A number of Steam Deck owners are struggling considerably with their personalized vinyl skins. Valve’s highly adjustable gaming handheld PC has been a perfect base for a range of supplemental accessories, and vinyl covers seem to be the preferred option in view of their ease of use and multitude of designs. Unfortunately, these modifications are not without flaws.

From the inception, the growing Steam Deck group has advocated ways to modify vinyl so customers are able to customize their device to their tastes. Though some of these vinyl coatings require warmth in order to activate the adhesive, removing them can be difficult, as some have recently come to learn.

The Steam Deck, a popular piece of gaming hardware for 2022, quickly acquired a loyal fanbase and soon many customization providers began popping up. However, there have been a few complaints on the Steam Deck subreddit regarding the varying quality of the vinyl applied to the device. Some customers have even shared their experiences of trying to remove these customizations with varying degrees of success.

Two users, rkatz94 and ZoteTheMitey, have relayed their trouble with taking off vinyl stickers from their Decks, leaving an adhesive residue behind that is hard to get rid of. It seems that some companies, offering these covers, have been using low-grade vinyl. Despite past complaints about Dbrand’s Steam Deck gear, their more expensive customizations are made with top-notch 3M vinyl, which is straightforward to put on and take off, not leaving behind a trace on the device.

Official Steam Deck service centers will not fix cosmetic issues like those shown above. To remove the left over residue in that case, people suggest using hand sanitizer or medical-grade alcohol, though the work will still be difficult.

Those who would rather avoid the hassle of using vinyl stickers have a lot of alternatives to pick from. One of the first official transparent replacements for Steam Deck just became accessible, and creator JSAUX has sent it to the first buyers. We have yet to determine how good it is, but at least it won’t cause the sticky residue that comes with vinyl stickers.