Gulf Colors - automotive equivalent?

[Didymus]

Does anyone know what automotive colors match the Gulf Oil color scheme? I'll be using the Dupont book, so they can be old or new, foreign or domestic. I don't need a number; if I have just the make and year, I can probably find the color with the help of the decals from the kit.

Otherwise I can try to match the decals by eye. Inexact, but it might be the best I can do.

Or to use a non-automotive paint, which I don't want to do.

Ddms

[oter]

http://www.hiroboy.com/catalog/produ...oducts_id=1328

[Didymus]

Thanks for the link. I'm sure that's good stuff, as everything from Hiro is high quality. Because of shipping costs and an unfavorable exchange rate, I was hoping to buy locally. I live in California.

I'm pretty sure Hiro's is automotive paint. At my local automotive paint jobber, I pay about $7 for an ounce of unthinned Dupont automotive paint. Hiro paint would cost me about $20 an ounce, including shipping from the UK. (Unlike the Dupont Chromabase I usually buy, Hiro's paint is pre-thinned. I'm taking that into account.)

But if I can't find an automotive match, I may go for the Hiro.

Ddms

[drunken monkey]

Another member who built a gulf livery car found that Ford (Europe/UK) has a very close match called Nordic Blue which is easily found in our Halfords (automotive supplies) stores.

Not sure how useful this is but it is definitely a start.

Originally Posted by SeanyG

NOW HERE'S A LITTLE LESSON FOR US ALL.

I bought a rattle can for this job but already had a similar blue colour (Leyton House F1 car) in the cupboard.

1. having got home and looking at the two tins I couldnt decide which would be the best colour for the blue so I thought - hey we will do a little check spray just to be sure (+10 points for me Im sure you would agree!)

2. Having decided which was the best blue for the job (Ford Nordic Blue in this case) I put the lids back on the cans and stored them on the shelf until I was ready to spray as I had lots of prep work to do on the model before reaching that stage (and +10 points for being patient)

3. So with the shell beautifully prepared, primed, filled and sanded it was time to get the blue out and spray, a couple of light coats, sanding in between and then a final wet coat (+10 points for sticking to the technique)

4. Whilst admiring my beautiful finish ... a thought occurs, hmm that looks a little dark I thought - maybe its just the light... I then get my books out and check the ref pictures on the PC, (even bigger hmmmm) that definately looks dark. Im starting to get that sinking feeling when a build goes horribly wrong!
I check the cans and yip you guessed it, when putting them away I PUT THE WRONG CAPS ON THE TINS, arghhhhhhhh! (-1,000,000,000 points)

as part of this
post in this thread

[Didymus]

He said he switched caps. Are they switched in the picture?

Ddms

[drunken monkey]

the ones in the photo are correct and Ford Nordic Blue is the one you want.
It's the lighter blue and judging by his results, looks like a very close match.

[Didymus]

Originally Posted by drunken monkey

the ones in the photo are correct and Ford Nordic Blue is the one you want. It's the lighter blue and judging by his results, looks like a very close match.

Just wanted to make sure. It's interesting - the Halford and the greenish blue back of my decal sheet seem more green than nearly all the pix I've seen of Gulf Oil-liveried cars, including the one on the Fujimi box. I like that grey-blue a lot better than the Halford blue-green.

What sort of paint is Halford?

The Fujimi kit comes with decals for the mango stripes. Maybe I don't need orange paint!

Corporations are very particular about their logo colors and issue guides for advertisers, shops etc., so they issue guidelines with color data. Unfortunately, Gulf Oil has changed its blue considerably, so their current materials are of no use.

Ddms

[drunken monkey]

They are automotive laquers and Halfords is an automotive supplies store in the UK.
I mentioned this paint/colour more because it is a factory color from Ford so it shouldn't be impossible for you to track it down given the proper name.

The thing with the Gulf colours light blue is that it is a hard colour to photograph and depending on the light when the photo is taken, it can vary greatly.
Have a look here and here and you'll see a fair bit of variation of apparent colour on the same few cars.

[Didymus]

Thanks, DM. Yes, that blue-green spectrum is tricky. The one that bothers me is the Fujimi decal sheet. That - and the Halfords paint - are similar, but I wonder how accurate they are, especially since nearly all the photos of the actual cars, including the one on the Fujimi box, look more blue - and less green - than they do.

I do quite a bit of photography, and realize that film distorts colors, but the difference is pretty major. Could there be TWO Gulf Oil blues?

I might end up choosing an "average" set of car photos and comparing those with the colors in the Dupont book.

Ddms

[dch1954]

Hi Didymus

I have recently completed the Fujimi Ford GT40 in Gulf colours. I eventually found the colour matches were:

Light Blue - Berger Paints P030 8013 - Standard Triumph Powder Blue (possibly ref no. 1125) (used on TR4, Spitfire etc)
Orange - Berger Paints P030-3393 - Marigold (possibly ref no. 1456)

This comes from the "The Ford which Beat Ferrari" by Jones/Allen.

The Berger (an ICI brand in the UK) paint references are from the build sheet for GT40 1076 at http://www.racingicons.com/gt/1076.htm

Obviously we can't guarantee that the same paints were used on the 917s but they look the same in colour photographs.

Hope this helps.

David

[Didymus]

Originally Posted by dch1954

Hi Didymus

I have recently completed the Fujimi Ford GT40 in Gulf colours. I eventually found the colour matches were:

Light Blue - Berger Paints P030 8013 - Standard Triumph Powder Blue (possibly ref no. 1125) (used on TR4, Spitfire etc)
Orange - Berger Paints P030-3393 - Marigold (possibly ref no. 1456)

This comes from the "The Ford which Beat Ferrari" by Jones/Allen.

The Berger (an ICI brand in the UK) paint references are from the build sheet for GT40 1076 at http://www.racingicons.com/gt/1076.htm

Many thanks! My local paint jobber should be able to match the Berger colors. I saw that build sheet on the racing icons website, but I couldn't read the numbers.

I agree that the GT40 and 917 Gulf Oil colors look the same.

Ddms

[cabarbe]

Does anybody know the name and code of blue and orange used on Johansson Motorsport's Audi in 2001 season (Le Mans #4)? I have been looking for them but it is impossible to know that, and Johansson Motorsport seems to have disappeared (there isn't web site!).