2003 Ford Touch Up Paint (72 OEM Colors)

The 2003 Ford Vibe

Welcome to 2003, the year Ford turned 100 and decided to celebrate by painting half of America in Arizona Beige Metallic. It was a hell of a time to be at a dealership. You had the hulking Excursion and Expedition taking up two zip codes apiece, the "New Edge" Mustang screaming in Sonic Blue Pearl, and the Crown Victoria-in Police Car white or "Retirement Community" silver-ruling the left lane. Our database shows 43 colors for this year, which is a lot of variety for an era that was slowly moving toward a grayscale future. Whether you were hauling drywall in an F-Series or hauling the soccer team in a Windstar, Ford gave you a full deck of pearls and metallics like Silver Birch and Aspen Green to keep things interesting.

Paint Health Check

Now, let's talk shop. If you're looking at a 2003 Ford today, you're likely dealing with the peak of the Peeling Era. By this time, the industry had mastered the look of basecoat/clearcoat systems, but the chemistry for the clear coat's long-term survival was... let's say "optimistic." If your Explorer or Ranger has spent its life under the sun, you're probably seeing delamination-that's when the clear coat starts looking like a bad sunburn and begins flaking off in translucent sheets. It's especially common on horizontal surfaces like the roof and hood. And if you've got an Oxford White truck or an aluminum-hood Mustang, keep an eye out for "the bubbles"-that's where the bond between the primer and the topcoat decides to call it quits, or the aluminum underneath starts its own little science experiment.

Restoration Tip

Here's the deal: in this era, a stone chip isn't just a cosmetic blemish-it's an invitation for a total clear coat revolt. Once the seal is broken, moisture and air crawl under that clear layer and start lifting it like a cheap sticker. Therefore, you need to seal chips immediately. Don't wait for the weekend. Clean the area, dab it with a matched solvent-based touch-up, and seal that edge. If the clear has already started to lift at the edges of a chip, you can't just paint over it; you've got to carefully feather those edges down before applying your color. Treat it like a flesh-eating virus: stop the spread early, or you'll be looking at a full respray before the next inspection.