Most painting instructions say “burnt iron”…but what is burnt iron? What are exhausts usually made of …cast, or stamped, steel, or aluminum? Different metals rust, or oxidize, different ways. I used to paint them gray with a brown wash, followed by rust, and smoke pigments. Is this correct, or even realistic?
Kotare Spitfire Mk1a instructions says Spitfire exhausts were made out of Inconel, an alloy that is impervious to rusting. I painted mine with a mix of steels/burnt iron and some exhaust color.
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Merlin exhausts were typically a dull coppery brown colour with a bit of variation with age. Some blackening (soot) is evident in some pictures post flight but not much and no where near that seen on DB601 605 engines. The Germans had to run their engines rich to cope with a lack of sodium exhaust valves leading to sooty exhaust compared to allied engines.
A google of merlin exhausts - images produces some good examples, take care to avoid pictures of models.
This pic of a Spitfire 1a is pretty instructive for the colour.
Coloration of exhaust on C-47 “That’s All Brother”"
Photos taken just this past weekend in Lexington, Kentucky.
Port side exhaust:
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Even more discoloration on Starboard side engine:
Photos Copyright © Michael Koenig ~ All Rights Reserved
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Exhaust ring of Lysander Radial Engine:
Final Exhaust on Lysander:
My treatment of the Exhaust Ring and Final Exhaust Outlet of the model Lysander:
Don’t know if this helps at all but I tried.
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Looks like I don’t have to change much…metallic gray with brownish wash, followed by mottling with dark, and light rust pigments, and black (smoke) pigment around the exit.
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