2006 Maserati Touch Up Paint (19 OEM Colors)

The 2006 Maserati Vibe

Welcome to 2006, the year Maserati decided the Quattroporte and the GranSport should look like they were carved out of a single block of Italian granite. This was the peak of the "Sophisticated Gray" era-we've got 19 shades in the database for this year alone, and about half of them are moody, metallic silvers like Grigio Nuvolari and Grigio Alfieri. If you weren't driving a silver streak, you were making a statement in Bordeaux Pontevecchio Mica or the pearlescent dream that is Bianco Birdcage. It was a time of high-revving Ferrari V8s and paint jobs that looked deep enough to swim in, provided the light hit those mica flakes just right.

Paint Health Check

Here's the rub: 2006 was the heart of the Thin Paint Era. By this point, the factory robots in Modena had mastered the art of "efficiency," which is just a fancy way of saying they got real stingy with the film thickness. While the clear coat has a beautiful luster, it's notoriously brittle. If you've been following a semi on the autostrada, your nose cone probably looks like it's been hit by birdshot. Because the coats are so thin, these cars are prone to "edge pull"-where the paint is even thinner on the sharp lines of the fenders-making them prime real estate for chips and premature wear.

Restoration Tip

When you're touching up a 2006 Trident, you've got to respect the robot's work. Do not try to fill a chip with one big "blob" of paint; it'll look like a mountain on a pancake. Because the factory finish is so thin, you need to build your repair in tiny, patient layers. Apply a thin coat, let it flash off, and repeat until you're just level with the surrounding surface. If you're working with one of those complex micas like Blu Nettuno or Verde Goodwood, light layers are the only way to keep the metallic flakes from bunching up and looking like a dark spot. Build it slow, or don't build it at all.