Autobrite Very Berry Review (and Lepsons wheel refurbish)
Posted: Sun Jan 31, 2010 8:03 pm
Since buying the car the wheels have been bugging me. The centre caps were corroded, and the wheels were rough with overspray from a previous roadside refurb. The paint behind the spokes was pretty poor and starting to bubble along with some around the centre caps.
I wanted to have them properly refurbished for a while and some colleagues recommended Lepsons after seeing some MV2 wheels they had done.
I managed to borrow some wheels for the week (eternally grateful to m44rrt) and was able to leave mine at Lepsons. They take a while as they get a full acid dip, repair and baked powercoat / lacquer for a better than OEM - long lasting finish. I went for a mix of the "smoked-chrome" and "two-tone" finishes. The wheels are painted black, and then highlighted with silver chrome-fleck on the faces. This gives a very deep shine that changes with the angle you look at them. I was very happy with how they turned out and extremely impressed with Lepsons. They lived up to their expectations and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to anyone considering a wheel-off refurb.
When I got the wheels back I wanted to seal them so got in some Autobrite Very Berry Wheel Wax after being so impressed with the Addiction Wax. The wax was just like Addiction in it's application, it went on so easily. It felt like I was waxing ice the applicator slid over the paint so easily.
What I love about Autobrite waxes is it is hard to put on too thick. With other waxes like Collinite 915 I have found the pad 'sticky' when applying and having to do lots of tiny circles to ensure a thinish coat. If you put too much on or leave it too long it's a pig to buff off. Very Berry is the opposite, it buffs off with a light pass of a Eurow Double Density Shag Pile microfibre.
And the smell - this wax is even better than Addiciton! Think strawberries, cherries and raspberries all rolled in. I had to really concentrate not to scoff the applicator when getting more wax from the pot!
Here are the black insides after waxing:
The wax left a stunning shine and really made the chrome flake in the paint pop.
Here are some pictures of the wheels on. It's hard to capture the 3D effect this paint finish gives so I took quite a few I'm afraid!
And yes I know the car is dirty!
The paint gradually changes from silver to black on the rims
The insides of the spokes are dark
You can really see the flake on the inside of the spoke in this shot
Really need some new wheel bolts now
And the finishing touch, a new set of badges
I wanted to have them properly refurbished for a while and some colleagues recommended Lepsons after seeing some MV2 wheels they had done.
I managed to borrow some wheels for the week (eternally grateful to m44rrt) and was able to leave mine at Lepsons. They take a while as they get a full acid dip, repair and baked powercoat / lacquer for a better than OEM - long lasting finish. I went for a mix of the "smoked-chrome" and "two-tone" finishes. The wheels are painted black, and then highlighted with silver chrome-fleck on the faces. This gives a very deep shine that changes with the angle you look at them. I was very happy with how they turned out and extremely impressed with Lepsons. They lived up to their expectations and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to anyone considering a wheel-off refurb.
When I got the wheels back I wanted to seal them so got in some Autobrite Very Berry Wheel Wax after being so impressed with the Addiction Wax. The wax was just like Addiction in it's application, it went on so easily. It felt like I was waxing ice the applicator slid over the paint so easily.
What I love about Autobrite waxes is it is hard to put on too thick. With other waxes like Collinite 915 I have found the pad 'sticky' when applying and having to do lots of tiny circles to ensure a thinish coat. If you put too much on or leave it too long it's a pig to buff off. Very Berry is the opposite, it buffs off with a light pass of a Eurow Double Density Shag Pile microfibre.
And the smell - this wax is even better than Addiciton! Think strawberries, cherries and raspberries all rolled in. I had to really concentrate not to scoff the applicator when getting more wax from the pot!
Here are the black insides after waxing:
The wax left a stunning shine and really made the chrome flake in the paint pop.
Here are some pictures of the wheels on. It's hard to capture the 3D effect this paint finish gives so I took quite a few I'm afraid!
And yes I know the car is dirty!
The paint gradually changes from silver to black on the rims
The insides of the spokes are dark
You can really see the flake on the inside of the spoke in this shot
Really need some new wheel bolts now
And the finishing touch, a new set of badges
. Someone is going to get a very nice set of 108s though since m44rrt is selling.
