2021 Nissan Touch Up Paint (42 OEM Colors)

The 2021 Nissan Vibe

Welcome to 2021, the year where everyone was obsessed with "Boulder Gray Metallic" and sourdough starters. Nissan was in the middle of a massive glow-up, refreshing everything from the suburban-staple Rogue to the workhorse Frontier. While the world was standing six feet apart, Nissan was leaning into bold, high-contrast style. With 52 colors in our database for this year, they weren't exactly playing it safe. We saw the rise of the "two-tone" era-think a KICKS or Sentra rocking a Sunset Drift Pearl body with a Super Black roof. It was a time of high tech and high style, where even a Leaf could look sharp in Bayside Blue Tricoat.

Paint Health Check

Now, here's the reality from the spray booth: we are deep in the Thin Paint Era. By 2021, factory robots had become masters of "precision efficiency," which is a fancy way of saying they apply the absolute bare minimum of microns to get the job done. While the finish looks like a mirror in the showroom, it's brittle. If you've been following a gravel truck in your Altima or Titan, your front bumper probably looks like it's been through a light sandblasting. We're also seeing some "bonding shyness" on the white shades-specifically Glacier White and Pearl White-where the primer and the topcoat don't always want to stay on the same team after a few years of sun and car washes.

Restoration Tip

When you're fixing a chip on a 2021 Nissan, remember: Build layers slowly; don't blob it. Because the factory paint is so thin, a single heavy drop of touch-up paint will sit on the surface like a tiny, colorful volcano. Instead, use a fine-tip applicator to place a paper-thin layer in the center of the chip. Let it dry, then add another. You want to build the "floor" of the chip up to the level of the surrounding paint. If you're working with one of those 2021 tri-coats like Scarlet Ember or Bayside Blue, patience is your only friend-rushing the mid-coat will just leave you with a dark spot that sticks out worse than the chip did.