2010 Buick Touch Up Paint (44 OEM Colors)

The 2010 Buick Vibe

By 2010, Buick was having a mid-life crisis, desperately trying to prove it wasn't just the preferred ride for the early-bird special crowd. They rolled out the redesigned LaCrosse and the Enclave, draped in an ambitious palette of 44 different colors. Whether you were rocking Mocha Steel Metallic, Carbon Flash Metallic, or the high-society White Diamond Tricoat, the vibe was "American Luxury 2.0." It was the era of "QuietTuning" and sweeping body lines that looked great on the showroom floor-but keeping that shine for over a decade? That's where the story gets a bit thin.

Paint Health Check

Welcome to the Thin Paint Era. By 2010, factory robots had become masters of "efficiency," which is just a polite way of saying they sprayed the base and clear coats as thin as a summer breeze to save a few bucks. While the finish looked deep and glassy when new-especially those fancy tri-coats like Crystal Claret-it hasn't aged like a fine wine. The real enemy here is "crazing" or "crow's feet." If your 2010 Buick has spent its life in the sun, you're likely seeing thousands of microscopic cracks in the clear coat on the hood and roof. Once that clear starts to cloud up or flake, the UV protection is gone, and your Gold Mist Metallic is about five minutes away from becoming a "Patina Special."

Restoration Tip

Because these factory coats are so stingy, you have to be careful when touching them up. Build your layers slowly; don't blob it. If you've got a deep chip, resist the urge to fill it with one giant drop of paint. The modern thin finishes don't level out the way old lacquer used to. Use a steady hand and apply several thin passes, letting each one dry until the chip is level with the surrounding surface. If you're dealing with those "crow's feet" cracks, don't try to buff them out with heavy compound-you'll just burn through the remaining clear coat. Clean it, seal it, and treat what's left of that clear coat like it's made of glass.