1979 GMC Touch Up Paint (23 OEM Colors)

The 1979 GMC Vibe

1979 was the peak of the "Square Body" era, a time when a GMC truck wasn't just a vehicle-it was a permanent fixture of the American landscape. Whether it was a Sierra Grande hauling hay or a Jimmy cruising the coast, these trucks were hosed down at the factory in colors that looked like a late-seventies sunset. With 23 colors in our vault, we've tracked everything from the high-voltage Tangier Orange and Hawaiian Blue to the "Harvest Gold" era staples like Dark Gold Metallic and Wheatland Yellow. It was an era of bold earth tones and metallic flakes thick enough to catch the light from a mile away.

Paint Health Check

In '79, GMC was still firmly in the Single Stage Era. They used high-solid acrylic enamels that were tough as nails but lacked the protective "blanket" of a modern clear coat. The legend is that these trucks are bulletproof, but the paint has a specific weakness: Oxidation. If your GMC has been sitting in the sun, that deep Catalina Blue Metallic or Crimson Red has likely turned into a dull, chalky mess. Because the paint is porous, the sun literally "cooks" the pigment, leaving a white, powdery film on the surface. If you see "crow's feet"-those tiny cracks in the finish-that's the enamel finally giving up the ghost after forty-plus years of expansion and contraction.

Restoration Tip

The beauty of 1979 single-stage paint is that it has a "soul"-you can often bring it back from the dead. If you've still got enough pigment on the panels, a heavy cutting compound and a high-speed buffer can shave off that dead, oxidized layer to reveal the original shine hidden underneath. But here is the hard truth from the booth: It needs wax or it dies. Without a clear coat for protection, that fresh shine is completely exposed to the elements. Once you've polished it, you must seal those pores with a high-quality carnauba or sealant immediately. Treat it like a living thing, or the chalky fade will be back before the next oil change.