Does any1 know how they age ww2 gear in da movies?

[mastermike95]

In band of brothers, saving private ryan, and the pacific they used mostly reproduction gear and than aged it. How? I have several repro items that are the sucky yellow sturm sportsmanguide gear that id like to age. Any ideas? The main reason why im asking this is that I make homemade ww2 movies myself. I'm only 15 and i dont have a job and dont have a budget. Heres a montage of my ww2 movies ive made since i was 12.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fFPwWOvHHE

[Adler69]

Wear them as much as you can , roll in the mud , crawl around in the dirt , that's how soldiers all over the world age their uniforms and gear .

[tkschnee43]

Like he said....

get them wet, roll them in dirt, mud and hang then off the back of a chair in the sun for a few days. The sun will fade out the color and give it more of a used look. As far as hollywood goes they use pigment powders that are a lot like the MIG and other weathering powders used by scale modelers.

Water, Drit and Sun work the best. leave that thing out for a month or so.

[gunner]

and hang outside for 'drying'

[gunner]

oops, hit enter on mistake, and for some reason i can't modify my last. LOL
anyway, as I was going to say, if you want to work on them, without having to wait for 'games'/events, just kinda do what a dog does, roll around in dirt, grass, mud, etc, THEN hang outside for 'drying'!! LOL, for better stains, don't was with soap.

[Forever_Kaos]

Whenever I get something new, I drag out the hose, wet up a fair size area, roll around the item (or myself with the item if it's clothing) and go from there.

[Retrohead]

With Saving Private Ryand, Flags of Our Fathers, and a few other films, Marine Corps vet Dale Dye actually trains and PT's (Physical Training) the actors to get them in the "mood," so a lot of the sweat and dirt you see is actually real.

[deacon]

I am in Pathfinders: In the company of strangers. Most of the guys have their own personal uniforms. What I do, is wear them for a week, I do EVERYTHING in them... Eat, sleep piss, what have ya', then I'll take it into the shop. I use a die grinder with a light abrasive disk, and rough up the edges, and put some wear holes in them. I mix motor oil and finely shaven charcoal, and use that around the collar, and almost all the edges, and put lightly here and there all over the uniforms and gear. Then take them outside, and rub moist dirt, and mud lightly all over to get a good even "filthy" layer, then brush off excess. a little blood here and there for my PTO uniforms, and not so much for my ETO stuff. Here is an example of my weathering technique on Gunny1944s and my uniforms and gear...

[mastermike95]

deacon... thats amazing! im gonna try that it looks so realistic!

[starkweather]

This brings back memories. When I started in WWII re-enacting I was told my stuff looked too new. I was told it so much I got frustrated, ran into the woods and swan dived into the first mud puddle I could find.

Since then I've had offers on my repo gas mask bag and repo M41. Altho I have yet to wash either of them. I was told my M41 looks original, comlete with repaired slit cuts.

[Forever_Kaos]

Deacon - While that looks astounding! I do wonder does it "hurt" the fabric though? IE - shorten it's life span at all?

Guessing you don't wash them?

[deacon]

I wash everything once, right after I buy it. Unless it has to be dry cleaned. After that, its into the shop with a soiled grease rag, some charcoal, dirt, and in some cases salt water. For anything I use in my PTO impressions... Ie: USMC, and 32nd Inf Div, I soak the uniforms in saltwater, and all the web gear. Then lay them out in the sun to dry and fade. I usually start out after that with sand paper, or the die-grinder with an abrasive wheel on it, and scuff up elbows, knees, and anywhere that gets maximum contact with the earth. after they have had a nice "scuffing", I will then switch over to a little "mud pie" I make with a mixture of dirt, shaved charcoal, and saltwater; and give the whole uniform an even, thin coat of grime. I will then let them dry to switch over to the oil rag and charcoal. I rub the rag in the charcoal, and then just rub any edge, hole, and miscellaneous spots on the uniform, till it looks satisfactory. If its PTO stuff I'm working on, I will usually get some medium to heavy blood stains on them, but for ETO uniforms, I stick with just a few small blood stains. If your wondering what I use for blood stains. I will tell you PETA would have a fit... I use real blood, from when I go hunting, I keep a small container of it for this exact purpose. If you find this disgusting, I'm sorry. I am just the kind of reenactor that "takes it all the way".

The fabric has a lifespan, but In my book, the more you wear it, the longer it lasts. with a mixture of blood, sweat, dirt, and grime, a uniform will have a almost waterproof and tough coating, which will elongate the life-span of a uniform. Soon I hope to start a business, professionally weathering uniforms, and there will be many choices on how the outcome will be.

To finally give you an answer thats to the point. No, the life-span is not shortened by my weathering technique.