TOPIC: Prodigal Son - Copper Sections

Oh hello there!

I finally got my hands on my prodigal son, and i'm very happy with it! the length, the weight, the details, all of it is perfect, except from the copper sections... ok, i'm really picky complaining about it, but it really spoils my experience. i know it's a real chunk of copper there, and it's in its natural color. but i wish it would be more accurate to the real Hero Prop version we've seen in ROTJ. the colors are uneven and just wrong

So...

i'm thinking about darkening it. the copper sections in my PS are some sort of pinky, while the original color is more like bronze. i've done some research about patina and weathering on copper but i'm a little insecure. i don't want it to be black like the V2 prop. i'm thinking about painting with Tamiya "Smoke", a sort of translucent acrylic paint, to get me something halfway Yuma Prop and the Shared Stunt. an old and weathered look, but not too heavy

did anyone have the same issue as me? how did you resolve it? does any sabersmith of Saber Forge itself have an advice?

thank you all! and may the force be with you (:

Hi PloAdiSur
I haven't caught my PS yet (I imagine it being ejected to me from a place far, far away) so I cannot comment on the discolouring of the brass section. Apprehensive to reply as I don't want to add unnecessary confusion to your plea as I haven't performed any 'self-weathering' techniques.

I have seen some reviews here in the Forum and videos on YT where a technique called 'dry-brushing' is applied to alter the clean appearance of a hilt. Whilst my understanding of this may be primitive at best, the Tamiya Smoke Acrylic Paint you mentioned could be applied like this to at least mask the pinkish tinges that you have. Worst case as it isn't a permanent application you can simply clean it off.

I believe (speculation) that polishing non-ferrous metal with a specialised cleaning agent can remove discolorations with zero damage to the metal itself. (This may be risky given the delicate nature of the piece. best wait for an educated reply) This depends if the neck is solid brass or plated. The pinkish colour you describe is from a reaction called dezincification.

Other than further masking the brass have you tried cleaning it with mild soap & water (without drowning the area given electronics contained within)?

Hi OvrcAHst! Thanks for replying and for the good tips, man!

I've seen some things about dry-brushing and it's awesome, and i was used to think it works more on edges and corners. but now that you pointed it out i watched some more videos and they do it in surface areas too, so i'll work it out how to do it in the thin neck.

about a cleaning agent, i'm afraid to do something irreversible, my first idea was to use sand paper, but as chemicals, the result may be forever.. and water i've tried. but i think it's just the copper color, there's nothing to remove there. it's entirely pink :/

Hi PloAdiSur,

Don't have any suggestions as I don't have a Prodigal Son...yet. But I did want to say that your Avatar is outstanding!

Oh, Erderich. Thank you very much, sir. Two of the things i love most on earth

I personally think you'd be better off with some authentic patina, either through continued handling or some artificially induced method. However, if you really want to paint it, I'd recommend going in a couple steps.

1) Start with a dark base coat. Some sort of aged bronze is a good start. Should be a bit darker than you want the final color.

2) Dry-brush the copper color you actually want over the base coat. This will mostly catch on the hard edges of the neck piece, but if you haven't sanded-smooth the base coat, some will collect along the sides as well. Purposely avoid the crevices, as the darker paint in those areas along with the shiny edges will emulate authentic wear and patina.

3) Clear coat. Satin is easiest to apply. Gloss works in low-humidity (it fogs up in high-humidity). I've had bad luck with matte clear not curing properly and remaining tacky.

Here's a Luke saber I machined from PVC and hand-painted using similar technique:


I wanted something *really* worn and dirty, so after drybrushing and clear-coating, I went into the crevices with dark brown and black paints to simulate years of dirt that were never quite cleaned properly, but you could leave that step out for a distressed-but-not-dirty look.

Kouri, thank you very very much. that's what i needed. that's the look i'm aiming gor. thank you!

How did you get a real copper section?? Mine appears to be powder coated aluminum.

I did a scratch test on the inside of it and it's definitely aluminum.

I would pay to get a solid copper neck piece.