Let's talk about the Astin Martin DB9

Hi fellow AGO members.

Recently I've been contacted by a new client who's daily driver is a Range Rover. I've scheduled next Saturday to do a quick detail on his very clean daily driver. He has stated that "if all goes well on the rover", we will schedule the following Saturday to spend "more time" on his Aston Martin DB9.

I have always been taught that preparation is the key to success in anything that I do.

I have been studying the body lines of the DB9 this morning and it doesn't appear to be very complex of a job to do concerning the correcting of the paint.

I believe that you can't go into a situation with too much knowledge so the purpose of this thread is to discuss the DB9 in general.

I'd like to hear from folks who have worked on these cars and hear about the characteristics of the paint on them I.E. is it hard paint, soft paint, extremely thin paint, what was the interior like I.E. coated leather or natural leather, are there a lot of carbon fiber interior pieces and do they need any special attention, what products did you use on the paint, interior etc.etc.

While this is an exciting opportunity from a detailer's standpoint, it is just another paint system that needs to first be explored by doing a test section using the least aggressive methods first to get a feel for the paint and put together the best possible approach to correcting it but I thought it would be nice to hear the experiences and opinions of those who have worked on these cars in the past.

This discussion should be open to all who wish to get involved. Thanks, TD

ALLN1WASH said:

What's up Dave? I personally dont have any experience with this vehicle, but I do agree with your approach. I too, love to do my home work on vehicles as far in advance as possible. Just last week I worked on a 2011 Lamborghini Gallado, which I had over 2 weeks to prepare for. Needless to say the job went as smooth as possible, no glitches at all. I'm sure with the help if this forum you too will be extremely prepared for next weekends task. Good luck my man...

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Thanks Tom, I have been doing very well. I'm sure the Gallardo had many more tricky to correct areas than the DB9 does. The DB9 looks super smooth with well rounded curves with no louvers and just a few vents. I am sure all will go smooth if I get the job.

oldmodman said:

All I can say is that the Austin Martin DB9 is one of the most beautiful cars I have ever seen.

The dealer prep area for Austin Martin Beverly Hills is a couple of blocks from my house. And I love to go by and look at all the sex on wheels in their huge shop. I will say that they actually seem to know what they are doing as far as washing the cars. All M-F, two bucket method, waffle weave drying towels. And the wax they were using was a Swissvax product.

Since I have not worked on one myself I can only say that the paint seems pretty resistant to marring.
I looked at a fantastic blue one getting ready to be delivered to a customer (in an enclosed trailer) and it had absolutely no swirl on it. And when I looked into the finishing area I didn't see anything other than the washing and waxing supplies, no compounds.

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I agree with your first sentence and appreciate the rest of your reply. Thanks

JonMiles said:

Very easy car to detail. The paint is moderate hardness and responds very well to the menzerna polishes along with the meguiars twins. My PTG readings on the paint indicated a sufficient thickness for even the more aggressive approaches such as spot sanding RIDS. The headlights on the cars are a little soft and tend to have some swirls in them. When polishing the fenders you can include the headlights in a section pass with no problems.

The front grille on the cars is sturdy but likes to catch bugs and stuff. A swissvax wheel brush and some P21s TAW makes life easy on this. If necessary, some optimum metal polish will brighten it back up.

The interior is very straight forward, the carpets release dirt easily, the seats are coated and the trim is well applied and tough. You will most likely need to remove some swirls from the wood/fiber in the interior if looking for perfection. Hand application of something like megs 205 followed by a sealant such as UPGP makes the interior POP a little more.

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A most informative post!! Thank you Jon. The forum can always count on you for great posting.:dblthumb2:

ToddHelme said:

I have detailed perhaps a handful of Aston Martins and am a little shocked by the hard paint comments. IME the paint on the newer ones is on the softer side, almost 'Porsche' like.

Here is a couple pics on newer AM's

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Thank you Todd for supplying the great photography and your experience with these cars. This really allows me to take a closer look at all of the areas that will need to be taped off in preparation to polish the paint on this DB9. I can now draw a better picture of an accurate time frame in which to quote to do the job.

Porsche like soft paint huh? This is good to know going in. Some say harder paint some say softer, as stated in my original post there will be test sections starting with the least aggressive methods to get a real world feel for what I will be working with. Thanks for your reply.

jpegs13 said:

Here's a link to the paint process for the AM, hope it helps

Aston Martin s . com - Tickford Works, Newport Pagnell

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Thank you so much for posting this. It has helped tremendously to get an in plant view and explanation of the manufacturing processes including what materials the painted panels are actually made of. Very nice E-tour.

Well, I did this client's Range Rover yesterday. He was very thrilled with the results and I was actually able to pull it off in less than 5 hours as he keeps his vehicles garaged and very clean.

I did a wash, clay, M-205 with Flex 3401-finish pad and a coat of UPGP, clean interior with OPC and protect with UIGP and UTTG on tires and rims.

He says his Aston Martin DB9 is even cleaner and he wants the same service with maybe an extra hour or two to put a little extra "POP" into it. I did his Range Rover at his business location but will do his DB9 at his home where he said his neighbors (who also have very expensive cars) will likely wonder over and ask me to do their cars as well.

We set up three dates per year where I will just show up and service the shine and protection on both the Rover and the DB9.

This is what I call a very good day in the life of Tuscarora Dave. :dblthumb2:

bill buxton said:

Good luck with that job Dave, you can get er done!!!!!!!!:dblthumb2:

Send down some pics...

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Thanks Bill.

LuxuryMobile said:

Dave, cant say Im suprised that the owner wants you to take car of the Aston Martin. You do great work.

This sounds like it will lead to alot of other high end vehicles. Good luck and have fun with them.

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Thanks Stephan. This is what I am hoping for.