2018 Mercedes-Benz Touch Up Paint (83 OEM Colors)

The 2018 Mercedes-Benz Vibe

By 2018, the bean-counters in Stuttgart finally let the designers have an extra shot of espresso. We've got a staggering 83 colors in our database for this year alone. It was the era of "Sensual Purity," where every model from the entry-level A-Class to the "get out of my way" AMG GT looked like it was carved from a single block of high-end soap. Mercedes was feeling colorful, giving us everything from the radioactive Green Hell Magno on the GT R to the deep, sophisticated Smaragd Green Metallic. Whether you were hauling cargo in a Blue Gray Metris or cruising the coast in a Solarbeam Yellow SLC Roadster, 2018 was about making a statement-usually a very expensive one.

Paint Health Check

Welcome to the Thin Paint Era. By 2018, the factory robots had become so efficient they could practically stretch a thimble of paint across an entire E-Class. It's a marvel of engineering, but it's a headache for you. These clear coats are hard and scratch-resistant, but they are brittle and thinner than a celebrity's patience. If you've got a Mars Red model, you already know about the "Peeling Red Menace"-a legendary clear coat failure that had lawyers more excited than a sale at a briefcase store. For the rest of you, the "shark nose" front ends on the CLA and CLS are essentially rock-chip magnets. Because the layers are so thin, a single highway pebble doesn't just chip the paint; it punches a hole straight through to the primer, inviting "spider-leg" corrosion to start its slow crawl under the finish.

Restoration Tip

When you're touching up a 2018, you have to fight the urge to be a hero. This isn't the 70s where you could slap on a thick glob and sand it flat. Because the factory finish is so thin, a "blob" of touch-up paint will stick out like a sore thumb. Build your layers slowly. Use a fine-tipped applicator and apply several thin coats rather than one heavy one. If you're working with one of those Magno matte finishes or a complex Tricoat like Designo Diamond White, patience is your only friend. Let each layer flash off completely before adding the next. If you over-apply, you'll end up with a high spot that's a nightmare to level without burning through the surrounding factory clear. Slow and steady keeps the three-pointed star shining.