http://forums.fatsharkgames.com/t/pc-vermintide-2-patch-1-2-1-now-live/
- Added the ability to upgrade an Exotic item to a Veteran item. Upgrading an item from Exotic to Veteran quality will cost 5 Bright Dust. An item upgraded to Veteran quality will retain its Traits and Properties, but these will be set to their respective maximum bonus. The item’s Power Level will be set to 300 and it will retain any skin currently applied to it.
Skins are separate now because fatshark still want to lock skins behind insulting levels of RNG
We want to be clear, the Bright Dust system is designed to solve the problem of duplicate reds that you wanted to put to use. We are working on a solution for players to obtain specific blue illusions that will come in a future update - it will not be a part of the Bright Dust crafting mechanic.