Even though she's in the shop after 203 miles, I thought I would share some photos of the amazing paint correction job my local detailer did on my 2012 Quantum/Obsidian Vantage S.

If it weren't for the forums I wouldn't have realized just how much work was needed to bring a brand new car's paint to perfection.

I did not do the work myself - my local paint correction specialist/detailer did the work. He was kind enough to forward me the photos to share the extent of the imperfections upon delivery and the work he did. The car was in his shop for a week. The last day of work was for the application of Venture Shield clear film over the bonnet, front fascia, front fenders, mirrors, sills and rear wheel arches.

Here she is getting her first bath:



After being dried and clayed the car was inspected for buffer trails and wet sand marks:









Removal of the factory film revealed a fair amount of wet sand marks:



The rear of the trunk lid was especially bad in terms of wet sand marks:



Some progress pics showing corrected/uncorrected sections:









Rear wheel arch before/after





Rear deck lid before/after:





Wheels treated with muliple coats of Swissvax Autobahn:



Before/after of piano black fascia:





After closeups:

 

beautiful :drool:

 

Looks great, the paint on my car needs a lot of work also. I need to find a decent place to do the work on it as I don't have the time or patience.

 

Gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous. Mine was used when I bought it but detailed extremely well by the dealer also. Now comes the tough part ... keeping it that way .

I brought mine to another detailer for it's first hand wash and got it back with marks on it. Since then I've been doing it myself. Time consuming but at least you know what goes in to it. I bought a bunch of Auto Glym stuff and have figured out how to make it glow. I never had a car before that I cared enough to do this to but it was pretty easy to learn and takes me about an hour and a half. Amazing also how my son who never cleans up anything is out there with me every time to help.

It will definitely get a thorough professional detailing sometime next spring to deal with the subtle scuffs and scratches that remain but it's pretty easy to get it 85-90% of the way there (ie so that it's only really you who knows where the problems are) on your own if you so choose.

The one thing I will say though, you really come to appreciate the design and lines of the car by getting your hands on it and buffing it till it shines. I highly recommend it .

 

That is phenomenal. But I'm curious. Did he provide any pictures of the car finish under the lights AFTER the Venture Shield was applied? I've always been curious if they spend all that time getting the finish to have a mirror-like, swirl-free finish, only to cover it up with a film that hides all that beautiful work. Or is the protective film really that optically clear? A picture similar to the ones showing partial progress (before/after) of the paint correction, but with a fully corrected surface where only half was covered by Venture Shield would be really helpful.

 

Great work. Makes such a dfifference!

 

The 'before' pictures are surprisingly bad, don't think I've ever seen a new Aston with such poorly prepared paint, they are absolutely obsessive about the finish in the factory

 

The paint wasn't the only thing poorly prepared - the car needs a new AMS unit after 203 miles.

 

This is not exactly the first example we have seen of poorly prepared paint coming out of Gaydon. I know they pride themselves as having such a great paint system. I also know they read/lurk the online forums. I wonder what they think when this kind of stuff gets posted. I would hope that they would shakedown the paint department and tell them to get their act together.

Apparently, the department that works on gearboxes also needs attention.

 

True. I will, however, throw one important fact into the mix. Although the paint had the buffer trails and wet sand marks it had pretty much no orange peel. That's significant, as my Porsches all had a fair amount of orange peel when new. Although there was a fair amount of work to be done on the paint, it didn't need to be re-sanded.

In terms of the transmission - when they told me I needed a new AMS I thought they were just talking about the electronics. Apparently not - all the hydraulics need to be replaced. I emailed AML though their site about the paint and the AMS today (it was after 5pm there, though). Hopefully I'll get some kind of reply.

It kills me that the weather over the past 5 days here on the east coast has been amazing - perfect for going for a spirited drive. I'm sure the snow and ice will arrive around the same time I get my car back

 

Looks great! The glow is lovely.

I have to agree that these cars leave the factory in a pretty sorry state, including mine and most others, from what I've seen, with plenty of sanding marks, buffer trails and the like. But as you state the underlying paint job is good, with little in the way of orange peel!

Of course, the dealers will happily butcher your clearcoat all over again, if you let them anywhere near it!

 

Stunning after shots.
It is an utter shame how new cars, even in the premium class, are delivered with innumerous flaws, swirls, and various paint thicknesses.
They sand the hell out of the cars to rid it or orange peel at the expense of all else which is a shame.
Needless to say, a new owner will have to spend $1,000-2000 with a professional detailer to correct a new factory paint job.

 

Do you seriously think they leave the AM factory looking like that? Did you ever see the cars under the lights in final inspection? It's probably all the result of dealer prep at the hands of some ill-trained garage help. I don't know why anyone would accept the car from the dealer in the first place. If I saw that on a $200K car, I'd turn around and wouldn't accept the car until corrected by the dealer. I certainly wouldn't expect to pay a 3rd party on my nickel to correct the paint.

 

Sad part is most of these defects are visible to 95% of the public, and even so, its hard to see it unless its under the correct light. I wouldn't even trust most dealerships to correct the paint because the chances that they have a legit specialist doing this kind of work is unlikely...

Great work, cars looks amazing. Who did the work, if you dont mind me asking>

 

The power of a Rotary Buffer. I giggle when I think about the poor sods that buy a kit and think their going to get this kind of result by using their hand and the little included applicator pad. Chirag, it is surprising these defects are everywhere. I use the light on my phone and walk up to any showroom car and there's swirls swirls swirls. Its probably the poor guys getting $7.50 a hour to wipe down all the cars before the dealer opens to the public. Shame, they should pay a local team to just do their cars every month. The guys getting min wadge are doing more damage in a day than what they make in a month.