Rust.
I didn’t have any rust paint (XF9) as the directions called for so I tried to use a red brown paint with artist oils but was not happy with the results. I decided to buy the XF9 but didn’t think it would look much better. After looking at other models on this site I knew rust color paint wasn’t going to cut it. About this time I was busy setting up the xmas tree and I came across RUST. Someone, likely me, had not poured the water out of the stand and over the following year the water dried up and left a rusty powder. This is strange because the metal seems to be galvanized under the paint.
I removed what I could without getting any debris mixed in.
I had some Vallejo matt varnish and used it to make a rust paint. The varnish required thinning and I experimented with different densities of rust pigment. The rust effect is very controllable by varying the pigment or water added for thinning.
I have noticed that some on here will hollow out the end of the exhaust. I think that looks very good. I don’t own the right tools at this point to do that so I used a black sharpie to darken the end. Not as good as hollowing out the pipe but I think the effect is not too bad.
I have had my eye out for rust since discovering the rust in the tree stand. A couple weeks after setting up the tree stand I changed the water filter for the house supply. I am on a well and there is a lot of iron in my water. When I changed the filters I poured off most of the water and kept the sediment in the bottom, a sandy rusty mess. I let this settle for a few hours and again poured off the clear water. The rest I poured through a screen filter, onto a sheet of aluminum foil, to let it dry. I scrapped the dry powder up and added it to the other rust I had.
While on the topic of rust I wanted to share what I have learned about the Tamiya Weathering Sets. I experimented with them and for comparison included actual rust. I used a white index card and also an index card painted black. The Tamiya colors are Rust, Orange Rust and Burnt Red.
I included an extra sample of the actual rust on the white card. It is the one in the middle. I sprinkled dry pigment on the mixture while it was still wet. I wanted to see what a scaly texture would look like. I overdid it with that sample but I think if care was taken a more scale like effect could be achieved.
I have a question for the group. I was not sure how much to rust up the exhaust. I had two thoughts. If the exhaust came from the factory bare (bare steel or bare cast) then it would likely be on the more rusty end of the scale. If it came from the factory painted black then it would gradually become rusty. So the question is: Was the exhaust and intake manifold bare or painted or coated in some other manner?
