I know this seems like a workshop question, but since most workshop items want to be shiney new, and we sometimes want things to be icky old, how about a bit of general methods.

I have found that while I like to take the time to play with the finishes and such, I just tend to run out of it (time) so I have started burying things in the yard, or in a box of slightly damp potting mix from the store. I do this with wood, leather, metal and bone (I make much use of the bones after dinner- though those tend to go into the yard so the ants and all can finish off anything I missed!!)
I have found the need to make markers so I can find things again, especially when out of doors! Incidentally, taking a bone form the ground and setting it in the open air for a few days turnes it a nice bleached white color-feh!
So basically, I let nature take its own course and save myself the work!!
Anyoen else have methods??
k

I've agend metal using ammonia vapors. I took a plastic coffee jar, suspended a key from the inside of the lid, and poured about an inch and a half of ammonia in the bottom, letting the fumes do their dirty work. You can get a patina in 24 hours or so this way.
I've also read of using a cup of coffee or tea, even shoe polish, being used to age paper, tarot cards, etc.
Some actually bake the paper at a low temp to dry paper out. That would make me a bit nervous, frankly.

It's going to depend a lot on the material you're working with. If it's a skull or bone from ASC made of plastic, you can use a dark wood stain, brushed lightly on and rubbed off. Metal, (Mystician, I'll have to try your way) I've soaked items in a super saturated salt solution (geez try saying that fast)and it gets a kind of crusty look after a few days. Burying an item in potting soil for a couple weeks, if it's paper brush it with a strong tea solution and hang it to dry. Just a couple ideas.

Sean

For putting a specific patina on metal, there are several solutions in the craft store that can put a nice finish on metal in a controlled way. I suppose that it's cheaper to bury it in the back yard, though.

There are some very nice tips on this art at Dragonskull.

Yours,

Paul

I like to use Minwax to age paper. I'm not sure, but I may have orginally picked up that tip on Dragon Skull. It is a great resource for these ideas.

Dave

Hi Guys -
Check out my details on Dragonskull.....
I was tipped off years ago by Prince Darius to use a product called RUB AND BUFF -
Aged Bronze.
You can apply it to anything, found in most art shops, its used to quite simply ' age products'.
Oh also.... I cant stress how much I use Keith Hart's Instant Old Age Spray Cans..
They are fantastic.
Cordially
Michael

Hi Moderncelt,

I tried the salt solution first on my haunted key, and didn't really get anywhere - however, I also may not have gotten the lacquer finish off enough first, so that might have skewed my results. After lots of steel wooling ( where do they get that stuff from anyway, iron sheep ?), the ammonia did pretty well in a little over a day.
I've also heard of filling a shallow tray (but deep enough to cover your entire target item) with ammonia or vinegar, and placing as many pennies in the solution as you can while placing your item in the tray, being careful not to let it actually touch the pennies. Never tried this myself, but it sounds good I guess.

super saturated salt solution
super saturated salt solution
super saturated salt solution

hehe, I cheated .. I used copy and paste !!
(the above is an example of semi-recursive humor)

Gentlemen, ask the lady of yoru house to borrow a bit of nail polich remover, it cuts down on the torture of the iron sheep!
Kay

Mystician: The lacquer may very well have been the culprit. It needs to react to bare metal, and I did it in a shallow pan, so I'm sure evaporation and air contact helped quite a bit...heck for all I know it may be the only way to do it.

A sad admission here, most of my experience with aging items has not been from magic, but from doing house haunts. Kind of along the same lines, but I learned a lot about adding ambience to a room working with "haunters".

Try Dr Strange Instant Old Age Atomiser...

http://www.blackhart.co.uk/atomiser.html

Keith Hart

Moderncelt,

Why a sad admission? I think you will find that there are
quite a number of us here who have been/are involved with
haunting. And many haunters (at least the good ones) can
teach you a great deal about props.

Dave

Ah, well I guess what I was sad about was that I had to admit that the magic aspect of it came as an after thought. But I did learn a lot while doing it, timing, use of space, set up, make up and set design. The haunted parlor room I help build is still one of my favorites. Learned to do some great stuff with invisible thread.

Fortunately I've been able to use my magic background to improve on my haunting and vice versa

For years model railroaders have used various paints such as "sand" or "smoke" and other labeled paints for aging trains. Buying a small bottle of such to try on a prop works and if you need a larger amount of paint, go to a paint store with a computer that can match the color you need.

Rick

Hmmmph! Just living as long as I have made me look aged. Come to think about it, it was a lot of work! Never mind... Even my avatar is 20 years old...
Slim

Yep, that's how I came to be here. I'm a halloween nut. I havent' worked any official haunts, but I do my house up really good every year and have a killer party.
Well, actually, no parties the last few years due to having a young one about the house, but as he gets older I'm going back into it with a veangence. I finally built my first flying crank ghost last year, for example.

Slim, I just don't think that most folks could wait as long as you did just for an effect. They'd start looking a little weathered too.

Mystician: Congrats on the FCG, I built myself a Ghost puppet I hope to finish here soon. check it out if when you get a chance. http://www.hauntershangout.com/home/FCGPuppet.asp

A technique we use in the theatre world is to age props in layers, with each layer having its own "story." For instance, a box may have started out as varnished, then the varnish wore off, then somebody tried to repair it, then it was painted but the paint wore off... Or, a metal key may have rusted, but the rust was cleaned off only to start appearing again.

Old items have scratches, dings, crushed corners, and whatnot -- signs of how it was used and for how long. They fade in different places (sunlight hitting only side of a box), have dark finger smudges, shiny areas from handling, and so on. Think in terms of the history of the prop and then go at it. It makes for some cool-looking stuff!

Oh, yeah, and avoid the temptation to use black paint to age something. Few things ever go black except cast iron. If you want to make something "black," use a very dark brown instead.

Do not forget : if you are useful of a box which contains something of invaluable this one remained a long time with the shelter. The old objects should not necessarily resemble a dustbin! OK for a light patina but do not make any too much.

Some protective coatings used on brass (or copper) are very hard to remove. Paint removers containing methylene chloride will remove almost anything. Use this in a well ventilated place (like outdoors) and wear rubber protective gloves. This chemical is known to cause heart attacks if breathed. It takes effort, but it will remove the coating from irregularly shaped surfaces.

There is a liquid called "Gun Bluing" that will tarnish brass or silver metal. I use it to age things.

Finally, your method of aging should depend upon the manner of audience interaction with the object. On stage, the "aging" can be more pronounced because the audience does not have close access. For close-up work, the aging must look "real" because the audience has closer observation. Even in this situation, however, the aging does not need to pass a scientific analysis, obviously.

I've all but given up on my store-bought haunted key. Its easier to find a similar key that has the right balance on eBay.

I go camping every year out to the Nevada desert. The dry lakebeds are high in alkali content. Aluminum tent stakes are rusted pretty badly after only a week in the ground. I may just drop my key into a bag of soil I picked up and see what it does.