1979 Volvo Touch Up Paint (21 OEM Colors)

The 1979 Volvo Vibe

Welcome to 1979, the year the Volvo 240 solidified its reputation as the "Swedish Brick" and people started realizing that safety could be stylish-if your definition of style involves right angles and enough steel to build a bridge. Whether you're rolling in a DL, GL, or the fuel-injected 260 series, these cars were built to outlast their owners. While the factory offered a range of earth tones that screamed "late seventies," we've focused our attention on the undisputed survivor: Deep Blue. It's the color of a cold Baltic Sea and the only shade that truly does justice to that iconic, boxy silhouette.

Paint Health Check

Since we're firmly in the Single Stage Era, your Volvo isn't wearing a clear coat; it's wearing a thick, honest layer of acrylic enamel. This stuff is durable, but it's "thirsty." If your 240 has spent any time baking in the sun, that Deep Blue has likely migrated toward a chalky, matte navy that looks more like a chalkboard than a car. This is classic Oxidation. The pigment is still there, but the surface has died and turned into a white, powdery film. The good news? The paint is thick enough to survive a nuclear winter. The bad news? If you don't feed it wax, it'll continue to turn into dust until there's nothing left but Swedish iron.

Restoration Tip

Before you even think about touching up a chip, you have to "exhume" the real color. If you apply new paint over that chalky oxidation, it'll peel off faster than a cheap bumper sticker. Grab a high-quality rubbing compound and a buffing pad to strip away the dead skin until that Deep Blue glows again. Once you've reached the healthy paint, hit it with your touch-up layers. And for the love of all things holy: it needs wax or it dies. A heavy carnauba wax is the only thing standing between your Volvo and a slow, dusty fade into oblivion.