2012 Lotus Touch Up Paint (6 OEM Colors)

The 2012 Lotus Vibe

By 2012, Lotus was caught in a tug-of-war between its "simplify and add lightness" roots and a desire to play in the big leagues with the Evora S and the final, savage iterations of the Exige. The color palette from this year perfectly captures that identity crisis. We've got the stealthy, "I'm a serious track weapon" shades like Military Grey and Carbon Grey, sitting right next to the "Look at me, I'm a radioactive hornet" Bright Yellow Metallic Tricoat. Whether you were carving canyons in a Motor Sport Green Elise or prowling the city in Starlight Black Metallic, you were driving a piece of British engineering that cared more about your lap time than your vanity.

Paint Health Check

Welcome to the Thin Paint Era. By 2012, even the artisans at Hethel were chasing "robot efficiency." The problem is that these cars are mostly composite shells-fiberglass and carbon fiber-and the factory clear coat on a 2012 Lotus is notoriously lean. It doesn't have the "meat" of older lacquers; it's a high-precision, thin-film application. Because the body panels are stiffer than the paint itself, you'll likely find "star cracks" or a constellation of road rash on the nose. If your Black or Starlight Black finish looks like it's been sandblasted, that's not bad luck-it's just the reality of 2012-spec factory application. It was designed for speed, not for surviving a decade of gravel.

Restoration Tip

When you're touching up a 2012 finish, you have to respect the thinness of the original coat. This isn't the era where you can just "blob and sand." If you're filling a chip in that Bright Yellow Metallic, you need to build your layers slowly. Use several thin passes rather than one thick drop. If you put too much solvent-heavy paint on at once, it'll react with the factory clear or create a visible "halo" around the repair. Patience is your best friend here-give each layer time to flash off so you don't end up with a soft spot that sinks three months later.