1970 Aston Martin DB6 Vantage

A true gentleman’s express, this handsome 1970 Aston Martin DB6 Vantage was brought to us for a 2 day Enhancement Detail. This car left the factory painted Dubonnet Red, and at the time our client bought it some years ago, was in need of restorative work. He had planned to keep the original colour, but at the last moment had a change of heart and decided to go for the timeless ‘Silver Birch’ that you see here. This is of course the same colour as the infamous DB5 driven by James Bond.

The DB6 was a development of the DB4 and DB5 models, and arguably all the better for it. Slightly longer wheelbase added stability and comfort, improved understanding of aerodynamics saw the addition of what was called the ‘kamm tail, the subtle flip up on the back of the tail, reducing lift and instability at high speeds. This being a Vantage spec means it had upgraded triple carburetors and 325bhp from it’s 4 litre, straight 6 cylinder engine. It maintained the aluminium panels of the previous cars, but this time they were fitted to a steel tubular chassis.

In generally excellent order, we had inspected the car and discussed a plan. The paint was lacking in gloss and clarity, and from that respray there were a few flaws in the bonnet that we wanted to try and address.

After a rinseless wash, our preferred method for classics that might be a little more fragile when it comes to water ingress, it was clear that the bonnet was the main area of concern. While the rest of the car was generally lacking in gloss and clarity, the bonnet had evidence of sanding marks and sags in the paint.

There is no way that these sort of defects can be polished out, they have to be sanded to level the surface of the clear coat. So that’s exactly what was done.

What this picture shows is the the panel in the process of being sanded. The dark lines are the high spots that the wet & dry paper has started eroding, the light areas are the lowest spots. The aim is to carefully sand the surface down so that it is entirely even and smooth, with no high or low spots. Of course, this needs to be monitored because there is a finite amount of clearcoat that can be removed. Our ultrasonic paint depth gauge is used to read the seperate layers of paint and clearcoat, but where a respray like this has taken place, the definition between layers can be very difficult to separate, so then it’s back to experience and care.

Some hours later, the bonnet was completed. Unfortunately not all the defects were removable, there were some block marks in the sub layers that would only be rectified by repainting. However, that aside, it looked fabulous when viewed as a whole, the metallic paint sparkling and glossy.

Once the whole car had been polished and refined, it was protected with the Williams Ceramic Coat sealant. This will provide a very durable, long term solution for the car. The chrome spoked wheels were cleaned and covered with a spray sealant to aid in their car, and the plentiful chrome and aluminium trim polished and protected.