As I mentioned before, rust is a must. Depends on the world, but most post-apocalyptic settings take place decades or more after the collapse. In that time, most all metal will have rusted, so shiny new metal will look out of place. So we need to rust our metal.
Here’s a collection of D rings, O rings, buckles and carabiners that I got on Amazon. The carabiners I was pretty sure were made of aluminum, and therefore wouldn’t rust, but I thought I would give it a shot just in case. Sure enough, aluminum.
So for this job we will only need some household items: vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, and salt. There’s probably a more scientific measurement one should use, but I use roughly 2 parts vinegar to 1 part hydrogen peroxide, and just shake however much salt in there. Just pretend you are salting water to cook pasta.
After an hour or so, the mixture has turned rust colored. You can just leave this overnight, but go for at least 5 or 6 hours.
When that is done, sometimes that all that is required. But I find that if I want to turn it up a notch, I just use some plain old water. I add enough water to cover, and then set it outside in the sun and wait for the water to evaporate. When that’s done it should be even rustier. And you can repeat this as much as you like until you get the desired effect.
So here they are all done. They look old, worn, and rusty, just the way we like them.
These nuts and bolts turned out even better, probably because they have a higher iron content. One thing you can do when they are done is just hit them with a spray of matte clear coat. That will help the rust not rub off all over everything.
So there you have it. Pretty easy. It does take some time (at least 24 hours), but not the years it would take otherwise. Let me know if you liked this post/tutorial in the comments. Until next time.
Fampocalypse 