$4.99 Shipping over $49 w/coupon DI499 | 3,000+ Products | 95 Brands | 12,000+ Reviews | 1,850+ Detailing Articles
Close Menu
Clean ⋅ Shine ⋅ Protect
Cookies are disabled in your web browser. To shop with Detailed Image, please turn cookies on and then refresh the page.

Aston Martin Rapide: Paint Correction & Coating Application

by

This car was brought to us all the way from LA, Beverly Hills to be exact. It’s very typical that clients travel from over an hour away in order to have Envious Detailing perform our high quality, above the bar, exceeding customer expectations paint correction and coating service. After all, our client’s car is our canvas, we better perform!

Starting out with the typical decontamination wash, a clay bar treatment and a wipe down, we then set out to find our combination of polishing that would work on this paint. While being extremely soft paint, we were faced with a task of correcting the paint without getting too aggressive, causing more work for ourselves. After about 30 minutes of playing with different combinations, we set ourselves up for success. Carrying on for the next 20 hours, we ended up with a HUGE turn around in the look of the car. 90% of the defects were removed. The last 10%, well those were scratches, pitting, and dents that were obviously there to stay as they were too deep to be removed carefully with the integrity of the paint staying intact. We will not chase scratches in paint when it will jeopardize the clear coat causing premature clear coat failure. It’s our level of service to give your car the proper care it deserves.

Here are a quick few shots of the before and during process. As you can see here, the starting condition was less than stellar. Tons of scratches, a massive amount of swirling, and RIDS (random isolated deep scratches) riddled the paintwork on this otherwise beautiful car. This is what happens when the car is neglected and uncared for over years.

Paint Defects

Paint Defects

Now, you may be thinking there is no way this car will turn out looking good, or you may know what we are capable of and are looking forward to seeing the end results. Here is what is possible when you give us the opportunity to turn your car around and make it look better than new!

This is just after the compounding stage, not even final polished at this point. And the grill had a lot of water spotting. The right side was cleaned, the left side was not…a completely different look.

Paint Condition After Polish

You can see how the compounding step leaves the paint hazy and unclear, although defects such as oxidation, swirls, light scratches are removed. This is commonly referred to as compound haze. Unfortunately, many detailers get it here and then will wax over it and call it good. Envious Detailing takes the necessary steps to refine the finish properly and give your car the attention it deserves.

Following the paint correction efforts, we then applied our entry level coating system. This provides the car 2 years of durable, extremely glossy, higher scratch resistance, and easier maintenance while cleaning the car. Dirt and debris fall off the car with ease! IR heat lamps are used to baked the coating giving it a faster cure and a harder, glossier finish.

Applying Coating

Baking with IR Heat Lamp

You can see the rainbow effect on the paint indicating the product is flashing over. Almost time to wipe at this point, we did a test swipe. If it’s too streaky, it needs to sit longer. If it comes off easy, we wipe the coating off the whole car. After the coating is removed and the car is tidied up, we will then bake every panel for approximately 15 minutes at 125 degrees to accelerate the curing process.

Final Outside Shots:

Aston Martin Final Shot

Aston Martin Final Shot

Aston Martin Final Shot

Aston Martin Final Shot

Aston Martin Final Shot

These results on this very soft paint were from the use of the Griots Garage Boss 21, Meguiar’s MF Disc, and D300. Following that initial cutting stage, we used the Griots Garage 6″ DA with a Hydro Tech Tangerine Pad, and Sonax Perfect Finish. Lastly, we elected to use Menzerna 3800 on a black pad for maximum gloss and depth.

In the end, the car came out extremely well and is now better looking for the long haul! If you are serious about your car, it needs to be corrected and coated from the start. Enjoy the easy car care for years to come, and the amazing look it will hold!’

Buy Products From This Article

View Products Now

Eric Schuster Envious Detailing
Eric Schuster
Envious Detailing
Orange County, CA

23 comments on Aston Martin Rapide: Paint Correction & Coating Application

  1. Shawn says:

    WOW! What a save! The owner will be delighted – good work.

  2. Andrew Prentice says:

    Question— Obviously the owner will likely very quickly re-introduce swirls and marring into the paint due to car washes or imperfect washings at home. How difficult do you think the coating (you used) will be to take off the paint to do another paint correction? Like a new owner if the customer sells it in a year lets say and the new owner wants it perfect again.

    • David W. Dorn says:

      Well, maybe not . . . I am just a customer of DI, not a professional, but notice the rear plate in one of the photos; it’s a dealer’s plate, suggesting the car has just been sold. I’ll guess that the previous owner abused the car (the finish, at least) and the new owner wants to restore it and keep it beautiful. Just a guess — at least we can hope!

  3. eric says:

    it will take a matter of years to get it in that condition again if proper wash methods are used. If the owner were to use a cheap mitt, beach towel, and sponge used on the wheels for the paint, it won’t take long to scratch up the coating. That’s the beauty of coatings, they take the abuse rather than the clear coat. it’s easier and cheaper to reapply the coating compared to adding more clear to a car.

    • Andrew Prentice says:

      Eric, So you are saying the coatings will actually be the surface that is scratched and not the paint underneath them? This impression of coatings that is relayed to customers is not true. Coatings are no where even close to how a PPF protects the paint and are not intended too either. Although a coating (some are better or thicker than others) is meant to be a sacrificial layer to help protect the paint from the elements not scratches. It is not thick enough nor intended to take the abuse of a wrong type of wiping cloth, grit in sponge etc…… The swirls or marks that you will see down the road will be in the paint. Hence my question— if the car due to whatever reason needs correction within 2 years lets say, when you polish to remove the coating, how do you know when you have cut the coating off and not gone into the paint. Due to swelling of paint under heat, and the high use of infrared lamps to cure coatings, portions of the coating will be embedded into the clear coat which makes the future correcting of paint extremely difficult.

      Do you as a professional accept cars into your shop that currently have a coating on them for paint corrections?

  4. David W. Dorn says:

    PS: Sorry I missed the point of your question. I think I would be presumptuous to answer, so I will wait for the pro to answer, and we’ll read it together. D

  5. Joe says:

    Nice work. Aston Martins seem to scratch looking at them. The company I work for I do a lot of Rolls Royce and Aston Martin coating installs. Some of these cars look like they’ve been attacked by a leapord with just a few thousand miles, or even new because they get “buffed” at the port when shipped. Did you use any prep wipe prior to coating? I’ve notice the Rolls and Astons, some Porsche, seem to haze/mar with any prep spray after correction, very fussy paint. Funny though, I did one of the 1 of 3 Aston Vulcans(red one)in the country, and you could get rough with that paint no worries, but wipe a Vanquish too hard and it scratches. I’ve tried Gtechniq, Gyeon, PDP, and IPA. I’ve been using the heck out of Carpro Essence as my last step prior to coating and had great luck, no bonding issues so far, just wondered your experience. Thanks

  6. Ron Ayotte says:

    Awesome writeup! If you didn’t notice, in the second outside shot, the reflections of the clouds on the trunk lid look like a series of faces.

  7. D Schribert says:

    Incredible love. LOVE those lights!! Very cool!!

  8. D Schribert says:

    Sorry!! Incredible WORK!!

  9. eric says:

    This was a fun one!

    Modesta is my coating of choice.

    car was wiped thoroughly with IPA prior to the coating application.

    • Andrew Prentice says:

      Eric, I did post a reply above to the previous question. Modesta is my favourite coating if I had to choose also. Did you use the primer before the bc-05 or version you used? I found the primer simplifies some of the process and also actually did increase the gloss level. But….. the primer does have fillers in it which I don’t like. I am not sure how those fillers (glaze type product w/ silica) last, I am assuming they get locked under the coating which prevents them from being washed out, but not sure.

      22ple is the second best for me and most used also. I typically now use coatings on the wheels, interior bits, underbody trays, rods, frames etc…. I just bought a Aston DB9 in black and have done them before and will say your work looks great and the paint is soft as can be and a pain to work unless you figure out the process and which towels marr the surface and which don’t. So anyone who can correct a AM or even Subaru due to soft paint is a very good paint corrector.

  10. Walter clemente says:

    Realy good work, I could see the hours of work. I have only been detailing at the professional level 2 years. I haven’t run into a real soft paint yet
    . Don’t know if to look forward to the challenge or dread . Am realy looking for the challenge. May have to come to you for some help. Happy detailing.

  11. jacab martin says:

    Amazing work dude. I recently did detailing of my car from Motoring Street in june, my car looks brand new now.

  12. Ryan Hager says:

    What an incredible job! Gorgeous work!

  13. AAA AUTO SPA says:

    Great job my friend.

  14. RS AUTO SPA says:

    Awesome Job on a Paint Correction.

  15. ALEX says:

    As always , great information

  16. mark sima says:

    Great job, I will be posting my own before/after soon

  17. amazing result on a great car

Leave a Reply to MNV Auto Detailing Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Commenting Rules

  • Try to keep your comments as relevant as possible.
  • Don't be abusive: no personal attacks or any other nastiness.
  • Feel free to express your opinion, but do so in an eloquent way.

If you do not respect these rules your comments may be edited or even deleted.

My Offers
25 Off Brand Sale
Free Stuff
Quantity Discounts - Buy More, Save More!
Big Discounts While Supplies Last - Clearance Items - Shop Now
Close overlay