Weapons Weathering ?

[eltee]

Hello, I am new here. I posted some pics of my blasters over in the E-11 thread. I realize that weathering of gear is important, but I was curious as to the philosophy / requirement to dirty up weapons. In the real world, a soldier's weapon is probably the cleanest, most well maintained item he has. A dirty helmet, uniform, even a dirty body is part of being in the field but a dirty weapon is unacceptable and can cost lives. So, my question is do troopers / MEPD members generally dirty up their blasters or do they leave them clean? Something in between?

I've not seen any closeups / screencaps of how they treated this issue in the movies. While some of the weapons may show wear, I can't recall any evidence of them being muddy, dirty, dusty, etc.

I did a search but did not see anything. Sorry if this has been brought up before, sort of a newbie inquiry.

[DirtyBoy]

I like the look of the worn down black with the metal showing through. From what I can tell from the screen caps I've seen, they look to have some sand on them. Probably based on the implications of just being out in sandstorms and stuff. But i've only really looked at the BFG's and I would think because if their size they would be exposed to more if the elements

[bountyone]

Silver "Rub & Buff" is awesome stuff for weathering. just a tiny dab goes a long way. Apply a small amount on your finger and rub into desired area. It gives a natural worn look. You can buy this at Michaels craft store.

[Jango 5204]

After rub-n-buff I like to dilute some rust colored paint, and ever so gently touch it in the all the cracks and around the silver portions.

[iconoclasta_88]

I weather my blasters just so that they look like the black coating has worn off and exposed some silver layer under it. I sometimes also add some brown-reddish color over it in specific places to simulate grease. I do not add any sand or dirt color or textures on them.

Saludos.

[pandatrooper]

The sci fire guys have a simple tutorial here, using spray paints and an old sock

http://www.sci-fire.com/Tutorial%20Metal.htm

Assuming I already have a blaster painted in black, I will layer on copper or steel colored paints (depending on what material is supposed to be underneath) via dry brushing. To make it look less “painted”, add a few specks of “chipped” paint with a small brush.

Depending on the build, I might add some brown drips / grease, as though the blaster is leaking, etc. from wear and tear. I might also add some dirt / sand as well.

The key is to not do this everywhere, only do it where the blaster would have natural wear and tear on the high spots, and have dirt etc. trapped in low spots.

[Darth Voorhees]

I just drybrush on a little silver to the high spots to, like a few others mentioned, make it look like the paint is worn from use. I dont add "dirt", basically for the reasons you said

[Productions]

Same here. I just drybrush where the black paint wears off showing the resin. I also paint inside the imprinted lettering on my E-11, in silver, as it makes it look more real because you can see it was taken off of a real mag.

For slings however on BFG’s I muddy them up with shoe blacker, as I an imagine oil and dirt getting caught in the fabric.

But yes keep ya gun clean as possible so ya don’t get blockages