Author Topic: D-Pad and buttons sticking issue (Read 89471 times)

Orb · « **Reply #20 on:** June 19, 2013, 05:04:42 am »

I now regret getting the black one. The black units are painted white units, so any nick or scratch will show a nice white mark. Should look like crap if not meticulously cared for.

What the hell...... China run out of black plastic?

relay01 · « **Reply #21 on:** June 19, 2013, 05:05:08 am »

Shaving down the d-pad itself?

I'd have figured it'd be better to file away the d-pad housing... Seems like the cut-out being too small is the problem...

Quote from: Orb on June 19, 2013, 05:04:42 am

I now regret getting the black one. The black units are painted white units, so any nick or scratch will show a nice white mark. Should look like crap if not meticulously cared for.

What the hell...... China run out of black plastic?

This is actually quite common practice even among the big boys... Colored plastic is expensive. Often a base neutral color is chosen and paint top-coats go over it.

SNESFAN · « **Reply #22 on:** June 19, 2013, 05:15:04 am »

I think only the dpad and action buttons are white underneath

I don't see the paint coming off the case as easily as the buttons.

AztroZombie · « **Reply #23 on:** June 19, 2013, 05:28:34 am »

Just the d-pad on mine was white (and analog stick), the case is black under the paint. I did not have issues with the action buttons. Here is the final result, NO MORE STICKING, d-pad feels great!

Atlantis_Risen · « **Reply #24 on:** June 19, 2013, 05:34:10 am »

why don't you guys just shave the case around the d-pad...? Then the white wouldn't be exposed.

ithought · « **Reply #25 on:** June 19, 2013, 05:37:48 am »

Quote from: AztroZombie on June 19, 2013, 05:28:34 am

Just the d-pad on mine was white, the case is black under the paint. I did not have issues with the action buttons. Here is the final result, NO MORE STICKING, d-pad feels great!

wow d-pad looks nice.

relay01 · « **Reply #26 on:** June 19, 2013, 05:49:33 am »

So how much do you think you had to shave off?

What'd you use to do it?

AztroZombie · « **Reply #27 on:** June 19, 2013, 05:54:08 am »

Quote from: Atlantis_Risen on June 19, 2013, 05:34:10 am

why don't you guys just shave the case around the d-pad...? Then the white wouldn't be exposed.

Well, mine was sticking/rubbing so horribly that the white was already starting to show through on the d-pad. I had no choice. I shaved both the d-pad paint and the case around it, because I sure as hell didn't want to risk it not working and have to open it up again.

I ALSO found an extra speaker grill cover floating around inside the case, so I'm glad I got that out of there!

relay01 · « **Reply #28 on:** June 19, 2013, 02:13:28 pm »

Getting a closer look at the d-pad itself, outside of the unit, I see why you want to file away at the d-pad instead of the casing.

Most d-pads have a circle surrounding the entire diameter at the base, the GCW0's only has a nub at the internal edges. Filing away at the casing may enhance the risk that you're d-pad starts popping out from the casing.

My d-pad seems to only be getting worse with play-time not better, so I guess I'll be doing this too. I'll try to take video of the process.

fukes · « **Reply #29 on:** June 19, 2013, 02:19:51 pm »

Quote from: relay01 on June 19, 2013, 02:13:28 pm

Getting a closer look at the d-pad itself, outside of the unit, I see why you want to file away at the d-pad instead of the casing.

Most d-pads have a circle surrounding the entire diameter at the base, the GCW0's only has a nub at the internal edges. Filing away at the casing may enhance the risk that you're d-pad starts popping out from the casing.

My d-pad seems to only be getting worse with play-time not better, so I guess I'll be doing this too. I'll try to take video of the process.

Mine's also got worse sticking on the up direction - so disappointing and i'm nervous about opening it up to do this same thing but also worried i'll be waiting for another year to get my GCW back if I sent it back

I've emailed Justin but he just replied with "It will wear in pretty quickly about six to eight hours use" and "Once it wears in should be more responsive keep me posted if not" i'm not so sure about it wearing in...

AztroZombie · « **Reply #30 on:** June 19, 2013, 02:28:26 pm »

Quote from: relay01 on June 19, 2013, 02:13:28 pm

Getting a closer look at the d-pad itself, outside of the unit, I see why you want to file away at the d-pad instead of the casing.

Most d-pads have a circle surrounding the entire diameter at the base, the GCW0's only has a nub at the internal edges. Filing away at the casing may enhance the risk that you're d-pad starts popping out from the casing.

Exactly! There are "stops" on the d-pad that keep it in the case. I did my best to not scrape those or the area on the case itself where they rest. If you remove too much of the case material your d-pad is going to pop completely out of the unit.

zear · « **Reply #31 on:** June 19, 2013, 02:40:08 pm »

Quote from: fukes on June 19, 2013, 02:19:51 pm

Mine's also got worse sticking on the up direction - so disappointing and i'm nervous about opening it up to do this same thing but also worried i'll be waiting for another year to get my GCW back if I sent it back

I've emailed Justin but he just replied with "It will wear in pretty quickly about six to eight hours use" and "Once it wears in should be more responsive keep me posted if not" i'm not so sure about it wearing in...

Check if any residue from the d-pad paint didn't accumulate inside the d-pad slot.

AztroZombie · « **Reply #32 on:** June 19, 2013, 02:42:02 pm »

Quote from: fukes on June 19, 2013, 02:19:51 pm

Mine's also got worse sticking on the up direction - so disappointing and i'm nervous about opening it up to do this same thing but also worried i'll be waiting for another year to get my GCW back if I sent it back

I've emailed Justin but he just replied with "It will wear in pretty quickly about six to eight hours use" and "Once it wears in should be more responsive keep me posted if not" i'm not so sure about it wearing in...

I completely disagree with the d-pad getting "better" with use. Mine went from not sticking at all to sticking terribly. BUT in team GCW's defense, I can also see why the units passed quality control. The paint on the d-pad and case has a bit of a smooth/gloss finish to it, allowing the d-pad to function properly, AT FIRST. Once this top coat begins to wear from rubbing, it provides the perfect surface for the sticking to occur. It will start to creak and then stick.

The fix is simple if you have the balls to open up the case. It took me about an hour to do the whole thing and I was being SUPER careful. People shouldn't freak out about the issue, either grow a pair and fix yourself or send it back under warranty.

I wouldn't hesitate buying another... I'll probably get a white one too once they're available at Ithic, sticky d-pad or not.

Atlantis_Risen · « **Reply #33 on:** June 19, 2013, 03:16:48 pm »

Justin mentioned a couple of times that the d-pad gets better with 6-8 hours of use. I suspect he's trying to blow off this problem. Clearly many peoples d-pad problems don't go away with use.

relay01 · « **Reply #34 on:** June 19, 2013, 03:27:17 pm »

Quote from: Atlantis_Risen on June 19, 2013, 03:16:48 pm

Justin mentioned a couple of times that the d-pad gets better with 6-8 hours of use. I suspect he's trying to blow off this problem. Clearly many peoples d-pad problems don't go away with use.

Not sure if I've put in 6-8 hours but the crunching noise this thing makes is grotesque. Also, after following my own advice of extended "thumb exercises" the problem mostly gets worse. As AztroZombie stated, paint just accumulates on more than one direction overtime and soon enough, all directions feel a bit "sticky".

Some people have reported having no problems at all, which makes me wonder if on units that are experiencing the problem is the d-pad bigger or the hole cut smaller? Or is is a sloppy paint job?

Can anyone with a seemingly perfect d-pad take a really close picture of it?

Also, I tend to wonder if the problem can be remedied externally. Move the d-pad in the up position, then file away the bottom and edges of the down direction. Repeat for all sides. You'll probably want to do this with the unit upside-down so plastic shavings don't get in your unit...

AztroZombie · « **Reply #35 on:** June 19, 2013, 03:31:52 pm »

Quote from: Atlantis_Risen on June 19, 2013, 03:16:48 pm

I suspect he's trying to blow off this problem.

I wouldn't go that far, he PM'd me and told me if it didn't get better with use that I could send it back under warranty and they would fix or replace it. That's not blowing off the issue at all, he was very nice about it actually. Maybe some of them have a thinner layer of paint and do get better with time, I can only speak for myself and it wasn't getting any better on my own device. I didn't want to send it off and wait for a warranty fix.

Atlantis_Risen · « **Reply #36 on:** June 19, 2013, 03:33:35 pm »

Did the franken-zeros not have this problem?

Atlantis_Risen · « **Reply #37 on:** June 19, 2013, 03:36:51 pm »

Quote from: AztroZombie on June 19, 2013, 03:31:52 pm

Quote from: Atlantis_Risen on June 19, 2013, 03:16:48 pm
I suspect he's trying to blow off this problem.

I wouldn't go that far, he PM'd me and told me if it didn't get better with use that I could send it back under warranty and they would fix or replace it. That's not blowing off the issue at all, he was very nice about it actually. Maybe some of them have a thinner layer of paint and do get better with time, I can only speak for myself and it wasn't getting any better on my own device. I didn't want to send it off and wait for a warranty fix.

Could the d-pad be removed and the paint completely removed with thinner? Then there'd be no paint to stick.

AztroZombie · « **Reply #38 on:** June 19, 2013, 03:39:55 pm »

Quote from: Atlantis_Risen on June 19, 2013, 03:36:51 pm

Could the d-pad be removed and the paint completely removed with thinner? Then there'd be no paint to stick.

I thought about doing that but I did not want to damage or warp the plastic. I simply scraped the paint off with a sharp x-acto knife.

Skyline969 · « **Reply #39 on:** June 19, 2013, 03:42:53 pm »

Quote from: AztroZombie on June 19, 2013, 03:39:55 pm

I thought about doing that but I did not want to damage or warp the plastic. I simply scraped the paint off with a sharp x-acto knife.

Would it be possible for one to do that without taking the d-pad out of the case? You'd need something thin and sharp, and I'm thinking possibly a drafting knife would fix it:

Author Topic: D-Pad and buttons sticking issue (Read 89471 times)

SNESFAN

AztroZombie (OP)

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