Luke ROTJ V2 lightsaber

Every time Ive used Aluminum Black its nowhere near that even, its always splotchy,.

YMMV, but that and similar products are the "right" way to do it (using a product for the purpose for which it was designed). The EASY way to do it is to put the booster in your dishwasher on a normal cycle. When it's done, polish out the parts you don't want dark. If your brand/cycle leaves white spots, you'll have to remove those too. Cream of tartar I hear works well mixed with water to form a paste.

The dishwasher method is typically called "ruining" aluminum stuff - like ice cream scoops, mallets, etc.
 
So maybe the booster is a separate piece?



I wouldnt go that far. I would think it's something more like it was painted with a different paint than the rest that darkened it with age or something. Or hell, it might really not be any darker than the rest of the exposed metal, but it looks darker because its butted up against a shiny clamp and its the most exposed open area of aluminum. When you compare it to the color of the rings or even the emitter, its really only SLIGHTLY darker, and less shiny.
 
It's definitely darker, there's no question about that, even if only slightly and compounded by lighting. Until such time as I can see this thing with my own eyes and hold it in my hands (or at the very least some posts detailed photos of the thing taken completely apart), I'm only 50% confident any any/all reports I've ever seen about how it's constructed.
 
So maybe the booster is a separate piece?

No it's all one piece.

I can't explain the oxidization, but remember it was handled A LOT and Mark did have a black glove on for most of the movie. It COULD be a combo of oxidization and leather dyes... and sweat, grime, etc. Who knows...
 
I didn't even think about the leather glove. That would make a lot of sense. *puts in ROTJ bluray to see how often Luke holds booster with gloved hand*

YMMV, but that and similar products are the "right" way to do it (using a product for the purpose for which it was designed). The EASY way to do it is to put the booster in your dishwasher on a normal cycle. When it's done, polish out the parts you don't want dark. If your brand/cycle leaves white spots, you'll have to remove those too. Cream of tartar I hear works well mixed with water to form a paste.

The dishwasher method is typically called "ruining" aluminum stuff - like ice cream scoops, mallets, etc.

No it's all one piece.

I can't explain the oxidization, but remember it was handled A LOT and Mark did have a black glove on for most of the movie. It COULD be a combo of oxidization and leather dyes... and sweat, grime, etc. Who knows...
 
No it's all one piece.

Where does it open to fit the original motor that was installed in it?

My guess for the darkening is that it's the effect of the paint they used on it (there aren't any brighter spots where the paint was more recently chipped). Though I suppose it could also have been a prep stage before it was painted.

For all we know it was painted/prepped (at least once) before being cleaned up which could also explain why other parts are shinier.
 
Yeah, it could have been sand blasted or anodized before it was painted. Considering we can see the booster being darker in the Sandstorm shooting shots (where it was first filmed as Luke's saber for ROTJ), I dont think there is much of a chance that Luke's glove caused it to get that color, it wasnt heavily used by him at that point, so I think it was always that color underneath the paint.
 
Just like the Anakin Starkiller run replica

Where does it open to fit the original motor that was installed in it?

My guess for the darkening is that it's the effect of the paint they used on it (there aren't any brighter spots where the paint was more recently chipped). Though I suppose it could also have been a prep stage before it was painted.

For all we know it was painted/prepped (at least once) before being cleaned up which could also explain why other parts are shinier.
 
Also let's not forget this is cast and not billet aluminum. All the cast stuff I have or have seen over the years (mom's and grandmother's stuff) is darker than billet and has subsequently darkened more. My ice cream scooper, which was super bright, went through one dishwasher cycle some 8 years ago and has continued to darken since - today it's very dark grey.

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Just like the Anakin Starkiller run replica

The latest run?
 
FWIW, I just skimmed through the bluray, and without actually tallying the scenes, I'd say that 5/6 times Luke is holding the V2, it's by the booster and with the gloved hand.
 
One thing I havent really seen mentioned since the new pictures is how evenly darkened the "booster" area is. With the Celebrations shots, most seemed to have gone with it being a mottled streaky type darkened color, but these shots really show how clean and evenly darkened the whole thing is. I've not seen aluminum do this naturally, it almost looks like aged pewter or something.

Has anyone ever tried darkening aluminum in this way by soaking it in leather dye? I found a few places suggesting that for a flat grey color, but I havent been able to find dye locally to try yet.

View attachment 703306

this grey area has been at my attention since i first saw the celebration 7 photos. especially this photo here
v2e.jpg


you can see the boosters under color, matches the cubes on the pommel. my old theory was that its this darker grey because this saber was cast in aluminum, and then machined around the area's exposing a new shiny metal.

BUT i now have learned the cubes are also machined.. i also thought maybe that this sabers aluminum aged with time, with the palm of your sweaty hand using it for many years, might achieve this worn out look.

i know you have stated you've never seen aluminum darken like this, but all my dad's aluminum staging is like this now. it stays out in all the elements and turns dark, when we first bought them they are shiny and bright, even hurts to look at some times when working in the sun. now they are dull and dark

when the celebration 7 photos were shown i was interested in these "dark spots" because i dont ever remember seeing it on the saber, and our best reference for the longest time was this photo
Luke-Skywalker-s--V2--Lightsaber.jpg


here you cant really see the dark area, one would think. AH! see it was shiny at the time of RoTJ. but with further research you can find this photo here and though its a tiny section, it looks like the booster is still grey during the filming of RoTJ
v2d.jpg


i think i have come up with a way to age this aluminum to the dark we want. i dont have the weather on my side, and i wont want to be playing with these chemicals inside the house, so once the warmer weather gets here i'll set up the meth lab outside and try it
 
Also let's not forget this is cast and not billet aluminum. All the cast stuff I have or have seen over the years (mom's and grandmother's stuff) is darker than billet and has subsequently darkened more. My ice cream scooper, which was super bright, went through one dishwasher cycle some 8 years ago and has continued to darken since - today it's very dark grey.

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The latest run?

run 1, and run 2
V2%20out%20of%20box.jpg
 
Yeah, it could have been sand blasted or anodized before it was painted. Considering we can see the booster being darker in the Sandstorm shooting shots (where it was first filmed as Luke's saber for ROTJ), I dont think there is much of a chance that Luke's glove caused it to get that color, it wasnt heavily used by him at that point, so I think it was always that color underneath the paint.

you might be on to something with black gloves...
bobanderson.jpg

bob andersen uses it during the ESB fight with luke in the carbonite chamber. during the fight you can see the sabers emitter change back and forth from the graflex stunt, to the V2
 
I think I still want to try letting it sit in some used motor oil and then polish the outside smooth area of the pommel. This should give me the two tone look we see here.

I cant wait to get my V2 from anikan.
 
I'll put the bottom end of my Solo's Hold V2 in the dishwasher for the next cycle and report back. I'm not due for an oil change for a while and I've only got brown leather dye at hand right now - and I don't have any Easy-off, though I might have some drain cleaner kicking around somewhere. But let me get the results of the effortless method first.
 
I'll put the bottom end of my Solo's Hold V2 in the dishwasher for the next cycle and report back. I'm not due for an oil change for a while and I've only got brown leather dye at hand right now.

excellent, i was reading about this awhile back while researching "how to darken aluminum" i read some people not wanting to put aluminum in the dish water because its unhealthy. is there any truth to this? do you need to run a special cycle after you darken the aluminum to clean the dish water before you put dishes in it? i couldnt find any of those answers, just people complaining about their pots turning dark grey
 
I've got Fisher & Paykel DishDrawers, so I can run a cycle in one drawer without anything else terribly important in there at the same time and run the rest of the dishes/cutlery in the other drawer. I won't put any other metals in the drawer with the saber booster/pommel. No worries, we'll see results tomorrow.

If I wasn't as lazy (busy?) I'd just do it "by hand" in a bowl with detergent and hot water. :)
 
I've got Fisher & Paykel DishDrawers, so I can run a cycle in one drawer without anything else terribly important in there at the same time and run the rest of the dishes/cutlery in the other drawer. I won't put any other metals in the drawer with the saber booster/pommel. No worries, we'll see results tomorrow.

If I wasn't as lazy (busy?) I'd just do it "by hand" in a bowl with detergent and hot water. :)

wait, is it the dishwasher, or just water in general that will darken aluminum? I'm guessing it would need to be hot water, soapy?
also, can you polish it back to clean and shiny after
 
you might be on to something with black gloves...
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MSJ0EjAXEM8/Tx8nRtGLSCI/AAAAAAAAbQ0/lgEEBZgBhmo/s1600/bobanderson.jpg
bob andersen uses it during the ESB fight with luke in the carbonite chamber. during the fight you can see the sabers emitter change back and forth from the graflex stunt, to the V2

Crazy to see how dark the booster still looks there, not much paint worn off yet. This is why I love this saber so much, it's there through the whole run, so much history in ever little ding and scratch.
 

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