How to Make Custom Rubik’s Cubes

Making a Rubik’s cube is difficult, but the same colors become boring. The simplest way to create a new Rubik’s cube is to remove the stickers and add your own designs to the faces of the cube. Printable sticker paper makes this easy to do. The hardest part is to remove the stickers already on the cube.

What you need:

Rubik’s cube

Photo software

Scissors

Plastic razor blade

Blow dryer

Rubbing alcohol

Printable sticker paper

Ruler

Pencil

Tweezers

Sealant

Small paintbrush

Choose the designs you want on the Rubik’s cube. You need a different design for each of the six sides. Do not use similar designs or solving the cube will be tricky. Try to choose designs that are different colors to make solving the cube easier.

Use photo software to crop the pictures into a square shape. The size of the square depends on the size of your Rubik’s cube. Measure the size of the cube with the ruler. Many manufacturing companies make puzzle cubes and sizes vary. Print the designs using the printable sticker paper. Follow the directions with the sticker paper on inserting the paper in the printer the correct way based on your printer type.

Let the ink dry a few minutes and then cut out the square designs. Flip them upside down on a hard surface. Use the ruler and pencil to mark the smaller squares. For example, if your Rubik’s cube is 3×3, you will need nine equal sized squares in three rows. If each individual cubie, the small squares on the cube, is a one-inch square, start by measuring one inch down the left edge of your picture. Mark the spot with the pencil. Turn the ruler horizontally and line it up with the mark you made. Draw a straight line across the picture. Measure one inch from below that line you just drew and make a second line. Continue until you have all the rows you need and then do the columns the same way.

Remove the stickers from the Rubik’s cube. Heat the cube with a hair dryer and use the plastic razor to scrape the stickers from the cube. Go slowly and reheat the cube after it cools. This is a tedious and sometimes frustrating task. Remove any left over glue on the cube by wiping the glue with rubbing alcohol. Make sure the cube is completely dry before continuing.

Cut out one small square of a picture. Remove the backing by pulling on the paper backing and not the sticker. Use tweezers to hold the sticker using only the very tip of a corner of the sticker. Place the opposite corner of the sticker that the tweezers are holding on the correct cubie of the Rubik’s cube. Press the corner down with your finger and slide your finger along the rest of the sticker so that it sticks to the cubie without bubbles. Let go of the last corner with the tweezers and press the corner down with your finger. Repeat this step with every square until the entire Rubik’s cube is finished.

Paint every sticker on the Rubik’s cube with a thin layer of sealant. Paint only the stickers one by one. Do not let any sealant get into the cracks of the cube or it might not turn. The sealant will help make the printed pictures last longer and not fade from your fingers rubbing the ink. Mod Podge is an excellent choice as it comes in many types, including glitter.

Sources:

Cubesmith FAQs, Cubesmith.com