How to weather Lindberg (plastic) skulls

**CaptnJackSparrow** · 05-20-2008,08:02 PM

With 16-18 skulls planned fer me front 'n back yards, I be lookin' fer a way ta weather(darken) abuncha me skulls at once, somethin' like dumpin' me Lindberg skulls in a large bathtub o' coffee or tea.. anyone got ideas 'ow ta darken them? I tried stain, bu' yeah, while it does darken them, it makes 'em sticky..

**Death Master** · 05-20-2008,08:46 PM

I use a Gel stain, then I use a heat gun to dry, then a oh so small amount of corn starch over the surface, or you can wait for a very long time for the tackyness to go away due to dust build up on the surface.lol

**Dr Morbius** · 05-20-2008,10:52 PM

Just spray paint them different shades of brown...may touch up with black.

**Crypt Keeper** · 05-21-2008,04:04 AM

I've heard of using shoe polish on plastics to age them, not sure how well it works on these skulls tho..

Dollar stores normally have little tins of it so its fairly easy and cheap to get

aSmarterU · 05-21-2008,06:46 AM

Where the heck you find that many?

I use the gel stain on plastic, polish or paint on paper skulls.

**killyaquick** · 05-21-2008,07:07 AM

While searching the web i came across this tutorial -Skull And Bone-
I am going to try and replace the latex with elmer's white glue. Ilet you no the out come.

**CraigInPA** · 05-21-2008,08:48 AM

Why didn't you buy the Lindberg Pirate skull, which is already pre-weathered?

I've darkened mine up with an oak colored wood stain. Takes a while to dry, unfortunately, but easy to apply.

**MrOCT31** · 05-21-2008,12:19 PM

Originally Posted by killyaquick

While searching the web i came across this tutorial -Skull And Bone-
I am going to try and replace the latex with elmer's white glue. Ilet you no the out come.

White glue will work but I think latex rubber ends up with a better finish to it. I used some latex from a prop supply house at first but it's fairly expensive so last month I picked up some Woodland Scenics latex rubber at the hobby store for about $10 for a 16oz jar and using cotton balls I couldn't see any difference in the finish compared to the $20+ bottles. It does need to be painted or stained however, but it makes for great skin on bones! I will have to try the panty hose idea however as peeling apart cotton balls gets a bit tiring if you're doing a large item. I used cheese cloth once as well but I think tighter weave of the hose would work better for skin.

**dionicia** · 05-21-2008,08:47 PM

You could buy a cheep paint sprayer gun and use that to spray the skulls with stain. Anything you miss you could go back later when they dry and touch up with some stain on a cotton ball.

Might be a nice textured effect.