2022 Subaru Touch Up Paint (27 OEM Colors)

The 2022 Subaru Vibe

Welcome to 2022, the year Subaru decided the entire world needed to look like a high-end hiking boot. It was a golden era for the "get lost in the woods" crowd, with the Ascent, Forester, and Outback leading the charge into the mud. With a massive 27 colors in the catalog, they weren't exactly playing it safe. You had the Crosstrek rocking Plasma Yellow Pearl like it was trying to be seen from the moon, the WRX screaming in Solar Orange Metallic, and the new Wilderness trims debuting that muddy, adventure-ready Geyser Blue. Whether you were carving canyons in a BRZ or sitting in school pickup lines in a Legacy, the palette was a mix of "tactical outdoorsman" and classic rally-stage flash.

Paint Health Check

But here is the reality of the "Thin Paint Era." These cars were birthed in a world of absolute robot efficiency. Those factory machines are so precise they can stretch a gallon of Magnetite Gray Metallic across a whole fleet of Imprezas. It looks sharp and the clear coat is tougher than the old 90s stuff, but it is paper-thin. In the old days, you had enough lacquer to survive a localized sandstorm; now, one stray pebble on the interstate hits your World Rally Blue 2 Tricoat hood and cuts straight through to the primer like a hot knife through butter. It's the trade-off for that modern depth and shine-you get the "high-tech" look, but the skin is as delicate as a grape.

Restoration Tip

Since the factory robots were stingy with the layers, you have to be disciplined with the repair. When you're filling in those highway rock chips, do not try to fix it with one big, lazy blob of paint. If you "blob it," the repair will shrink, leave a ring, and look like a zit on a prom queen. Instead, build your layers slowly. Use a fine-tipped applicator to dab a tiny amount into the chip, let it dry, and repeat until the paint is just a hair below the surrounding clear coat. Patience is the only way to mimic that factory-flat finish without making your Ice Silver Metallic look like it's breaking out in hives.