1997 Eagle Touch Up Paint (14 OEM Colors)

The 1997 Eagle Vibe

1997 was the beginning of the end for the Eagle badge, but man, did they go out with some style. Whether you were rocking the DSM-legendary Talon or the cab-forward Vision, you weren't just driving a car; you were driving a mood. With 14 colors in the catalog, Eagle wasn't shy about the late-90s obsession with "jewel tones." We're talking about deep, moody finishes like Jade Metallic, Deep Amethyst Pearl, and Spruce Pearl Metallic. It was an era where everyone wanted their car to look like a polished gemstone, and if you were lucky enough to have the Candy Apple Red Metallic Tricoat, you were basically the king of the local drive-in.

Paint Health Check

Now, here's the "Salty Painter" reality check: we are deep in The Peeling Era. By '97, the industry had fully committed to the high-solids basecoat/clearcoat system, but the chemistry hadn't quite figured out how to stay married forever. On these Eagles, the clear coat doesn't just fade-it delaminates. It starts as a tiny white bubble or a chip, and before you know it, the clear is shedding like a lizard in July. If your Polo Green Pearl hood looks like it's got a bad sunburn, that's UV-induced clear coat failure. Once that top layer decides to divorce the base coat, the pigment underneath is defenseless.

Restoration Tip

If you still have original gloss on that Brite Platinum Metallic or Radiant Fire, consider yourself a survivor. My advice? Seal your chips immediately. In this era of paint, a stone chip isn't just a cosmetic flaw; it's an entry point for moisture to get under the clear coat and start lifting it from the inside out. When you're touching up those spots, don't just "blob" it on. Clean the area with a prep solvent, and build your layers thin. If you catch the edges of a peeling section early, you can sometimes "anchor" the clear back down with a precision touch-up to stop the spread, but once the "white crusties" start, you're on a fast track to a full respray.