Rusting a Lightsaber

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I have been experimenting with different weathering techniques and decided to try for a rust colored saber. I wanted the saber to look extremely old, like its been buried for a while. I recently purchased a Catalyst (minus the choke piece) with VGA, silver av switch and sound for Ultrasabers spring raffle. A beautiful saber btw. So I decided to use a rusting technique on this saber.
First I sanded the whole saber. Then I used a basic degreaser or oil remover and just rubbed it all over the saber.
I used a product from Sophisticated Finishes called Iron metallic surfacer, and sponge painted the saber to give it a grainy feel. The Iron surfacer applies like normal matte paint, and dries within a minute. Once the surfacer was dry, I used Sophisticated Finishes Rust Solution and applied it with another sponge. This is a liquid solution that I applied in layers to get a brighter rust look. The sponge helped with a random more natural look. Once it was dry and I had the color I liked I very lightly spray painted the saber with a matte finish sealer. I was careful because too much of the matte finish darkens the rust a lot, I found this out the hard way.
Here are pics.
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[JP47]

Wow  that is an awesome job! I really like it. It definitely does make it seem its been buried for many many years. Point for great work! 

[James Casey]

That's awesome work. It looks amazing.

[Darth_Phobius47]

I actually like this! Not a fan of the Catalyst series, but this is way cool! Looks like a Jedi outcast found an ancient light saber to claim for his own! Nice finish, though before reading this I was gonna say aluminum doesn't rust easily. Hehe my bad!

[haldir]

loving the catalyst w/out the choke

[CZ3RO]

Sweet, really looks like a lost saber - job well done!

[DarthCooper88]

Nice look, how durable is it? can it be scratched off with a fingernail like spraypaint?

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The rust coating is really durrable, it has only chipped a tiny bit near the threads of the emitter and the pomel but you cannot notice it. Plus rusting objects when scratched leave a metallic shine, so I dont mind tiny scratches, other than that it is duel worthy.

[Kyaryo Ysoyav]

I actually like this! Not a fan of the Catalyst series, but this is way cool! Looks like a Jedi outcast found an ancient light saber to claim for his own! Nice finish, though before reading this I was gonna say aluminum doesn't rust easily. Hehe my bad!

I second this.  Also, it REALLY makes the shiny AV button stick out.  Like a Jedi/Sith was in a bind and had to repair something they found to get a functional weapon.  Very nice.