2010 Mitsubishi Touch Up Paint (24 OEM Colors)

The 2010 Mitsubishi Vibe

By 2010, Mitsubishi was leaning hard into its "cool kid" status. You had the Lancer Evolution X tearing up the rally stages, the sleek Eclipse Spyder catching eyes at stoplights, and the Outlander proving that a crossover didn't have to be a snooze-fest. Our database shows a respectable 24 colors for this year, and while the rest of the world was obsessed with "Urban Camo" (mostly just different shades of Silver and Gray), Mitsubishi wasn't afraid to get loud. For every Quick Silver Pearl or Kalapana Black rolling off the line, there was a hero car drenched in Rotor Glow Metallic, Solar yellow, or the deep, electric Octane Blue Pearl. It was a time when the paint looked like it was still wet even when it was bone dry.

Paint Health Check

Welcome to the Thin Paint Era. By 2010, the robots in the factory had become masters of efficiency-meaning they learned exactly how little paint they could spray while still making the car look good on the showroom floor. The "But" here is a big one: these finishes are notoriously thin. If you own a Lancer or an Evo, you're likely intimately familiar with "road rash"-that constellation of tiny white chips across your front bumper and hood where the paint just couldn't stand up to a stray pebble. We're also seeing the first wave of clear coat failure on the high-exposure areas like roofs and spoilers. The clear coat doesn't just fade; it gets brittle and begins to flake off like a bad sunburn because there just isn't enough "meat" on the bone to survive a decade of UV exposure.

Restoration Tip

When you're touching up these 2010 finishes, remember: Build layers slowly; don't blob it. Since the factory paint is so thin, a giant glob of touch-up paint will stick out like a sore thumb. Instead of trying to fill a chip in one shot, dab a tiny amount into the center of the chip and let it level out. Wait for it to dry, then add another thin layer. You want to bring the level of the repair up to the surrounding surface gradually. If you're working with one of the tricoats like Diamond White Pearl, patience is your only friend-rushing the mid-coat is a guaranteed way to end up with a mismatched spot that looks like a different color entirely.