2017 Audi Touch Up Paint (52 OEM Colors)

The 2017 Audi Vibe

Welcome to 2017, the year Audi decided that looking like a high-gloss battleship was the ultimate fashion statement. This was the peak of the "Stealth Wealth" era. While the R8 and RS7 were busy tearing up the autobahn, the rest of the lineup-from the ubiquitous A4 to the family-hauling Q7-was leaning hard into a palette that screamed "sophisticated concrete." We've got 52 colors in our database for this year, but let's be honest: 2017 belonged to Nardo Gray. It was the color that launched a thousand imitations, proving that if you put enough gloss on a flat primer-grey, people will pay a premium for it. If you weren't feeling the grey, you were likely eyeing the Ara Blue Crystal or making a very loud entrance in Vegas Yellow. It was a good year for variety, as long as you liked your luxury with a side of German stoicism.

Paint Health Check

Now, let's talk shop. By 2017, we were deep into the Thin Paint Era. Back in the day, you could practically sand a car with a brick and still have clear coat left; these days, the factory robots in Ingolstadt are programmed for "efficiency," which is just a fancy word for "stingy." You're looking at a factory finish that's thinner than a celebrity marriage. The clear coat is hard and high-gloss, but it's brittle. If you've spent any time on the highway behind a gravel truck, your front bumper probably looks like it's been through a pepper spray training course. These cars are notorious for stone chips that don't just dent the paint-they fracture it. Once a chip opens up a "crater" in that thin clear, moisture starts working its way under the edges, and that's when the delamination party starts.

Restoration Tip

When you're touching up a 2017 Audi, you have to play by the rules of the Robot Era: Build layers slowly; don't blob it. Because the factory paint is so thin, a massive glob of touch-up paint will stick out like a sore thumb. Use a fine-tipped applicator to place a tiny amount of color in the center of the chip and let it flow to the edges. If it's a metallic or pearl like Daytona Gray or Glacier White, remember that the "flop" (how the light hits the flakes) depends on the thickness. Two thin coats are always better than one thick one. Most importantly, seal that chip as soon as you see it-leaving it open to the elements on these thin-skinned Germans is an invitation for the clear coat to start lifting, and once it starts peeling, the only fix is a trip to the booth.