Make an awesome Harry Potter wand from a sheet of paper and glue gun glue

Step 9: Start distressing the wand

No this doesn't mean telling it upsetting news, distressing is the furniture makers term for making something new, look old.

You do this by mixing up a wash of black. NOT too washy, but enough so that it remains wet long enough to be able to wipe it off. The best type of paint for this is acrylic. DO NOT paint the whole wand before starting to wipe the paint off otherwise it will dry and you won't be able to wipe it off.

Comments

[jesusissatan]

thanks man me and my braother have made like 25 already

[Rainb0wTr0ut]

(removed by author or community request)

[fluxorz]

i made 9 1/2 :) had to stop because i ran out of hot glue

[komaru6]

You couldn't have gone a -little- further and made Nine and Three Quarters?

[flapper501]

that is a seriously good joke

[jesusissatan]

what exactly is a wash? is it like water with black paint?

[KaptinScarlet]

You got it. A "wash" in decorating or painting terms is a paint that's been thinned down a bit with it's solvent. In the case of acrylic paint that would be water. Experiment with the thickness of the mix, you want just thin enough to be able to wipe it off before it dries and just thick enough to stay in all the cracks and crevices to make it look old. If you make a wand, please post a picture of it here...

[Jeraldo]

I am currently in the process of making a wand that is BLACK in colo(u)r. So if the wand itself is black, should I even bother with a wash? It wouldn't show up if I used this exact technique. If you think a wash would work for me, which colo(u)r should I use? Thank you though, even if you do not respond. (I understand that this is an older Instructable.) But no matter, this is a very good, cheap, and easy way to make a very good quality wand. Five Stars! -Jared-

[KaptinScarlet]

yes if you are making a black one then a dark grey wash or even a dark red wash could make a real difference.. The good thing is you can experiment. The wash dries quickly and if you don't like it then you paint over it and start again. The wash is to pick out the texture, to amplify the glue gun detail and to make the wand look a bit older, to give it some providence, so really the wash is needed whatever colour you use.

[akrishnan3]

a red wash would look really cool like its bloodstained

[ltrimble]

Thank you for the instructions on how to make wand. After my mom wouldn't buy me a made wand from the theater (which the cost was any where from $15 to 40) that was making them for the last Harry Potter film, i came home and found this web site, i have now made a wand, and my brother wants me to make one for him to. Thanks for the instructions i appreciate what you have done for me.

[theamazingbouncingsquirrel]

if im doing it white. how do i distress it? with silver??

[luke h]

no get white spray u will get a brtter affect

[Slightly Askew]

We just made a dozen of these. Thanks for the ible. One thing we found worked well was to use some orange-ish thick stock paper, then wipe it down with wood stain. In the process, we learned that anywhere the Elmer's glue got on the outside of the wand, the stain would not soak in as much. We used the Elmer's glue as a paint and made some very interesting patterns and designs.

[thehongkid]

do you use your hand or a tissue to wipe it?

[KaptinScarlet]

a slightly damp cloth to wipe off the blacj=k and my finger to apply the gold rubbing paste