Thanks for taking a look guys.

I've got a couple new projects I'm taking on for my 05 DB9 and I'd like to see if anyone has any recommendations for me as far some outsourcing I will have to be doing to accomplish what I'm after. I'm in the Chicago area but I'm certainly not afraid of the prospect of shipping my parts if I found the perfect fit.

1. I want to start doing some custom leather work on my interior. The car has (IMO) the only truly ugly seat ever installed in a modern Aston and they are really looking dated now as well. I have been looking at every option from buying seats from a newer car and recovering to trying to figure out a different/better "pattern" for new covers on my existing seats. After much searching I found a "look" that makes the best of the OEM seat frame/shape that I'll be stuck with. I'll definitely post pictures as this all moves along.

Anyways, I need some suggestions of an upholstery/trim shop that maybe some of you have used that can be trusted with this. I was able to acquire some new hides from the original Aston Martin source to insure my new leather will match perfectly..this was a challenge but I finally got it done. I bought 5 complete hides not knowing exactly how many I will need for the front seats but also to insure enough material to do the center arm rest, door cards and rear seat backs in the future. I used a great little shop local to me when I tackled my diamond quilted headliner last winter but I think this might be a bit above his pay grade. I'm also concerned about using a "hot rod" type shop as I'm after a sophisticated, contemporary "look" that really isn't the kind of thing, in my experience, those types of shops specialize in. I am really stumped on this one. I've been searching and haven't had any shop really click with me so I'd love to hear about any positive experiences had.

The next thing on the list is some new wheels. I was fortunate enough to find the wheel I've been hunting for recently on Ebay and picked them up for a great deal. They are the 19" diamond cut wheel which some Vantage Sport Pack cars received...I believe in 2011? The problem is the color is silver and I want to refinish them in the graphite color they are also offered in. These babies are just beautiful and one of my favorite Aston wheels and I don't want to trust them to just any old Alloy repair type shop. Locally I'm only finding mostly franchise type business' who don't seem to be very well established. The process for changing the color is pretty involved. They need to be stripped of the silver finish, powder coated the correct finish, then they actually "re-cut" the face of the wheel with a CNC lathe that scans the wheel profile and then removes as little material as needed to cut away the new powder coating. This is the same process used when the wheels were made originally. I have found several well reviewed shops that specialize in the more exotic type wheels in the UK but obviously the shipping makes that very cost prohibitive. However, I did get a great deal on these (versus the cost of new) so it makes sense to do this. I just need to find the shop that can handle it without compromise. Again, any suggestions would be great..

Thanks for taking a look.. Here is a pic of the wheels I've found.

 

I had my seats redone and was telling them to use Aston Martin leather and they cautioned against it saying the color would not match - BIG MISTAKE! I trusted that they were right and they used their source which they said I could not tell the difference. As far as quality they knew what to do (I also had more padding added to the bottom to make them more comfortable), but after a few months I noticed the color changing and the grain of the leather different - they did not do ALL of the seat faces that they said they would do, and the colors faded to be noticeable. Had I not traded the car in for a 2015 GT I would have had them redo the seats (which they said they would do). Lesson - if you are doing the seats use only Aston leather or replace all the leather.

 

Lovely wheels! I would love to see some pictures when you have them mounted on your db9!

 

Hi Speed......being just down the road in Richmond I don't know of anyone who could meet your specs locally. Lake Forest Motorcars refers all of their upholstery jobs to a local biz that operated nearby out of a tin and concrete shack. I would be surprised if you would be happy with that. I think you will likely have to expand your search but you would think there would be someone in the greater Chicago area capable of quality work.

 

I am in northwest chicago and have worked with Lake Forest Sportscars too and they have always treated me well.

 

Thanks for the reply. I had the same concerns you're facing so I insisted on supplying my own leather from Aston's source as I anticipated getting the same story you did from any shop. "My leather is as good or better than Aston Martin.." blaa blaa.. IMO, the leather is a big part of what makes these car's as special as they are and I couldn't imagine not using the real, genuine thing.

 

Hello neighbor.. I had pretty good luck with LFSC but unfortunately they're not much help to me here.. they'd have no problem selling me some new wheels or seat leathers I'm sure however..

I think I accidentally found the mystery concrete shack you referred to though and I feel very good about having them do my work.. Should be stating soon.. pictures to follow.

After taking my wheels to several alloy wheel "repair" places around the Chicago area, I finally found someone who seems to have no problem with these. I'm bringing them to him tomorrow and should have back mid next week.. fingers crossed for no surprises!

 

Thanks! Shouldn't be too long now. Just trying to decide on tires..first world problems..

 

The wheel shop sent me a sneak peek.. The color is kinda tough to see but it's "graphite" (from silver). Still awaiting clear coat.. They'll be ready for pickup tomorrow.

 

Did you get them to color match the anthracite center cap?

 

No. The face of the wheel is actually diamond cut/polished, even though it doesn't look like it so much in that picture.

That finish will match my silver(ish) center caps pretty well. They'll look like this with my center caps installed and finished up.