PDA

View Full Version : Weathering. Share your methods and experiences.



Corbin_Das
05-18-2007, 11:21 PM
Greetings
I started this thread for those interested in weathering their sabers. Please feel free to include your favorite weathering methods and any funny stories/experiences you've had while trying to weather something.

So what do you use? Aluminum black? Paint? Ammonia? Horse manure? :?

I'll chime in with a few of my experiences too. I just need to collect some pics and upload them first.


Corbin

Barmic Rin
05-19-2007, 01:37 AM
Does anybody know what the original Heiland flash cells were made from?
I picked up a scratched-up one on E-bay while back & want to weather it down in patches, but i'm not too sure what to use.
It may be plated copper, though not 100% sure.

xwingband
05-19-2007, 09:13 AM
My heiland is just a chromed tube... just like a sink tube.

The simplest weathering I ever saw was for those ultra accurate parts on the RPF. He soaked it in tea then buried it in his yard for a day or so. :shock:

Barmic Rin
05-19-2007, 09:23 AM
The story I was kinda going with this hilt was that a Jedi salvaged it from the battlefield. It was caught in the explosion that took out his former master & her troops. I don't want it all blackened or melted, just scuffed & scratched with acupla small dents in it & a bit of residue in some of the grooves.

Madcow
05-19-2007, 09:46 AM
A modelling technique that works well for residue or "carbon scoring" is to take flat black model paint and mix one part f it with at least 4 parts paint thinner (more or less for effect). You can add a little flat rust paint too. I plan to do a weathered saber soon.
Then just apply it and let is settle inthe cracks and grooves. Then wipe it off as desired.

MC

Barmic Rin
05-19-2007, 10:22 AM
I tried that with my old warhammer figures, but went a bit too runny.
I suppose for the scale of them it was wrong, but i'm sure on a hilt it'd look groovy!

Lord Maul
05-19-2007, 10:28 AM
some guy at fx sabers (forget who) took a lighter to his maul FX endcaps to make them look scorched by obi's blade. then he just put on clear coat and it looks pretty cool 8)

987654321a
05-19-2007, 11:37 AM
it was darth poo head on here. but he hasnt come on in a while

jjshumpert
05-19-2007, 11:56 AM
i use blueing medium, apply it where you want it with a q-tip, let it sit for a minute, then wipe. it will give a blackened look if left alone or a scorched appearance if you buff it a bit with a cloth. works great!

Madcow
05-19-2007, 01:56 PM
I heard gublue doesn't work on aluminum... are you saying it gives a good aging effect? Does it look "stained"?

MC

jjshumpert
05-19-2007, 02:46 PM
you need some of this stuff
http://www.birchwoodcasey.com/sport/images/Products/15125_lrg.jpg

TimeRender
05-19-2007, 08:03 PM
Hey Shump, did you lacquer your pieces after you blued them? The people that I have talked to offered mixed advice about lacquering, and I would rather not bother unless it is necessary.

jjshumpert
05-19-2007, 09:31 PM
i have tried it a few times but to me it isnt worth the hassle. the blueing effect will "rub off" as you handle the hilt, but then by blueing you have chemically treated the metal and with time it will accent the original color change very nicely from the addition of the oils and acids from your hands

Novastar
05-22-2007, 01:50 AM
I have been "aging" Flange v3 in several ways--none of which I consider to be perfect, as it's my first experiment. Maybe I'll show photos after C4, but I'm kinda busy until then.

Anyhow...

1. The "non-slip" spray to give a frost coat.
2. A little "gold rust" spray paint.
3. Hand drill with a grinder head.
4. Dragging things across it, such as a screwdriver, pliers, rub it with varying grade wire-brushes.
5. Talk mean to it. EVIL SABER!!! BAD, BAD BAAAAADDD!!! GrrrrRRRRrrRRrrRRrrrrr.... 8)

It seems to be working. Ok, #5 isn't as effective as I'd hoped, and was probably busted on MythBusters like in season 2 or whatever. :D

The only thing I wish I hadn't aged was the TCSS black anodized emitter. I think it looks better mostly black rather than with the rusty gold paint.

BTW, I should have a "Darkside" v1.2 CF/BT saber wired up for C4 also. The sounds are VERY YUMMY, and I'm glad to share the soundfonts on Erv's site. Have a look, play around, and have fun.

Corbin_Das
05-22-2007, 02:02 AM
Hi
I've got a bunch of pics of the individual weathered parts that I might post. We'll see how that goes. I've just been too busy, considering I leave for C4 in 26 hours.

Got both MHS sabers done though. :D

Novastar
05-22-2007, 02:10 AM
Excited you are... leaving you will be, soon it is.

Good to hear it is that completed the MHS sabers you have... :)

I'll see you there, I should have the "good" and "bad" versions of Flange wired up with v1.2 of Erv's, both running at the max 1.3A.

Hopefully, both will be weathered nicely, but--only time will tell.

Corbin_Das
05-30-2007, 01:33 AM
I'm back from C4!
Here's a couple quick pics of the weathered KP saber:


http://www.orbitalmachining.com/assets/images/100_0621.jpg
http://www.orbitalmachining.com/assets/images/100_0622.jpg

Handling it at C4 polished it up a bit, so I'll likely do some more weathering on it later.


Corbin

TimeRender
06-05-2007, 09:49 PM
Well I just finished my weathered MHS saber and posted pics in the gallery. I have to say the oxidizers worked very well. You guys should definitely consider offering it in the store.

Corbin_Das
06-30-2007, 09:38 PM
It's a hazardous material and requires more expensive shipping. Unless we could sell boatloads of the stuff, I doubt we'd be able to get a sufficient price break since we wouldn't be buying a ton of it.

Corbin

Novastar
07-01-2007, 10:16 AM
Grinding, sanding, and otherwise "defacing" the materials provide great weathering without the added hazards of chemicals. Although I will say that the "snow spray" stuff I used (mainly for grip) was effective to spray on and then grind OFF a bit of it as well to create a desired effect.

Corbin_Das
07-01-2007, 11:20 AM
Well,
Several of you may be familiar with my Malius saber. It was the first major weathering job I did. Like the Killer Penny saber (http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1597), this one is also brass and copper. It also uses the same grip material. In fact, the whole reason the KP got made was the Malius saber had gotten its grip section screwed up by a guy that was supposed to be brazing a threaded plate onto it for me. He got lazy and blasted several holes through through the piece. If that hadn't happened, I wouldn't have searched for another grip section so hard. When I finally found it, I had repaired the original piece enough to be used....so I had a spare.

Here's the original weathering job on the Malius. This is EXTREME weathering though. Meant more for a display piece than something you'd carry around. Think museum artifact:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v345/corbin_das/collage.jpg

This look was achieved by dark (almost black) lacquer that was thinned down and sprayed onto the piece. I then used a pencil torch to scorch the surface of the lacquer in a few places. Not quite to where it would bubble, but almost. Then I used a Scotchbrite pad and lightly scuffed up the areas, removing some of the scorched lacquer. Where I wanted it to be more "clean", I just didn't spray it, or I'd mist it from like 4 feet away.

Around the activation box, I used pig manure (strong with amonia) and left it on the piece for a couple days. This corroded the brass quite well. During these two days, the saber was burried in my back yard too.


Here's the grip section that was almost destroyed:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v345/corbin_das/meltdown.jpg

After handling, much of the weathering wore off and here's what it looks like now:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v345/corbin_das/angles-1.jpg



Corbin

Ashron
07-03-2007, 05:53 PM
Around the activation box, I used pig manure (strong with amonia) and left it on the piece for a couple days. This corroded the brass quite well. During these two days, the saber was burried in my back yard too.

Corbin

Pig manure? Seriously? What ever works i guess.

A weathering effect I have used (mainly on miniatures) is a mix of 1 part black paint and 3 part windex. Shake well and spray on the piece give it a few minutes to dry a bit. Then lightly brush it off with steel wool. Make sure you have some score marks and details for the paint to fill.

Hasid Lafre
07-03-2007, 05:55 PM
Its not saber related but its weathering.

I forget who it was but they took there jedi robe and rolled it up and tied it up and tossed it in there horse barn for a while then washed the smell out. Turned out pritty good.

Moro Kadon
07-07-2007, 02:34 AM
Mine is simple. Just an idea in the initial stages, since I don't have my parts yet. Steel wool, and three to four months for the whole hilt. Maybe a little longer for the extra pieces I'll (eventually) get. Maybe some sand-paper and black paint and a little grime for the 'tarnish'.

Corbin_Das
07-07-2007, 08:53 PM
The thing I've noticed is that if you "artificially" weather a saber, the easier it is to rub it off with handling. Even natural weathering can work this way. The technique Ace used to weather the copper on the KP saber seems to be pretty resistant to handling though. It was a blow torch that discolored the surface. I like how it turned out.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v345/corbin_das/beforeandafter.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v345/corbin_das/weathered3.jpg



Corbin

scott5050
07-08-2007, 07:42 AM
http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/5948/saber301ak5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/4849/saber402od8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/5410/saber403wo2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/22/saber404dt7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/4605/saber405go3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

The grip sections and emitter were painted black (plastikote) then drybrushed with a dark silver then a light silver. Very thin red/brown paint was then brushed into the cracks to stain them.

The clamp and sinktap were also painted with black plastikote but when the plastikote was almost dry most of it was rubbed off with a cloth. A few touches of red/brown were put on the clamp, none on the sinktap.

Corbin_Das
07-08-2007, 07:01 PM
Exceptional job Scott!

I particularly like the ribbed section. It looks like very worn metal.

BRAVO!

Ari-Jaq Xulden
06-12-2010, 08:47 PM
Okay I know this is an ancient thread But It seemed the place to put this. I took Tabasco hot sauce. in a bottle cap, In a large ziplock with the sleeve for about 4-6 hours and got this.
http://i366.photobucket.com/albums/oo105/ari-jaq_xulden/th_IMG00194.jpg (http://s366.photobucket.com/albums/oo105/ari-jaq_xulden/?action=view&current=IMG00194.jpg)http://i366.photobucket.com/albums/oo105/ari-jaq_xulden/th_IMG00197.jpg (http://s366.photobucket.com/albums/oo105/ari-jaq_xulden/?action=view&current=IMG00197.jpg)
http://i366.photobucket.com/albums/oo105/ari-jaq_xulden/th_IMG00196.jpg (http://s366.photobucket.com/albums/oo105/ari-jaq_xulden/?action=view&current=IMG00196.jpg)http://i366.photobucket.com/albums/oo105/ari-jaq_xulden/th_IMG00195.jpg (http://s366.photobucket.com/albums/oo105/ari-jaq_xulden/?action=view&current=IMG00195.jpg)

TimeRender
06-12-2010, 11:07 PM
No worries, this is a good example of when it is OK to necropost. I'm curious, where did you hear about this technique?

eastern57
06-13-2010, 04:27 AM
Indeed. Love me some weathered sabers! Nice effect, Ari. Subtle, but noticably aged.

Do you think it's the vinegar and pepper that helped it along? I ask because I, too, use cooking products on my sabers. ;)

Ari-Jaq Xulden
06-13-2010, 05:32 AM
TR : I read about it on a Ghostbuster fan forum. Also to answer Eastern 57. in the original post it says to use vinegar. I tried using apple cider vinegar. but it didn't yield the results I was looking for. Also In the original post someone else had used Franks hot sauce. overnight. His turned green in parts. So I broke out the Tabasco and got this in a few hours. I think its a combination of the vinegar and tomatoes (rather acidic). There was black particles in the Tabasco when I pulled it out.Proving a definite chemical reaction/physical change. The green will wipe away. but the browning and aging stay.The oddest part of this to me is if you dip or cover the brass in ketchup or vinegar individually, they will clean brass. Combined their vapors do harm. I shall dub this "Cajun aging".Hope to see some new brass aged sabers coming out. enjoy guys.

TimeRender
06-13-2010, 01:23 PM
Thanks. I was also wondering if it was the vinegar, but it seemed odd since I knew that vinegar actually cleans brass when applied directly. I will be trying this technique for sure.

Pitt
06-28-2010, 03:31 PM
I just attempted some weathering to my ROTJ MR saber conversion I'm doing. Turned out nice. I couldn't find any of those knurled knobs for the pommel area so I used a LR44 watch style battery until then. Looks kind of fitting on a lightsaber. I used a wire brush/disc attachment on my dremel and went all over it taking all the paint off then using anodized gunmetal automotive paint I misted it over the body and then used scotchbrite pads/sandpaper here and there until I was satisfied. I want to do more and make it even more worn, but I made myself quit.:mad:
, then put flat clear coat over it. I will probably go over the black area's with scothbrite pad and dull it.

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f81/Cowbell123/007.jpg

Sairon
06-28-2010, 03:48 PM
I have no pics but I have found that sand the part you want weathered, paint it black (lol roling stones) then sand some off to your desired look, then re apply black paint again, sand it, and then perhaps seal or add rust coloured paint.