Weathering Technique

ShocKNurse

Active Hunter
Hey there! If you were ever looking for another way to weather your flightsuit, flak vest, spats, or even armor, I have one for you.

First thing you need to do is go out in your subdivision or local street and find a nice, fresh, oil stain. You know, the type that forms after some clunker has been sitting there dripping oil for the better part of a year.

Next, wait till a nice, hot summer day when the oil slick is nice and warm.

Don some your flightsuit (may experience strange looks as I did today :confused), and grab some latex gloves so you don't get oil all over your hands.

Proceed to rub latex-glove covered hands in oil slick and then apply directly to flightsuit (or other item in need of weathering).

Remember, less is more, but this technique is great and very realistic.

Hope this helps!
 
or you could just use it to clean your guns or car engine. Or take a part time job as a car mechanic for two weeks (coal miner would prolly work, too) and wear it as your coveralls. You can also try burying it in the backyard for a month or even soak it in the tub of dirty water left over from a car wash (the wash you do at the end of winter). The possibilities are endless. :facepalm
 
I used to do all kinds of crazy stuff to weather my suit. Brake dust, dye in a spray bottle, mud, engine grease.....but to be completely honest, an airbrush is by far the easiest method to get the exact wethering you want, and IMO it delivers the best looking results. It also takes mere minutes. My 2 cents.
D
 
Im kinda nervous about weathering my suit... I don't want to over weather it or I don't want to unnaturally weather it ya know?

El1te
 
Im kinda nervous about weathering my suit... I don't want to over weather it or I don't want to unnaturally weather it ya know?

El1te

Don't worry about it too much...I know it seems like a big deal, but its pretty hard to screw it up. Just go slow, and if you need to, practice on an old T-shirt or something. It seems to work best, to weather a bit at a time, then take a picture of it. If your weathering doesn't show up in the pic, then you need more. Sounds wierd, but you will hear alot of guys say.."it looks way more weathered in person" If thats the case, then it probably isn't weathered enough.
D
 
Hah, it's crazy how it will look so awesome in person, but as soon as someone takes a picture of you, it's like you just washed it. May not smell that way though ;)
 
Haha, I hear that on here a lot... Does that mean that pics of Fetts I see that look really weathered in photos are REALLY weathered IRL? ha.

El1te
 
Haha, I hear that on here a lot... Does that mean that pics of Fetts I see that look really weathered in photos are REALLY weathered IRL? ha.

El1te

Yup!!! I dunno how many times I've heard from folks who have seen the real suit on exhibit, that the real deal is absolutely filty!!!!! Of course that is always the ROTJ suit, but its a good bet that the ESB is pretty filty too!!!
D
 
Brake dust from your rims works pretty well too! I've done that ...
I wish I could have seen you bent over rubbing the oil from the street on your jumpsuit...:lol: I'm sure onlookers were wondering.:confused
 
Uh..yes. Some very perplexed looks...especially from the cop who just happened to drive by at that EXACT moment. He sorta gave me the stink-eye!
 
As has been noted previously, you really do have to "overweather" it and put on the weathering super heavy just to get it to show up. The original suits are indeed "filthy" but most of that is aribrushed on. I would highly recommend airbrushing up the legs very heavily and then some light misting all over. Really take a good hard look at some of the AoSW and MoM photos and you will see the entire suit is nasty. While rolling around in the dirt or street might get you a little dirty, it is never going to come close to what is needed. For all we think, it really takes a LOT of dirt and grime to satisfactorily weather an item.

For example, with Aliens Marine uniforms, most people just wash them a few times which fades them slightly but really doesn't make them look well worn... You have to go out and scrub the BDU's on rough concretea nd really hit the knees, elbow, bottom of the forearms, butt, all the pocket edges really hard, to where it begins to break down the fibers, then you leave them out in the sun for a couple days, THEN wash them... and that is just giving them a used look... not even "weathering" or dirtying... I know that is a bit off topic but I think a lot of people think it doesn't take much to weather something up when the truth is, it takes a lot.

I know you paid a lot or spent a lot of time on your pieces, but don't be afraid to go out and really damage them up. That is all part of it.
 
Yeah I hear you ART ANDREWS. My only concern is if I spray weather it... I don't want it to look unnatural... like I want the weathering to look right. I know the bottom needs super weathering, the pockets, edges and stuff. Also, how weathered does the neckseal and flak vest get if at all?

El1te
 
the flak vest needs it badly and is another area people simply overlook. They weather their undersuit and then have a super shiny and clean flak vest...

vest_01.jpg
 
What colours / tones do you guys weather your flak vesks / suits in ?

I have in the past used black and browns, just wondered if there where preferred colours
 
I dunno why so many folks are talking about the flak vest being beige or brown lately. I have never seen a pic that shows any brown tone on the thing. I just go with warm greys using an airbrush to weather mine. Make shure you go very slow with this though!! Unlike the jumpsuit, it is pretty easy to overdo it on the vest. Also, make shure you have really good light, so you can really see how much weathering is going on.
 
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