Psssssh... I took none of your advice and went through with it anyways
! And it worked great
!!! I dissassembled the psp, took off the trim/umd drive, taped up the inside so no paint got into any nooks or crannies, put on 3 coats of some krylon fusion paint (white), and voila!!! it worked like a charm!!
I'm awaiting shipment of a replacement metal ring, and and asterix brilliant white faceplate a.t.m.
before...
after...