2005 Lotus Touch Up Paint (9 OEM Colors)

The 2005 Lotus Vibe

2005 was the year Lotus finally decided to stop being a British secret and actually let the Americans have some fun with the Elise and Exige. It was a glorious time for cars that weighed less than a bag of mulch and made your neighbor's SUV look like a literal tank. We've got 7 specific colors in the vault from this year, and let's be honest: you were either trying to hide in Arctic Silver, Storm Titanium, or Graphite Grey, or you were begging for a speeding ticket in Chrome Orange Tricoat. Whether you went for the heritage vibe of British Racing Green or the "look at me" depth of Starlight Black Metallic and Aztec Bronze Metallic, these cars were all about high-impact visuals on a low-profile chassis.

Paint Health Check

Welcome to the peak of The Peeling Era. By 2005, clear coats were thick and glossy, but they had a serious commitment issue-specifically when it came to staying attached to the base coat. On a Lotus, you're dealing with composite fiberglass bodies that flex and vibrate like a blender every time you hit 6,000 RPM. This creates a "perfect storm" for delamination. If you see a stone chip on your Storm Titanium nose and there's a little white or cloudy ring around the edge, that's the clear coat saying goodbye. Once air and moisture get under that clear, it starts to lift and peel back like a bad sunburn, and there's no "buffing" your way out of that.

Restoration Tip

Since you're working with a fiberglass body, you don't have to worry about the "Rust Devil" eating your fenders, but you do have to worry about the edges. Seal your stone chips immediately before the clear coat lifts. If you leave a chip open on that Chrome Orange, the wind and vibration from your Sunday drive will literally pull the clear off the car. Use a precision tool to dab the color into the chip and "lock" the edges of the factory clear coat down. If you're working with one of the metallics, build the layers thin and slow; if you blob it on, the metallic flakes will settle like lead weights and your repair will look like a dark mole instead of a smooth finish.