2008 GMC Touch Up Paint (75 OEM Colors)

The 2008 GMC Vibe

In 2008, GMC was doubling down on "Professional Grade" with the boxy Sierra, the tank-like Yukon, and the then-new Acadia. It was an era of big grills and even bigger expectations. Our database tracks a staggering 75 colors for this year-a testament to GMC's attempt to offer a "custom" feel for every contractor and soccer coach in the suburbs. While the roads were a sea of Graystone Metallic, Fine Silver Birch, and Gold Mist, the real showstoppers were the Tricoats like White Diamond and Red Jewel. These colors were designed to look deep enough to swim in, provided you kept the road salt off them.

Paint Health Check

Welcome to the peak of the Thin Paint Era. By 2008, the robots in the factory had become masters of "efficiency," which is just a polite way of saying they applied the bare minimum of basecoat and clearcoat to get the truck out the door. The legend of GMC being bulletproof might hold up for the engine, but the paint? That's a different story. You're likely seeing "Robot Efficiency" in the form of heavy rock chips on the flat nose of your Sierra or the clear coat starting to cloud up on the roof of your Envoy. If you've got a Summit White or Olympic White model, keep a sharp eye out for delamination-that's where the clear coat decides it's done with its job and starts peeling off in sheets.

Restoration Tip

Because 2008 paint is notoriously thin, your biggest enemy during a repair is your own impatience. Build your layers slowly; don't blob it. If you try to fill a deep chip in one heavy pass, the touch-up will sit higher than the factory clear, making the repair stick out like a sore thumb. Instead, apply the color in thin, whisper-quiet coats, letting them dry until the crater is almost level with the surrounding paint. This is especially true for those metallic and pearlescent finishes like Carbon Flash Metallic-too much paint at once ruins the "flop" of the flakes, and you'll end up with a dark spot instead of a clean match.