2012 Infiniti Touch Up Paint (20 OEM Colors)

The 2012 Infiniti Vibe

In 2012, Infiniti was hitting its stride with the "Bionic Cheetah" look of the FX50 and the street-king status of the G37. It was an era of sophisticated deep pearls and metallics that made a QX56 or an M56 look like it was carved out of a single block of jewelry. With 20 different colors in the catalog, they weren't exactly playing it safe. We're talking about high-drama finishes like Brownish Purple Pearl (the legendary Malbec Black) and that sharp Kishy Blue Metallic. It was a time when your car didn't just have a color; it had a "mood," usually one that changed depending on whether you were under a streetlamp or direct sunlight.

Paint Health Check

But here's the reality from the spray booth: we are firmly in the Thin Paint Era. By 2012, the factory robots had become masters of "efficiency," which is just a corporate way of saying they applied the bare minimum to get the job done. While Infiniti touted their "Scratch Shield" self-healing clear coat-a clever, elastic resin designed to "flow" and hide swirls in the sun-it wasn't a magic shield against physics. That soft clear coat makes the paint feel "gummy" to a sander and prone to deep rock chips on those sloping G37 hoods. If you look closely at your front bumper, it probably looks like it's been through a light meteor shower. The clear coat is thin, and the bond is precise, meaning once a chip starts, it doesn't have much "meat" to hold onto.

Restoration Tip

When you're touching up a 2012 finish, you have to fight the urge to "blob" it. Because the factory coats are so thin, a heavy-handed repair will stand out like a sore thumb. Build your layers slowly. Apply a tiny amount, let it flash off, and repeat until you're level with the surrounding surface. If you're working with one of those heavy pearls or the White Pearl Tricoat, remember that the depth comes from the layers, not the thickness of the paint. Treat it with a little patience, and you can keep that "showroom glow" without making it look like a DIY disaster.