Carburetor Color

[Eric N.]

Alclad pale gold

[ChevyD75]

What would you guys recommend for 1980's era pro stock carburators?

[Straightliner59]

12 hours ago, ChevyD75 said:

What would you guys recommend for 1980's era pro stock carburators?

I would go with the oft-aforementioned Jet Exhaust. Almost all of them were running Holley Dominators. If you don't have Jet Exhaust, do an image search for the carbs, to give you an idea of what to mix together to create something close.

[StevenGuthmiller]

13 hours ago, ChevyD75 said:

What would you guys recommend for 1980's era pro stock carburators?

 

46 minutes ago, Straightliner59 said:

I would go with the oft-aforementioned Jet Exhaust. Almost all of them were running Holley Dominators. If you don't have Jet Exhaust, do an image search for the carbs, to give you an idea of what to mix together to create something close.

 

A really great alternative is Alclad "Pale Burnt Metal".

 

You can get very realistic looking results using the burnt metal as a base, give it a light shot here and there with some Alclad aluminum to break it up a little, and then a dirty wash to give it depth.

Of course, it helps a great deal if you're starting with a Fireball carburetor!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve

[Straightliner59]

22 minutes ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

Of course, it helps a great deal if you're starting with a Fireball carburetor!

There is no doubt about that! Joseph's stuff is awesome--as is yours!

[Deathgoblin]

I usually paint carburetors with a base coat of steel or aluminum.  Once dry I dry brush them with a little gold acrylic paint, then give them a light wash of black acryilic paint to get the detail to stand out.  Then pick out the details with chrome or gold, depending.

[TransAmMike]

On 7/9/2022 at 1:17 PM, StevenGuthmiller said:

 

 

A really great alternative is Alclad "Pale Burnt Metal".

 

You can get very realistic looking results using the burnt metal as a base, give it a light shot here and there with some Alclad aluminum to break it up a little, and then a dirty wash to give it depth.

Of course, it helps a great deal if you're starting with a Fireball carburetor!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve

The color on the Carbs is great but WOW Steve, that engine is awesome?

[Greg Myers]

Something to consider is carburetors come in many colors depending on their manufacture

[blunc]

On 7/15/2022 at 2:41 PM, Greg Myers said:

Something to consider is carburetors come in many colors depending on their manufacture

^^^^ This.

In my experience where I worked in a "tune up" shop for six years (had my hands on over 15,000 cars), most Carter AFB/Edelbrock carbs were aluminium/silver in color, Thermoquad were black(plastic) and silver, most Carter one and two bbl carbs were anodized, most Holley carbs (all types) were anodized, most Rochester carbs (all types) were anodized, most Motorcraft 2bbl carbs were aluminium/silver with 1bbl and 4bbl carbs anodized.  (these statements are based on my personal experience and may not reflect your reality)

If you really care about a decent representation of your model (car) engine, just do an image search using your search engine of choice and work from reference photos, anything else will be your own artistic choice of engine appearance (and therefore, a valid model building option).

[TDHofstetter]

There's also a huge difference between a freshly dipped (cleaned) carburetor's color and the color of a carburetor that's been on a hot engine for the last thirty thousand miles, complete with gasoline vapor and leakage... and even more so if that engine has a slight oil leak at, say, the front crank seal.

[StevenGuthmiller]

Another one done with Alclad “Pale Burnt Metal”.

 

 

Steve

[slusher]

Steve, can you brush Alclad pale burnt metal?  Presently I using Jet exhaust..

[StevenGuthmiller]

13 minutes ago, slusher said:

Steve, can you brush Alclad pale burnt metal?  Presently I using Jet exhaust..

I don't think that any of the Alclad paints lend themselves very well to brush painting.

They're designed to be sprayed and are very thin.

 

If you want a close match, just get some Testors aluminum enamel and add a tiny touch of Testors gold enamel a little at a time until you reach the desired color.

I use this mixture often for small details like bolts and such when I want something a little "warmer" in color than a stark steel or aluminum.

 

The valve cover and drain plug bolts were done with the Testors enamel, as well as the alternator fan in these pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

Steve

[bill-e-boy]

Steve - your attention to detail is phenomenal.

I recently bought for my full size car an Edlybrok carb and it is all bright ally (the Holy I had was giving me lots of grief). Then I bought a BluePrint crate motor for it and it has a big rrs Holy that is all shiny ally in colour - I wonder if I have to ditch it for an Edlybrok when I get it into the car.

I appreciate to effort to get original carb colours right but us (kit) Rodders like things on the blingy side of the colour spectrum

[StevenGuthmiller]

8 hours ago, bill-e-boy said:

Steve - your attention to detail is phenomenal.

I recently bought for my full size car an Edlybrok carb and it is all bright ally (the Holy I had was giving me lots of grief). Then I bought a BluePrint crate motor for it and it has a big rrs Holy that is all shiny ally in colour - I wonder if I have to ditch it for an Edlybrok when I get it into the car.

I appreciate to effort to get original carb colours right but us (kit) Rodders like things on the blingy side of the colour spectrum

Sure.

If you're building rods or customs there's no need to stick to tradition

You can paint your carbs anodized purple if you want.

 

But for the stock builder, (or anything close to it) a shade of aluminum or gold is going to get you the closest to what you're looking for.

That said, regardless of the colors used, if you want a model to depict something that's been driven even minimally, at least a wash or a little light weathering is going to give it the appearance of use and will really bring out the details.

 

 

 

 

Steve

Edited March 22 by StevenGuthmiller

[Spooker]

On 4/16/2015 at 8:05 PM, DrGlueblob said:

Anyone tried Olive Green w/ just a touch of Gold?

Yes, that's been my Holley go-to for 50+ years.  Other brands/eras of carbs get different treatments.

Edited March 22 by Spooker

[bill-e-boy]

I appreciate the comments Steve as I know you build mostly replica stock kits. The carb colours you have shown are spot on.

I too have built the occasional replica stock models and it is a challenge to get all of the different colours correct. Lots of time doing research and taking photos of real cars when the opportunity arises. One of my current builds is Revell 68 Charger being built with a theme of as a recent restoration. Lots of time spent mixing colours to get the correct sheen and/or shade for the smaller components 

[StevenGuthmiller]

2 hours ago, bill-e-boy said:

I appreciate the comments Steve as I know you build mostly replica stock kits. The carb colours you have shown are spot on.

I too have built the occasional replica stock models and it is a challenge to get all of the different colours correct. Lots of time doing research and taking photos of real cars when the opportunity arises. One of my current builds is Revell 68 Charger being built with a theme of as a recent restoration. Lots of time spent mixing colours to get the correct sheen and/or shade for the smaller components 

Some people think that building factory stock is easy, but it does require a certain discipline that other genres may not.

 

 

 

Steve

[midlineqb]

On 4/8/2015 at 9:23 AM, crazyjim said:

I mix jet exhaust with steel, flat black, and aluminum (all Testors).

What is the percent of each color you use in this mixture?

[crazyjim]

I just keep adding a few drops of each to get to where I think I want.

[bill-e-boy]

For the small amounts of paint required I use a concave shaped freeze (frost) plug. Just wipe it off when done - or got it wrong and you need to start over

[Bill Anderson]

Hi,  I'm obviously late to the party, but thought I'd add as I was up close and personal with a number of carbs back in the late '50s, '60s and '70s.  The colors ranged from a burnt white, grey, silver, bronze, burnt iron, and even more.  Obviously, to be correct, you need to look up the specific vehicle (or a motor with the carb(s) in question) image and go by that.  

[Old Nasty]

What about a color for webers?

[jdcar32]

spray with standard testor's rattle can silver, then dry brush lightly with gold.