• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header left navigation
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer

[email protected] | 01256 769611

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

  • Home
  • Services
    • Paint Protection Film
    • New Car Paint Protection
    • Gloss Enhancement Detail
    • Correction Detail
    • Signature Clean
    • Wheel Refurbishment
    • Leather Renovation
    • Bodyshop Services
  • Portfolio
Autocurators

Autocurators

Professional Vehicle Detailing & Paint Protection Services

  • About
  • Articles & News
  • Contact

Aston Martin V12 Vantage New Car Detail

September 20, 2015

On the personalised sill plates, laser etched with the name and signature of the owner, it says 'End of an Era'. What does that mean? This is the very last car that Aston Martin have made that combines their V12 engine with a manual gearbox. There will never be another.

Aesthetics will always be subjective, but to our mind, the Aston Martin V12 Vantage is the most beautiful car on sale in the world. When the shape first appeared in 2005 as the V8 Vantage people drooled. Furthermore, that reaction hasn’t been tempered with time, we don’t think it has aged one bit and we’re glad Aston hasn’t meddled just for the sake of it. Then just when we didn’t think it could get any better, someone at Aston Martin produced a proper modern-day hot rod.

Take the smallest car in the range, fit it with a ludicrously large, range topping engine, and the result is the V12 Vantage. It’s all the things we love about an Aston Martin, but just more of it. Yes it has it’s flaws, all the best things do (and if it was Italian, it would just be called ‘character’), but as a petrol head, you can\’t help but cherish the theatre of it all. The feel of the chunky glass key, cold and slightly alien shape in your hand. Pulling on the delicate, recessed, door handle sees the door scythe open in a slight arc with the help of a gas cylinder to support it.

Climb in over the wide sill, being careful not to scrape your shoes on the anodized satin kick plates and drop into the dark, but beautifully trimmed cabin, the subtle aroma of expensive leather as comforting as the very supportive seats themselves. Swing the door shut and it closes with a satisfying thud, then carefully insert the glass key into it\’s slot high on the dash. Pause for a moment to take in the acres of soft leather with contrasting stitching, the piano black dash with the jewel-like glass buttons. Then foot on the clutch, firmly press the key into the dash and hold it, just for a second longer than you might think. As with all the best large capacity, multi cylinder engines, the starter motor spins fast for a few moments, then you\’re rewarded with a sonorous eruption of noise from the 5.9 litre, naturally aspirated V12 that fills the space around you, both in the cabin and outside it, before settling to a rich, baritone idle.

Anyone with the funds could buy a new V12 Vantage like this, except for one thing. On the personalised sill plates, laser-etched with the name and signature of the owner, it says ‘End of an Era’. What does that mean? This is the very last car that Aston Martin has made that combines their V12 engine with a manual gearbox. There will never be another.

Having taken delivery of this brand new car, our client got in touch with us to discuss protecting it long term in the best way possible. It will be used, and driven as intended – it’s not gong to be a show queen. But having invested in it, he wants it to stay looking it’s best. Having discussed the options, and having looked at the disappointingly poor factory paint finish, our client agreed that the GTechniq suite of products best suited his needs, along with the application of Xpel Ultimate paint protection film to be applied to the whole front end and sills by the experts at Paintshield, based in Peterborough. That is where this story continues on a cold but unusually dry February morning.

Having already inspected the car we knew what to expect. But on this sunny morning after a quick wash to remove 125 miles of winter road grime, they were only too obvious to see.

Apart from the usual marring and swirls, the major issue was sanding marks left by the factory, seen in this picture as the grey looking areas at the panel edges. Caused by the (perfectly normal) use of an orbital sanding machine as part of the paint finishing process, they should have been properly refined and polished out before sign off. However, as is so often the case, quality control appears to have been fast asleep, and extensive sanding marks, or ‘pig tails’ as they are sometime known, were visible all over the car. Particularly bad at the panel edges of the nearside front wing and door, the bonnet was also riddled with them and would need to be sorted before anything else was done.

There were even severe sanding marks across one of the polycarbonate light lenses, and other various scratches and marks around the car.

Following a well rehearsed routine, we masked up any trim or gaps necessary, and got polishing. Aston paint is actually a joy to work with and responds beautifully, but many hours went into getting it just right. Unlike applying a wax or polymer based sealant afterwards that can be easily worked over again and reapplied, the GTechniq products actually chemically become part of the paint surface as they cure. So it\’s important to get the finish right to start with, as whilst not impossible, rectifying problems later are considerably harder. To this end, we worked until late that evening until we were happy with the finish.

Upon an early arrival the next morning, we were able to get straight on with the task of applying the GTechniq C1 coating to the paint. Wheels were removed and GTechniq C5 applied to both wheels and brake calipers, GTechniq C4 applied to unpainted trim and finally G1 applied to the front and rear screens for a long term, incredibly water repellent effect.

This is a selection of images of the finished car. They were taken inside as the next morning the skilled chaps at Paintshield were to apply the paint protection film so we didn\’t want to move it outside and risk contaminating the surface with rain/dust/dirt being blown around outside.

There will only ever be one first, and one last of anything, so we feel particularly privileged to work upon this car. We\’d also like to say a huge thank you to Ann & Tom Wakeford of Paintshield for their hospitality.

Category: Aston Martin, WorkTag: aston martin, auto curators, berkshire, berskshire detailing, curation, detailing, gtechniq, hampshire detailing, paint correction, paint protection, swissvax, v12 vantage, xpel
Previous Post:BMW Alpina D5 Enhancement Detail
Next Post:Porsche 997 GT3 RS 4.0 Correction Detail

Ready for your car to look a million dollars?

Talk to us about how we can help.

GET IN TOUCH

Find us on the ‘gram

autocurators

569

Auto Curators Ltd

autocurators

View

Mar 23

Open
Our good friend Pete, of @petrolheadtours came to see us this week with his recent purchase. This dramatic looking Morgan Aero 8 is a very rare Series 1 car, unbelievably over 20 years old now. 
I’m fortunate that I’ve had the chance to drive these before, and the old school looks don’t prepare you for the driving experience. A very light car by modern standards, it features an aluminium chassis similar to that in a Lotus Elise, but borrows it’s drivetrain from a BMW 540i - so, a 4.4 litre, naturally aspirated V8 is under the bonnet. 
Pete is only the third owner of this amazing car, but years of someone lovingly wiping dust off the paintwork with a dry cloth had left it looking as dull as a blackboard. 
After a careful wash, there was an even more careful machine polish to carry out. The shapes are extremely awkward, and thus time consuming, but the results were well worth it. Finished with Onyx Graphene Pro ceramic coating, Pete was quite taken aback with the results when he collected it. We look forward to seeing it again at events this summer. 
Want the same for you car? Get in touch, we can help you. 
#autocurators #morgan #aero8 #detailing #paintcorrection #hampshire #hook #basingstoke #ceramiccoating #onyxgraphenepro
61 11

autocurators

View

Mar 15

Open
Q: When is a Yaris not your regular Yaris?
A: When it’s a Toyota Yaris GR!
We recently had the pleasure of welcoming one of these amazing cars to our studio for XPEL PPF installation. Find out more about the project in our latest blog article… Visit our dedicate PPF website ‘PPF On My Car’ from the link in our bio.
27 3

autocurators

View

Mar 9

Open
This super rare Alpina B3 Touring left us this afternoon, after we installed our Extended Front end PPF package. 
Having been delivered to us directly from Sytner Nottingham, on a covered trailer, we carried out a full new car preparation, before installing Xpel Ultimate Plus over the whole front, the sills, pillars and a rear luggage strip. We ceramic coated the paintwork and wheels, and protected the beautiful interior. This car will get lots of use, and should now stay looking like this for a long time. 
#autocurators #alpina #alpinab3 #sytner #xpel #ppf #hampshire #hook #basingstoke #reading #detailing #paintprotection #newcar #xpelhampshire
54 4
LOAD MORE... FOLLOW ON INSTAGRAM
Find Us

Unit 2 Optrex Business Park
Strouds Green Lane
Rotherwick, Nr. Hook
Hampshire, RG27 9AY

GET DIRECTIONS
Contact Us

01256 769611
[email protected]

Information
  • FAQs
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • About the Products We Use
Sign Up for News

We promise not to spam you, we’ll just send you articles and news to spin your wheels! PLUS every three months we give away a £50 Auto Curators voucher to one lucky subscriber.


  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2023 · All Rights Reserved · Website by Kate Coote Ltd

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT