2014 Lotus Touch Up Paint (3 OEM Colors)

The 2014 Lotus Vibe

Back in 2014, Lotus was still the king of doing more with less. While the rest of the world was getting bloated with touchscreens and lane-assist, the Evora and Exige were still focused on the "simplify and add lightness" mantra. In the paint booth, that lightness translated to a palette that favored the purists and the extroverts alike. We've focused our collection on the survivors of this era, specifically the three that defined the look: the clinical Alpine White Metallic Tricoat, the stealthy Black, and the loud-and-proud Chrome Orange Tricoat. In 2014, if you weren't driving a car that looked like a piece of track-day candy, you were doing it wrong.

Paint Health Check

Welcome to the Thin Paint Era. By 2014, factory "Robot Efficiency" was in full swing, and Lotus was no exception. While these cars don't suffer from the "metal-rot" of the old days-thanks to those composite fiberglass bodies-they have a different demon: the thickness (or lack thereof). These factory coats are thin, sometimes barely reaching the thickness of a Post-it note. On a low-slung car like the Evora, that means the front clip is a magnet for stone chips, and the clear coat on those sharp fender edges is usually the first thing to surrender to the sun. You aren't dealing with lacquer depth here; you're dealing with a finish that was applied with surgical precision and a very tight budget on materials.

Restoration Tip

When you're touching up a 2014 Lotus, you have to respect the "thinness." Because the factory clear coat is so lean, you can't just drop a big glob of paint into a chip and expect it to level out-you'll end up with a high spot that looks like a zit on a supermodel. Build your layers slowly. Use a fine-tipped applicator to place thin, transparent layers of the base color, letting them dry fully before adding the next. If you're working with the Chrome Orange or Alpine White Tricoats, patience is your only friend; if you rush the mid-coat, the color will look muddy. Take it slow, keep the layers flat, and don't over-sand, or you'll burn through what little factory clear is left surrounding the repair.