2010 Saturn Touch Up Paint (53 OEM Colors)

The 2010 Saturn Vibe

2010 was the swan song, the final lap for the brand that was "a different kind of car company." By the time the Sky roadster and the Vue SUV were rolling off the line for the last time, Saturn wasn't just going out; they were going out in a blaze of 53 different colors. Whether you were driving a Carbon Flash Metallic Aura or a Santiago Teal Outlook, there was a sense that GM was throwing every pigment in the warehouse at the wall to see what stuck. It was a sophisticated palette for the era-heavy on the metallics like Blade Silver and Cyber Gray-giving these "disposable" cars a premium shimmer that, frankly, they probably didn't get enough credit for at the time.

Paint Health Check

Welcome to the Thin Paint Era. By 2010, the humans had mostly left the spray booths, and the robots had taken over with a mandate for "efficiency." That's code for "use as little paint as possible without the primer showing through." While 2010 Saturns don't usually suffer from the massive sheets of peeling clear coat seen in the 90s, they have a different problem: they're brittle. Those thin factory coats are magnets for stone chips, especially on the snub-nosed Astra or the massive face of the Outlook. If you look closely at your hood, it probably looks like it's been through a light meteor shower. Once a chip hits that hard, thin clear coat, it doesn't just dent-it fractures.

Restoration Tip

When you're touching up a 2010 Saturn, you have to fight the urge to fill the entire crater in one go. Because the factory paint is so thin, a single "blob" of repair paint will sit on the surface like a sore thumb. The Pro Move: Build your layers slowly. Apply a paper-thin skin of color, let it tack up, and repeat until the depth matches the surrounding area. If you're working with a high-metallic shade like Bavarian Silver or Crystal Claret, rushing the job will sink the flakes to the bottom and make the spot look darker than the rest of the car. Take your time-the robots were stingy with the paint, so you have to be precise with yours.