Steampunk Pirate Gun Mod

Wanna Steam up a plastic gun? Or just make a more "Yar!-worthy" prop gun? Here is a couple common cheap plastic pirate-themed guns you can paint to look like wood and aged metal that could be the perfect piece-de-resistance for your costume.

Step 1: Gather your supplies

What you will need:

For Aged Metal:

• matte black spray paint

-OR-

• black model paint and a brush
• your choice of metal Rub n' Buff (Rub n' Buff is a brand name for a wax with metallic powders and pigments used to gild household items. Or Steampunk guns. ;) In this tutorial, you will see examples of antique gold and pewter)
• paper towels or a rag
• sandpaper (fine or medium grit)
• matte finishing spray/sealant

For Wood Grain:

• yellow or cream colored acrylic craft paint
• paper towels
• matte black spray paint
• matte or semi-gloss red spray paint
• matte or semi-gloss brown spray paint
• sandpaper (fine or medium grit)
• matte or semi-gloss finishing spray/sealant

Comments

[IBreakHeavyStuff]

I'm pretty sure toy guns are required to have the red safety cap by law - at least they are here in Oz. I mean chances are it won't be mistaken for a real gun, but you could still get into trouble with the police.

[opticalfx]

Here in California if it's sold with a orange tip you can't remove while in state. If the tip was removed out of state and brought in then it is ok.

[user240485]

By law if it to be SOLD it must come with a blaze orange cap or making at tip of barrel. There is nothing stopping you from taking the tip off of YOUR toy. UNSAFE but nothing illegal. So as long as you don't go walking around town out of costume, I doubt someone is going to mistake it for a prop costume piece.

[Amara Deegan]

How do you remove the glued on orange safety cap from the pirate pistol? I have one of the ones you pictured on the first page actually. Not the short one with the ornate handle, but the longer one. I tried to get mine off only to find it is glued on. I actually used a dremel to half it so I could get both halves of the pistol apart before I realized it wasn't simply just stuck.

[pyratenyte]

Awesome instructable. Thanks for the effort!

I've been using this one for a while. Here are some pics. Enjoy!

[thehamman]

What do you mean by "Sand all surfaces with the sandpaper"? What surfaces are you tlking about exactly?

[TribalDancer]

I can't believe I didn't reply to this! All surfaces means all exterior surfaces. The entire outside of the plastic toy.

[brotherkantor]

I did something with the exact same toy- I'm using it in a short movie I'm making! I left the gold part alone because the paints I have don't work on metallic-coloured surfaces and made the barrel brown, like wood. Yours is definitely better though.

[Ian32]

When working with the Rub 'n Buff on a project like this, I found that one of the most useful tools to have on hand is a handful of q-tips. They're great for softening the edge of the metal finish in places where your fingertip can't quite reach.

[MrSalvador]

OH my! I cant wait!! I have needed a good 'able for making a steampunk gun but most of them required welding :) I'm making a steampun costume for halloween, using 'ables like the steampunk shutter shades

[koleypunch]

 Here is my first attempt using this technique. Not bad for my first try. Thanks for the instructions!

[TribalDancer]

Looks great! Glad it was helpful!

[azshrial]

awesome gun!

i am starting my own project tonight! thanks! ..i like the india pale  in the supplies pic...i think its a critical part of the process as well...lol

cheers~

[Billy mahony]

What can i use outside of rub 'n buff, similar products. Could you give it a gold/brass undercoat with a black overcoat, and then sand through the black? Or wont it give the same effect?

[rhondalicious]

I'd think you could paint it allover with metallic craft paint, then rub/daub dark paint into the cracks, let it set a minute, then wipe it with a soft cloth? I've done that before for antiquing wood with varying paints and stains, I'd bet it would work fine on plastic as well. Just make sure you put a clearcoat on over the acrylic craft paints, because those will wear pretty quickly if it's on something you handle a lot.

[TribalDancer]

That is a really good question. I like the rub n' buff partly because of the texture of it, and control of it. But just like with miniatures painting, I do imagine that if you did a metallic undercoat you would be able to water down black paints and get the effect on raised areas. I am not so confident you would get the same effect as on the barrel, where it is more striated looking. But try it and report back!

[digitalmerc]

I was wondering the same thing. Would doing a drybrush with metallic paint have a similar effect? I'm kinda working on the super, super-cheap here.

[TribalDancer]

I hear ya on saving da' cash. But you buy rub n buff once and you will be able to use it for tonnnnnns of projects. It goes a long way!

[MeZergy]

This is so gorgeous!! I'm modding my own gun right now (it's not as piratey, though... in fact, with the black coat of paint on it, it looks a bit more military... I hope it doesn't look to silly when I'm completely finished with it!!). This is surely a great inspiration to me. Thanks for the amazing idea. I'll be sure to post pictures of my own gun when I'm finished (maybe even my whole steampunk costume!!). ;)

[MeZergy]

Here it is!! I just finished it today. :D It isn't really "wooden" looking, but I think your tutorial helped my first mod to be a success! <3

[elyador]

wow. I would never have tried this on a gun like that. it came out amazing.

[Aklash, The hunchback]

wow, a cyberpunked squirtgun

[mg0930mg]

That's what the author used in this i'ble...

[danceafterdark]

Wow. I like the pirate gun, but that's fabulous too. You both inspire me.

[splitwood]

That's a flint lock blackpowder pistol, most popularly used by pirates but flintlocks were used also in the American revolution both by Americans and the British. The pre-1840's mountain men also used them but the flintlock shared glory with the caplock during this era. The caplock is more like our modern guns using a "cap" instead of flint being thrown down harshly shaving of pieces of steel creating sparks to ignite the blackpowder cache in the barrel building up pressure propelling the projectile.

[TribalDancer]

Wow! Fantastic job! Congrats, and thanks so much for stopping by to share it!

[Darter76]

did u make the fancy design parts or did u have them laying around?

[TribalDancer]

There were no fancy design parts. The gun came just as is, and I only used paint techniques to fancy it up!

[Darter76]

i mean the metal parts on the sides

[TribalDancer]

There are no metal parts. It is all plastic with paint effects, and all came on the original plastic squirt gun. Are you talking about my Instructable? Or someone else who has posted here?

[Darter76]

oh they look metal and yes i am talking about your instructable basicaly saying how real it looks

[TribalDancer]

You can see the before and after pictures in the Instructable:
http://www.instructables.com/files/deriv/FQT/BJIA/FC2EFVYE/FQTBJIAFC2EFVYE.MEDIUM.jpg

These show that nothing was changed except the paint finish.

[Darter76]

o i did not look at all the pictures. nice job painting

[Kaelessin]

Just wanted to say two things:

First, AWESOME job on these . . .the wooden one is incredible! (in the truest sense of the word . . .it's actually hard to believe that that isn't wood!)

Second, THANKS! this ible lit a fire under my butt so to speak and inspired me to create something including the use of that rub n buff stuff!

I hope you don't mind . . .I included a link to this ible when I talked about the rub n buff. Here's mine . . .

[TribalDancer]

WOW! Great work! And yeah, isn't Rub n Buff the best?! Keep rockin!

[Coffeebot]

Great Instructable, Tribal! I'm using it as a basis for some other work I'm doing...but this is my first time really trying to achieve textures with spray paint. Do you have any additional tips on the faux wood? Layering the spray paint just ends up looking like dirty copper. Partly, I think it's the paint, in that it ends up spraying thick droplets, rather than a thin mist. This mostly occurs with the Krylon paint (I bought a 99 cent can of off-brand red, too...it performs MUCH better, ironically). Are there any less than obvious tips that you might have? Things that wouldn't occur to someone who's never really worked with spray paint before?

[TribalDancer]

You actually hit on hte biggest issue: the paint globbing. Make sure your nozzle is clear. You can pop it off and run just the nib under warm water and then pop it back on, and it may take care of your spotting issue. So, too, will making sure the can is shaken up a LOT, and that you are not working under too cold conditions. DO NOT warm your can, but, say, working on a winter day outdoors versus a sunny one can affect how your paint flows. Good luck!

[Kaelessin]

is the nozzle clogged? if it's partially clogged then paint collects and when the spray goes past it sends droplets instead of mist. . . . also make sure you're a good distance from the project . . .too close and you'll get odd effects too.

[Coffeebot]

It's a brand new can of paint...would it really clog that quickly? I did check it when I was spraying, and there was a good-sized bead of liquid on the nozzle, and wiping it off seemed to help for a second or so...it's one of those Krylon nozzles that has an adjustable paint angle on it. Perhaps using a different head? Also, what qualifies as a "good distance"? I think I spray about 8" away when I want a full coat (i.e. the black base) and 10-12" when I'm layering the red and brown.

[Kaelessin]

Well your distance seems pretty good though I tend to back off a bit and just use more coats . . .shouldn't be making runs though. Yeah I hate those nozzles . . .never could figure out why people had so much trouble getting great effects with normal ones . . .If I were you I'd switch it out for a normal nozzle. Just make sure it's really clean. Heh clogged was probably a poor choice of a word . . .It's that bead of paint that's causing the droplets I'm almost sure of it. Another thing to remember is to keep the can as close to upright as possible . . .if it's at a sharp angle then the nozzle's design might not do what it's supposed to and collect paint.