# Show me your refurbished wheels



## footfistart

Hello all I thought I'd create this thread as I don't think it exists. If it does I'm sorry. I cleaned my alloys up on my TXS and found big chunks and paint blistered. Wheels have Been stored away whilst running winter steelies.

So here are my alloys now and I'll update when they are done. Beginning of next month going hopefully to lepsons.




























All wheels welcome


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## great gonzo

At least they are going to the right place, you won't be disappointed. You could get KDS to put a nano coating on after too as they are next door, lol. 
Gonz.


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## footfistart

I was thinking that. But didn't know they were there. How much would that cost? I was thinking of some c5 to put in myself?


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## great gonzo

I think my mate paid £80 for C5 & EXO by KDS. 
best to get a quote tho. 
Gonz.


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## Sicskate

As above, lepsons are definitely at the top of their game. 

Are they collecting them from you too??

If you like (if I get time) I can get a few pictures of their work for you on Monday??


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## footfistart

Yes please that would be greatful. Gives me a good idea where they would be going to. hopefully they will be couriered. I have sent them a quote so I won't hear from them until Monday/Tuesday.
Yeah I will get a quote Gonz
Thanks for that.

Ryan


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## great gonzo

Nice to here that my diamond cut AMG wheels are covered by Lepsons under Mercedes insurance!
I can claim 10 times in three years. Yay. 
Gonz.


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## MadOnVaux!

Mine done at Lepsons - Silver Chrome Finish:













The finish is better than new


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## footfistart

They are mint. That's awesome. We're they coated in anything after or is that without anything?


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## great gonzo

This was before they was sealed by KDS.







Ginz


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## jay_bmw

My mv1s refurbrd by F&M powdercoating in Preston Lancashire

Hyper silver, tyres removed, blasted dipped powdercoated & tyres refitted & balanced £200


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## great gonzo

Great price Jay. 
Gonz.


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## MDC250

That is a good price considering tyres were on and had to be refitted! Handy to know as not far from me.

Did you get these done recently? How they holding up?


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## Bigoggy

Got mine going in 2moz and getting redone black £160 for 4.







Thats the left front. The others arent too bad. Will post some pics on tuesday when i pick them up


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## jay_bmw

MDC250 said:


> That is a good price considering tyres were on and had to be refitted! Handy to know as not far from me.
> 
> Did you get these done recently? How they holding up?


Yeah it's a bargain, had around 5 sets done now over the years

Had them done in Jan & sold them last week (I get bored easily) but the nature of powdercoating, longevity is great as long as you don't go kissing kerbs


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## Lowiepete

*R5GTT Wheel Refurb*

Hello Folks,

The car, having stood untouched in my garage for 15 years, clearly its
wheels will want a refurb...




























When it came to examining the wheels themselves, it came to the need for 2
of then to go for refurb. So, who gets just two wheels done? The next pics
show two of the better wheels.



















Certainly some crud to remove from inside! One thing about my coating colour
decision was that there was no way I was going to repeat the OEM semi-matt
finish.

Having been taken to Aerocoat, they came back looking like this...



















They appear to be very difficult to photograph indoors with the flash, even
though I had another go...










The finish, called Titatium Chrome, is just superb and out in the sunlight they
have just enough bling, without being overpowering. The guys at Aerocoat
in St Olaves have done me proud :thumb:

These wheels are notoriously difficult to photograph, but here's another go...










and again...










I did have another two or three goes with the caps, but I've given up. Hopefully,
they'll look good once they're back on the car. Wheels now put away...










Now that the wheels have been beautifully refurbished, I'm intent on keeping
them looking nice. So, the first coat of protection is ADS ArtDeWheel. This 
was the 6th potion bottle in my ADS Octagon Formula gift box, and it needs 
a bit of preparation, not just for the surface, but for the operator too!

There are two vital pieces of kit to don before you open the bottle. Oh, and 
it's _not_ a good idea to sniff it to check for perfume! Some protective gloves
and a face mask are basic PPE requirements. This is especially important if,
like me, you're working indoors.

Working with these things makes this not the most pleasant of tasks. What
makes it even more difficult is that you can barely see the coating on the 
already very reflective silver. However, I'm ahead of myself, as usual.

The most vital aspect is that the surface is spotlessly clean! So, a proper
wipe over with the ArtDeParadise panel wipe ensured this. In common with
all the ADS products, less is definitely more, so while it took several drops
to prime the pad for the first wheel, it took no more than 6 to 8 drops more
when replenishing.




























Out of the 20ml bottle, I ended up using just half. Yes, all four wheels coated
inside and out by just 10ml of product! Again, just as with the other coatings,
you can get in there almost straight away with the buffing cloth. The sudden
feeling of slickness is noticable.

Once you have finished, and put your disposable gloves and mask in the bin, 
make a point to __go and wash your hands__!

As I write this, in another room, the wheels are drying. This will need a couple
of hours minimum. I'll probably follow this coating up with some ADS Obsidian
wax, as a belt and braces approach to the protection. That will be the
sacrificial layer.Hello Folks,

Having now secured some new correctly coloured vinyl graphics, it's time to
apply them. Obviously, I wanted them all to match, so a bit of preparation
work was needed. Here's the start...










What I've done is to draw the cap outline onto two pieces of coloured paper.
The second is a spare, just in case. Fold the circle into half and ensure you
have a very sharp folded edge. This helps when you come to fold it in half
once more.










Draw a line along the entire way along one fold. Note that this is absent in
this photo! Cut out a quadrant and test out the position on the disc. Remove 
and set aside.

Next comes the preparation of the decals. You need to decide on your centre
line. Note that I have lined up with the T edge, rather than guess where the
middle of the two letters comes. I'm working with a chunky biro, because my
hands cannot cope with a fine pencil...










Then underline each piece leaving about one millimetre gap below the letters.
Number 2 in this sequence is too close, so will become my spare if it all goes
wrong. The vertical line will be used to match up with the centre line on the 
blue template, and the horizontal will be placed over another line on the 
template, which is our next stage. First, measure the exact height of the 
larger letters. Just 1cm.

Now carefully measure and draw a black line 6.5mm from one of the quadrant 
edges. Cut away 6mm so that your black line is still visible on the template.
That will give you your base line.










Remove about 10mm from the other quadrant edge, don't overdo this or you
will lose some of your centering that the tempate provides. Then cut away
in the centre so that the lettering can be placed freely, as this mock-up
shows. On the cap, the baseline of the decal will go over the line on the
template.










Apply tiny dots of blu-tack to the template and place into position. The 
height of the access curve on the cap is 2cm, so I'm placing the baseline of
the template about 4mm above the bottom of the curve.










Now, it's time to remove the backing paper. The trick here is to curve the
backing paper away from the decal paper, keeping that as flat as you can.
Hold the complete decal gently twixt thumb and forefinger in the vertical, 
while bending the backing paper over the forefinger as you progressively feed 
the decal. Take your time here!

Now place the decal into position, so that the vertical lines match and that
the drawn line on the decal paper rests over that on the template. Once in
position, give the decal a gentle but firm press into position with a microfibre
cloth stretched over the end of your forefinger.










Now, carefully remove the decal covering paper. You need to keep the lifted
edge at an open angle of greater than 140 degrees if you can. Once you 
have peeled back, remove the template and gently firm the lettering with
the MF cloth.










The first cap completed...










For the subsequent caps, I found it easier to remove the template first. With
the slight overlap of the backing paper, I took my time so nothing moved out
of position.










All four caps completed...










...and in position on the wheel










Considering my gammy hands, I thoroughly enjoyed myself doing this! Who
cares if it divides opinion..?




























The refurbed wheels in context on the car...



















Regards,
Steve


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## andy665

Heres mine

From this








To this








All done at home, in my opinion 99% as good as a professional job for 20% of the coist - plus the satisfaction of doing it myself


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## footfistart

They look mint! How long did that take you to do? 

I would love to do it myself but with all the noocks and crannies I'd rather get someone to do it as it will look loads better. I have steel winter wheels which will be done in gloss black when they come off. That will be a lot easier to do. But it won't matter too much if it doesn't look as good as the alloys. 

I had my quote through today. 

280 for the full set to be podwer coated and colour change to athricate  it's one of lepsons standard colour so free of charge. They will be couriered there and back again. Tyres off, on, 're valved and balanced  ill be sealing them with c5 or something equivalent when they get home. 

Also they will be changing a tyre for me too. I buy mine off the net so I'll send it to there address.

Can't wait.

Keep them coming  

Ryan


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## MadOnVaux!

footfistart said:


> They are mint. That's awesome. We're they coated in anything after or is that without anything?


Cheers 

The only thing i did to them was give them a couple of coats of wax....i should really have coated them to stop brake fallout clinging to them as i had to buy some fallout remover to get rid of it, but hey ho.

They cost alot to do, because of the size and finish, but worth it i think......i also had the misfortune to damage one since i had them done, on a random pot-hole.....i sent that off again to be sorted at lepsons.


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## Bero

great gonzo said:


> Nice to here that my diamond cut AMG wheels are covered by Lepsons under Mercedes insurance!
> I can claim 10 times in three years. Yay.
> Gonz.


Interesting!

My ones have gone from immaculate 4 months ago when i bought the car to corroding all around the lip.... 

Will hit up Merc to get them refinished 1st.


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## Scottien

Powdercoated gloss black by Pristine Wheels in Milton Keynes


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## gatecrasher3

Done by Metal Magic in Barnsley.


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## R7KY D

The way they were










And how they are now


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## MDC250

No befores I'm afraid and I've posted pics of these before but why not, I think they came up very well...anthracite powder coated by Rhino in Tarleton:-


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## Bigoggy




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## Dannbodge

My old BBS refurbished by myself. The barrels are gloss black and the faces are Honda Kaiser silver with chrome plated bolts and polished lips.


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## MDC250

Dannbodge said:


> My old BBS refurbished by myself. The barrels are gloss black and the faces are Honda Kaiser silver with chrome plated bolts and polished lips.


That's a lot of disc behind the wheel


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## Dannbodge

MDC250 said:


> That's a lot of disc behind the wheel


315mm 2 piece M3 Evo ones to be exact


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## MDC250

Bet that stops pretty quick


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## 66Rob

Done at Lepsons 4years ago still look New








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## Sicskate

Quick pic


Lepsons turn around about 30 alloys in 3 days for us, we send about 60-80 a week.


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## great gonzo

R7KY D said:


> The way they were
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> And how they are now


Is that Shadow Chrome?
They look fantastic 
Gonz


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## Crafoo

MDC250 said:


> No befores I'm afraid and I've posted pics of these before but why not, I think they came up very well...anthracite powder coated by Rhino in Tarleton:-


Those AMG wheels look ace, but I'm cringing seeing them placed on the ground like that.


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## MDC250

They were chocked and placed with all the care and attention as if I was handling a newborn


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## Crafoo

great gonzo said:


> This was before they was sealed by KDS.
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> Ginz


Looks great, what car are these for fella?


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## Shiny

These were done by Platinum in Swindon (formerly Lepsons).

2nd hand EP3 CTR wheels i bought...with an attempt at cleaning them..



















After (i did the centre caps myself):










And back on the car:


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## Nick-ST

Done by AW smart repairs near Ipswich. Top work as always. Highly recommend!


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## R7KY D

great gonzo said:


> Is that Shadow Chrome?
> They look fantastic
> Gonz


:thumb: Done by Lepsons


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## great gonzo

R7KY D said:


> :thumb: Done by Lepsons


Next best colour from a diamond cut finish I reckon. 
Gonz.


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## great gonzo

Crafoo said:


> Looks great, what car are these for fella?


They are from a very well loved VXR 220. 
Gonz.


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## ryans day

They look like the oz that come standard on the evo vi albeit sprayed.?could be wrong


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## Crafoo

ryans day said:


> They look like the oz that come standard on the evo vi albeit sprayed.?could be wrong


Yep Superturismo's that's why i noticed. I've been looking for a set for a while to put on my Evo (when it arrives)


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## ryans day

had a vi years back thats how i did.you should pick up a set handy enough id say on the mlr.stick an add up in the wanted section and im sure youll get a set


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## Pittsy

As a quick side note to this thread....
Mrs P is picking up her new Mini tomorow and we have had the wheels refurbed whilst they were doing the servicing etc. (will post pics up when i get my hands on it for a proper clean).
Any way am i going to be ok sticking some C5 on straight away or is it advisable to wait for a bit? 
The actual refurb will have been done yesturday BTW


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## footfistart

Well if they are "baked" then I don't see why you can't apply it. What size bottle do you have? I want to get some but with wide 18"s I may need a 30ml?


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## Pittsy

I think i have got 15ml, i reckon that should be enough for these 17's, when i did mine i had a little left and they were 17's.
You might be a little tight with 18's though.


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## Pittsy

footfistart said:


> Well if they are "baked" then I don't see why you can't apply it. What size bottle do you have? I want to get some but with wide 18"s I may need a 30ml?


I can highly recommend it TBH if you are thinking about using it :thumb:


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## GAZA62

Lepsons did a full refurb on my 108 split rims and they look so much better really nice to clean the wheels without bits of paint ending up in my wash mit not the best pics as the glare of the wheels played havoc with the camera the finish is very good gave them a 9 out of 10 as I found one small flaw but you have to get on your knees to see it and a 10 out 10 for service very polite and friendly.

Sadly I have already picked up some chips  but they are wheels at the end of the day so its gonna happen just a little concerned as the car has done very few miles since refurb don't really know how tough wheel paint finishes are


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## Harry_p

Last set I did, e34 m5 throwing star wheels without covers. Mercedes brilliant silver lips and rover charcoal metallic centres.


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## MadOnVaux!

Nick-ST said:


> Done by AW smart repairs near Ipswich. Top work as always. Highly recommend!


Treat yourself to some new centre caps


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## Pittsy

Just got these done really nice job too:thumb:
60 sheets a corner and the company are literally round the corner too, no before pics I am afraid. 
I have given them a nice coat of C5 and they are sparkling


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## footfistart

They look nice mate. Did you do the barrels or just faces? How much c5 have you got left?
Ryan


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## Pittsy

I just did the faces and probably about 1/4 of the bottle left mate:thumb:


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## 66Rob

Lepsons Shadow Chrome, had these re done in standard silver after 12months due to problem with the finish, not Lepsons fault, poor Toyota alloy was the issue.







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## Danman




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## footfistart

So I'm getting my wheels done for sure at lepsons in the coming weeks. I went to Ford and showed them their handy work I managed to get them to agree to paying half of the bill. So I'm getting a cheque through the post for just over 160 . Got a problem though. Which colour for my style of wheels. I want athricate but apparently they do three shades light, medium and dark. 

Keep those wheels coming. I'll be adding to the pack.


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## k9vnd

18" lamborghini gallerado's refurbed ford focus rs500 matte black done by sjh bodyworks glenrothes, used to be hyper star silver.









These are the winter wheels, the 19" snowie's are needing there refurb in a week or two so will update a few before/after.


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## Wrigit

Shiny said:


> These were done by Platinum in Swindon (formerly Lepsons).
> 
> 2nd hand EP3 CTR wheels i bought...with an attempt at cleaning them..
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Apologies for taking thread on a tangent, but i live local to swindon and would like to know how they have held up over time.

As i may well use platinum, looks a cracking job!

and how much did you pay roughly? please p.m me if you do not want to have it on here!


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## footfistart

I'm stuck on colour. Ford has given me the money just need to wait for check to be cleared then get the alloys off. What do I go for? black, silver or anthricate I'm so used to seeing my car wearing black steelies I quite the look of black and silver. But then again I haven't seen the car with alloys for a good few months. 

To answer your question lepson will charge me around 80 per wheel with VAT. Reason being is that tyres will be on as well. With out tyres it's around 70. Have a look on their site. they have a detailed price list which is downloadable.


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## Shiny

Wrigit said:


> Apologies for taking thread on a tangent, but i live local to swindon and would like to know how they have held up over time.
> 
> As i may well use platinum, looks a cracking job!
> 
> and how much did you pay roughly? please p.m me if you do not want to have it on here!


They are holding up fine :thumb: No bubbling or deterioration.

I think i paid £300 from memory. They wanted something like an extra £15/20 per centre cap with no guarantee of a colour match, so i had a go at the centre caps myself.


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## 66Cobra

Just had these ceramic polished and lacquered. while looking for touch less tyre fitter in the north west I have given them a coat of C5 inside and out.








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:thumb:


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## footfistart

Those wheels are AMAZING!

I don't think that sort of fitter exists? Maybe for higher end car perhaps. I'm just guessing as I have never heard myself.


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## -Kev-

Most decent tyre places will have touchless machines, only thing is C5 may stop any balance weights from sticking..


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## EastUpperGooner

Wish we had places as cheap down south to do wheels. £200 for a set that have tyres on to be dipped and refurbed is brilliant. 

Looking at £330/350 down here!!


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## footfistart

Well because Ford buggered my alloys up they are paying for my alloys to be done. That's 336 including VAT with tyres on.


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## NathanG

I've done a couple of sets myself now.

Audi wheels for my Polo. I got them in black as you can see and this is how i finished them, polished lip with anthracite in the middle.



















Some Peugeot wheels off a 206.




























And some other Audi wheels for another Polo just before i sold it. Rubbish pic though.


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## footfistart

My alloys are ready to go with new tyre fitted (lepson won't change tyre there). Being sent off Tuesday coming  can't wait. Going anthracite dark


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## neilb62

Fresh from The Wheel Repair Centre at Bamber Bridge. Shadow Chrome isn't easy to match but they've made a good effort with this one...


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## Horatio

Picked up yesterday from The Wheel Specialist StAlbans, shod in new rubber. The sparkle is sparkley :argie:








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## -Kev-

MadOnVaux! said:


> Mine done at Lepsons - Silver Chrome Finish:
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looks good, but omg that packaging is just ridiculous lol


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## footfistart

Did they package that? Mine are going Tuesday and I forgot if they said they'd package it or not? Those wheels look awesome. They off a Ford focus being a largely spaced 5 spoke.


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## footfistart

My alloys got picked up by apc and will be with lepsons tomorrow. They will be anthracite medium


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## gatecrasher3

I can see the convenience with Lepsons offering a free courier service but their prices are steep.


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## Sicskate

But lepsons will dip the wheel, sand blast and straighten the wheels for that price. 

The price also includes diamond cut finish.


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## gatecrasher3

Maybe I have missed something as straightening is listed as an additional service.

I saw on their site the price for up to 18" wheels refurbishing is £60+VAT per wheel (add an extra £10+VAT if tyres need to be removed). Then if you want a set of 4 centre caps painting it's a further £30+VAT.

So that's £324 for 4 17" wheels without tyres.

I appreciate not everyone is local to Metal Magic in South Yorkshire but when I took 4 17" alloys to be refurbished the total cost for all of the above came to £192 and the finish was flawless.


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## footfistart

That's the thing. It depends on location which will show up price wise. I would love to pay that much put I'm not paying a penny as fraud are paying for it because of there ****ups


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## footfistart

So as promised my alloys were sent away and have returned. So just a reminder of what they looked like and a sneak peak to what they are now. I have brought new caps and will be coated and fitted to alloys tomorrow as they are being fitted to the car tomorrow.

So before.










And a sneak pic. More will come in later but I'm too excited like a kid at Christmas 










Ryan


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## footfistart

Here they are fitted.




























Just my steel wheels to sort out now


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## EastUpperGooner

Finally had my OZ Superleggeras done in Anthracite, very happy with them.


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## Faithfull

Lepsons maybe are expensive but you get what you pay for and are generally one of the best alloy wheel specialists around. The only other one i would recommend in the south east is WheelWorks UK (formally known as Wicked Wheels) Their work is stunning.


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