1988 Suzuki-Motorcycle Touch Up Paint (3 OEM Colors)

The 1988 Suzuki-Motorcycle Vibe

1988 was the year Suzuki stopped playing nice and gave us the GSX-R750 "Slingshot"-a bike that looked like it was doing 140 mph while sitting on its kickstand. The vibe was all about "high-tech industrial," and the paint reflected that shift. We've focused our collection on the survivors of this era, the colors that actually defined the street. You're looking at serious tones like Shadow Black, Sonic Silver, and the brooding Oort Grey Metallic. Back then, if you weren't riding something that looked like it was forged in a secret laboratory, you weren't really riding.

Paint Health Check

Welcome to The Peeling Era. By '88, Suzuki was fully committed to the base-coat/clear-coat system to make those metallics pop, but the chemistry hadn't quite caught up to the ambition. These bikes are notorious for delamination. It usually starts as a tiny white bubble or a "cloudy" patch on the top of the tank or the tail section where the sun beats down the hardest. Once that UV damage breaks the bond between the color and the clear, the top layer starts flaking off like a bad sunburn. If you see your clear coat lifting, you aren't just losing shine-you're losing the shield.

Restoration Tip

The golden rule for 1988 plastic and metal: Seal your chips immediately. Because these clear coats are prone to lifting, a single stone chip is an invitation for moisture to crawl under the edges and start a massive peel. Don't let a small nick turn into a full-fairing nightmare. Clean the area, dab your touch-up precisely, and lock that edge down before the clear coat decides to part ways with the base. If you catch it early, you keep that factory Oort Grey looking sharp; if you wait, you'll be stripping the whole panel.