1997 Fountain Touch Up Paint (3 OEM Colors)

The 1997 Fountain Vibe

Welcome to 1997, where the hulls were fast, the music was loud, and the color palette was unapologetically bold. If you were rolling (or floating) in a Fountain back then, you weren't trying to blend in. We're talking about the era of "All Models" draped in the holy trinity of 90s performance: Grape, Teal, and Silver Metallic. Grape wasn't just a color; it was a statement that you had arrived, usually at about 80 miles per hour. While our database shows a tight selection of three survivor shades, let's be honest-in 1997, if it wasn't a deep, moody purple or a vibrant splash of teal, you were basically invisible. These colors defined the "high-speed chic" that made every other boat or rig on the water look like it was standing still.

Paint Health Check

Now, let's get real about the "Peeling Era." By 1997, the industry had fully committed to the basecoat/clearcoat system. It looked like a million bucks on the showroom floor, but it came with a ticking clock known as delamination. If your Fountain has been living under the sun, that beautiful Grape or Silver Metallic is likely fighting for its life. This was the peak of the era where the bond between the color and the clear coat could decide to give up the ghost without warning. You'll see it starting as a faint cloudiness or small white flakes-that's not "oxidation" you can just buff out; that's the clear coat literally unzipping itself from the pigment. Once the air gets under there, it's a one-way trip to Peeltown.

Restoration Tip

If you've still got original paint on that '97, your number one job is "Edge Control." These 90s clears are brittle. The second you see a stone chip or a dock scrape, you need to seal it immediately. If you leave a chip open to the elements, moisture will crawl under the clear coat and start lifting it in sheets. Don't wait for a weekend project-dab some fresh paint on those chips the moment they happen. Also, stay away from high-speed buffers if the clear is already looking thin; you'll burn through that 25-year-old layer faster than a Fountain burns through a tank of fuel. Hand-polish only, and keep it sealed with a high-solids wax to act as a sacrificial barrier against the UV rays that want to turn your Grape into a raisin.