1985 Jaguar Touch Up Paint (16 OEM Colors)

The 1985 Jaguar Vibe

Welcome to 1985-the year of hairspray, shoulder pads, and the peak of the Series III XJ6 and the V12 XJ-S. If you were rolling in a Jag in '85, you weren't just driving; you were making a statement that you'd arrived (and you probably had a car phone the size of a brick to prove it). Jaguar hit the palette hard this year with 16 distinct colors. We're talking about high-society shades like Grosvenor Brown and Antelope Metallic that looked like they belonged parked in front of a manor, and flashier options like Sebring Red for the folks who wanted everyone to know they'd just closed a merger. It was a sophisticated era where the metallics, like Cobalt Blue and Rhodium Silver, were starting to take over the showroom floor.

Paint Health Check

Now, let's talk reality. We are officially in the "Peeling Era." By 1985, Jaguar was leaning heavily into the early days of clear coat technology, especially for those beautiful metallics. The problem? Those early clears were about as loyal as a cheap watch. If your Jag has spent any significant time under the sun, you're likely seeing "Delamination"-that's when the clear coat starts looking like a bad sunburn, flaking off in brittle, transparent sheets and leaving the base color underneath looking dull and unprotected. Even the solid colors like Tudor White weren't immune to the era's growing pains. If you see white "clouds" forming under the surface of your Sage Green Metallic, that's the clear coat giving up the ghost.

Restoration Tip

The golden rule for an '85 Jag is this: Seal your stone chips immediately. In this era, a chip isn't just a cosmetic blemish; it's an entry point for air and moisture to get between the clear coat and the color. Once that bond is broken at the edge of a chip, the clear will start to lift and "travel," turning a tiny dot into a dinner-plate-sized peel in a matter of months. When you're touching up a spot in Claret Metallic or Sapphire Blue, make sure you overlap the edges of the original clear coat to lock it down. Think of it like putting a piece of tape over a rip in a map-you're stopping the tear before the whole thing falls apart.