My boyfriend and I are notoriously big kids. We play in the toy aisle of Walmart, can often be found watching Disney movies (his favorites though are Pixar), and just act generally goofy. Aside from this, we are also huge fans of the short lived sci-fi show Firefly So when I ran across the idea to steampunk water guns on the blog "Ahem, It's Just Phlegm", I had to do it!
I found two cheap water guns at Walmart - can't get much better than 98 cents each! After roughing up the plastic surface a little bit with some sandpaper, I spray painted them black all over, being careful to tape off the openings so they would still be useable as water guns.
I found two cheap water guns at Walmart - can't get much better than 98 cents each! After roughing up the plastic surface a little bit with some sandpaper, I spray painted them black all over, being careful to tape off the openings so they would still be useable as water guns.
As you can see, I didn't do the best job of spray painting them, but that was ok because I wanted them to look like they had been roughed up a little. Next, I painted the handles brown with acrylic paint (Anita's All Purpose Acrylic paint in Earth Brown for anyone who wants to know exact details). It took a few coats to get the black mostly covered. In hindsight it would have been better to tape off the handles too and paint them white before the brown, but oh well. Not being able to wait anymore, I started with the metallics. I used Rub & Buff. This stuff is amazing! You put a TINY tiny bit on your finger and start gently rubbing where you want the color. I used Silver Leaf, Antique Gold, and Gold Leaf. And soon I had this:
Next I wanted to make the handles look more like wood. So I took a darker brown paint (Americana Acrylic Paint in Raw Umber) and dipped the end of a 1" foam brush in it. Before applying it I wiped most of the paint off, so I could create a "grain." After putting the paint on the handles I used a dry portion of the brush to wipe some more of the paint off. This actually created the look I wanted! I also went back with a finer brush to fill in some of the details.
To give it a little more of a steampunked look, I added a few brads that I snipped the ends off of using some clear Tacky Glue (a crafter's best friend!).
To give it a little more of a steampunked look, I added a few brads that I snipped the ends off of using some clear Tacky Glue (a crafter's best friend!).
They still need to be sealed with some clear spray paint, but they're done! And better yet, still functional as water guns! The Boy and I are planning on having a water gun fight at some point. Should be lots of fun. :)