old no hunting sign

[hambone]

  I need a No Hunting sign for a pheasant mount and I was wondering how to make look like it was weathered.

[Thomas Yourkiewicz]

You could shoot it with some bird shot, and scrape some paint off.  If it is metal, soak in saltwater to get some rust on it.

[hambone]

Thomas what  I am trying to make is a old looking wood sign with painted letters that appear to be faded out

[George Roof]

Here's how I make them. 

1)  Lay out your wording on stencil paper.  I use about 3 inch tall block lettering and write out "NO HUNTING".   

2) Take an Exacto knife and cut the lines out.  Only the "O" will fall out of the stencil and the other letters will be a series of cuts.

3) Find an old barn board or an aged piece of lumber.  (I plan ahead with mine and put new lumber outside.  I pressure wash it to rough the surface and a year of sun and rain will gray it quite well.  You can artificially gray the lumber if you're in a hurry by taking muriatic acid and crushing steel wool in it.  Allow it to set overnight and then paint the board with the acid.  Wash it off afterwards. ) Cut a piece of this board out that's approximately 3 inches longer than your stencil.

4) Lay your stencil over the board and center it.  Take a sharpened pencil and trace the cut lines on your stencil.  Do not bear down, you only need GUIDE lines.  Remove your stencil and save it.

5)  Buy a 3/4 inch camelhair chisel artists brush and a half pint of white acrylic house and trim paint.

6)  Dip the brush tip in the paint and then scrape all the paint off the bristles.  Now carefully follow your stencil cuts.  This technique is call "dry brushing" and you will find if you need more or less paint on the brush.  Either way, the spotty effect of this method creates a weatherbeaten appearance.

If you want to see the effect of this method, go to the WASCO home page and go to the WASCO awards.  In 1996, I won that award at the Delaware show with a pheasant sitting on my original attempt at this method. 

[hambone]

Well you couldnt ask for a better explanation than that thanks George                     

[Thomas Yourkiewicz]

i was thinkin metal....sorry

[Keith. C]

LOL George thought you said you never competed before??

[Monkey Man]

Here's George's work:



That's a great idea, I'll remember that if I ever need to do a mount with something like that in it.

[RoyalOaksTaxidermy]

Go buy a sign... Lay it on the table, beat it up with your smooth hammer, bend it up some make it look tore up..
 Spritz with water sprinlle with salt...
  It will rust..

Make sure it is not an aluminium sign though..

[brushwolf]

if you need old barbed wire post i have alot

[foxtrapper365]

can u rust barbed wire with salt and water if not what way can u get it to get the rusted look

[brushwolf]

foxtrapper i have all the rust barbed wire about 50 to 20 years old you will ever need ....

[MattHCT]

They sell antique rusting solovent at craft stores. You just brush it on and you get rust in minutes. It works well.