2012 Chevrolet Touch Up Paint (104 OEM Colors)

The 2012 Chevrolet Vibe

Welcome to 2012, the year Chevrolet decided that "variety" was the only way forward. With a staggering 104 colors in our database for this year alone, the factory was busy. You had the Camaro still riding high on its big-screen fame in Inferno Orange Metallic, the Silverado and Suburban holding down the job site in Olympic White, and the Volt trying to convince everyone that the future was Viridian Joule (or at least a very high-tech shade of Silver Ice Metallic). It was a time of transition-the Cruze and Sonic were the new kids on the block, and the Corvette was still the king of the fiberglass hill. Whether you were driving a Traverse to soccer practice or a Colorado into the woods, Chevy had a metallic or a tri-coat ready to make it shine.

Paint Health Check

We are firmly in the Thin Paint Era. By 2012, those factory robots had reached peak "efficiency." They weren't exactly generous with the spray; they applied just enough basecoat to cover the primer and just enough clear coat to survive the warranty period. If your Impala or Equinox has spent its life outside, you're likely seeing the results of "Robot Efficiency" firsthand: front-end rock chips that look like they were made by a shotgun and clear coat that feels a little "meatless" when you go to buff it. On 2012 models, the clear coat is usually still hanging on, but it's thin. If you've got a Malibu in White Diamond Tricoat or a Tahoe that's seen too many car washes, the edges of the hood and the roof are where the "thinness" shows up first.

Restoration Tip

Because these 2012 finishes were applied so thinly at the factory, you have to be disciplined with your repairs. Build your layers slowly; don't blob it. If you're filling a chip on your Sonic or Avalanche, resist the urge to fill the whole crater in one go. Thin factory paint doesn't like heavy "mountain" repairs that require aggressive sanding to level out-you'll burn through the surrounding clear coat before the blob is even flat. Apply your color in thin, whisper-quiet layers, let them dry, and then finish with a clear that sits just level with the rest of the panel. Your goal is to mimic that lean, mean factory finish, not bury it in a puddle of paint.