For rattle can paints - if you use them, pay attention to the preparation, and masking! When you use rattle cans, be sure to soak them in warm water (NOT HOT) for ten minutes before spraying for more pressure, and a finer mist!
1 - Shake for 2 minutes or until your arms are numb
2 - Soak in warm water for ten minutes
3 - Shake for 30 seconds
4 - Paint in a lateral motion - left to right or right to left, but make sure to spray before the xbox and then after so that there is no pooling effect.
Prevention
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I highly recommend that you paint outdoors, or in a well-ventilated area. Lacquer paints can be very noxious, and stink up the whole house. Not only that, but you can get yourself into trouble without ventilation, causing headaches at first, followed by the more gruesome homage to the porcelain god (vomiting of course) if you aren’t careful.
Always, always, always use a painting mask! Why? Inhaling this stuff is just as bad as sniffing glue. Be sensibile. They aren’t that expensive, and can really save your lungs. Without a painting mask, you run the risk of breathing in the paint, which will coat your lungs. The body cannot break these chemicals down, and therefore, are there forever.
Also, use goggles, or safety glasses. Heating a rattle can too much, and have them blow up in their face. Nothing worse than having paint in your eyes, I can guarantee you that! Be on the safe side – better to look like a dork than a dork covered in paint that cannot be easily cleaned off. If it can happen, it will happen – Murphy’s Law always will prevail!
Materials
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There are several brands of paint out there; some are better than others. When you buy paint, be sure to get the kind that is specifically formulated for polycarbonate plastic (or lexan for short). The correct paint bonds itself to the lexan, is flexible, and allows it to stay in intact in case of an impact.
Dont's
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You do not want any Acrylic based paint as it will fail to adhere to the plastic and fail to dry correctly. If you make this mistake, then you will need to go to your local Home Depot and get some Turpentine as this will not eat the Xbox plastic.
Some cool colors to look at, but as long as it’s paint that is intended for polycarbonate you should be fine.
Hope this guide was helpful in getting the results you were looking for in a custom paint job.
I am sure that there are other paints that you can use to get the results you want, but if you want a paint that will surly adhere and not bubble, flake, chip over time due to poor adherence then Lexan is what you want.
This is a newbie guide, for the professionals out there, please feel free to add to this post with you experiences.
I can see this happening to me if I ever tried it... which I won't because I never look at any of my systems except the portable ones...