2003 Cadillac Touch Up Paint (28 OEM Colors)

The 2003 Cadillac Vibe

Welcome to 2003, the year Cadillac decided to stop chasing your grandfather's soft lines and started cutting corners-literally. This was the dawn of the "Art & Science" era, where the sharp-edged CTS looked like it was designed by a stealth fighter pilot and the Escalade became the official chariot of pop culture royalty. We've got 12 distinct shades in the vault for this year, and while everyone remembers the "bling" of the White Diamond Pri Metallic Tri-coat or the deep Black, the 2003 palette had some real depth with hitters like Arrival Blue Metallic and Dark Ming Blue Pri Metallic. It was a time of high-contrast metallic flakes and enough clear coat to make a mirror jealous.

Paint Health Check

Now, let's talk shop about "The Peeling Era." By 2003, factory robots were getting faster, but the chemistry didn't always keep up with the pace. The biggest headache for these Cadillacs is delamination. If your Caddy has spent any significant time under the sun, you're likely seeing that clear coat start to cloud up, bubble, or peel away in ugly, transparent sheets. Once that UV protection in the clear fails, it stops sticking to the basecoat. It's a classic case of the "clear coat lift"-one day you have a tiny chip from a pebble on the highway, and two months later, the hood of your Escalade looks like it's shedding its skin.

Restoration Tip

The golden rule for this era: Seal every chip immediately. On 2003 paint, a stone chip isn't just an eyesore; it's an entry point for moisture and air to get between your color and your clear. Once the edges of that clear coat start to "ghost" or turn white around the chip, the bond is broken. Use a high-solids touch-up kit to fill the void and seal the edges of the clear coat down before the delamination spreads. If you're working with the White Diamond Tri-coat, remember that the mid-coat is where the magic happens-build your layers thin and slow to get that factory depth without the "blob" look.