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[Dini'la Kyr'ad]

I'm almost done with everything and I'm down to the dirty details.  All of my armor is about as dirty as you can imagine, ( http://mandalorianmercs.org/forum/index.php?topic=22953.msg346239#msg346239 ) and now it's time to let my soft parts play catch up.  I'm wondering if anybody has any suggestions for what I should so with my flight suit, vest, cape, etc.  The flight suit is khaki and all else are variants on OD.  I'm up for some burns and scorch marks but I'm almost scared of doing that to the type of fabric (duck cloth and linen).

[Allfather]

Use coffee and tea to get a good start on "burns" to the fabric. You can add some dark brow and black fabric paint to the center to get a good and pretty permanent "burn" mark without all the fire and smoke. I have also found that charcoal is a great "dirtying" material. Works on just about anything. I use it for corbon scoring on my armor plates and it works great.

Only weathering thing I have ever heard that I really do not like is misting spray paint on. I've seen it done well. But, I have seen it too many times look like it is what it is...spray paint. If you have access to an air brush and someone that is pretty good with it, that is alos a good option.

[Hondo Karr]

Here's how I do mine...

1. I rub it randomly all over in the wheel wells of my car to pick up brake dust and grime. If that doesnt dirty it up enough, I rub it on the grates and inner lid of my BBQ.
2. I take it out into my yard (all dirt I live in the desert) and toss it, roll it and grind it with my shoe's into the sand.
3. I randomly mist it in area's where you would expect sweat build up in real life with spary paint (i usually use a grey primer, a brown/red primer and an od green). I LIGHTLY mist the crotch, butt, front and back of knee's, waist area, neck, underams. Those are the area's that will most likey be seen, yet still covered. I also make sure to hit the other area's of teh suit as well but, that's my primary focus.
4. I hang it in my garage for about a week to let the stains really set in
5. I wash the flightsuit on the gentle cycle in cold water. No detergent, just a littel fabric softener to get the stank out. I want the stains to set.

Mind you, it will not be AS dirty once it's washed as it is after you thrash it. No matter waht, some will come out in the washing machine.

[Riya Morut]

Thanks for the tips, A'den.  My stuff still looks brand new, too.  I've got a lot of work to do this summer.

[Dini'la Kyr'ad]

thanks for the advice, time to go start getting dirty.

[Aysel]

wash it once before you start thrashing it and the stains will set in even better, you want to get the factory starch out. depending on your color if you leave it out in the sun for a couple of days it'll fade, if you don't want to go the grease dirty route, you can substitute light misting of paints in different "dirt" colors to simulate actual dirt. Coffee and tea is a great idea and tea can be really cheap, brew it up as dark as you can and while it's still hot spot the suit, the dyeing will take better if it's hot rather than cold like any other fabric dye. Then once your done let it dry, you can even run it through the dryer, don't run it through the dryer if you've used any kind of grease as its a fire hazard, that'll set the stains in. If you don't want to run it through the washer after you get done you can just swish it through the water in your bathtub or sink.