2006 Subaru Touch Up Paint (24 OEM Colors)

The 2006 Subaru Vibe

2006 was a weird and wonderful time for the "Pleiades" brand. We were right in the middle of the B9 Tribeca's controversial "flying aero-engine" nose phase, the Baja was still pretending it was a truck, and the Impreza WRX was busy cementing its legend in W R Blue Pearl. Our database for this year is a massive 45-color playground. Whether you're rocking the earthy Willow Green Opal Mica on a Forester or the flashy Garnet Red Pearl on a Legacy, Subaru was leaning hard into metallics and those complex two-tones (we see you, /32J/26D). It was a palette designed for the Pacific Northwest, even if you were just driving to a strip mall in Jersey.

Paint Health Check

Welcome to the Thin Paint Era. By 2006, the factory robots had been programmed for "efficiency," which is a fancy way of saying they started stretching a gallon of paint across three times as many cars. If your Subaru looks like it went twelve rounds with a gravel truck, don't feel bad-these coats are notoriously soft. The real enemy here is "Robot Efficiency." Because the clear coat is thinner than a diner napkin, those rock chips on the hood of your Outback aren't just cosmetic; they're an invitation for the clear to start delaminating. If you see a tiny white ring around the edge of a chip, that's the clear coat losing its grip.

Restoration Tip

Listen close, because this isn't your grandpa's thick lacquer. When you're touching up a 2006 Subie, you have to build your layers slowly. Do not-I repeat, do not-try to fill a chip with one giant "blob" of paint. Because the factory finish is so thin, a heavy glob will create a tension point that can actually pull the surrounding clear coat up as it dries. Use a fine-tip brush or a toothpick, apply a thin layer, let it flash off, and repeat. You want to build the color until it's just level with the surface. Once it's cured, seal it with a high-quality clear to stop that factory "peel" in its tracks.