How to Make a Custom Zippo

I took a cheap zippo lighter, modified and weathered it, here's the process.

Please watch the video for a detailed description of how I made the exact lighter seen in the photos. I would also really appreciate it if you subscribed to my channel and liked the video.

For this I picked an incredibly cheap bull brand lighter, as I was only testing out techniques. However after doing this project and seeing the results I would be happy to do it on a real zippo.

I began by using some 80 grit sand paper in order to rough up the surface and make sure that the paint would stick to it. I highly recommend that you do this thoroughly as otherwise the paint will not stick to some parts of the lighter giving it a patchy look. Don't forget to remove the insert at this point before you paint the rest of the lighter.

Make sure to hang the lighter from a piece of thread or cord, as this makes painting a lot easier. The colour choice is up to you, but I went for matte black and a neon green. If you wanted to then you could also stencil on designs here in order to add more complicated patterns to the lighter.

I found some artwork on the internet and decided to make a decal out of it. In order to achieve this I printed it out on regular paper, and then cut it out making sure to stay as close to the lines as possible. I positioned it where I wanted it on the lighter, and then used paper glue to stick it in place temporarily, I then applied two coats clear coat over the top.

I used some metallic copper paint and a brush to finish the project, making sure to use as little paint as possible I weathered it. The best way I found to do this was to apply it to the edges and corners which would have been naturally worn over time. I also applied some paint with a rag and tried to wipe it off, leaving a cool aged effect. I then applied two more coats of clear coat over the top making sure that the weathering and the paper decal were protected.

While my lighter works perfectly, be warned that spray paint is flammable and as such you should be incredibly careful if using it to paint a lighter and should never put yourself in harms way.