i am looking to recreate the color for a 72 dodge challenger. i am reproducing my girlfriends' fathers car he had when he was younger for a christmas gift. so i want it to be close to replicate it.
not too many rattle can colors that would even be near this color. the colors that are close still seem to be off. the color is hard to match with what can be found online because of the way it reflects. the reflections make it hard to really get a good grasp on the actual color to attempt to match.

what would you suggest to use for paint on a kit such as this? normally, i like to do rattle cans for large sprays like this as it spreads the paint easier, but am willing to use airbrush if it is suggested.

based on paintref.com, it says the dodge paint code for chrysler is DT8600. any suggestions as to what would be best for paint to match it closest, is appreciated.

Nice project Jesse! I've haven't tried automotive paints on a model as of yet, but maybe someone will chime in if they are safe to use on styrene or not. I would think with a good primer on they should be safe. If they are, how about going to an auto paint shop and have them match/mix lacquer or enamel for you? Here's some more codes from various manufacturers in case you don't have them:

Mopar paint

getting automotive paint would be easiest, but again, my concern would be just as you suggested. are they going to be safe for this type of plastic? we shall see. im sure there are many here that have gone down the road of doing custom paints, so we shall see.

Years ago while stationed in Louisiana (Ft. Polk), a buddy and I painted his tank of a station wagon in a really nice metallic blue. Later, I started shooting a '61 Bug in Lemon Yellow (yes, I have an affinity for yellow cars). The wagon was done with traditional spray equipment in their shop whereas the Bug was done in the driveway of my quarters (mind you, I only did the engine compartment and tins. I used a pump bottle from the paint shop...EXCELLENT little device...paint went on smooth.

I'd check a couple of the larger/better auto paint stores...as I understand, they can now match a paint exact and...load the paint into an aerosol rattle can. Just like Tamiya or MM spray cans, but the standard size(?). Cost back then was quite reasonable to a young SGT with a family. Can't imagine it'd be a bank-breaker now...

Good luck and hope this helps.

Mike

i found that i could get the color loaded into a spray can, which is great. However, there is a snag. the paints that i can get from an auto paint supplier, are chemical based, and would probably melt the plastic. on the other hand, sherwin williams can load a spray can with acrylic/water based paint. but, to create the color, they need a swatch of the color to match it to.
looking online, there seem to be so many vairants that come up if i search for powder blue, so i dont want to pull a picture from the internet and have it be a completely incorrect color(accuracy is key for this project).

if i cant find a paper swatch, or if i cannot get just a dab of it on paper, i may have to buy a sample bottle for 14$ usd just so that i can use it to create a swatch so that i can buy a 20$ something can of styrene safe paint. will be a bit pricy, but is worth it in my eyes, but cheap is the way to go!

Hiroboy.com has a section for matched paints. I found a color I was lookng for on a similar project. I haven't checked for your specific color but I'm almost certain they would have it. Otherwise they have a custom mixing option. These paints are for models btw.

http://www.hiroboy.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=48&osCsid=51c3b646ea4b637b534792f332bd807c