So I have a Logitech G5 mouse that's ugly gray and orange. I want to make it match my silver/black/blue theme for my system, so I was going to pop off the face plate and do it either polished black or silver and swap out the orange LED for a blue one. I can do the LED myself, but I wasn't sure what paint and preparation I'd need to do to the plastic to make a good finish. I remember a few years back I tried to spray paint an old mouse, and it turned out sticky to the touch and virtually unusable afterwards. Advice would be appreciated!
You'd probably want to use a paint meant for plastic, like the Krylon Fusion brand. They probably have a primer meant to use with that paint too. Sanding and filling in any imperfections before paint and clear coat to finish would be important as well. I'm sure others here who have done this will add in their advice.
Krylon (keep on getting it mixed with kapton tape) is probably the way to go. i paint all my pneumatic canon's with the stuff. its really good
the paint brand isnt as much of a worry as the preparation should be. as long as you use scuff the surface properly and use a quality primer then you can basically use any paint you like on it. the primer also acts as a form of barrier in between the volatile elements in the paint and the surface of the plastic. just remember when painting to use a bunch of thin coats of paint rather than the one thick coat method. that will also prevent you from damaging the plastic, creating runs, drips, and overall gooping up the mouse lol.
Krylon Fusion is specifically formulated to work for plastic. So damaging it with paint isn't really an issue with that. Proper prep as CobraMods says above is, of course, still important.
on a side note you could also use something from the vast array of model car aresols out there. most formulated for use with plastic and come in smaller cans at a cheaper price. a well stocked hobby shop will have near every colour imaginable for you to chose from.
With my dell mouse I started by sanding/bondo fixing everything. I made sure the surface was decently smooth(400 or 600grit), and the layed down two coats of primer, 2 coats of black, 6 color changing(its what I had), and then 3 layers of clear coat. I have a very smooth glossy finish and almost no orange peel. The mouse has started to get a little ruff where my fingers rest, but its been more than a year. All I can say is make sure you have a decent layer of clear coat.
If you use hobby paint like Testors paint, you will want to clearcoat the heck out of it. Hobby paint is designed to not fuse or melt soft plastics, so it doesn't stick very well and can be scratched off easily. You will also want to make sure the clearcoat will not destroy the hobby paint.
