1993 Lotus Touch Up Paint (10 OEM Colors)

The 1993 Lotus Vibe

Welcome to 1993, the year Lotus decided the Esprit S4 needed to look fast even when it was parked outside a pub in Norfolk. While the rest of the world was busy drowning everything in "Jazz Cup" teal and regrettable purples, the wizards at Hethel knew exactly what they were doing. We've focused our database on the heavy hitters, and let's be honest: in 1993, the only color that truly mattered was British Racing Green. Whether it was on the wedge-shaped Esprit or the nimble M100 Elan, that deep, storied green was the official uniform of "I understand physics better than you do."

Paint Health Check

By '93, Lotus had moved into the Peeling Era, trading in the old single-stage formulas for more modern basecoat-clearcoat systems. On a metal car, that's fine; on a Lotus fiberglass (GRP) body, it's a high-stakes marriage that often ends in divorce. The main threat here is delamination. Because fiberglass expands and contracts at a different rate than the paint sitting on top of it, the clear coat starts to feel "unattached" after a few decades of sun. If your roof or rear wing looks like it's sunburned and peeling, that's the clear coat giving up the ghost. Worse, you've got to watch out for "print-through," where the underlying fiberglass weave starts to haunt the finish like a ghost in the machine.

Restoration Tip

If you spot a stone chip on that 1993 finish, don't "wait until the weekend" to fix it. On a composite body, a chip is an invitation for moisture to sneak between the clear coat and the base color, which turns a tiny speck into a massive peeling "island" within a season. Use our solvent-rich touch-up to seal the edges of the chip immediately. This bonds the clear back down to the base and prevents that creeping delamination. And remember: when you're buffing out light scratches, go easy. Lotus paint from this era is a bit like the cars themselves-highly capable, but thinner than you'd expect if you get too aggressive with the machine.