2004 Subaru Touch Up Paint (37 OEM Colors)

The 2004 Subaru Vibe

Welcome to 2004: the year Subaru decided to get weird and we all loved them for it. This was the era of the Baja-that delightful automotive identity crisis that was half-car, half-truck-and the absolute peak of the "Bug-eye" to "Blob-eye" Impreza transition. Our database shows a healthy 14 colors for this year, a rainbow of ruggedness that went well beyond just "dirt-covered." Whether you were hauling organic kale in a Willow Green Opal Mica Outback or waking up the neighbors in a W R Blue Pearl WRX, Subaru had a shade for every flavor of adventure. We saw a lot of Platinum Silver Metallic back then (because everyone did in the early 2000s), but the real gems were the Regal Blue Pearl and that striking San Remo Red that made the Forester look faster than it actually was.

Paint Health Check

If you're looking at a 2004 Subaru today, you're likely staring at the poster child for the Peeling Era. This was the dawn of the "High-Efficiency" factory spray, and while the colors looked great in the showroom, the clear coats were about as thick as a New Year's resolution. If your Subaru has spent any significant time under the sun, you're probably seeing "Delamination"-that lovely phenomenon where the clear coat starts to flake off like a bad sunburn, especially on the hood scoops of the WRX and the flat roofs of the Legacy. Once that clear lifts and the basecoat is exposed to the elements, it's a race against time before your San Remo Red fades into a chalky pinkish ghost.

Restoration Tip

The golden rule for this era: Seal your chips immediately before the clear lifts. In the Peeling Era, a rock chip isn't just an eyesore; it's an invitation for moisture and air to get under the clear coat and start the delamination process. If you see a tiny nick on that Steel Gray Metallic hood, don't wait for the weekend. Clean it, dab it, and seal it. If you're already seeing the edges of the clear coat starting to turn white and flaky, you need to carefully sand back the "dead" clear until you hit a stable edge before applying your touch-up. Think of it like a cavity-if you don't get all the rot out before you fill it, the whole thing is coming down eventually.