1987 Ford Touch Up Paint (83 OEM Colors)

The 1987 Ford Vibe

Welcome to 1987, the year Ford decided the future was "Aero." If you weren't cruising in a Thunderbird with those slick lines, you were likely hauling the family in an Aerostar that looked more like a space shuttle than a minivan, or maybe bouncing around in a Bronco II. It was a massive year for variety-our database tracks a staggering 83 colors for '87. Ford was moving away from the "everything is brown" aesthetic of the late 70s and leaning hard into the "glamour" look. We're talking about deep, moody shades like Dark Cabernet Metallic and Midnight Regatta Blue, right alongside the high-voltage Wild Strawberry Pearl Metallic. It was a bold time to be at the dealership, provided you liked a bit of metallic flake in your morning coffee.

Paint Health Check

Now, here's the salty truth: 1987 sits right in the middle of The Peeling Era. This was the Wild West of basecoat/clearcoat technology. Ford was experimenting with new primer processes and "extra heavy-duty" coats to fight rust, but they occasionally skipped the UV-blocking primer layers to speed up the line. The result? Delamination. If your 1987 Ford spent any time in the sun, you've likely seen the "sunburn" effect-where the clear coat starts to flake off in sheets, leaving the dull basecoat exposed like a raw nerve. Blues, silvers, and grays were the worst offenders. If your Dark Shadow Blue Metallic roof looks like it's shedding its skin, you're dealing with the classic '80s clear coat failure.

Restoration Tip

In this era, your #1 job is to seal every chip immediately. On an '87, a stone chip isn't just a cosmetic blemish; it's an invitation for moisture and air to get between the layers. Once that clear coat loses its "grip" on the base, it will start to lift and peel back like a cheap sticker. When you're touching up your Alpine Green or Medium Scarlet, don't just dab the color and walk away. You need to make sure that chip is fully filled and sealed to the surrounding edges. If you catch a chip before the clear starts to "halo" (turn white around the edges), you can stop the delamination in its tracks. Ignore it, and you'll be watching your factory paint job blow away in the car wash.