2004 Citroen Touch Up Paint (2 OEM Colors)

The 2004 Citroen Vibe

2004 was a strange, experimental time for the French. We were looking at the bubble-shaped C3, the tech-obsessed C5, and the swan song of the Xsara. It was the peak of "Silver Fever"-a time when the world decided that every car on the road should look like a brushed kitchen appliance. In our database, the one color that truly defined this era was Gris Aluminum Metallic. It was the quintessential Citroen shade: sophisticated, futuristic, and seemingly mandatory for every model that rolled off the line from Aulnay to Rennes.

Paint Health Check

Welcome to the heart of The Peeling Era. By 2004, the industry had mastered the high-gloss look, but the bond between the base color and the clear coat was often more of a "polite suggestion" than a permanent marriage. On these Citroens, you aren't just looking for rust; you're looking for delamination. It starts as a small, cloudy bubble on the roof or the tops of the mirrors, and before you know it, the clear coat is flaking off like a bad sunburn. Once that "lacquer dandruff" starts, the basecoat underneath is defenseless against the sun and will turn chalky in weeks.

Restoration Tip

Because this era is so prone to clear coat failure, you have to be a hawk about stone chips. On a 2004 Citroen, a chip isn't just a cosmetic blemish-it's an entry point for air and moisture to get under the clear coat and start lifting it. Therefore, seal your chips immediately. Use your touch-up pen to bridge the gap between the color and the clear. If you see the edges of the clear coat starting to curl, don't ignore it. Clean the area and seal that edge down with a fresh dab of clear to stop the "peel" from spreading across the whole panel.