xbox customization

was bored this week so I decided to get a bit creative and paint the xbox. (skip down the the bottom for finished pictures)


First step is to take off the 6 screws with a torx screwdriver.



Clean the case. I used rubbing alcohol. Cleans really well and doesn't leave residue.



Taking off the jewel isn't that hard. Using a hairdryer heat the jewel while carefully prying it off. In hindsight, using a butterknife would have been much better. I left small dents in the case using that screwdriver.
Another method i read about to get the jewel off is to put the case in the freezer and then prying it off after its frozen. I recommend the hairdyer method as I would imagine it is much quicker.



After pulling off the jewel you will see the tape leftover.



Pour some mineral spirits on the tape.




After the mineral spirits sits for a few minutes, you can rub the tape off without much effort.


It is recommended that you sand your xbox prior to painting to make it smooth. Any fine grade will be good. I used 1500 grit.



Lightly sand the xbox always going the same direction. Don't swirl and if you go up and down, maintain only those directions (and not left and right) I didn't spend too much time sanding. A properly sanded xbox will feel smooth.



Underneath this mess is a metal bracket. I didn't want to take it off so I just crudely masked it.



Here you see the xbox primered. I bought all purpose primer for plastics. You dont have to prime but the final paint should turn out better if you use it. After priming you need to sand it again then clean.



After sanding, clean the xbox. Again I used rubbing alcohol.



After the primer dried, I masked the areas for my secondary paint color.


I used a small box as a pedestel to rest the xbox on so the paint wouldn't stick to the plastic surface.



Here is the primary paint applied. Always maintain the same motions and spray in a continuous stream, never doing shots as it may cause the paint to clog and create drops.



After the primary paint is completely dry, mask it. I cannont stress that you wait until it is 100% to the touch if you are using tape as a mask otherwise it will screw up the paint.



I used note cards to cover up the cracks as pictured here.



Secondary paint applied.



Finished product (top). I left it out in the garage over night and it was freezing in there (~30 degrees) it really hardend up the paint and made one solid finish.



If anyone thinking about doing this themselves: For jewel customization, there is a great walkthrough here. One thing to be careful about is using chemicals on the jewel. Mine became cloudy and it was a ***** cleaning it. I tried so many different methods before finally getting out the electric buffer and buffing it with a 3 step polish :noplease:






paint does look crappy in this pic but looks better in person.





back together







just waiting for jewel now.

Edit: forgot you can't hotlink images here

And for anyone wondering why the paint looks a bit blotchy it's because the paint used is textured that way. see it on the left here: