Well here it goes again. My first post did not post. I am new here so maybe that is why. Taking a crack at weathering and installing sound/lights to a K4 I purchased several months ago. I have been into custom sabers for a long time now but just never could find the spare time. I love this community and have been somewhat of a lurker for a few years now just admiring the prop work. I look forward to any constructive criticism and tips on how I might improve on what I am doing. Thanks for looking.
Starting out:

After a rough sanding I used Brass Black on all of the components of the upper part of the hilt just to see what would happen.



Not a fan but it is interesting what happens to the different metals. There is nickel plated brass, brass, aluminum and galvanized steel I believe in all of these parts.
Now the grenade portion which is aluminum. Not sure how Brass Black is going to do on it.


I barely sanded this piece and it looks like the brass black started to eat away at the part. There was a lot of pitting. I needed to get some Aluminum Black so I placed and order and sanded everything down while I waited for AtoZ to get me my chemicals.
In the meantime I also decided to do a few more coatings of Brass Black on the top of the hilt. It is getting darker and I am liking how it is coming along.



The Aluminum Black came in so I sanded down everything on the grenade as much as I could and dipped it in for a moment. This is much better and no pitting. I did a few more coats with a swab and also ran it over all of the parts on the upper hilt except for the portion between the wind vane and the emitter shroud.





The next day I did another coat on the grenade, emitter shroud and neck. There is a little bit of rust forming on the shroud but I like it. I also sanded the booster section and brushed some aluminum black on to dull it up a little. I let it sit overnight and I am liking how this all turned out.





Next is the clamp and pommel. I'll update as I go.
Starting out:

After a rough sanding I used Brass Black on all of the components of the upper part of the hilt just to see what would happen.



Not a fan but it is interesting what happens to the different metals. There is nickel plated brass, brass, aluminum and galvanized steel I believe in all of these parts.
Now the grenade portion which is aluminum. Not sure how Brass Black is going to do on it.


I barely sanded this piece and it looks like the brass black started to eat away at the part. There was a lot of pitting. I needed to get some Aluminum Black so I placed and order and sanded everything down while I waited for AtoZ to get me my chemicals.
In the meantime I also decided to do a few more coatings of Brass Black on the top of the hilt. It is getting darker and I am liking how it is coming along.



The Aluminum Black came in so I sanded down everything on the grenade as much as I could and dipped it in for a moment. This is much better and no pitting. I did a few more coats with a swab and also ran it over all of the parts on the upper hilt except for the portion between the wind vane and the emitter shroud.





The next day I did another coat on the grenade, emitter shroud and neck. There is a little bit of rust forming on the shroud but I like it. I also sanded the booster section and brushed some aluminum black on to dull it up a little. I let it sit overnight and I am liking how this all turned out.





Next is the clamp and pommel. I'll update as I go.