That $15 heat gun ruined my first joystick swap and I almost cried

I used to think any heat gun would work for softening up joystick bases on Xbox controllers. Last month I grabbed a cheap one from a discount bin for 15 bucks. First joystick I tried it on, the plastic around the base started bubbling and warping within 30 seconds. I had to toss the whole shell and start over with a new one from Amazon. Now I only use a proper adjustable temp heat gun from the hardware store and I always test it on a scrap piece first. Has anyone else wrecked a controller shell from not checking heat settings? I feel like an idiot but at least I learned my lesson.

2 comments

2 Comments

gray_perez525d ago

Been there with a cheap Wagner heat gun from a garage sale that melted the thumbstick housing clean through. The key is finding one that goes down to around 250 degrees F instead of blasting 750 right off the bat. Harbor Freight has a decent one for like 25 bucks that lets you dial it in, and I always warm up the joystick for about 10 seconds from a foot away before moving closer. Also learned the hard way that pulling the trigger on the heat gun too soon is the fast track to ruining a shell, so now I hold it steady for a good 20 seconds before even trying to pop the stick out.

paul_mason125d ago

Wait, you guys are really cranking up heat guns on controller shells? I see @gray_perez52 talking about 250 degrees and a foot of distance, but that still sounds too hot and risky to me. I do joystick swaps totally different. I just use a cheap hair dryer on low with a narrow nozzle attachment. The plastic gets warm enough to soften the joystick base without ever getting close to melting. I hold it about six inches away for maybe 10 seconds, then wedge a spudger under the joystick while it's still warm. Never ruined a shell once doing it that way. Hair dryers top out way lower than most heat guns, so you can't really mess up even if you try. I think you guys are overthinking it with special tools and exact temperature settings.