Yesterday was an exciting day in the PSPCulture household, as the replacement matt black faceplate for my PSP arrived, two weeks after I ordered it from Lik-Sang.

Packaged in a rather large box, with plenty of soft cushioning, the faceplate arrived undamaged and looking good.

PSP Faceplate differences – Standard vs Aftermarket

Straight away I could see that there are a few differences between this replacement faceplate and the standard Sony PSP faceplate. The most noticable difference to any onlooker will be the lack of any Sony branding on the faceplate. This means that the Playstation logo, the PSP logo, and the word Sony are all missing from the faceplate, leaving the front of your PSP looking a little bare once this faceplate is fitted. I can only assume that the Sony trademarks are missing to avoid any liability on the part of the replacement faceplate manufacturer, and given the price of these faceplates and the quality of the molding, I don’t see this lack of branding an issue.

The other difference isn’t so noticable and relates to the LED parts of the faceplate. On the standard PSP faceplate, these sections are translucent. In other words the cover over the LED is clear and part of the physical faceplate molding. On the replacement faceplate, the LED sections are actually holes, so are open to the elements to some extent, and don’t have the same flush look as the standard faceplate. This may or may not be an issue for you, and much depends on your ability and willingness to take the old faceplate apart. This will become clear as I explain the fitment process of the PSP replacement faceplate.

Removing the original PSP Faceplate

The replacement faceplate comes with some fitting instructions that are clear and concise, and easy enough to follow. Removing the existing PSP faceplate involves removing 5 screws, and on my PSP that was one silver coloured screw on the bottom edge of the PSP, and then four black screws from the back of the PSP, two on the right hand side and two on the left under the battery. The fifth screw is situated under the warranty sticker, which you have to remove to get access to the screw. This voids your warranty, so only do this if you are sure you know what you are doing, or are confident enough to be able to handle any issues that arise.

When I first started to remove the screws I used one of the small silver handled screwdrivers that you usually get in a clear plastic box, normally with 6 screwdrivers. While these are normally good for removing small and fiddly screws, those screws that are used on the PSP have a coating of locktite to stop them coming loose, and the slender handles on the screwdrivers means that you cannot apply enough leverage to turn the screws without damaging the screw heads. So I switched to a Wickes No.0 (zero) screwdriver, which has a proper handle but a thin enough phillips head to remove the PSP’s small screws.

Once all the screws are removed, the analogue thumb control pulls straight off without any trouble, and the faceplate comes off the PSP easily and requires little or no force. There are a couple of small clips at the top of the PSP, but these just locate the faceplate correctly and don’t stop the faceplate from being removed.

Swapping the PSP Buttons over

The next stage is to swap over the buttons from the original PSP faceplate onto the replacement faceplate. This is straight forward, with the buttons being held in place by rubber membranes that lift off. Once removed from the original faceplate, place on the replacement PSP faceplate and refit the rubber membranes. The analogue control is held in place with two screws, simply remove these and lift out the control unit. Move over to the new faceplate and refit.

The buttons across the bottom of the PSP are held in place by a plastic strip which is glued in the center. This strip can be peeled back, retaining some of the stickiness, which can then be moved over to the new PSP faceplate. I found that the buttons lifted slightly at one end, but when the faceplate is refitted to the PSP body, they lay flat and in their correct location.

PSP LED covers

Now comes the slightly tricky stage, depending on how daring you are. If your standard PSP faceplate is undamaged, and you are swapping the faceplate for asthetic reasons, you may want to stop here and refit the new faceplate as it is.

However, If you are like me, and this new faceplate is replacing the standard PSP one because it has become damaged, then you may want to consider moving the clear plastic LED covers over to your new faceplate as well. Without these, the replacement PSP faceplate does not show up the Power, WLAN, and Memory stick Access lights correctly, and leave the holes open to dirt and debris.

The plastic LED covers on the original PSP cover are held in place by plastic spindles, which are then heat pressed to stop them moving. To remove these plastic covers, I used a small screwdriver and teased the covers upwards, working my way around each spindle until the covers popped off. You have to be careful not to be too aggressive doing this, as the plastic is fragile and you may snap the clear plastic cover. Patience and working round the edges seems to be the best method. When removed, you should have two clear covers, one for the WLAN end and one for the Power end.

Fitting these plastic covers is a case of slotting them into place and then securing them somehow. There are a few options for securing them, one is to put a drop of glue over the spindle, the other is to get you soldering iron out and spot weld the spindle to fix them in place, the same as on the original faceplate.

I chose the second option, partly because I’m happy handling a soldering iron, and partly because the chances are that this faceplate will become damaged and require replacing at some point, and I want to be sure I can remove the covers again if I need to, something which glue will prevent if you are not careful.

If you decide to use the soldering iron technique, you may want to remove the buttons and analogue controller first, unless you are confident in what you are doing. It only requires a small touch to the top of the plastic spindle to melt it enough to hold the cover in place, but ensure that the clear plastic cover is correctly located. I found it easiest to hold the clear plastic cover in place with a small screwdriver while soldering, to ensure the cover didn’t move at all.

Refitting the PSP faceplate

At this point, the buttons should be swapped over, the clear plastic LED covers refitted, and the analogue controller fixed in place. Its now time to refit the replacement faceplate to the PSP body.

First step is to ensure that both the inside of the faceplate and the LCD screen on the PSP body are dust free. Once you are happy that both are clean, I found it easiest to drop the PSP body down on top of the faceplate, ensuring they are both lined up correctly.

Once clipped into place and the cover is flush with the body, turn over the PSP and check the buttons are in the correct locations and can be easily pressed.

Assuming everything is in place, you can replace the five screws and enjoy your new and fancy PSP faceplate.

If there is something wrong, such as a button that will not press down, remove the faceplate and ensure everything is seated correctly. I had no problems with the buttons on mine, and everything went back together with no issues.

The only thing I have noticed on this new faceplate is that the home, volume, select and start buttons don’t feel as if they extrude out as far as they did with the original PSP faceplate, as though the replacement faceplate has a slightly more pronounced lip around the buttons. This in no way affects the buttons functions though, so is not an issue.

PSP Faceplate fitment, Summary

Overall I’m very pleased with this new matt black PSP faceplate. Fitting was straight forward and the instructions were clear enough for anyone to follow. So long as you know how to use a screwdriver, and that screwdriver is the right size not to strip the screw heads, fitting the replacement faceplate is an easy process.

There are a few points that require care not to damage either yourself or the PSP faceplate, such as the removal of the clear plastic LED covers, but if you take your time and exercise some caution, its not too difficult.

The quality of the PSP replacement cover is very good, and a perfect fit for the PSP body. The matt black finish means that finger prints are no longer an issue, the cover refusing to retain greasy finger marks for more than a few seconds.