Very impressed! Jack stands, clear valve cover and gauges, and on and on...this is going to be a fun one to build! There is some flash, but nothing that looks any worse than other kits. I'm pleased with my kit! So, is the Petty racing red from the NASCAR line of paints that came out a while back a good match for this? How about the Petty blue? I think I have a spray can of each left. I used them on my '92 Fan Appreciation Tour Pontiac I built a few years ago. I remember the red going on flat and rough but smoothed out with the gloss coats. The blue went on smooth and shiny.
Okay, several others are sure to jump in here, but i'll put this out there again. The racing colors were good paints if just a little misguided where Petty cars are concerned. Thier "Rocket red" was a near perfect match while thier two Petty Blues...not so much. Actually that's not correct either. The so called "modern" Petty Blue was near perfect as well. The "early" Petty Blue was way off the mark because it wasn't necessary. Petty Blue's formula has not changed one dram since it's second year. There were a few slight (very slight) variations in 1960/61 while they refined the formula. Remember Petty Blue came about by accident, as Richard mixed white and blue paints together, pretty much in a rush.
Once they got a chance to work at it Richard and Lee worked very hard to duplicate the "electric" blue they had come up with before. They finally did so and according to the King himself it has not changed since. Folks think it has because of pictures they've seen down through the years. What did change was factors like lighting, different cameras, different films and ever improving the cameras and films. You might not think so but a Kodak and a Polaroid will take two different pictures of the same subject, with the same brand of film. Take four different pictures of the same car and you will see four different tints of Petty Blue.
The modern Petty Blue from the race colors is very close. If you want exact matches I suggest going to your local auto store and have a three ounce bottle of -Corporation blue, Super Blue, Basin street blue, mixed and or put in a spray can. The Super and Basin colors are early seventies Dodge colors. Corporation is a 1970 Plymouth only color. I always ask for them by name and therefore have not commited numbers to memory.
For the STP red, it can be found at several online sites listed as Granatelli Red. If there' enough in the can your racing colors STP red should work fine.
If you need reference pictures I am a p.m. away. You might also wish to check Mike's decals for his superb Petty Charger decal set that includes the white striping as well as all the markings you'll ever need.
P.S. Most neons are inherently flat but the racing colors red does gloss easily. Should you run out of it before finishing the car (and you will) the current Testors racing red is the same paint. Model Master #2939. Tamiya #TS-23 blue is a close match for Petty Blue, but don't mix it with the racing colors and alot of guys use the Tamiya #TS-36 neon red, but it's too orange for my tastes.
Edited by MAGNUM4342, 30 March 2013 - 05:06 PM.