I have the My Touch Q for a phone. Being that there are so many different android phones I think it is much more difficult for find the novelty phone cases. Especially compared to the iPhone, there are so many variety available to iPhone users!
So when I saw there was a pokeball iPhone case, and none for andriod (that I could find) devices, I thought:
"Why not make my own?"
I did. Here's how!
Materials used:
Hard plastic phone case
Rough grit sandpaper
Fine grit sandpaper
Masking tape
Gesso
Assortment of acrylic paints
Paint brushes and water (stuff for painting)
Finish
Total time: 28 hours
I had a purple case, and used the rough grit sandpaper to remove the color that the case had. I was not very meticulous, but tried to get as much as I could.
Then I used to fine grit sandpaper to even out the sanding, and make the surface more smooth for the gesso. Then I painted a layer of white gesso. Gesso creates a surface with "tooth" that allows the acrylic paint to grab and hold onto. This prevents chipping and peeling. Waited for the gesso to dry, and then taped my phone where I wanted the colors to stop and begin. I decided to paint the red first. Because I figured it would be easier to clean any red I would have gotten off the white part much easier without having to remove acrylic and have to deal with reapplying gesso and such.
So I applied layers, and taped off and waited to dry. This all varies on what design you want, but I would think a pokeball would be pretty self explanatory.
Once my acrylic paints dried completely I sprayed a layer of satin finish, waited ten minutes and sprayed another layer.
This is where the time consuming part came in! Because it takes 24 hours to dry. (I actually decided to do another couple of coats once the first dried, so I had to wait an additional 24 hours.)
Tips:
So when I saw there was a pokeball iPhone case, and none for andriod (that I could find) devices, I thought:
"Why not make my own?"
I did. Here's how!
Materials used:
Hard plastic phone case
Rough grit sandpaper
Fine grit sandpaper
Masking tape
Gesso
Assortment of acrylic paints
Paint brushes and water (stuff for painting)
Finish
Total time: 28 hours
I had a purple case, and used the rough grit sandpaper to remove the color that the case had. I was not very meticulous, but tried to get as much as I could.
Then I used to fine grit sandpaper to even out the sanding, and make the surface more smooth for the gesso. Then I painted a layer of white gesso. Gesso creates a surface with "tooth" that allows the acrylic paint to grab and hold onto. This prevents chipping and peeling. Waited for the gesso to dry, and then taped my phone where I wanted the colors to stop and begin. I decided to paint the red first. Because I figured it would be easier to clean any red I would have gotten off the white part much easier without having to remove acrylic and have to deal with reapplying gesso and such.
So I applied layers, and taped off and waited to dry. This all varies on what design you want, but I would think a pokeball would be pretty self explanatory.
Once my acrylic paints dried completely I sprayed a layer of satin finish, waited ten minutes and sprayed another layer.
This is where the time consuming part came in! Because it takes 24 hours to dry. (I actually decided to do another couple of coats once the first dried, so I had to wait an additional 24 hours.)
Tips:
- Make sure you know the alignment of your phone case before you start painting! Sometimes it is difficult to tell which snaps to the top or bottom.
- I did use Martha Stuart's brand products (gesso and Satin finish) and so far they are holding up well!
- I was told the Americana brand acrylics work the best on plastic surfaces. So far so good!
- Work in a larger well ventilated room. I did this in my living room with two fans circulating.
- The finish will have fumes and smell similar to spray paint.
- Use clean new masking tape. I used tape I had laying around and it was old and gooey at the edges, so I didn't get clean lines as I would have liked.
- Have fun with it!
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