# Polished Bliss®: 1969 Aston Martin DB6 Volante



## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

It's been a while since we had an older car in and what a beauty it was!




























Today with a value of circa £350,000 it also has a massive amount of sentimental value as it has been in the family since it was brand new, however it is no garage queen and actually does more annual miles than my Impreza 

The car was booked in for an Enhancement Detail so after closely inspecting the car for anything to be avoided when washing I began with the wheels:










Wolf's Deironizer was applied and left for 5/10 minutes:










The wheels started to bleed almost instantly:










Agitating the product to get the best out of it with all the various brushes:




























I started thinking back to when I spent nearly 2 days with a dremel on a set of very similar wheels on a 1965 Maserati a few years ago and thanked my lucky stars that these ones were in much better condition!

After a thorough rinse off:










APC (4:1) was then used to clean the tyres and arches:





































Rinsing at low pressure:










The car was just a bit dusty so no real need for a pre-foam, using APC again I went round all the badges/grills etc...










...before washing with the 2 bucket method...










...and then thoroughly rinsed off:










The car was then moved inside for a bit of spot claying with Meguiars Mild Detailing Clay:



















I then used the Black Baron to dry everything off and applied Swissvax Pneu to the tyres:










It looks real messy just now but it soon soaks in to leave a really nice finish, especially on larger profile tyres such as these:










I then turned my attention to the hood, firstly spraying Swissvax Leather Cleaner...










...then working small sections at a time with a Swissvax Leather Brush:










This removed a fair bit of grime and the difference was plain to see:



















All cleaned up:










Nanolex Convertible Top Sealant was then applied and left to fully dry:



















Water beading once fully dry:










Onto some paintwork polishing now 

Some examples of the defects:





































Being an Enhancement Detail I obviously wasn't after full correction but after initial tests, it quickly became apparant that I was going to have to use a fairly strong combination just to get an improvement in the finish - this paint was HARD, proper old school paint 

Menzerna 3.02 with a LC Polishing Pad & the Makita @1800rpm's were the weapons of choice:










3.02 is still one of my favourite polishes and provided it's thoroughly worked you can use it as a one step product on most paints and produce a finish 99%equal to that of a dedicated finishing polish. As the paint was so hard on this Aston it finished down trail free very easily.

Correction wise, on the worst parts I'd say I got a 50/60% improvement and in best cases the paint was pretty much flawless.

An example of the 50/60% areas...

Before:










After:










And a few other random correction shots:

Before:










After:




























Before:










After:














































The number plates (these are the original ones) were quite dull so these were machined too.

Before:










After:



















Tail lights before:










After:










There was a bit of dirt build up inside the lights so I removed these and gave them a thorough clean inside and out with Auto Finesse Tripple. I didn't appear to take an after pic from the same position but you'll see they're awfully shiny in the afters later on 










Once polishing was done I used a lambs wool duster to remove any dust:










Rejuvenate was then used to prep the paint for waxing:










Spirit was the wax of choice to protect the paintwork:




























With pretty much most of the exterior done, I turned my attention to the interior. The rear screen was quite dull and hazy so armed with some Poorboys Black Hole and a MF pad I started to make a big improvement.

Right side done, left side untouched:










All done:



















The hood was then put down to make it a bit easier to see what I was doing on the interior. For a 42 year old car I was amazed to find the hood was electric!










A few bits were removed such as the mats and rear bench:



















A Swissvax interior brush was then put to good use for dusting out all the nooks and crannies:










Followed by a thorugh hoover:










The leather was then carefully cleaned with Swissvax again, here you can see the passenger seat has been done with the drivers side still to do:



















Door cards done too:










The pedals were cleaned up with some APC and a triple duty brush:



















Leather was then fed with Swissvax Leather Milk:










Any Leather cleaner residue on the chrome work was removed with some IPA on a cotton bud:










Again using a cotton bud to clean round the gear stick:










Mats put back in after being cleaned and then protected with Nanolex:










Interior complete:














































With the roof put back up I cleaned up the chrome parts with Auto Finesse Tripple...



















...And polished up the grill with Swissvax Metal Polish:










It goes without saying that on a car like this I could spend several hundred hours if I was let loose but over 2 days I had to make sure everything on the car was done in the time provided, as a result some parts maybe aren't as detailed as some would like but if there are any questions then fire away :thumb:

Here's the result after 2 long days, it was dark by the time I'd finished so unfortunately it's only inside shots:




































































































Thanks for looking 

Clark


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## Ronnie (Nov 15, 2006)

very nice indeed Clark. Great work as always


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## Alan W (May 11, 2006)

Nice work on a stunning and rare car in superb condition Clark! :thumb:

I'll bet you enjoyed that one! 

Alan W


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## con fox (Oct 30, 2008)

Great work. I love that she gets driven regularly and that the signs of use are there. What an interior! Just shows how boring modern cars are. That's got simple design with clear dials and chrome switch gear, which is spot on. Did you see the thickness of the door pillar too? That is one heavy car. Looks sublime from all angles. Will never date either.


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## Miglior (Feb 12, 2006)

Nice work guys! That is a beautiful car!!


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## Demetrios72 (Jun 27, 2011)

Fantastic job there matey :thumb: 

Wouldn't like to do those rims on a weekly basis though :doublesho


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

Love the car, proper old school classic.

Nice work on it there, demonstrating good use of the products involved as well... and good to see good old 85RD3.02 being used as a single stage product, it is as you say easily capable of this with the correct technique. Finish on the paint looks good.


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## nick3814 (Dec 31, 2010)

Superb, stunning job on a lovely motor, I think it shows you're at the top of your game when folks with motors like that use your services :thumb:


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## Auto Finesse (Jan 10, 2007)

Nice work as always, i still like the results give by 3.02, even to this day iv not come across anything that comes close in terms of achievable cut and finish combined.


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## Jakub555 (Aug 17, 2011)

Fantastic job


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## Black Magic Detail (Aug 17, 2010)

very nice


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## slrestoration (Nov 11, 2009)

Great work as always Clark, nice honest write up mate:thumb:


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## ianFRST (Sep 19, 2006)

lovely 



James B said:


> Nice work as always, i still like the results give by 3.02, even to this day iv not come across anything that comes close in terms of achievable cut and finish combined.


dont say that, the s17+ crew will be on your back


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## Summit Detailing (Oct 9, 2006)

Good stuff chap..but that goes without saying obviously!:thumb:

How does the blackhole compare to something like the zaino z14 on plastic rear windows?


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## Auto Detox (Dec 22, 2007)

Stunning ! 3.02 is still my favourite polish 

Baz


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## Perfection Detailing (Nov 3, 2007)

That's a stunner Clark, nice work.


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## athol (Oct 3, 2009)

excellent works as always, nice to a proper old school motor been done.


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## Exclusive Car Care (Jan 14, 2007)

:argie::argie:stunning motor indeed. 
Nice work too Clarky:thumb::thumb:


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## GlynRS2 (Jan 21, 2006)

Superb work and stunning results


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## Scrim-1- (Oct 8, 2008)

Fantastic work, Have you not tried any of the Scholl polishes?


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## cotter (Aug 31, 2008)

Great work as ever, on a stunning car


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## Guest (Aug 18, 2011)

Right up my street that era of vehicle ,nice turnaround too

Anthony


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## divine3779 (Jul 12, 2009)

What a stunner! Nice work bro


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## paranoid73 (Aug 5, 2009)

Very nice Clark :thumb:


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## DMH-01 (Mar 29, 2011)

Amazing work there mate.


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## Ali (Apr 5, 2006)

Awesome!


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## SimonBash (Jun 7, 2010)

Great work there Clark, what a lovely car.

What do you find is the best method for application/removal of Spirit? I mean how long to you allow it to stand before buffing and how long do you leave it before layering?


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## sean20 (Jan 17, 2011)

realy good work there and nice car i would love to work on something like that


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## tfonseca (Jul 31, 2008)

Oh boy... that's a proper car! Just lovely :argie:. I wish it was mine!

And nice work :thumb:

Just a question. Applying the tyre dressing in that way will not splash it all over the gorgeous wheels?


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

nick3814 said:


> Superb, stunning job on a lovely motor, I think it shows you're at the top of your game when folks with motors like that use your services :thumb:


Thanks :thumb:



Chris_VRS said:


> Good stuff chap..but that goes without saying obviously!:thumb:
> 
> How does the blackhole compare to something like the zaino z14 on plastic rear windows?


I've never used the Zaino mate so couldn't comment 



Scrim-1- said:


> Fantastic work, Have you not tried any of the Scholl polishes?


I have a box of them waiting to have a play with but there are other products ahead of it in the queue needing tested first so they'll have to wait for now!



SimonBash said:


> Great work there Clark, what a lovely car.
> 
> What do you find is the best method for application/removal of Spirit? I mean how long to you allow it to stand before buffing and how long do you leave it before layering?


I find applying to a couple of panels at a time works best, so for example on this car I did a wing and a door and then buffed off and so forth 



tfonseca said:


> Oh boy... that's a proper car! Just lovely :argie:. I wish it was mine!
> 
> And nice work :thumb:
> 
> Just a question. Applying the tyre dressing in that way will not splash it all over the gorgeous wheels?


It certainly does, hence why I clean and protect the wheels after dressing the tyres :thumb:


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## tonyy (Jul 26, 2008)

What to say..fantastic..


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## B&B Autostyle (Apr 4, 2010)

Beautiful classic with some classic work to match.

An electric hood,terrific!


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## stargazer (Aug 9, 2006)

WOW. Simply a gorgeous classic. Thanks for posting.

Great turnaround. I love seeing the before and after shots of swirls being removed.


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## scooby73 (Mar 20, 2007)

Nice work on a superb classic, Clark!:thumb:


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## james_death (Aug 9, 2010)

Dream motor lovingly detailed...:thumb:


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## Brooklands (Jun 12, 2010)

Awesome car and awesome results. That must have been a real pleasure!


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## 500tie (Oct 15, 2009)

Gorgeous car and great work as usual clark


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## gb270 (Aug 22, 2008)

Great work looks great


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## Defined Reflections (Jun 4, 2009)

Amazing car!


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## nick.s (Dec 21, 2009)

Simply stunning!


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## rgDetail (Jul 16, 2009)

Lovely to read through  nice bike in the background too


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## MickPontoon (Aug 8, 2011)

amazing work on a special car matey


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## North east Car Care (Jan 14, 2008)

Cracking work Clark, stunning looking car


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## a5kcl (Jun 15, 2006)

Stunning, stunning job. The usual attention to detail - the master at work !


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## mlgt (Apr 11, 2008)

Fantastic job Clark. Love the car.


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## Tabbs (Aug 3, 2009)

brilliant
fantastic work
amazing car :thumb:


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## Gleammachine (Sep 8, 2007)

Stunning car and equally stunning detail mate.


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## J3FVW (Sep 28, 2009)

Lovely - thank you for the write up


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## adeel64 (Sep 30, 2010)

crackig job m8 :thumb:


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## TelTel (Aug 21, 2010)

excellent hard work and great results showed there clarky!! well done mate! :thumb:


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## badman1972 (Jun 24, 2010)

Lovely work as always mate on a stunning motor :thumb:


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## Craigylad (Aug 25, 2011)

Amazing job. And a amazing car !!!!


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## adeel64 (Sep 30, 2010)

Nice work!!


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## TCD (Jan 27, 2009)

Sooo beautiful work mate!


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## ted11 (Jul 8, 2011)

Fantastic job on a beautiful car.


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## dazzyb (Feb 9, 2010)

Great work as usual
Thts wot i call a summertime car


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## -Raven- (Aug 26, 2010)

What a super sexy little car! Did you get to take it for a cheeky little drive around the block?

Great that it still gets driven like they should!


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## suhailvirmani (May 22, 2011)

wow stunning car, amazing job mate


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

type[r]+ said:


> What a super sexy little car! Did you get to take it for a cheeky little drive around the block?
> 
> Great that it still gets driven like they should!


I'm paid to detail it, not go joy riding :thumb:


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