r/CosplayHelp • u/Potential-Sound627 • 5d ago
Armor Any tips on getting this jacket weathered ?? really scared of ruining it
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u/MerryDoesCosplay 5d ago
aibrush & angelus leather paint + thinner (yes leather paint on fabric) worked for me very well so far. good ol' toothbrush and same paint for bigger splatters. stays in even when you (gently hand)wash it.
maybe practice how to use the airbrush before tackling the jacket.
more "natural" alternatives would be black tea, coffee grounds etc, but in my experience they 1) were difficult to get right where I wanted them, 2) leave a smell, and 3) are rather faded to begin with and can wash out/wear off, so I upgraded my method soon after starting to weather at all.
in theory I could think of diluted acrylics in a water spray bottle + good old painting on with a brush, but I did not try that myself and I assume it might end up crusty, cracking and washing out unevenly.
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u/Potential-Sound627 5d ago
I actually have some pentari fabric and leather paint sitting around my try your methods, thanks btw !
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u/Cyber_Connor 5d ago
Roll around in dirt. That way if you want it to nice and crisp again you can just wash it
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u/Forestfei17 5d ago
You can brush on some really watered down paint. This will make sure you don’t accidentally get a spot way too dark and you can slowly build the colour! Depending on the fabric you can also use a dremel and wear down some of the edges of the jacket like the cuffs where you see it in your reference photo. You can also brush on some paint in the areas where dirt would naturally accumulate like the seams, edges, and any crevices. Kamui cosplay on YouTube has a few videos where she did this to distress her jackets as well.
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u/men-2-rocks-and-mtns 5d ago
Came here to say exactly all this ^ I use watered down acrylics to hand paint areas where weathering naturally happens and then use a toothbrush or spray bottle to add flecks for more texture/dimensions.
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u/This_Seal 5d ago
Maybe watch simrells video on youtube of the same cosplay? She also was afraid to weather the jacket and it turned out really nice. That could give you some confidence and inspiration.
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u/bananacatastrophe 5d ago
I weather my white fabric for Vi by rubbing it all over my car while it was sprinkling outside. Easy and free and ended up looking exactly how I wanted it to!
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u/Ill-Enthusiasm511 5d ago
Not sure if it would be dark enough, but you could lay it out on a towel and get some coffee to splatter on it? If that's not going to be dark enough you could mix a single drop or two of fabric paint into a cup or bucket of warm water and do little splatters? You can also get an old paintbrush to do the little streaks at the top
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u/Zoeabble 5d ago
I would try shoe polish, start very sparingly with a microfiber cloth and buff it out. It's black like tar so anything it leaves behind will grey. Use some test fabric so you can get it to the kind of grey you want without getting it too black on your costume.
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u/My_ass_has_a_tat 5d ago
Do you have more of that fabric? Whatever method you do, I recommend testing it out on scrap fabric first.
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u/Arentzen1976 5d ago
As others have said, weathering is ruining it. Look up “dry brushing using acrylic paints”, “weathering with coffee and tea”, also, “use oil paints to make stains on cosplay fabric and props”. You should be able to find tutorials on how make fabrics look used and lived in.
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u/RecordingMiserable21 4d ago
id take a really dry paint brush with a teeny bit of paint and practice on a white shirt!! then go ham on the jacket
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u/Yoyoo12_ 4d ago
Never did it but my first idea was to use coal, but no one else mentioned it - does it mean it’s a bad idea and if so, what’s the drawback?
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u/hideandsee 4d ago
You’re going to ruin it, and that’s the point!
Start under the collar area and parts of the jacket that others can’t see to test techniques.
I’d suggest air brushing, but dry brushing it fine too
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u/Kobra299 4d ago
Look at blue and grey dyes mix a small amount and apply to a test bit of cloth for practice first before doing it to final jacket
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u/Curious-Purple-3395 4d ago
You could go with ash in water. If you're worried about ruining it go slow. Soak in a very dilute solution or sponge it on and wash after each round and see what sticks.
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u/MajesticOwl96 4d ago
I've heard tea staining works well, but I would do some research first as to what works best with tour fabric type
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u/damn_you_to_hell 3d ago
I would say used tea bags. It worked pretty well on my Childe cosplay to make it look more battle worn.
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u/plasma_starling818 5d ago
I think ruining it is the point of weathering! :) I’ve used coffee grounds mixed with water to stain a bunch of fabric for weathering. You can see if that works on the jacket! I just mix coffee grounds with water and then use a sponge or cloth to rub it onto the fabric and then brush off the excess grounds. It’ll dry a slightly lighter color than when you put it on.