# Aston Martin DBS - Enhancement Detail - Summit Detailing - Bristol Detailing



## Summit Detailing (Oct 9, 2006)

Good Evening,

So the subject of a recent 3-day Enhancement Detail was a 1970's AM V8 DBS, one of the last made in this single headlight specification it features a 5.3 V8 producing 432bhp coupled to a 3-speed Chrysler Automatic gearbox.

This particular car had not turned a wheel in over 15yrs, residing as it did in the dusty corner of a workshop.
Prior to my client purchasing the car it was given a thorough mechanical overhaul before heading to a specialist classic car restorer who did their thing with the body and paint.

I inspected the car a few weeks ago whilst attending to another car in the collection - lots of poor finishing found along with a variety of swirls, flatting marks etc. I also took the opportunity to wash and decon the bodywork and set about the interior at this time, the original tan leather still in place but looking dirty and dry.
Here is the interior after some attention from the Zaino leather twins -

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So onwards with the Detail, paint depths checked -

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So the polishing started on the passenger side rear quarter panel, here's how it looked -

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It soon became clear that not only was there a lot of paint but the clear coat must have come out of the 'hard' drawer on repaint day:buffer: - 3m blue pad and Ultrafina did pretty much nothing, 3m yellow pad and Menzerna FG400 knocked out some defects but I wanted to unlock the full flake pop where possible so stepped up to 3M green pad and Scholl S3.
This took care of business, sometimes 2 and 3 polishing sets were required, this was then refined with 3M yellow and FG400, then super refined with 3m black pad and Carpro Reflect.

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Before -

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After -

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Before -

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After -

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Before...still on that rear quarter panel! -

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After -

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Drivers side front wing before -

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After -

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Drivers door before - check out the dull haze on the bottom halogen light reflection

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Drivers side rear quarter before -

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After -

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Before -

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After -

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Before -

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After -

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RH Fuel cap before -

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RH Fuel cap after -

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Not only sanding marks on this rear vent but they even left polish splatter inside the vent:wall:

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Cotton buds and IPA eventually sorted it

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Now onto the bootlid, propped up ready to go -

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Before -

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After -

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## Summit Detailing (Oct 9, 2006)

Next to try out my most recent purchase, the 1" pads -

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Front panel before -

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After -

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Before -

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After -

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Before -

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After -

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After a thorough dust down and panel wipe it was onto one of my favourite elements of a Detail - locking in all the hard work with a coating!

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You can just about make out CSL sitting on the paintwork waiting to be removed

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Such is the randomness of our weather at the moment, the heavens opened just as I was applying the CSL so my opportunity to get some lovely outdoor sun after shots were curtailed so indoor finished shots it is....

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All done, ready for its next outing..

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If you've made it this far - well done! and thanks for looking.

Cheers

Chris


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## Lynx40 (Mar 29, 2015)

Beautifull Aston Martin vantage


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## chongo (Jun 7, 2014)

:argie::doublesho this is my type of detailing:thumb: it's a lot easier when you have a lot to play with and making is more enjoying when it is like rock to correct:buffer: top,top, detailing:thumb:


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## Jack R (Dec 15, 2014)

Looks stunning and so does the wolf in the corner, two of England's finest


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## Kev.O (Dec 10, 2015)

Fantastic work, and a lovely Aston.


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## SystemClenz (Oct 31, 2008)

Nice work Chris &#55357;&#56396;&#55356;&#57339;


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## unique detail (Jan 26, 2012)

Interesting read and very nice work Chris:thumb:


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## willg (Dec 29, 2011)

Love the work and the car! Is that the handbrake down the side of the centre console?


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## Forsh (Jun 13, 2014)

Fabulous!

Gloss on the Landy is not much to write home about though!


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## ronwash (Mar 26, 2011)

Fantastic work,the pics are talking for themselves.


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## Summit Detailing (Oct 9, 2006)

Thanks for the comments all.



willg said:


> Love the work and the car! Is that the handbrake down the side of the centre console?


Yes it is a 'fly off' handbrake, fairly common on cars of this age.



Forsh said:


> Fabulous!
> 
> Gloss on the Landy is not much to write home about though!


Ex military:thumb:....apparently a better drive than the brand new 110 that the client drives daily


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## Catwoman (Apr 25, 2014)

Amazing


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## AndyN01 (Feb 16, 2016)

Why have I joined DW?

'cus there's properly skilled and talented people who so obviously care so much about what they do.

If I can pick up a few % from their hints and tips I'll be a very very happy :newbie:

Awesome.

Thanks,

Andy.


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## Andrew100 (Apr 13, 2016)

Great car, great result.

So you applied the CSL with a MF cloth?
Not seen that mentioned as an option, usually just a little pad.

Would you recommend your method?
Any tips/benefits for using a MF pad for the application?

Sorry for the questions, always learning:newbie:


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## Summit Detailing (Oct 9, 2006)

Andrew100 said:


> Great car, great result.
> 
> So you applied the CSL with a MF cloth?
> Not seen that mentioned as an option, usually just a little pad.
> ...


Always good to think outside the box:thumb:

Yes it's a microfibre, trimmed to wrap around a blue foam block (possibly carpro)

In my opinion it's far easier to apply a coating in this way - quicker, as it's got far greater surface area over the silly little round applicators, seems to spread the product far more evenly, also the microfibre pile has other benefits - holds product and there's an element of safety in that if you happen to pick up a hair or a bit of dust it won't be dragged across the surface like it would with the round applicator - similar in principal to a microfibre drying towel and a chamois...

We're all always learning:thumb:

Cheers

Chris


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## tonyy (Jul 26, 2008)

Very nice work :thumb:


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## pcm1980 (May 4, 2009)

Just a quick question, with regards the paint depth, i know all the readings were really high, but how do you know that you have lots to play with before you break through the clearcoat? What if the majority of the paint build is to a respray or even resprays? 
Car looks awesome by the way, a real credit to your skills.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk


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## Andrew100 (Apr 13, 2016)

Thanks for the reply. Problem is that it generates more, but I'll understand if you decline.

Does your method require more product?
Is you MF towel special (70:30) or just standard (80:20) as I've read that 80:20 may leave tiny scratches.
How long do you allow the lacquer sit before buffing?

Cheers, promise I won't ask any more


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## Summit Detailing (Oct 9, 2006)

Andrew100 said:


> Thanks for the reply. Problem is that it generates more, but I'll understand if you decline.
> 
> Does your method require more product?
> Is you MF towel special (70:30) or just standard (80:20) as I've read that 80:20 may leave tiny scratches.
> ...


No worries at all.

I've not noticed I use more product, if anything you use less as the microfibre holds product better (imo).

I've no clue what ratio the microfibres are, I just use a brand new kirkland yellow microfibre, cut it to size and crack on.
I've not knowingly inflicted any marring, even on the softest clearcoats like modern Aston Martins.

Location, environment and temp dependent as to how long the product is left on the panel before removing - it's all about working smart and using common sense.
CSL is pretty forgiving but as a guide you could do a whole door on a run of the mill 5dr car, wait maybe 10-20 seconds then remove the residue, if you've not used the product before I'd suggest half or even a third of a door.

cheers
Chris


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## Summit Detailing (Oct 9, 2006)

pcm1980 said:


> Just a quick question, with regards the paint depth, i know all the readings were really high, but how do you know that you have lots to play with before you break through the clearcoat? What if the majority of the paint build is to a respray or even resprays?
> Car looks awesome by the way, a real credit to your skills.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk


This could be levelled at any car, take a 100 micron average new Ford for example, a fairly generic way of thinking about the makeup of the painted surface would be 33% primer, 33% colour, 33% lacquer.
Even with an intense polishing session starting with a compound pad and something like 3M Fact Cut+ or Scholl S3 Gold you may only remove a micron or 2 max through 3 or 4 stages of polishing form start to finish - it is also almost impossible to measure.

This is where skill and experience comes to the fore:buffer:

Classic car's which have original non clearcoated finishes are a whole different ball game however.

cheers

Chris


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## pcm1980 (May 4, 2009)

So in reality theres no idea of the actual film build of the clearcoat, the paint depth gauge doesnt measure film build of each coating (primer, basecoat and clearcoat), the only person to have a clue would be the painter that painted the car. There could be 1 coat or 6 coats of clear on.
I dont feel that there is need to use a paint depth gauge, all it does it tell you the total film build and not that of the clearcoat, totally misleading. A high film build does not guarentee a decent film build for the clearcoat, it could be that the car has been painted 4 or 5 times.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk


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## Summit Detailing (Oct 9, 2006)

pcm1980 said:


> So in reality theres no idea of the actual film build of the clearcoat, the paint depth gauge doesnt measure film build of each coating (primer, basecoat and clearcoat), the only person to have a clue would be the painter that painted the car. There could be 1 coat or 6 coats of clear on.
> I dont feel that there is need to use a paint depth gauge, all it does it tell you the total film build and not that of the clearcoat, totally misleading. A high film build does not guarentee a decent film build for the clearcoat, it could be that the car has been painted 4 or 5 times.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk


A positector 200 shows 3 different thickness measurements but which 3 would they be if it had more than one layer of clear on?...

It's always nice to know total depth regardless of what may have happened to a car in it's life prior to you working on it:thumb:

cheers

Chris


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## Andrew100 (Apr 13, 2016)

Excellent info, cheers


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## Stu Mac (Aug 18, 2014)

Top top job mate and a great write up. Really informative and really good to read your replies to a few questions. Cheers


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## J13AAY (Jan 12, 2011)

great results!


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