AMV8 Front grill

[warren182]

The front grill on my dad's amv8 has strange staining on the front grill, looks almost like water marks? Been replaced by the dealer, but the new grill is staining in the same way, anyone else noticed this?

[bogie]

make sure you wash with filtered water and dry it off properly - those Flash car wash guns from Halfords will do the trick or get an in-line water filter on your hose

[warren182]

Originally the dealer blamed it on not choosing the polished grill as an option! Has been replaced under warranty with the polished grill, but same result. Only water it's been exposed to is rain water, so just poor choice of material?

[bogie]

ive got the bright finish grille and have no probs with it...just cleaned it now (post LeMans it was looking like a rally car!) and the grille is spotless...all I do is as above - filtered water and wipe it dry

[stanwan]

Rain water can etch the grille if the minerals in it are allowed to bake onto the surface. Have you used any polymer sealant on the grill? carnauba waxes won't hold up due to heatsoak. I find that any water spots wipe right off if the grille has been treated.

[bogie]

doh ..Im being dumb...I had the car treated and coated the week after I got it (as its black I need all the help I cant get) - polymer jobbie by www.gtechniq.com ...no wonder Im not having any probs

[cytefx]

just put the deposit down on one and speaking to the dealer they include (for about £350) a diamond bright treatment, I used to have a girlfriend with a car that had this done and it was a pain to keep clean, kept smearing.

I asked if i could have the car without they said yes but it would then not be covered for paintwork, is this true, I would prefer to spend the £350 on a professional treatment like the gtechniq, is this a valid point or will the dealer keep me to the diamond bright one.

Anyone else had experience, also whats the best polish / wax for light coloured cars? and aston paint

[bogie]

cytefx said:

just put the deposit down on one and speaking to the dealer they include (for about £350) a diamond bright treatment, I used to have a girlfriend with a car that had this done and it was a pain to keep clean, kept smearing.

I asked if i could have the car without they said yes but it would then not be covered for paintwork, is this true, I would prefer to spend the £350 on a professional treatment like the gtechniq, is this a valid point or will the dealer keep me to the diamond bright one.

Anyone else had experience, also whats the best polish / wax for light coloured cars? and aston paint

Ive had diamondbrite before and had bad experiences with it...and of course its usually franchised out so it could be some monkeys just giving your new car a quick wash with an old sponge - they dont correct the paint (remove swirls etc) beforehand either

the Gtechniq guys give the car a proper "detail" and paint correction beforehand, as even on new cars, in my experience the paint is terrible...one or 2 washes by the dealer with an old sponge and chammy and the paint is full of swirls. Ive had 4 black cars now and have become quite picky about it, so wont let the dealer wash my car.

Gtechniq charge about £300 for a small (Vantage) sized cars and you can get discount for multiple cars...not bad considering it takes 6-8 hours. So far the coating is holding up better than anything else Ive tried....they look after the Rolls Royce fleet for the Peninsula in Hong Kong and the Uk guys spend a lot of time flying out to Monaco at weekends doing yachts etc so I think its pretty proven.

edit to add some pics - this is about 2 weeks post coating and a couple of washes...I havnt waxed it or anything...just a quick wash (2 buckets, 2 mitts, filtered water) and dry off ...still looks like that today, post LeMans and coating of French mud up to the windows !

http://rides.webshots.com/album/558841766WIWiLV

Edited by bogie on Tuesday 19th June 20:18

[steelej]

cytefx said:

I asked if i could have the car without they said yes but it would then not be covered for paintwork, is this true

Excuse the french here but that is just plain B@llocks, they can't force you into taking an aftermarket paint treatment by threatening you that the paint isn't covered without it. I'd be speaking to the man in charge if a saleman told me that.....

John.

[V8LM]

warren182 said:

Only water it's been exposed to is rain water

Try cleaning the car.

cytefx said:

I used to have a girlfriend with a car that had this done and it was a pain to keep clean, kept smearing.

I had a girlfriend like that once.

Edited by V8LM on Tuesday 19th June 21:19

[GR1FF1F]

I've been using Autoglym on my V8V and it looks great and lasts ages looking like it just came out of the showroom. I use the shampoo, polish and then gloss protection, which is a kind of glaze. Have been using Zymol on my TVR, but reckon the Autoglym is even better, plus it's much, much cheaper and easier to apply. The Zymol requires correct temperature, hand application, etc. etc.

[*CQ*]

steelej said:

cytefx said:

I asked if i could have the car without they said yes but it would then not be covered for paintwork, is this true

Excuse the french here but that is just plain B@llocks, they can't force you into taking an aftermarket paint treatment by threatening you that the paint isn't covered without it. I'd be speaking to the man in charge if a saleman told me that.....

John.

I agree with John, a load of BS. Having said that, I did have it done but certainly not under the pretense that my paint wouldn't be covered if I didn't.

If you do go ahead and have it anyway then, certainly in my case, it doesn't smear and does make it easier to clean if you don't have the time to go through the waxing process although, fwiw, I still apply a wax over the Diamondbright and you can see the difference in the depth of shine.

steve

[AstonZagato]

cytefx said:

just put the deposit down on one and speaking to the dealer they include (for about £350) a diamond bright treatment, I used to have a girlfriend with a car that had this done and it was a pain to keep clean, kept smearing.

I asked if i could have the car without they said yes but it would then not be covered for paintwork, is this true, I would prefer to spend the £350 on a professional treatment like the gtechniq, is this a valid point or will the dealer keep me to the diamond bright one.

Anyone else had experience, also whats the best polish / wax for light coloured cars? and aston paint

Tell them that you want to speak to the factory to ask about this. Say that you will be reporting the conversation. I think that the salesman might just back down. If he doesn't - phone customer relations at AM.

[cytefx]

Spoke to another dealer and he says that they have just reintroduced the diamond bright treatment, the car will not be delivered until next year so I have time to discuss this with them, but after my last experience with it I would not want that on the car.

I am also in complete agreement about not letting them clean the car, my existing car went in for a service 3 months ago and all the wheels were scratched in concentric circles (they claimed that they do not use a car wash) it looked like it had been through one to me though. After a couple of calls they are replacing all the wheels when I go up there next. Luckly I had photos of the car taken a week before it went in.

[whoami]

cytefx said:

Spoke to another dealer and he says that they have just reintroduced the diamond bright treatment, the car will not be delivered until next year so I have time to discuss this with them, but after my last experience with it I would not want that on the car.

I am also in complete agreement about not letting them clean the car, my existing car went in for a service 3 months ago and all the wheels were scratched in concentric circles (they claimed that they do not use a car wash) it looked like it had been through one to me though. After a couple of calls they are replacing all the wheels when I go up there next. Luckly I had photos of the car taken a week before it went in.

Totally agree. They are completely useless when it comes to preparing cars.

The day after I picked up my new Vantage, I paid to have it professionally detailed (hate that word) to get rid of the wax on trim, hologramming and swirl marks etc.

Appalling.