter your gamepad will be entirely at your own risk. If you have any doubts about your hacking skills, don’t do this project. If things go poorly — if you lose a part, or break something, or simply don’t like the mess you’ve made when it’s all painted up — you’re not getting a new controller from Microsoft or OXM. That said, if you follow the instructions as stated and you’re willing to take the risks, well, we wouldn’t offer these instructions if we hadn’t tried them ourselves. 


Stuff You’ll Need
TOOLS:
Philips 0 screwdriver
Torx 8 security screwdriver (only for wireless controller)
X-Acto/hobby knife
Computer with Photoshop or other image editor*
Printer*

SUPPLIES:
Masking tape
Medium- to heavy-weight matte printer paper*
Vinyl dye spray
Glue sticks (the school supply kind)


Step 1: Plan a Design
Plan the new look for the controller. If you’re doing only a simple, solid color or limited matting with tape, sketch out a rough plan on paper and then move ahead to step 4. If you want to stencil a face, iconic image, or repeating pattern, track down reference images online, or snap a photo with a digital camera.
[IMAGE: zebra_pattern_working_cutout filter.psd]


Step 2: Size Up the Image
Fire up Photoshop (or your favorite image editor, but we’re using Photoshop for this tutorial) and open the images. Create a new document that’s the right size for your printer paper (ideally 8.5” x 11” or 8” x 10”), and move the best reference picture into that document. Select all. Use Edit > Transform > Scale to re-size the picture to fill the whole page. (Hold Shift to maintain the original aspect ratio.)

Step 3: Create the Stencil
Select Filter > Artistic > Cutout. Change the scale in the lower-left corner to fit on-screen if needed. Adjust the cutout settings depending on how complicated you want the results to be and how many colors you plan to use. We recommend that for complicated images, you stick with 3 levels, an edge simplicity of 4, and an edge fidelity of 2. Experiment with these settings, but if you make them more complex, it may be too hard to transfer the results to the controller. Pick a simpler source image if needed. For bold, clear patterns like our zebra print, we set the levels, simplicity, and fidelity to 2.


Step 4: Print and Slice
Print the pattern on thick matte paper. If the pattern will wrap around the entire controller or you’re using more than two colors, print extra copies. Use a hobby knife to cut anything you want sprayed as a positive color. If you’re layering shadows on a face or other complicated image, cut out the successive layers from different prints. That way, you can spray each color on top of the previous one.


Step 5: Disassemble the Controller
Screw the warranty — unscrew the controller! The wired and wireless controllers use different screws, but they come apart in nearly the same way. Arm yourself with a Torx 8 security screwdriver for a wireless controller or a Philips 0 for a wired controller. Set the controller face-down and extract the six screws around the back. Use a hobby knife to lift the barcode sticker strip from the center of the controller; you’ll find the seventh and final screw underneath. Don’t lose anything!


Step 6: Crack Open the Case
While the controller’s still face-down, remove the back of it and lift the grey plastic bottom piece straight up. Put a finger on each shoulder trigger, push in, and tenderly lift the circuit-board part from the bottom edge. Gently lift out the rumble motors with the circuit board. Take care not to touch the chips or the board face — handle this piece only by the edge. Separate the center plastic piece with the “Microsoft” logo from the two shoulder buttons.
[IMAGE: openedcontroller.tif]

Step 7: Remove the Buttons
Turn the top half of the case over, and carefully set aside all of the buttons and rubber membranes. The D-pad will still be locked into the controller’s face, so use a Philips 0 screwdriver to remove its two small screws, and then gently pry one or both of the two tabs in to release the two parts of the D-pad.

Step 8: Clean the Controller
Thoroughly clean the plastic pieces. Use mild soap and water, and scrub with a toothbrush or washcloth on any trouble spots. Be sure to scrape off any controller plaque that has built up in the seams, as any grime will block the vinyl spray dye. Completely dry the parts.

Step 9: Layer the Base Coat
Matte the inside of the controller buttons and battery case with masking tape. If you want to keep the Microsoft hologram intact, carefully cover that sticker, too. (It can’t be peeled without being destroyed.) Spray a base coat over the parts. Work in a well-ventilated area, set the parts on a protected surface (use lots and lots of newspaper), and spray the vinyl dye from about eight inches away. First, use a base-coat color that will be the background for the pattern. If you want to keep the controller’s default hue, you don’t really have to spray a similar-color base coat, but the results will probably look more uniform if you do. Spray five or six light coats, leaving at least 10 minutes between each coat. The coats will be light enough if you can still see some of the spray pattern — especially in the first few layers — instead of a solid glob of color. When you’re done, let the base color dry overnight.

Step 10: Matte the Controller
If you’re using a two-color pattern, wrap the cut-out stencil around the controller parts. (If you’re using more than two colors, place a stencil for the second bottom-most color, and repeat the next two steps for each color with a new stencil as you work your way up.) Begin with the top half of the controller. Apply glue from school-supply glue sticks directly to the paper, then press it down to form a strong seal. If you just tape the edges of the stencil in place, lots of gaps will form, letting the vinyl spray leak under your pattern — so make the seal as tight as possible. Work the stencil around the controller curves, making sure that it leaves no gaps. Scrape off any excess glue, being sure the non-matted surface stays clear.


Step 11: Add the Detail Layers
Work again with five or six light coats in increments of about 10 minutes. After several more hours of drying time, remove the matte and gently scrape up any remaining glue. If your design wraps around the different sections of the controller, cut out and apply a new stencil, taking care to align it with what you’ve already done. If you’re working with more than two colors, apply the stencil for the next color now — just repeat Step 10 for every additional color and layer. Allow significant drying time between each step and before Step 12.


Step 12: Reassemble the Buttons
Snap the D-pad back into place on the top half of the controller, and screw its two screws back into place. With that half face-down, drop the buttons back inside; they all have special tabs to fit only in the correct slot. Gently layer masking tape on the face of the controller to hold the buttons in place. Place the D-pad rubber membrane loop around the lower-right post, with the contacts facing out.

Step 13: Reattach the Circuit Board
Set the circuit board into the bottom half of the controller. Set the rumble motors back into place. If you’re using a wired controller, be sure the indentations in the cord align with slots in the case seam. Check to see that the flat part of the rubber membranes is clean. Then lay those parts back over their proper contact points, corresponding with the D-pad and the A, B, X, Y, Start, Back, and Guide buttons.


Step 14: Close the Case
Insert the gray (unless you just painted it) plastic part that fits around the headphone jack back into its slot on the bottom of the controller, and reassemble the shoulder buttons into the top. Reattach the top part of the case, snapping it into place with the buttons matching the rubber membranes below. If you have trouble fitting the rumble motors back into place, try nudging them into place with the casing half-closed. Work slowly; if you have to fidget too much, the rubber membranes will become misaligned, and you’ll have to back-track. Reinsert the seven screws.

Step 15: Test the Controller
Connect a battery or plug in the wired controller, and give it a test spin. Try every button (including the Guide, Start, and Back buttons) to make sure they all work properly. And make sure you test the D-pad — you want the same tight fit you had before. If you have any problems, go back to step 13; check to make sure that the rubber membrane and circuit board are properly aligned, as that’s most likely the culprit.