1997 SEAT Touch Up Paint (1 OEM Colors)

The 1997 SEAT Vibe

Ah, 1997. The year the Spice Girls took over the radio and the SEAT Ibiza was the hottest ticket for anyone wanting that "Volkswagen-adjacent" reliability with a bit of Spanish fire. Whether you were rocking an Ibiza Cupra or the sensible Cordoba, there was really only one color that defined the era: Bright Red. It was the color of a car that looked fast even when it was parked outside a block of flats. It was loud, it was proud, and back then, it looked deep enough to swim in.

Paint Health Check

Here's the cold, hard truth: 1997 was the heart of the Peeling Era. By this point, the industry had moved away from those thick, single-stage colors to a basecoat-plus-clearcoat system. While that clear coat gave your SEAT that glass-like shine, it had a nasty habit of "delaminating" or peeling away once the sun got a good grip on it. If your Bright Red SEAT is looking a little "scaly" on the roof or the hood, that's the clear coat losing its bond. Once it starts lifting like a bad sunburn, the red underneath is defenseless.

Restoration Tip

If you've still got some clear coat left, you have to be a hawk about stone chips. On 1997 paint, a chip isn't just a cosmetic blemish-it's an entry point for air and moisture to get between the layers. Seal those chips immediately with a touch-up pen or a dab of clear. If you let the edge of that chip stay open, the wind will eventually catch it and start peeling the clear off in sheets. Catch it early, or you'll be looking at a full respray before the next MOT.