2008 Isuzu Touch Up Paint (15 OEM Colors)

The 2008 Isuzu Vibe

By 2008, Isuzu was playing the swan song for its passenger lineup in the States. While the Ascender and the i290/i370 pickups were largely based on GM skeletons, the paint room was surprisingly busy. We have 15 distinct shades in our vault for this year, ranging from the business-casual Platinum Silver Metallic to the loud-and-proud Inferno Orange Metallic. It was a transitional era where the color palette shifted from the flat, utility-focused tones of the late 90s into high-tech, depth-heavy finishes like Carbon Flash Metallic and Dark Brahma Jewel. If you're driving one of these today, you're either a die-hard fan or you've realized that these "last of their kind" Isuzus were built to work-even if the factory paint wasn't always built to last.

Paint Health Check

Welcome to the Thin Paint Era. By 2008, the robots in the paint booths had reached peak "efficiency," which is just a polite way of saying they sprayed the absolute minimum amount of clear coat necessary to get the truck off the lot. On the i-Series pickups specifically, the leading edge of the hood is a notorious rock-chip magnet. Because the factory coats were so thin, a single stone doesn't just chip the paint; it often craters right down to the primer. If your Ascender has spent a decade in the sun, you're likely seeing "the ghosting"-that hazy, white cloudiness on the roof and hood where the clear coat is beginning to surrender. Once that clear goes brittle, it doesn't just fade; it flakes off in sheets like a bad sunburn.

Restoration Tip

Since 2008 Isuzu paint is notoriously thin, the biggest mistake you can make is trying to "fill" a chip in one heavy, satisfying blob. If you drop a big bead of paint into a chip on Pacific Blue or Mineral Silver, the metallic flakes will sink to the bottom like lead weights, leaving you with a dark, ugly spot that doesn't match the surrounding area. Build your layers slowly. Apply a thin coat, let it flash off, and repeat. You want to mimic the robot's precision, not a house painter's brush. If you've got a bumper scuff on those Dark Smoke Gray or Gray Metallic accents, treat them with the same respect as the metal-seal the edges of the scuff immediately, or the surrounding clear coat will start to lift and "creep" further away from the damage.