Weathering a Hasbro Lightsaber

Recently I decided to weather my Skywalker lightsaber made by Hasbro. Unfortunately I did not get any good before picture. This time, I will be documenting the entire process and trying some different techniques and paints.

By weathering this lightsaber we will be making it look older and more realistic. It is optional to repaint the saber entirely, but for the sake of simplicity only a few spots will be repainted.

First you want to gather your supplies.
Here is what I will be using in this Instructable:
-Lightsaber (For this Instructable I used a newer version of Obi-Wan's lightsaber. However, this technique can be used for any lightsaber, any style, any year.)
-2 paint brushes
-Apple Barrel Black paint
-Apple Barrel Pure Silver paint
-FolkArt Sterling Silver paint
-The bottom of a plastic bottle (or a small cup you don't care about)
-Some water
-220 Grit Super Fine sandpaper
-Paint Pallet
-Time

Next we want to remove any unnecessary lettering from the lightsaber.

First is the "No poke or jab" sticker. This is pretty easy -- remove the sticker. Done.

The next is on the bottom of the hilt. To remove this lettering sand the bottom with 220 fine sandpaper. After a little while it will look like a dark gray color, but the lettering is gone.
Now, take a paint brush and paint the bottom with the FolkArt silver, comparatively this paint is more metallic than the Apple Barrel and blend with the rest of the saber better.

Finally we want to get the lettering off the belt clip. Once again, sand. once the letting is gone take your Apple Barrel black paint and go over the entire clip. Be sure to wipe of any mispaints from the rest of the hilt.

First we want to get the right paint consistancy. Take the bottle or cup and put in a good bit of black paint. Next mix a little bit of water. We want this to be wet enough that we can get most of it off, but not so wet that it will not dry.

Go over each silver section with this water/paint. It is ok to be messy when applying this, most of it will be coming back off. Make sure though that you get into all of the cracks and crevasses with the paint, we want to have the hard-to-reach spots the messiest.

After covering a section with paint wipe it with a paper towel. I found that wiping up and down the saber helped it get a better look than going side to side. Side to side simply wiped the paint off.

Make sure that you leave paint in the edges and corners, this will leave it looking more weathered.

I've included pictures of one painting it one section at a time.

Make sure that when you paint the top section you clean off the blade. It is easiest to wipe the blade clean when you extend it one segment at a time.

Next take your Apple Barrel silver on your brush. Wipe most of the paint back onto the pallet so that it is dryer and less messy.

Paint scratches on the edges of each black section. Take your time doing this. As you add more scratches to the corners and edges it will begin to look as though the black paint is wearing off the lightsaber. Be sure to also paint the edges of the belt clip and the round thing.

Now that you've finished weathering your saber you can show it off to your friends, wear it as a cosplay piece, or even put it up on a shelf!

This makes an excellent display piece and it fits with my other sabers!

I hope this Instructable helped you out, if you have any questions or suggestions feel free to ask!