1996 Aston-Martin Touch Up Paint (1 OEM Colors)

The 1996 Aston-Martin Vibe

Welcome to 1996, the year Aston-Martin was finding its legs under the Ford umbrella. The DB7 was the undisputed darling of the era, bringing a curvy, sophisticated cool back to the brand, while the V8 Vantage remained the high-performance brute for those who liked their luxury with a side of tire smoke. While the rest of the world was experimenting with "Mystic" purples and questionable teals, the only color that truly mattered for a gentleman's express was a refined metallic. We've focused our attention on the survivors-the cars finished in tones like Stornoway Silver. It's a shade that captured that mid-90s shift toward the "Teutonic" look: clinical, expensive, and fast even when parked.

Paint Health Check

If you're looking at an original 1996 finish, you're officially in The Peeling Era. By this time, the industry had fully committed to the basecoat-and-clearcoat system. It looked great on the showroom floor, but the bond between that color layer and the protective clear was often a tenuous alliance. On these mid-90s Astons, keep a sharp eye out for delamination. It usually starts as a small, cloudy bubble or a "ghosting" edge where the clear coat begins to lift like dry skin. Once the sun gets under there and cooks the base, it's game over for that panel. You might also notice the "dreaded blister"-tiny bubbles around the door handles or the edges of the boot lid where the aluminum meets the environment.

Restoration Tip

The secret to keeping a '96 Aston looking like a Bond car rather than a barn find is proactive sealing. This era of paint hates an open wound. If you catch a stone chip, do not-I repeat, do not-wait for the next wash. Seal it immediately with a high-solids touch-up to lock down the edges of the clear coat. If that clear starts to lift, the moisture will travel under the film and turn a $50 fix into a $5,000 respray. When you're repairing those silver metallics, remember: light, thin layers are your best friend. Build the color up slowly to keep the flakes laying flat, or you'll end up with a "tiger stripe" effect that glows the wrong way under gas station lights.