2022 Freightliner Touch Up Paint (90 OEM Colors)

The 2022 Freightliner Vibe

Welcome to 2022-the year where the supply chain was struggling to deliver a sandwich, yet Freightliner somehow managed to offer 89 different ways to dress up a Cascadia or an M2. It was a strange time for the "All Models" lineup; we saw everything from the blinding neon of Pierce Lime Green 40 to the sophisticated depth of Midnight Blue Elite and Black Cherry. With nearly 90 colors in our database for this year alone, 2022 was proof that even if the world was running on "just-in-time" delivery, the paint booth was still working overtime to make sure your rig didn't just look like every other white fleet truck-unless, of course, you chose one of the fourteen different versions of White we have on file.

Paint Health Check

We are firmly in the Thin Paint Era. Back in the day, you could practically sand a 70s cab with a brick and still have color left, but by 2022, "Robot Efficiency" became the law of the land. These trucks were painted by mechanical arms programmed to use the absolute minimum amount of product to achieve a shine. The result? A clear coat that's thinner than a politician's promise and just as fragile. If you're looking at your 2022 Freightliner today, you're likely seeing "peck marks"-tiny stone chips that have already punched through the basecoat because there just wasn't enough "meat" on the bone to stop them. On models with composite hoods, these chips can start to delaminate the edges if you let the pressure washer get too close.

Restoration Tip

Because 2022 factory paint is applied with such surgical thinness, your biggest mistake in a repair is trying to "fill the hole" in one shot. If you blob a heavy layer of Dandelion Yellow or Black Sapphire into a chip, it'll stand out like a thumb in a door hinge because the factory finish is so flat and lean. The Pro Move: Build your layers slowly. Apply a thin coat, let it flash (dry to a tack), and repeat. You want to mimic the robot's precision, not a kid with a tube of toothpaste. If you build the level up gradually, you won't end up with a "mountain" of paint that requires heavy sanding-which is a death sentence for the paper-thin factory clear coat surrounding your repair.