2013 Buick Touch Up Paint (50 OEM Colors)

The 2013 Buick Vibe

Ah, 2013. This was the year Buick desperately tried to prove it wasn't just for people who remember where they were when the moon landing happened. They rolled out the "pint-sized" Encore and the snappy Verano, trying to lure the kids away from their German sedans. And the colors? Lord have mercy, they went a little overboard. We've got 50 different shades in our database for this year alone. It was the era of the "Classy Neutral"-you couldn't throw a rock without hitting a White Diamond Tricoat Enclave or a LaCrosse in Deep Espresso Pearl. It was a sophisticated palette, sure, but it was also the year Buick decided "Mocha" and "Choccachino" were legitimate car colors and not just items on a Starbucks menu.

Paint Health Check

Listen, you're firmly in the Thin Paint Era now. By 2013, those factory robots had become so efficient they could stretch a single gallon of paint from Detroit to Chicago. While the Black Diamond Tricoat looks like a star-studded night when it's clean, that factory clear coat is thinner than a politician's promise. If you're driving a Verano or a Regal from this vintage, you're likely seeing "checking"-those nasty little micro-cracks-on the hood and roof where the sun has been cooking that shallow clear coat for a decade. Because the paint is so thin, rock chips don't just "nick" the surface; they punch straight through to the primer like a heavyweight champion, especially on the snub-nosed Encore.

Restoration Tip

Because this paint is so thin, the worst thing you can do is "blob and sand." If you try to put a big, thick drop of touch-up paint in a chip and then use a heavy abrasive to level it, you'll burn through the surrounding factory clear coat before you even get close to level. Therefore, you've got to build your layers slowly. Think of it like a lasagna, not a pancake. Apply a thin layer, let it shrink and dry, then add another. If you're dealing with one of the Tricoats-like Snowflake White or Crystal Claret-take your time with the mid-coat pearl. That's where the "flip" comes from. Build the color until it matches the depth of the original paint, then seal it. Don't rush it; those robots didn't, and neither should you.