Gp2x Case Mod

[ninjak]

I've just finished painting my unit. I've been planning to for a long time now. The process went quite smoothly. I have experience painting PC cases and peripherals so this wasn't much of a stretch. The result is satisfactory. I'd be a little more careful next time on the piece around the joystick. Man, I wish I could just file that useless peiece of shit off.

Alas, here is a little photo journal of the process and results (click the pics for a larger version):

Front Cover Removed.



GP2X Naked.



Laying down the basecoat.



Masking out the stripes. Notice that the rim where the screen protector sits is also masked. Keeping that area free of paint allows the screen protector to stick better.



Covering that stupid raised joystick rim.



After white coat.



Now it gets exciting.
Removal of masking.



And now ....
Final reassembly!

From the front.



A little angle shot.



That's all folks. Now I'm really going get a lot of questions about what this damn thing is. For the paint, I used matte black and white tremclad enamel; 6 coats of black and 6 coats of white. The enamel has a great feel to it and is tough as nails. It's the stuff they used to paint metal hand rails and such. The way I masked off that joystick area wasn't too effective. I got a little overspray on to it which irks me a little. Either way, I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. I'm more happy that I finally got down to doing this.

 

[Jarska333]

GP2Z, for Zebra!

 

[X-Code]

Neat job , but it'll probably get you dizzy after playing for a while :lol:

 

[murak]

Looking good!

Q: So the raised joystick rim was stuck to hard to be removed? Or is the raised joystick rim and the "case" one piece?

GJ!

 

[Megagun]

Whoa. Awesome casemod. Truly brilliant, although I fear you'll get headaches and dizzynesses after playing with it for a while..

Anyways, I myself would've done it in yellow, so you'd get a nice yellow-black motive, and scribble "Under Construction" on the bottom right of the unit...

Still a very awesome mod, though... And I wonder how managed to get yourself to actually do this.. I mean... if you screw up... :/

 

[ninjak]

That rim is one with the front panel unfortunately. It doesn't look like it from the outside, but I'm pretty sure it is.

 

[MadDog]

You need to modify the skin so the white strips follow throw on the display.

 

[Paradox]

thats awesome looks very clean and sharp nice job

i want to do my gp2x, but i'd only cock it up. i tried to do my game gear similar to how you have done yours years ago but cocked that one up and regretted it ever since

 

[Godmil]

Ah finally the missing link between the current model and the prototype white one
Nice work.

 

[NoidZ]

Nice one!

 

[daclassicgamingmaster]

NICE job, I love it!

I'd paint mine, but it's a first edition so I'd rather keep it the way it is when I bought it.

Perhaps I'll grab a mkII eventually when the price decreases a bit (like it did with the gp32) and I'll paint that.

again, great job!

 

[Dzz]

Wow, that looks great! You've inspired me to try modding my spare gp2x (I got a second one used because I was worried about reliability but of course never had a problem). I don't know too much about paint, so:

Did you use an airbrush for that? How long between coats? Are you worried that the paint might chip? Is there something you have to do to prepare the surface? Thanks!

Besides the painting I'm going to try switching the joystick for a d-pad, but that's a different topic.

 

[pantera6]

Haha
yes
ill try mod mine aswell
bit or red or yellow mayby

 

[g4m3r]

If I wasn't so afraid of screwing up my GP2X's case I would try this

 

[ninjak]

Wow, that looks great! You've inspired me to try modding my spare gp2x (I got a second one used because I was worried about reliability but of course never had a problem). I don't know too much about paint, so:

Did you use an airbrush for that? How long between coats? Are you worried that the paint might chip? Is there something you have to do to prepare the surface? Thanks!

Besides the painting I'm going to try switching the joystick for a d-pad, but that's a different topic.

No airbrush was used. Only spray cans. Spray cans are pretty good if you get a good brand. I've found that a lot of the paints that are designated as Plastic Paints, are pretty terrible for painting plastic. They usually stay semi tacky and chip easily. The time required between coats varies for whatever paint your using. Check the label for the recommended time between coats. For the paint I used, additional coats can be put in 15 minutes. I'm not worried about this paint chipping. I've used it on my keyboard and mice before and I know its tough as nails. Again, this varies on paint brand though. Before painting, you should always ensure that the surface to clean by wiping it down with rubbing alcohol, ammonia or other solvent.

A good idea is to look on PC mod sites to get information about case painting and good paint brands.

The MOST important part of doing a good paint job is patience. I can't stress this enough.

Make sure:
- your coats are light so you don't get any runs (drip marks)
- there is sufficient time between coats
- if you're masking parts off, make sure all the tape is stuck down tightly especially on the edges or you'll get bleeding

 

[paulobecker]

Wow, that looks great! I was thinking about painting mine all silver like some concept pictures I've seen around the web, but it would erase the GP2X symbol that's painted above the stick and that would kinda suck

 

[Dzz]

No airbrush was used. Only spray cans. Spray cans are pretty good if you get a good brand. I've found that a lot of the paints that are designated as Plastic Paints, are pretty terrible for painting plastic. They usually stay semi tacky and chip easily. The time required between coats varies for whatever paint your using. Check the label for the recommended time between coats. For the paint I used, additional coats can be put in 15 minutes. I'm not worried about this paint chipping. I've used it on my keyboard and mice before and I know its tough as nails. Again, this varies on paint brand though. Before painting, you should always ensure that the surface to clean by wiping it down with rubbing alcohol, ammonia or other solvent.

A good idea is to look on PC mod sites to get information about case painting and good paint brands.

The MOST important part of doing a good paint job is patience. I can't stress this enough.

Make sure:
- your coats are light so you don't get any runs (drip marks)
- there is sufficient time between coats
- if you're masking parts off, make sure all the tape is stuck down tightly especially on the edges or you'll get bleeding

Thanks for the tips!

 

[ninjak]

You need to modify the skin so the white strips follow throw on the display.

That's a damn fine idea. I'll hit that up tommorow.

 

[JaqMs]

COOL! A case mod that does NOT involve melting the case plastic!

 

[daclassicgamingmaster]

COOL! A case mod that does NOT involve melting the case plastic!

what? Im just going to take that as another top-notch trolling comment.