burnt iron??

IIRC it is a Testor's Metalizer shade. If you still can't find it, you could mix up some Testor's Rust or Leather with Floquil's Grimey Black for a usable alternative.

-- Chuck Ryan Springfield OH

Burned headers depend a lot on what the finish was before the engine was first run. I use various Testors colors to replicate burned headers depending on the type of header. If the header is cast iron, I paint it a rusty steel color first, then airbrush a very light flat black. This is the simplest one. For steel pipe headers with natural finish I use a bluish steel first, then some very light brown, then black.

Chrome headers or polished stainless are the hardest. These take on a patina of a rainbow assortment. I give them the shinyest chrome silver I can put on, then a very light coating of a rose red and a deep blue, almost a purple. I sometimes add a straw (light tan). These must be done with a good airbrush, preferrably DA, as the coatings should be VERY transparent. The look is of a patina, not a solid color.

Don't be afraid to mix colors yourself to get the shades you need. For instance, I almost never use Testors steel as it comes from the bottle. I ordinarily mix in some flat black. For cast iron headers I mix in some medium brown. For steel headers I add in a small amount of blue.

Great tips, Ron. At this point, I'm using the rattle cans for all my painting because I don't build models often enough to justify the cost of a nice air brush system. I bought one many years ago and ended up using it about four times in one year--certainly not enough to be good at it. What I need to do is ask my wife (she does crafts sometimes) if she would use it as well--that might be enough justification to buy an airbrush again.

I'll also need some to look up some photo references of what engines on NASCAR race cars look like. The few that I've seen don't show the headers as burned or even used. They're look aluminum--could also have been a show car though.

I like your rust to flat black approach, probably hard to do with a rattle can, flat black.

Any thoughts on this?

Try spraying the flat black first, then dry-brushing the rust on until you get the look you're after.

You CAN use drybrush techniques instead of an airbrush, but it is tricky. If you are not experienced at drybrushing, do quite a bit of practice on scrap first before doing it to the project you are working on. Spray the basic color, wait till it is dry, and then drybrush the patinas.

Many contemporary race cars use ceramic coatings or high temp paints. I think NASCAR cars use this now. White is a popular color for these coatings, but some are a metallic, aluminum-like color.