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Weathering Model Aircraft

Exhaust Stains
I touched on this above, but I wanted to further discuss it. Exhaust stains are both an art and a science. To paint exhaust stains, first I study pictures to learn the stain pattern for the specific aircraft on which I am working. Compare the stain patterns on an AD-6 Skyraider to those found on something like an Fw 190A-8. Note the bends and kinks in the patterns. Every aircraft has a stain pattern that is unique to it. After investigating the stain patterns, I mix up the appropriate colors in extremely thin mixtures and start slowly building up the stains on the model.

Exhaust stains come in various colors based on two factors -- the camouflage color they are applied to and the content of the fuel the aircraft was burning. High lead content in the fuel and darker camouflage colors makes for more gray colors in the exhaust stain. For example, note the gray exhaust stain colors on black A-26 Invaders in Korea. Now look at the silver A-26s from the same period. It is the same fuel, but now the exhaust stains are almost all black. The gray is present on the silver A-26s, but does not show much on the silver background.

An example of fuel content changing the stain is found on W.W.II German aircraft. The gray color in the exhaust stains is practically nonexistent. Germany's fuel had a different lead content than the Allies did, hence the change in their exhaust stain colors.