2006 Lotus Touch Up Paint (9 OEM Colors)

The 2006 Lotus Vibe

Welcome to 2006, the year Lotus decided to remind the world that "adding lightness" usually meant subtracting creature comforts-and apparently, a few microns of paint. Whether you were carving canyons in a track-focused Exige or trying to look dignified while climbing out of an Elise, your car was likely wearing one of the 9 iconic shades in our vault. While the rest of the world was obsessed with "Storm Titanium" and "Arctic Silver Metallic" (because, let's face it, silver was the official color of the mid-2000s), the real rebels were out there in "Chrome Orange Tricoat" and "Aztec Bronze Metallic." It was a vibrantly loud era for a car that weighed about as much as a heavy lunch.

Paint Health Check

We've officially entered the Thin Paint Era. By 2006, the robots at the Hethel factory had become masters of efficiency, meaning they applied just enough paint to cover the fiberglass and not a drop more. If your Lotus spent its life actually being driven, your front clam probably looks like it's been peppered by a shotgun. This "Road Rash" is the classic 2006 Lotus ailment-the clear coat is notoriously brittle, and because the car sits three inches off the asphalt, it's a heat-seeking missile for every pebble on the road. Worse yet, if you have the original "Starshield" paint protection film, be careful; by now, that adhesive has likely formed a permanent bond with your "Phantom Black" or "Bright Red" clear coat, and peeling it off might take the paint along for the ride.

Restoration Tip

When you're touching up these modern-thin finishes, remember: Build layers slowly; don't blob it. Because the factory application was so stingy, a giant "blob" of touch-up paint will stick out like a sore thumb against the flat, robot-sprayed surface. If you're dealing with a deep chip in a metallic like "Starlight Black" or "Graphite Grey," apply your base color in thin, dry layers until the hole is nearly level, then finish with a tiny dab of clear. And for the love of Colin Chapman, check the fiberglass underneath-if you see white "star cracks" radiating from a chip, that's a structural stress signal in the substrate, not just a paint flaw. Fix the chip now before that thin clear coat decides to start delaminating.