How can I give a 3D Control Pad a custom paint job?

[kiltedgunstar]

This may be the wrong place to ask, but I figured controllers count as hardware in my book, so.... 

has anyone here had any experience giving custom looks to their Saturn, controllers, or other gaming consoles? I am hoping to do something with my two 3D pads, specifically and am having a tough time figuring out the best way to give them a paint job because of the plastic they're made of. I may only paint the main face-plates on each, and nothing fancy, probably just a base color that looks good with black for a two-tone look. I think I'd prefer a matte finish over something glossy, but I'm willing to try anything that might look good. I'd consider paining the upper shell of my Saturn, too, but since it's a model 1 I am just going to let it be. 

If anyone has some advice or ideas, I'd love to hear it! If this turns out to be something I can do and I like how it looks, I might give my Dreamcast a new look, too. 

Thanks! 

[mick_aka]

I used to do custom spray jobs on laptops for a living, here's a brief non-comprehensive guide for spraying anything plastic if you actually want the pain job to last:

Rule 1: DON'T RUSH.

Rule 2: DON'T RUSH.

Rule 3: DON'T RUSH

Rule 4: Prep, prep, prep, prep, then prep some more...

You're going to be best hanging each half of the pad or mounting it on some sort of stand or piece of wood.

You need to key the surface thoroughly in every tiny nook and cranny with fine carbon paper, then degrease it, then apply thin plastic primer, leave to dry for 3-4 hours then gently rub that down smooth and apply another layer, rinse and repeat until you have nice even coverage but try not to built it up too thickly, leave to go off (set) for at least 24 hours (I'd leave for 48)
Clean the primed pad very thoroughly removing every last tiny spec of primer dust and any grease from your hands.

Add a thin coat of your chosen colour leave until dry and solid (not tacky wait at least 3-4 hours) then gently rub down again with very fine carbon paper, add another coat and repeat previous steps, keep going until you're happy with the coverage.

Leave to go off (set) properly at room temperature for at least 24 hours ( 72 preferable).

After the paint has gone off if you're happy with the coverage add a thin coat of clear lacquer (matt or gloss depending on the finish you want) leave that to dry for 1-2 hours then add another coat, again you can build up coats until you're happy with the finish.

Times above may vary dependant on the types of paint you're using.

It's a long and laborious task, of course you could buy a can of paint from halfords and just spray it over, this finish will look great for all of a week until the paint starts to dull and then peel away.

[Zentron]

You also need to decide the type of plastic paints you want to use, the first, that basically just adheres to the surface and you get a raised, albeit thin, surface and it's not permanent. The second, actually bleeds into the plastic itself, so there's not the raised surface you get with the other and it's permanent, until the plastic wears down of course.

*Note to Mick, OP lives in Iowa, not sure if travelling several thousand miles to go to Halfords is workable