I am trying to create a magic trick and I need two chemicals that when
mixed together will get very hot.  For example what I want to do is
take 3 playing cards  and coat two with a clear chemical that will not
burn or get hot.  Then take the 3rd and using a model paint bush paint
the letter "J" on the card using the first chemical so it is clear and
can not be seen.  Then I want to put the 2nd chemical on the top card
over the flame chemical which causes the reaction.  This way when you
put the center card in the two cards the letter "J" heats up and burns
out so when pull the cards apart we just see the letter J is burned
out of the middle card.   Does this make sense? Basically two
chemicals that when they touch IE the card in the deck touches the
other card they get hot and burn out the paper of the playing card,
while not burning the top and bottom card that  it is in between.  
Preferably something that is somewhat safe as a chemical as well and
easy to find. Thank You, Jason

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Clarification of Question by dickjonez-ga on 07 Sep 2006 11:26 PDT

Also just to note this effect needs to happen almost instantly.
Basically within 10 seconds.  So you put the cards back in the deck
press them together and within 10 seconds the card in the middle of
the deck gets hot enough to burn the letter out.  Even if it was
instant that would be ok as well but it can not take longer then 10
seconds to happen.

I hope that helps, thanks

Keep in mind that most modern playing cards are either made of plastic
or have a plastic coating. Plastic is more likely to scorch or melt
than to burn through cleanly.

Good point, I was looking at several companies that make non coated
cards.  Such as http://www.tmcards.com/  I'll have to buy those cards
to make it work correctly.  Assuming I can do that any ideas?

I think you are going completely up the wrong tree with the way you
are approaching the trick.

There are systems such as "Fuse" which can burn out sections of paper
with fire, and this is about as close as you are going to get, BUT I
don't think you should use this approach.

Note : I don't think you will be able to find such a chemical that
will combust immediately on contact with another in the way that you
want.

Obviously I don't know the full routine you are wanting to do, but in
my opinion, here would be the best way to do it : I would burn a J in
a card before the trick even starts, and use a dupe of the card. If
you have an idea of exactly what the trick wants to look like, I can
probably come up with some handling for you, which will end up much
cleaner to perform in the end, and much more practical.

Need fire with it? Flash paper. A little can go a long way, and there
are handlings you can use which will make it look like it burnt
straight through the card.

Dear itsbinary, Thanks for the advise and product recommendation. FUSE
is pretty close to what I need.  I'm going to order it and see if it
will do what I'm looking for.  The only problem is igniting it.  I
want to ignite with some kind of hidden device. I figure burning the J
in the card ahead of time is an easy work around that is kind of what
I'm doing now but because of what I want to do that is not always the
best approach for me although it's probally the best thing to do right
now. Do you know if any tiny flint devices or lighting devices I could
use maybe between the cards to ignite the fuse chemical? Thanks

I really do not think this can come true.
 when you put the top card onto the card which has a letter "J" drawed
by clear chemicals( water,I suggest), you can not control the fiece
reaction and since the heat can burn the middle card , it can also
burned the other cards which cling to each other.

But if you want to try , calcium carbide powder or hydride(NaH,CaH2)
will give out a lot of  heat if encountered water.

By the way, you must be very careful with these powders,
Good Luck.

Thanks fsmth for the suggestion, I will try this just a tiny bit and
make sure I do some research on it first so I understand what is going
on with it.

We're getting closer to solving this one, thank you all so much for
your feedback so far.

I'm going to try the various suggestions and see what I come up with. 

~J

I suggest you choose the top card and the bottom card which are made
of iron or other stable materials in order to avoid their burn while
the reaction is going on. Meanwhile you can choose the middle card
made of paper ,so it will burn easily.