Battleworn/distressed cerekote pictures

Maybe I'm an ignorant asshole, but...

...wouldn't "battle worn/distressed" Krylon look just as cool, be done immediately, and cost only a few bucks?

I had a nasty habit once of simply spraying Krylon and letting use determine how operator I looked.

Not screwing with anyone who wants to spend their money like that, I just fail to realize the worth of spending money to make something new look used.
 
Maybe I'm an ignorant asshole, but...

...wouldn't "battle worn/distressed" Krylon look just as cool, be done immediately, and cost only a few bucks?

I had a nasty habit once of simply spraying Krylon and letting use determine how operator I looked.

Not screwing with anyone who wants to spend their money like that, I just fail to realize the worth of spending money to make something new look used.

Everyone has there own opinion, some people like red chassis, some like blue. I’ve even seen bright as hell yellow mpa ba comp. but it’s not for me. The distressed I find gives it a unique look. I have grey, black, green, tan, Multicam, manners elite camp’s, McMillan gap camp’s. Want to try something different
 
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That first one is awesome.

How do you do it? This was my first go at it and looking for pointers

I have access to a top notch facility that does OEM work and that does help with accurate flash times and temperature, but there are multiple ways to achieve the distressed look. It is a trial and error type deal to figure out a solid process. Krylon works but isn't nearly as tough as H-series or Elite Cerakote.
 
This will likely sound retarded, but look to the RPG game piece painters for tips.

There are several ways to apply a worn finish, depending on the desired outcomes. Dry brush, rag knock down, thinned ("inked") paint into the crevices...lots of ways to skin that cat.

And yeah, I used to make a few bucks on the side, painting these things for guys when we were deployed on ship for 6 month cruises. Easy beer money for when we hit port...

 
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Why not just cerakote a base color, like a gun metal grey or black and then krylon over that? if you don’t like the look of the distressed krylon you can probably wipe it off without too much effect on the base cerakote. That way you’d still have the protective element of the cerakote no matter what you do.
 
This will likely sound retarded, but look to the RPG game piece painters for tips.

There are several ways to apply a worn finish, depending on the desired outcomes. Dry brush, rag knock down, thinned ("inked") paint into the crevices...lots of ways to skin that cat.

And yeah, I used to make a few bucks on the side, painting these things for guys when we were deployed on ship for 6 month cruises. Easy beer money for when we hit port...


when i was making film props, the best way i found to simulate wear was essentially putting paint on, then hitting the high spots with paint thinner on a rag....brillow pads and steel wool produce too recognizable of a scratch pattern.

thats the main problem with all of the "battle worn" finishes, they all look like someone scratched it with a brillow pad and dont look like natural wear.

adding dirt and grime essentially consists of putting paint on, then immediately wiping it off with a dry rag.....and repeating....and repeating....and repeating.

washes of ink/ alcohol applied with a brush also work well.
 
looks good man!

im going to use this as an example, so dont think im shitting on you.....as i can tell you are going for aesthetics and not necessarily realism....but this has a few things common to most "worn" finishes that give it off as artificial wear

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areas in green are areas youd expect to see wear
areas in yellow are areas you might see some light wear
areas in red are areas you would not expect to see heavy wear


any areas that come in contact with skin or fabric, youll expect to see rub-wear......pain will be worn away and have soft edges (paint thinner on a rag work well for this).......so grips, and on the forend on the body side (left side for most people)

high spots and edges you will also see wear, mag wells and edges of rails primarily.....body side will be more worn (as we just talked about).....far side (right side for most shooters) will be more scuffed, as thats more prone to be banged into shit (light passes with 60-80 grit sandpaper work well for this).

the underside of the forend and front of the magwell will also see heavy scuffing from barricade use (again, sandpaper for this)

but just as importantly to where youd expect to see wear, is where you WOULDNT expect to see wear.....essentially any "low spots"....directly underneath pic rails, the vertical flats of the forend, and the low spots on the magwell all instantly tell that wear is artificial.
 
looks good man!

im going to use this as an example, so dont think im shitting on you.....as i can tell you are going for aesthetics and not necessarily realism....but this has a few things common to most "worn" finishes that give it off as artificial wear

View attachment 7663876


areas in green are areas youd expect to see wear
areas in yellow are areas you might see some light wear
areas in red are areas you would not expect to see heavy wear


any areas that come in contact with skin or fabric, youll expect to see rub-wear......pain will be worn away and have soft edges (paint thinner on a rag work well for this).......so grips, and on the forend on the body side (left side for most people)

high spots and edges you will also see wear, mag wells and edges of rails primarily.....body side will be more worn (as we just talked about).....far side (right side for most shooters) will be more scuffed, as thats more prone to be banged into shit (light passes with 60-80 grit sandpaper work well for this).

the underside of the forend and front of the magwell will also see heavy scuffing from barricade use (again, sandpaper for this)

but just as importantly to where youd expect to see wear, is where you WOULDNT expect to see wear.....essentially any "low spots"....directly underneath pic rails, the vertical flats of the forend, and the low spots on the magwell all instantly tell that wear is artificial.

I know exactly what your talking about. I started with high spots, ridges, and corners only but it aesthetically it didn’t look complete. So I moved on to yellow area’s. The red area underneath we the front rail(nv rail) was actually an accident. But last time I went to “fix it” I made it worse so I called it good lol
 
At least distress the barreled action to make it look even. Brand new metal and worn ass chassis doesn’t make me believe in battle worn.
 
The dorks paint their rifles like they've been used and pay stupid money to buy or "build" a Gucci Glock.

Even funnier when you are them shoot.

Even funnier when what now?

I dont have any battleworn cerakote jobs myself, but have painted a few of them for people. Just seems so weird that anyone would care, its not like they paid for the paint job with your money.
 
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My wife distresses all her crafting projects. Send your rifle to us. She will paint it, I will take it out and use it. All you pay for is shipping and ammo.
 
Even funnier when what now?

I dont have any battleworn cerakote jobs myself, but have painted a few of them for people. Just seems so weird that anyone would care, its not like they paid for the paint job with your money.
Every morning for the last 5 years i have woke up and thrown this rifle in the back floor board of my ranger. I drive the worst trails you can find around here all day bumping around. Personally the minor wear a gun gets over time looks good to me, too much "battle wear" looks like you just drag it by the sling everywhere you go.
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This side almost always lays down against the floor. There is so little wear im actually kinda suprised.
 
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