For my halloween show I want to do the cut and restored hangman rope. I need to make it look old but still be able to work with it.
Most magically yours,
WR
I will be using a poly cotten blended cored rope

Again... never underestimate the power of a good strong cup of tea.

:evilgrin:

Do I put it in boiling tea or just soak it over night??
Most magically yours,
WR

Ok ! That's not too difficult.

Let your rope in the hot tea (or coffee) as long as you wish until you obtain the good color. You must know that after you have dry the rope, the color will be less dark than the soaked color.

You only have to do this and you can add a little touch :
With a razor blade you will slowly worn the rope, or you can have the same result by scratch the rope on a stone.

See you soon,

A coarse sandpaper is also good for artfully fraying a rope.

Judicious application of a light brown shoe polish is another technique. Tea is effective but tends to produce a uniform color overall. Follow it up with the polish for a few darker areas.

Sid

I've posted this a few times, but just as a reminder my website has a straightjacket that's been "aged" with tea ,coffee and shoe polish and some tarot cards that have been "aged" with brown shoe polish and an alcohol rinse. The images are pretty close in actual colour. Tarot pics are... heck, you'll find 'em. Might be helpfull to get some idea what things look like.

You can put the tea solution in a spray bottle for a more judicious approach also.

http://www.iluznst.com

DA

why not head for a dock, farm, old factory etc.. for rope? why age new rope instead of finding authentic aged rope. it may take some time and research but then again so will trying to age it just right.