Weather for a FULL Size Replica Cannon

[Peter_Suciu]

I recently bought a replica cannon (think old school pirate cannon). I'm restoring a naval style gun carriage with cast iron wheels, iron loops and other hardware.

The cannon tube is made of molded plastic and is black with texture. Any advice on how to add weathering to the cannon to make it have patina with some rust, yet still keep some of the cast iron looking texture?

[Bern]

G'day Peter,
I built a replica hedgehog beach obstacle out of 1/4" plywood for my son's WW2 living history group a few years ago and I used Krylon flat black camo paint for the base coat. To give it a somewhat rusty appearance, I applied rust coloured "Rustoleum" textured paint in an uneven coat. To give it a worn and weathered appearance you can apply fine pencil graphite to the raised areas of your cannon barrel, which will result in a realistic iron/metal appearance. Just take a carpenters pencil and scrape the lead with the blade of a utility knife to get a pile of graphite powder. You can adjust the amount of rust coloured paint and pencil graphite to give the finish you're looking for.
People have knocked on our hedgehog at events thinking it's actually made from metal.

Hope this helps.
Regards
Bern