real weathering

[Star Wars Man]

just a shot in the dark, if that is the right phrase.

has anyone weathered...well anything, without paint? i mean u guys use paint and all this stuff to weather your armor and yet, why not like take a baseball bat to it or use some dirt, mud, and a visit to the beach?

like these sandtroopers are walkin around in the desert and stuff, is it possible to look like they do by doing that?

 

[ob1al]

It's possible for some weathering; I weathered the last Yoda cape I made by dragging it around the backyard and dipping it in puddles.

 

[pnerves]

Although I am using paint for the majority of my sandtrooper weathering, the initial scarring and dinging of the armor, the pauldron and the ammo pouches was all done with my garage floor and the mess that a winter in Denver leaves on it. There is something very therapeutic about kicking the thigh piece that gave you so much hassle around like a football.

 

[Predatormv]

I have weathered an entire zombie costume naturally. I got it wet and the whipped it around a tree a ton of times to tear it and what not, I wrapped it around my foot and then dragged my foot across a street to tear it and make it dirty, across my yard to get more dirt and grass stains. I even dug a whole a tossed it in and covered it up for more than a month. The only problem with that is anything that you wear with dirt on it, the dirt will come off onto everything. Not to mention the health issues.

 

[defyitall]

I have weathered my Aragorn duster, boots and tunic. Since the Strider stuff is so heavily weathered I actually resorted to a power palm sander with the detail point on the end. Sanded the living crap out of the coat. Did some other damage with assorted sand papers, wire brushes, sand pads, and beat it with sticks while hanging. I got a dirty look by using some brown shoe polish worked in on the elbows, ends of the sleeves, and the bottom 1/4. Also dragged it around in my back alley and elft it in a heap in my apartment for a few months. This year I might get a canvas bag and some rocks, throw the jacket in there and toss that around for a while.

Did the same process for the boots though I didn't dirty them as much as I wanted that grey color for the movies. I've tried rubbing in flour to get more wightening but it eventually wears off. Not a good trick.

Tunics is faux suede so I just used the shoe polish and then threw it around outside.

 

[Star Wars Man]

Originally posted by Predatormv@Feb 21 2006, 03:33 PM
I have weathered an entire zombie costume naturally. I got it wet and the whipped it around a tree a ton of times to tear it and what not, I wrapped it around my foot and then dragged my foot across a street to tear it and make it dirty, across my yard to get more dirt and grass stains. I even dug a whole a tossed it in and covered it up for more than a month. The only problem with that is anything that you wear with dirt on it, the dirt will come off onto everything. Not to mention the health issues.

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crazy u guys, pics?

but still my question. these guys in the movies, didnt band themselves against trees. sand troopers didnt use paint to look cool, they waslked around in sand...is it possible to do what they were doing and look weathered?

 

[TK1536]

I find you 'could' weather a Sandtrooper with Fuller's Earth, which is essentially fake dirt. Keep it held in place using hair spray.

 

[saxe coburg]

Actually the sand troopers did use paint… I mean it would be “screen accurate” to use paint.

While you could do “natural” weathering techniques, it would take an extremely long time to look “real”, that and... well... it would be dirty and I'd rather have paint under my nails than dirt and grime.

 

[Star Wars Man]

Originally posted by TK1536@Feb 21 2006, 06:04 PM
I find you 'could' weather a Sandtrooper with Fuller's Earth, which is essentially fake dirt. Keep it held in place using hair spray.

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huh?

 

[division 6]

For some of my weathering besides the usual sand paper and steel wool I use leather dyes for dirtying up things.
For my desert trooper I used instant coffee that was brushed on than pounced with a terry cloth towel than I mixed the coffee with dirt and did it again, leaving dirt caked up in the recessed areas.
Sand may work better for this application.

Pastels work as well for some things or a wash of tea.

I also used clay (WED) to weather my Orc tunic.

Graphite works well since it was used on the Aliens armor in A2.

Anything that adds distressing or makes something look real and abused can be used.

D6

 

[Bountyhunter Niko]

This is a great question. :thumbsup

I also am thinking about making my TK into a Sandy. There is a lot of clay around the area I live. Could I find different shades of clay, put on my TK suit, wait until some rain and then roll in the mud .

I think it should work – and if not a lot of fun and photos would be had. :lol

 

[Star Wars Man]

ugh, you guys have some nice techniques but not answering my question. sandtroopers in the movie suposedly didnt get dirty using coffee. now for the movie, they used paint or w/e, but in the real desert all those marks and such are from trooping in the desert. is it possible to get those results by troopin in the desert? not using coffee

not trying to put u down division 6, i was just using u as an example

 

[rigormortis]

A buddy of mine weathered a ROTS Clone helmet by dragging the bucket over his matte black painted truck. Sounds bad, but it looks good.

 

[R2B9]

Originally posted by Star Wars Man@Feb 22 2006, 09:34 PM
ugh, you guys have some nice techniques but not answering my question. sandtroopers in the movie suposedly didnt get dirty using coffee. now for the movie, they used paint or w/e, but in the real desert all those marks and such are from trooping in the desert. is it possible to get those results by troopin in the desert? not using coffee

not trying to put u down division 6, i was just using u as an example

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If you want to spend time in the desert in your armor, have fun and make sure the EMTs and CSI guys have cameras so we can see how you look as time progresses. Your body glove will deteriorate faster than the armor, too. I'd say stick with these guys' suggestions-- especially the ones that don't track dirt back everywhere you go. After all... "It was just a movie".

 

[allosaur176]

didn't a member here weather a metal lightsaber hilt by leaving it outside for a few weeks??

 

[LordFett]

Originally posted by Star Wars Man@Feb 22 2006, 05:34 PM
is it possible to get those results by troopin in the desert?

Sure if you stand out in a few sand storms. I grew up in the desert. You get a lot of fine dust that lays on everything, but other then static it doesn't stick to stuff, unless it gets embedded into it (like in a fierce sand storm).

 

[Predatormv]

Well the only way I could think of to get dirt to stick to smooth armor walking around the desert would be to lightly spray a clear coat on the armor then walk around while it was still wet. You would basicly have to put your entire suit on, spray it, then walk around quickly. The problem is that unless you get caught in a sand storm only your feet and legs will be really dirty, your chest and helmet will have a little but not a whole lot. Also you might die of heat exaustion before you acheive the look you want.

Ps. I don't have pics of the zombie costume, it was years ago before I knew how to really weather with paints and what not. I might do it again this year for halloween depending if I can get my friends to do it.

 

[temponaut]

Originally posted by allosaur176@Feb 23 2006, 06:46 AM
didn't a member here weather a metal lightsaber hilt by leaving it outside for a few weeks??

That was Gigatron, who achieved impressive authentic weathering using tap water, vinegar, a Zippo lighter, and exposure to Mother Nature. And I think it only took a few days, rather than weeks.

Here's the thread:

Gigatron: My completely weather Obi ANH saber

For comparison, here's one by lesternessman, who achieved his great weathering effect by means of sanding and painting rather than through, well, the weather:

lesternessman: My idealized Roman's saber, what could have been...

 

[penwiper]

In a last-minute fit of desperation, I weathered my leper costume with soy sauce and cocoa. This resulted in my realization of one of the important considerations of weathering: smell.

'Real' weathering teqhniques can work very well, but sometimes you may get some, um, extra reallness that you would rather not have. Mud may not be too bad, but sweat and other odors may end up detracting from the final impact of your costume. It may be impossible to wash out the less desirable weathering aspects without also removing the desirable dirt. Also, with real mud and such you run the risk of picking up real mold or mildew and doing some serious damage to your costume.

With fake weathering, you get predicatable results without the unwanted side-effects, though you may lose the natural impredictability of real weathering.

Real weathering does work great for some purposes, though, especially just for general 'wear' as opposed to 'dirt'. I'm currently wearing one pair of boots everywhere to make them look worn for a costume.

 

[HarleyQ]

Originally posted by penwiper@Feb 28 2006, 06:21 PM
In a last-minute fit of desperation, I weathered my leper costume with soy sauce and cocoa.  This resulted in my realization of one of the important considerations of weathering: smell.

'Real' weathering teqhniques can work very well, but sometimes you may get some, um, extra reallness that you would rather not have.  Mud may not be too bad, but sweat and other odors may end up detracting from the final impact of your costume.  It may be impossible to wash out the less desirable weathering aspects without also removing the desirable dirt.  Also, with real mud and such you run the risk of picking up real mold or mildew and doing some serious damage to your costume. 

With fake weathering, you get predicatable results without the unwanted side-effects, though you may lose the natural impredictability of real weathering.

Real weathering does work great for some purposes, though, especially just for general 'wear' as opposed to 'dirt'.  I'm currently wearing one pair of boots everywhere to make them look worn for a costume.

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Eeeew. You make a good point though.

Artistic weathering is in high demand in the fashion industry. There was an article in the LA times today about boutique jeans selling for $400. The difference between the high end jeans and a normal pair is the abuse given to the more expensive ones. The irony is that the designer made a "mistake" when treating the denim, but people pay a fortune for worn out jeans.