I made my N64 capable of playing Japanese games and gave it a fresh new look.

Things you will need:

Nintendo 64
1 can of spray paint (I chose a metallic gold)
1 can of plastic primer
1 pen
A rotary tool (helpful but not really needed)
A few sheets of sandpaper (320 grit or higher)
1 can of high-luster lacquer

Step 1: Disassembling Your N64

A lot of companies have a nasty habit of making it hard to take apart their products. Nintendo is very guilty of trying to crush the DIY spirit. But, we will prevail! Why? Because their tamper-proof screws are not so tamper-proof. You can go online and buy the proper screwdriver, and spend money, OR you can use a pen and a lighter to get past those stupid screws.

It is pretty simple. All you have to do is find a hard plastic pen (mine was a Pilot brand), unscrew the back, melt it a bit with a lighter, and jam it into the screw hole. After you have let the pen cool off for a little bit, it should now be nice a mold of the security screw, and you should be able to remove those annoying little screws without much problem.

You are going to need to do this several times because the plastic screwdriver you just made strips very easily. Also, you might find it helpful to have a piece of tin foil to roll your melted screwdriver on should it mushroom out too wide to fit in the screw holes.

Step 2: The Innards

Now that we have outsmarted the security screws that hold the N64 together, you will be happy to discover that everything inside is held together with Philips head screws. On the top of the N64 is attached the cartridge tray; on the bottom, all of the electronics. Time to go to work with a screwdriver.

Once you have detached all of the innards, set them someplace safe for later.

Step 3: Modifying the Cartridge Tray

When Removing the cartridge tray you may have noticed two square protrusions on either side of it. Those protrusions are there to keep the average American from playing games that were not sold in the US. If those were to be removed then one could play any game ever made for the Nintendo 64.

I must admit, I don't own any Japanese games for the N64, but I like to keep my options open.

Removing the protrusions can be done with either a rotary tool or a razor blade. There is no need to fret about how pretty it looks because after this project is over nobody will ever look at the bottom of the cartridge tray again.

Step 4: Popping Off the Logo and Prepping the Case for Painting.

The N64 logo on the front of the console pops off easily by pressing a screwdriver to the back of it. I also took a rotary tool to the area that the label was attached to because I plan to someday backlight the logo with a white LED (I'll be sure to update this instructable when I do).

Also now would be a good time to remove the power and reset buttons. They are held in with two tabs, and are really easy to pop out.

Step 5: Sanding

Sand everything. Yeah, the entire outside of the case, doors that cover the cartridge tray, both buttons - everything. I used 320 grit sandpaper and it worked great. Sand a little more around the sides of the power and reset buttons. I had trouble with them sticking after being painted.

Step 6: Priming and Painting

It is time to make you the coolest kid on the block by painting your N64 gold!

1 coat of primer

2-3 coats of paint, about an hour apart

4 coats of lacquer.

It is easy to get carried away and lose your patience, but trust me, let everything dry before going to the next step or handling anything that has been painted.

Step 7: Done!

After you have let everything dry completely, all you have to do is put it all back together and pop in your favorite game.

If you have the gold copy of Ocarina of Time, now would be the perfect time to play it.

I plan on painting the ugly grey controller when I get around to it. I've got to use the last of my gold paint somehow.