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How to customize your PS5 with hand-painted controllers

Sony made it easy to customize your PS5 controllers with minimal effort and funds.

The dual-tone color of the PlayStation 5 and its controllers has been divisive among the gaming community, with some loving the look and others loathing it.

Fortunately, it's incredibly easy to make your PS5 controller your own, thanks to its removable face plate!

The only items you'll need are some acrylic paints of your color choice and an airbrush. If you don't wish to splurge on the latter, you can absolutely use a standard brush, although an airbrush will provide a more even and just better-looking result.

You should also consider a varnish to spray over the paint to protect it, but it isn't strictly necessary.

Gocheer Mini Airbrush Kit

If you do decide to go with an airbrush, this is the one that I first purchased to airbrush minifigs. For anyone that's never used an airbrush before, this is a great choice for newcomers.

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$64.99 on Amazon

Before starting, you'll want to give the face plate a thorough wash. This removes any oil that could keep the paint from adhering correctly, as well as any grit or dirt.

Technically you should consider wet-sanding the surface of the controllers with a high-grit sandpaper, but I decided to just paint them after a good clean.

Mix well

You can purchase acrylic paint designed for an airbrush, or slightly water down regular acrylic paint. Be sure to mix the paint thoroughly so that no chunks block the airbrush tip.

Airbrushing can take a while to get the hang of. Make sure to read the instructions carefully, and test it on a paper towel you've placed underneath the face plate before directly applying, as sometimes the initial burst can messily splatter paint.

After applying a first coat, it's best to apply a second, especially if you use a lighter color, to make sure the dark plastic doesn't peek through.

Since the face plate sits in a place that the palms of your hands won't likely touch, you don't need to necessarily varnish it. It is best, however, to apply some if you are worried for any reason that the controllers might get tossed around.

Varnish can be brushed on, but if you wish to use it in your airbrush, just make sure to use more solvent so you don't run the risk of clogging the device. Since the varnish mix will be thinner, you'll want to apply two to three layers.

And you're done! Clean your airbrush after finishing, particularly if you put varnish in it, and don't snap the face plate back on your controller until you are certain it's dry.

Until PlayStation makes their own colored face plates, this is a quick and cheap solution that is infinitely more customizable!

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