Richard Pettys Red on his 84 Pontiac

[MDSKELL]

whats the best red to use on Richard Pettys 1984 Pontiac grand Prix?

[MAGNUM4342]

Almost nothing matches up to the red on the decal sheet. For proper STP red you want to use a NEON red, not a flourescent red. There is a difference. Neons are made to glow brightly under natural light while flourescents are made to glow only under a black flourescent light. There are a few types of neon available that do the trick. Testors neon racing red is about the closest i've found, but if you prefer Tamiya paint their #TS-36 is a good paint to work with. It's intensity can be built up in layers to reach the proper hue. You might get lucky and even get it close to the decals, but believe me when you apply the red of the decals you will be dissapointed! The Tamiya is more orange and the Testors is more red. The caveat here is that the testors is not only a flat that will eat a few good coats of clear gloss it is worth it in the long run. Especially if you clear it with future, as the uv protectants in the future will help keep it bright for years.

The Tamiya is a great paint but it just doesn't have the redness to it. However, it doesn't need glosscoat and is very convincing on a Petty car when used in tandem with thier #TS-23 blue. Again, the blue isn't dead on but it's close enough for anyone who doesn't have an eye for color matching. I spent many a year around the Petty cars from 1976 to 1989 and have even been behind the wheel of a couple. This is the best advice I can give you. Just don't fall into the trap of people telling you the colors changed down through the years. They did not! What changed was lighting, cameras, film types and quality. You can take three different shots of the same car and see three different hues. This is because maybe one shot is in the sun while another is under clouds, a third still is under the garage. It can easily fool the eye and make you think it's a different color. So once you get a color combo you like stick with it and your Petty cars will all be sharp as can be!

[MDSKELL]

thanks for ur help i am building a 1/16 amt 1984 richard petty pontiac grand prix and tried the flourescent red and i dont like it and have to strip it and start again. agan thanks

[MDSKELL]

do u happen to know that paint number to testors ne

on racing red?

[MAGNUM4342]

do u happen to know that paint number to testors ne

on racing red?

I thought I had a can around here but as of yet have not found it. Most hobby supply stores online should have it though. Just remember a couple things when using neons. they are a softer paint than almost all others, so score the tapeline before removing the mask or you could actually tear the neon paint. Neons are notorious for picking up dirt and skin oils as well. Always paint the blue first and then the white base/neon. If you try masking over most neons you'll pull half of it up with the tape.

If I find that can i'll come back with the number.

EDIT: You want #2939 Model Master. The best part about the testors is that even though it will eat up a couple coats of gloss before you see a significant shine, is that the extra coats of clear do not seem to build up too thick. Follow these few tips and you should do just fine.

Edited March 8, 2013 by MAGNUM4342

[Chas SCR]

You may want to check wth MCW if he has Granittlie Orange, or some thing like that. Because Petty had the blue and he had the orange for Indy and STP put the two together when they sponser both cars.

[MAGNUM4342]

I think you might mean Granatelli red. AKA STP red. Zero paints carries it if you want to go that route. http://www.zero-paints.com/photo-gallery/index.php/Product-Photos/ZeroPaints-march-stp-red-ZP-1136a To duplicate Petty Blue, you'll want to look for Plymouth Corporate blue, or Dodge Basin street blue or Super blue. All three are the same color and one drop away from true Petty Blue.

Edited March 9, 2013 by MAGNUM4342

[MDSKELL]

Lots of great ideas for the red and thanks for ur help u guys are the best.

[Scott - Elm City Hobbies]

You could also find the colors at Scale Finishes

http://www.scalefinishes.com/

While he doesn't have Petty Red listed, he may be able to source it, and if enough people were interested, he might add it to the growing list of paints he has already.

He does have Petty Blue listed.

I have a couple of cans of the old Testors Enamel Petty Blue spray cans from back when they were still doing the racing colors.

[Heartattaq]

http://www.art-paints.com/Paints/Enamel/AE/Petty-Blue/Petty-Blue.html

That website has the following paint info for petty blue

Name # Petty Blue
Product # 1507
HTML # 207DA9
CMYK # 84, 43, 17, 1
RGB # 32, 125, 169

taking the CMYK or RGB number to a paint store they should be able to match and mix some

[shafer]

i use florencent red marking paint over flat white with clear on the final spray