That's funny you mentioned matte finish Gekko, because I was just thinking that's another option. I could go with a shade of gray similar to the existing color, but go with a matte finish. That way, it would be a subtle difference. Or, I could do a darker gray in matte.

 

Jay, those wheels look fantastic. I've never been completely enthralled with the V12V wheels. I think part of the reason I like yours so much is that they look like they could have come standard with the vehicle.

 

The ghost stripes I have seen and like the most use the same base color but just have a different amount of metal flake. They look really cool because in some angles or under some lighting they seem to disappear.

 

^^^ looks like a skunk ... or an inverted skunk...The dark roof and the tail and front hood look has been there since the days of Shelby and muscle cars...not a bad look but it'd been done a lot... I would take the above design and extend it down to the bottom of the bonnett and then around the grill... to make the grille look bigger and tie the rest of the design in with a hallmark of Aston, the front Grille. ...that's just me.. to each his own

 

Thanks for posting. What's interesting about this look is that it masks the hood vents. Not sure I'd do that since the vents are what really distinguish the V12 from the V8 lookswise.

Talked to a film guy today who does a lot of stripe and wrap work. Going to meet up with him this weekend and look at some options. Thinking I probably will do something. Just not sure what that something is yet.

 

I love the removable lipstick, but not the matte black.
Before I saw the video above I associated the black matte wrap with tricked our Scion XB's and Subaru WRX's, and now seeing the video, it really takes away from the luscious curves of your car with no shine.
Maybe just a matte of your same color for the lipstick, or another shade of your existing color- a subtle bit of flair.
I've also seen AM racing DBR9's with White roofs, others with sills, and others with sills and the strip….but that may be a bit much. Google DBR9 for ideas?
All of the above have the signature lipstick, and I love that. Shoot, with Ford Taurus and Cadillacs & Rovers & Kias now sporting side intakes, and Ford’s new grills looking similar as well, the formerly exclusive AM signature stylings are fast becoming more and more common. Accentuating the racing heritage with some removable wrap, why not. Have fun....just not permanent fun or your fellow AM sophisticates will have to send out 007 to get you.

 

I love the rims on this car, what are they?

 

Premiere makes a film called satin guard. It is a pearlized satin finish film that creates a matte look to the original paint color. If you're looking to do something different but not so in your face it could look good.

 

i'm really not a fan of the lipstick. AMs are too masculine and look odd in drag. but i think a contoured stripe (like the one in Racer_X's avatar) that follows the lines of the car looks really good. KI's looks pretty awesome, but i'd go with something that doesn't hide the vents!

 

Okay, wanted to play around with some ideas, but I am worthless at Photoshop. So, I made some quick sketches and photographed them for posting. Here's what I've come up with so far. It's still hard to visualize what the stripe would look like in real life from the sketches, but they at least give you a general idea.

The tricky parts IMO are the presence of the hood vents and the inward tapering of the hood toward the front end. Specifically, I'm wondering if I should angle the stripe(s) to flow with them (which I've seen on other cars) or if I should just ignore them and do a straight-back stripe (which I've also seen).

One further issue is whether I limit the stripe to the top surfaces of the car, or whether I have it continue down the front and rear bumpers. The 360 CS, 430 Scuderia, and Gallardo Balboni all have stripes that are limited to only the top surfaces, so this may be more "European" than having the stripe come down, as on a Mustang.

 

Why not just match the stripe that's on the Gulf car in your avatar. The shape seems to work pretty well.

 

That is a possibility. That's the third option I sketched, although I probably would skip the lipstick.

 

How about just that same stripe, in the same Gulf orange, trimmed with 2-3" of blue on each side, ending at the lipstick? The whole Gulf livery would be implied, and as they say, half of artistry is knowing when to stop.

If you do it and find you want still more "enchilada", you could trim it out with covering some bits, like the recessed areas of the fender vent, the horizontal portion of the side strake, the upright portion of the spoiler, the door jambs, etc., as you see fit. And if you try those and change your mind, pull them off, no problem.

 

Whatever I do, I'm not going to do too much -- either just a stripe, or a main stripe and an auxiliary pinstripe. There have been some good ideas in this thread as to other alternatives, but I want to do something not too involved and therefore not too expensive, which is part of my justification for doing this (i.e., if it's cheap, I won't feel guilty going back to stock after only a short time if I don't like it or get sick of it).

Sonny, you raise a good point on color. Yesterday I was thinking black would be best because it wouldn't stand out too much. Today, however, I'm thinking that that's no fun and there's not much point in adding the stripe if you don't really see it. So, I'm now thinking of two options on color: (i) a monochrome color scheme using a lighter shade (white, silver, or gray) or (ii) a polychrome color scheme with a color I really like, like blue or purple. I know, I know, purple on an Aston is sacrilegious, but I want to do something fun and as long as it's not permanent, why not?! Also, I think you can get away with more on a Vantage than say a DB9 or other more serious Aston.

 

Here are some images from the web (just in case you haven't seen them)
I know you want to keep it simple, but might give you some idea's!


This is a very similar setup to the car I saw in the Uk, except the stripe was offset by approx 4 - 5" and also had one very narrow accompanying stripe. (No Lipstick and did not go all the way down the rear bumper)









I like the look of doing the complete hood, but sure it works much better with extreme contrasts.


















Good luck and make sure you post some pictures when the car us finished!