Will do and thanks for the invitation!

 

It was a great day with over a thousand cars participating and I entered my Aston into the show for the first time.

The weather was surprisingly hot and I was able to meet some more Ontario Aston owners as the brand had it's own section. I split my time between seeing the show and sharing my knowledge of the Vantage with spectator car enthusiasts. Nice to see AMOC members at the show and the dealership Grand Touring with a display.

I'll let these pictures help share my experience there to forum members:

Shots of my pride and joy:










Aston Martin was well represented:










































Grand Touring brought a DB11, DB9 GT, and a V12 Vantage:






Of course there was a lot more to see that just the AM brand, so next post will be of some of my other favourites from the show...

 

Here are 10 non-Aston photos I was inspired to take that day:

 

Celebrating Canada's 150th birthday in 2017
The Snowbirds are similar to the Blue Angels in the USA
Nice having Aston's represented and on display to the public
A dinner afterwards at a AMOC member's hangar was great after party

Here are a few short videos of the show I took from the infield and I'll post pictures next.

 

I brought my Father as my guest for the day and we had a great time...































Back at the hanger:








Alek Ackerman shooting for his youtube video series...


and a beautiful Lagonda...

 

Thanks for sharing, looks like a lot of fun... Too bad I don't have such event close to me

 

I decided to remove the 3M film that had deteriorated due to stone chips and discoloration over the years. Some of the areas like near the boot and the mirrors, I won't be replacing, but others (like the hood) I likely will reapply a SunTek clear film.







So I invested in a heat gun to assist with the removal. Warming it like it would be on a sunny day make it easier to remove. If you use too much heat the glue stays on the body adding extra time to remove it separately. This happened to me when removing the large piece on the hood.







Last I removed the helicopter pieces on the rear fenders that were in the worst shape of all. The passenger side came off like a dream:



However removing the last piece on the drivers side is when my mood went sour and what was a good day became a bad one! What looks like a previous paint repair decided to lift with the film instead of stay on the primer. Of course it's on a panel that can't be easily removed for repainting adding to the frequency of curse words









My interim solution was to reapply a vinyl wrap in the area that wasn't clear thus hiding the cosmetic issue. After sanding the area smooth, I cleaned with alcohol. I went to the local 3M dealer and bought some 1080P vinyl wrap in a black carbon fiber look and applied it to both sides of the car:









I'll address the body and paint work needed in the spring, but for now it looks ok and the paint is protected on the passenger side. It reminds me of an Audi R8 sail panel in a different colour.









Surprisingly, I've already received compliments on the carbon fiber and then I have to case by case decide whether to explain that I added it and why

 

I would have likely taken the same approach with the 3M. Ironically I've been considering replacing the film on the Panamera as well due to discoloration, but I don't know that I want to see my paint come up.

 

I have always had a fear of this on my cats. I have always had a professional remove the old film. If I had done this, my wife would have said, "this is a should have left well enough alone" But how could you know it would happen. At least you have a good body shop to fix it up.
Ron

 

If you have factory original paint, I wouldn't be concerned in your case.
Cases of paint lifting occurs when the film was applied to fresh paint (before it had proper time to cure). According to the car-fax for my car there was a minor repair done on the driver's side back in 2008, which could explain why everything removed easily except that final driver's side piece.

 

Yes Ron it wasn't fun explaining to the better half what happened.
I am going to use a different local body shop in the spring for planned paint improvements.

 

I knew it was a matter of "when", not "if".
A acquired my first windshield stone chip passing a tanker truck on the freeway.
The stone kicked out from the right and struck the glass midway up and near the A-pillar.

I called the local pro I've used for several glass projects over the years and got the car over there the next time I drove it.
The repair result was the best before and after I've ever experienced, from a chip and star to almost invisible due to a speck of embedded dirt.
They even repaired an existing bubble down by the cowl on the driver's side.

Two thumbs up to Larry and the boys at Speedy Glass in Welland.

Before pic view from inside car:












After repair resin cured:




Replacement windshield adverted repair was only around $100 making it easy to avoid an insurance claim

 

That looks undetectable, Good save on the new windshield.
Ron

 

A local friend of mine from the Fiero club had recently traded in his two custom convertible Fieros. That made room for 2 brand new Porsches this year.
In the spring it was the Panamera previously shown in this thread.
This fall was another new white Porsche but a 911 Turbo S.
It was at the cruise night the day it was picked up at the dealership.
You could really tell who was a enthusiast while casual show goers walked by thinking it was just another 911...















We were also able to go on a weekend cruise from Niagara-on-the-lake to Fort Erie along the parkway. Halfway along the trip I got another pebble stuck in the driver's side front inboard brake pad. Luckily this time reversing and hitting the brakes hard popped it out and we were on our way. My Dad joined me on the trip and I even let him drive on the return trip

 

Glad you are still getting good driving weather, over here it has been raining and miserable... Thinking of putting the car in storage this week as weather forecast won't improve much... Summer is finish over here.... :-(