How to weather your Lightsaber

[@jedifam66]

So much better than spray paint imo. Thank you! 🙌🏼

[@colescorner8153]

wow that looks great. nice work.

[@mankcortherancor3581]

Thank you! I think I’ll be doing another set in a few weeks

[@Busy_Paws]

I watched the entire video 2 times, got very eager to try this out for my saber project, aaaaaand the site doesn't ship to Australia... 😩 Nor can I find a similar alternative..

[@mankcortherancor3581]

Yeah shipping chemicals overseas is tricky. The black Patinas are pretty common but this is the only place I’ve found to have gold. So sorry for the disappointment, but please post here if you find an alternative. I’ve had a couple of people comment with the same problem!

[@TheCynical82]

Cool video, maybe I try on one of my sabers one day

[@weraishere]

this looks insanely good! i’m going to try to tackle this soon!

[@mankcortherancor3581]

That’s awesome! Let me know if you have any questions

[@TheAnubis80]

Awesome. Love how easy this is.

[@mankcortherancor3581]

It really is! Glad the video helped!

[@sandcrawlerrelics3610]

Thanks for the video! Gonna try this.

[@mankcortherancor3581]

Awesome post some pics of your saber after!

[@timmayeux6423]

I want this hilt......cant find a site for the vendor.....

[@mankcortherancor3581]

Keep an eye out on eBay, they pop up from time to time

[@xreaperx1990]

It’s also the same exact paint and epoxy remover

[@ThePilotBruceWillis]

Love the vid! Was exactly what I was looking for in regards to weathering, and I especially appreciate you giving the timings of everything (how long each piece should sit, etc.) I did have a question, though -- you mention that a clear coat is needed to prevent further oxidation; what would happen if the piece wasn't clear-coated? What does this oxidation do?

[@mankcortherancor3581]

Great question! If you let the part sit it will begin to form white flakes on the metal. This is the metal oxidizing. It will make the black look very dull. After the final “dip” wash the part, dry it off, then spray the first clear coat. This will stop that. If for some reason you let the part sit too long and it starts to form the white flakes, simply wash it off again, then dry and apply the clear coat

[@ThePilotBruceWillis]

@@mankcortherancor3581 Got it, thanks for reply!

[@13lake]

Thanks for this vid. I'm trying to learn about patinas and other metal treatments for my hilt. Have you learned anything about patina safety as far as skin contact goes? Now that I'm ready to the artwork, I'm getting paranoid about chemicals and skin contact.

[@mankcortherancor3581]

13lake Thank you! You will need to wear gloves to avoid skin contact. Although the chemicals are not considered dangerous, you still want to protect yourself. Patinas are pretty common in the hobby/craft community so as long as you wear gloves you should be fine.

[@mankcortherancor3581]

(And by “not considered dangerous” I mean: as long as you are smart and careful while using the Patinas you will be ok. You absolutely don’t want to ingest or breath in a bunch of the fumes. Generally if you wear gloves, and use them outside you will be just fine.)

[@d.l.rownan3394]

I like your video ill be doing somtbing similar to a saber I got thats just polished atm can't wait to do it.

[@mankcortherancor3581]

Thanks! Share some pics once you’ve finished. I would love to see it!

[@MrAaronc819]

Yeah the Alukot-95 did not work like you said. Even after cleaning down to bare aluminum nothing stuck to it. Did 5, 5 min dunks and every time I would deactivate and wipe it would all come off. I’m going back to birch wood alumablack. Biggest disappointment ever

[@mankcortherancor3581]

Oh man sorry to hear that. Is there a chance the material isn’t aluminum?

[@matthewpurvis]

Did you only strip the emmiter shields? Thinking about doing this to my dm1

[@mankcortherancor3581]

Used the oven cleaner to strip ALL parts

[@matthewpurvis]

Mankcor the Rancor okay awesome! I just got my dm1 in for Christmas. The emmiter section appears to be a different metal or something. Should I strip that as well? It’s tougher than the rest of the hilt

[@mankcortherancor3581]

@@matthewpurvis congrats on the Christmas present! You’ll only want to strip sections that you wish to patina/stain. If your looking to weather that section then yes, you’ll want to strip it. do you know who made it? I’d reach out to them to see if all the parts are aluminum. They should all strip the same, but you will need specific patinas for the metal type. If it ends up being a different metal you would just need to find a Patina for that type of metal. Surfin Chem who I use has tons, but there are many other distributors as well. My guess however is that it’s just thicker aluminum. Aluminum is pretty much the only metal I’ve ever run across with the 20+ sabers I’ve built. I have heard of sabers using brass or copper but that’s a bit more rare. I’d check to be safe but

[@musicfridge]

Hey, do you have some experience in polishing a Lightsaber? I have a old Saberforge Redeemer and the standardmetal on most of their sabers is dull. So far i was too scared to just polish it - maybe you have some tips!

[@mankcortherancor3581]

Unfortunately I have no experience in polishing a saber. I’ll reach out to some fellow saber smiths and see if I can find an answer!

[@musicfridge]

@@mankcortherancor3581 thanks! I'm curious!

[@mankcortherancor3581]

@@musicfridge still haven’t found a good answer yet. Do have a few questions... When you mean dull, do you mean the overall color has faded or has the shine (anodized layer) started to ware off?

[@musicfridge]

@@mankcortherancor3581 Thanks for your efforts! With Dull i mean the overall look of most of the lightsabers even when they are new. For example: The saberforge Ares, Fallen or Gladius have this unshiny metallook whilst the Archon, the new redeemer or the Outcast have a shiny surface. I was hoping i could recreate this Shiny look with some polishing. :)

[@mankcortherancor3581]

@@musicfridge Oh got it. Unfortunately that shiny look is an anodized chrome coating. Polish would not be able to recreate that look. The saber would have to come that way in order for it to have that shiny look. I think it would be possible to strip your saber down to the aluminum and repaint it a shiny chrome, but I don’t have any experience in doing that.

[@chamoo232]

Beautiful. It gives it a dark side vibe. I think I'm going to use copper/brass colours for my pommel as well before I add a bunch of little exposed wires. I don't have those chemicals so I'll have to rely on my enamel paints and my airbrush. Did you consider bending the broken edge outward a bit for the handle?

[@mankcortherancor3581]

@chamoo232 Paints should work just fine too! Be mindful not to fill in the holes though, when I do my install I’ll be adding an LED in the pommel to shine through matching the blade color. I did consider bending the broken edges back a bit more, but chickened out. Didn’t want to snap one off. Keep me posted on your etching too, I’ve really enjoyed watching your progress. It’s giving me the courage to try myself

[@chamoo232]

@@mankcortherancor3581 I'm working on the etching tonight. I need to figure out the size of the text, where I want it, on 2 or 4 lines and all that. It's not a test anymore so I really need to do it right.

[@mankcortherancor3581]

@chamoo232 the moment of truth! Good Luck!!!!

[@chamoo232]

@@mankcortherancor3581 2 hours of the most precise fine brush work I ever did. i.imgur.com/LoMrjOc.jpg Triple checked the spelling of every letter. It's ready and I'm scared.

[@mankcortherancor3581]

chamoo232 suspense is killing me

[@alineofflight2562]

Matt. How do you remove the power button and the AUX button?

[@mankcortherancor3581]

Hey Flight! They screw on and off. You may need to reach your fingers into the saber and pin/hold in place the bottom section of the switches in order for the top piece to unscrew. Make sure to go slow and DO NOT lose the springs as they are tiny and very hard to replace.

[@e_unbound6138]

where did you buy that lightsaber

[@mankcortherancor3581]

I bought it from Korbanth.com but they are currently sold out. It’s originally made by 89 sabers but I’ve heard it’s hard to order direct from them.

[@shantoreywilkins651]

#loveit

[@ryangunwitch-black]

Will the gold work over something like aluminum black?

[@mankcortherancor3581]

The gold has to be applied to the raw aluminum so unfortunately it won’t go over any existing patina like aluminum black. You can strip the aluminum black off using the same method I did to prep the saber however. Then apply gold

[@xreaperx1990]

I just ordered this saber. Will this process still work if I ordered the gun metal grey finish or should I have gotten the same as you?

[@mankcortherancor3581]

Congrats on the new saber! You are good to go, this process will work for either. Remember to use the easy off oven cleaner to remove the gun metal grey.

[@xreaperx1990]

Mankcor the Rancor thank you so much for the info! One more question what do you use to attach the little pieces that come with the saber? Do you glue them?

[@mankcortherancor3581]

xGarrettx1990 for the parts that go on the emitter and the parts for the pommel, I used super glue for a more permanent hold. The middle pieces below the switches I use hot glue because the set screws are located underneath and I want to be able to still get to them if I ever need to remove the chassis.

[@new0cinema]

Hi, I wanted to ask you, but I have a mirror aluminum saber, does "easy off" make it brushed? Thanks and great video

[@mankcortherancor3581]

Yes it should. Most “mirror” aluminum is anodized so the easy off would work.

[@new0cinema]

@@mankcortherancor3581 thanks , I try 😎

[@sierra7534]

How did you get the brass in the little shark fin grooves without getting it on the walls or switch section? I have similar grooves on mine and want to do exactly this

[@mankcortherancor3581]

I did those with a tiny paint brush and went very slow. Keep steady hands, and don’t put too much liquid on the brush!

[@sierra7534]

So we don't have to clear coat the brass? And could we use the black as a brush on weathering if we wanted minor weathering to add a little color?

[@mankcortherancor3581]

I’d clear coat both if possible

[@mankcortherancor3581]

And yes you could brush on black but make sure to not leave it on too long if you want it to be light weathering

[@xreaperx1990]

I’m doing this right now. I’m at the paint and epoxy remover stage. I’ve let them sit for about 20 min now and nothing is happening??? Am I supposed to scrub them with a scotch bright after?

[@mankcortherancor3581]

Was your saber already weathered? The paint and epoxy remover will only remove paint. If your trying to remove the gun metal grey, that is anodized so you will need to use the easy off oven cleaner to remove that.

[@mankcortherancor3581]

Also when you get to the black Patina part: in my video my cup could only fit half of the side emitters, if you have a larger cup to cover the entire parts I recommend that. Both will work though

[@xreaperx1990]

Ok thank you

[@mankcortherancor3581]

xGarrettx1990 feel free to hit me up with any questions and post some pics of how it turns out!!!

[@tomaattimaisteri8747]

Does it work for aircraft aluminum?

[@mankcortherancor3581]

I’m pretty sure it will, but I’m not 100%. I’ve never tested it on aircraft aluminum, but as far as I understand Aircraft Aluminum is still the same compound as “regular aluminum” just forged and treated differently to make it stronger. (Am I right on this?) so I’m guessing the same reaction should occur regardless of the aluminum type. As long as it doesn’t have any anodized or painted layers it “should” work. I do want to reiterate that I have never tested this though so it’s just my assumption.

[@tomaattimaisteri8747]

@@mankcortherancor3581 What is this lightsaber you weathered made of?

[@mankcortherancor3581]

@@tomaattimaisteri8747 I think just regular 6061 aluminum...I think