1986 Chevrolet Touch Up Paint (90 OEM Colors)

The 1986 Chevrolet Vibe

It's 1986. Top Gun is in theaters, the hair is big, and the Astro van is the new king of the suburban driveway. Whether you were hauling cargo in a C10-C30 Series workhorse or showing off the digital dash in a Corvette, Chevy was moving fast into a new era of style. Our database keeps it simple for this year, focusing on the six true survivors that defined the mid-eighties: the staples like Bright Red, the work-ready Tan, and the ever-present Black and White. These weren't just colors; they were the uniform of the American road.

Paint Health Check

If you're looking at an original '86 today, you're likely staring at a victim of the "Peeling Era." This was the dawn of Delamination. In 1986, the industry was perfecting the bond between the primer and the topcoat, and frankly, the sun won most of those early rounds. You'll know you've got trouble when the clear coat starts looking like a bad sunburn-lifting in sheets or turning into a cloudy, flakey mess. On the trucks and vans, you might even see the color coat simply deciding to part ways with the primer entirely, leaving you with big, grey patches of exposed undercoat.

Restoration Tip

The secret to saving an '86 finish is "Edge Control." Because this era is prone to delamination, a tiny rock chip isn't just a cosmetic blemish-it's a gateway for air and moisture to get under the clear coat and start the peeling process. Seal chips immediately. If you see the edges of a chip starting to lift or look white, carefully dab a bit of fresh paint or clear to "glue" that edge back down to the surface. It stops the spread before your hood looks like a topographical map of the moon.