# Wheel Refurbishment in Essex/Kent/London WARNING!



## ADW (Aug 8, 2010)

If your in any of the above areas or surroundings and you search for local wheel refurbers then more likely than not you will find a company called Spit and Polish.. Ive just had my dads Audi a5 wheels done from them and they are horrible.. do not use this company, they charge good money but do not deliver in terms of quality.. 

Just a warning


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## nickfrog (Nov 29, 2010)

Thanks for the heads up. Get your money back and use exelwheels.co.uk, they are superb quality wise.


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## leigh258 (May 20, 2010)

thanks for the heads up, was looking to get my dads alloys referbed (xmas pressie) any chance youve got any pictures??


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## Rundie (Oct 2, 2007)

ADW said:


> If your in any of the above areas or surroundings and you search for local wheel refurbers then more likely than not you will find a company called Spit and Polish.. Ive just had my dads Audi a5 wheels done from them and they are horrible.. do not use this company, they charge good money but do not deliver in terms of quality..
> 
> Just a warning


Did you pay for them ? If they are that bad then they should re-work them or not get paid.


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## ADW (Aug 8, 2010)

Will try & get pics this week.. Unfortunatley we needed the car back on the road asap, we are in talks with them at the moment. it sucks because i was really looking forward to sealing the alloys, but now it just seems pointless, may aswell just curb them up again.


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## HeavenlyDetail (Sep 22, 2006)

Spit and polish have been going years originally in East Peckham before moving.
Im surprised to hear bad reports as its the first ive heard but then you have the wheels to prove your point , i have to be honest i use Lepsons as does kelly from kds and we both im sure would not recommend anyone better than these guys in the south of England.


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## ADW (Aug 8, 2010)

Heavenly said:


> Spit and polish have been going years originally in East Peckham before moving.
> Im surprised to hear bad reports as its the first ive heard but then you have the wheels to prove your point , i have to be honest i use Lepsons as does kelly from kds and we both im sure would not recommend anyone better than these guys in the south of England.


If only id have done my research prior. i will be trying lepsons next.


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## PJS (Aug 18, 2007)

Give them a chance to address your concerns, or suggest they square Lepsons up to put them right, after you've spoken to Lepsons first.


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## HeavenlyDetail (Sep 22, 2006)

ADW said:


> If only id have done my research prior. i will be trying lepsons next.


Typical lepsons car and 24hr security with drop car off and collect even if you want that service.
Sadly my cars in the distance after having light chromes fitted 










and medium shadows they done for me this year with darkened inner spokes and black insides..


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## ADW (Aug 8, 2010)

:thumb:

I can already see the evenness of the clear coat from the pictures on your alloy wheels.. The wheels ive had done are almost like different shades of silver (colour of my wheels) and the clear coat is patchy as in its dry in certain areas and yet in others its overly wet (no orange peel).. The wheels prior to being sent were factory finished so they had a slight orange peel (an OEM look in my opinion) and we had agreed over the phone that this would be the finish that they would achieve, but obviously they haven't  Oh and did i mention that on the outer edge of the face of the wheel (the lip) there seems to not be enough paint, i can literally still see the repair underneath and its just be clear coated on top


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## Neil_S (Oct 26, 2005)

Another vote for Lepsons, absolutely flawless finish, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them.


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## Gleammachine (Sep 8, 2007)

Heard differing opinions of Spit & Polish, which is enough reason for me not to use them for customers vehicles.


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## Gleammachine (Sep 8, 2007)

nickfrog said:


> Thanks for the heads up. Get your money back and use exelwheels.co.uk, they are superb quality wise.


I know they offer a collection service at a price, but not really local to Essex.


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## Kelly @ KDS (Aug 4, 2008)

I have too seen the spit and polish finish go from ok to bad over the years ,

i am lucky enough to be next door to lepsons , (well i should say they are lucky enough to be next door to me :lol: )
and have been shown many wheels that lepsons have had to refurbish properly after the spit and polish magic .

Not sure why the problem now as many of my customers have gone onto saying they have been using spit and polish for over 15 years and the finish many years ago was great , but last few years shocking and cant fix them afterwards .

Here is a customers wheels that spit and polish refurbed , while he was in with us for detail package we got lepsons to put the wheels right :thumb:

These pics are showing what should be a Audi rs6 plus wheel colour which is a special colour code to plus model only , now the colour was no where near and you will see the correct colour on the afters but check out the finish or should i say lack of :doublesho

The best bit is the wheels have been done at spit and polish at different times and could not even match their own colours :lol:

next wheel nice colour match


















































































now lepsons handy work
































































there is only one company in the south east that can get the best results day in day out thats lepsons and the only company i will ever use for all my customers cars

finished car



















kelly

www.kdsdetailing.co.uk


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## ADW (Aug 8, 2010)

They shouldnt be allowed to do this. The finish on those wheels after looks awsome. Thats what i want! After seeing these it makes me so furious


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## PJS (Aug 18, 2007)

Then use this thread when you speak to S&P.
As said above, let them either put it right, or pay Lepsons to fix it - you shouldn't be paying twice.


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## jonjay (Feb 28, 2008)

Just had a refurbished Diamon cut wheel from spit and polish and it was fine. I must admit though their lacquer technique on diamond cut wheels may not be that great as I had lacquer peeling problems a year on.


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## rgDetail (Jul 16, 2009)

Lepsons work does indeed look fantastic, from this thread and other threads showing their finished work, and to be turning them around at that quality within a day is brilliant! 

A little off topic, and while I'm not in any way suggesting that it is ok to send out, or for that matter anyone should have to accept sub-standard work as 'complete', there are a lot of people about who wouldn't even bat an eye-lid at some of the imperfections such as o/p, flecks of dust or congealed paint that has been pushed through a dirty gun, an uneven and sometimes even rough clear coat, even where the outer rim has been missed when the paint has been applied in poor lighting conditions and the primer/repair is showing through - I've seen lots of examples of this where the owner has been satisfied and wouldn't even know there was anything wrong with the wheels :doublesho It's surprising how many sets of alloys probably get sent out like that with no come-back at all. 

Have you discussed the finish with the company you used? You certainly have every right to do so!


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## ADW (Aug 8, 2010)

Regardless, i paid good money and prior we had agreed what the finish should be. Ive got a good case now in my hands and will be approaching them again. I could understand if ide have rushed them or if they were really really cheap or if the car just wasnt worth, but this was not the case.


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## Exclusive Car Care (Jan 14, 2007)

rgDetail said:


> to be turning them around at that quality within a day is brilliant!


Lepsons dont turn them out in a day- its a few days turn around for a set of wheels:thumb: they take the time to do them properly


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## Neil_S (Oct 26, 2005)

Yeah Lepsons had my car all week, another great service they offer is for you to leave the car with them, I was working in London at the time, so picked up on a Thursday.


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## ADW (Aug 8, 2010)

Yea we had ours blocking up the drive on axle stands for the whole week! :wall:


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## rgDetail (Jul 16, 2009)

Ah right - must have mis-read that somewhere sorry, that would make a lot more sense looking at the quality of their work! I was scratching my head in confusion after having thought they were able to turn them around like that in a day!

A friend of mine is using a company to do a set of his wheels soon, they say that the wheels will be ready by five if dropped off at nine. I'm looking forward to seeing the quality of them in that time period, bearing in mind it's not just a few touch-ups.

By the way I wasn't suggesting it's ok to accept that sort of work earlier on, I was just mentioning a bit of general discussion around the topic of wheel refurbs :thumb: 

Hope all is sorted for the OP


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## Waka (Jun 9, 2010)

Just to redress the balance somewhat, I've just had my wheels back from S&P and they are absolutely fine.

I've used them many years ago so was worried when I read the OPs woes while my wheels were in Kent :doublesho

However, I needn't have worried as I'm more than happy with the results and they are cracking value for money compared to what some people charge.

No connection with S&P, just a satisfied customer etc. :thumb:


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## great gonzo (Nov 4, 2010)

I was recommended Spit and Polish by a very highly regarded Panel beater/sprayer in south London, who is used by many main dealers, of which he said "will only use S&P due to the wheels coming back good as new"


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## nimburs (Apr 26, 2007)

I wouldn't touch spit and polish ever again. Renault agrred to refurbish my wheels and they were sent to spit and polish seemed to have a good name etc picked them up a week later and they were terrible runs in the lacquer afew bits where the lacquer wasn't dry and stuff had touched them and the dreaded hanger marks.


















They redid them in powdercoat red (the first time they were sprayed) it was better, still hanger marks etc but completely the wrong colour. I eventually had enough as they didn't look right and went down to lepsons, I have used them numerous times over the years and have never once found anything to fault there work with.

The lepsons finished wheels.


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## ADW (Aug 8, 2010)

Seems like people are having mixed reaction some good but mostly bad. I for one am certain that unless s&p can sort out there quality control i will not be using them ever again. I wonder if certain customers get looked after more than others dependant on whom has recomended you?


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## great gonzo (Nov 4, 2010)

ADW said:


> Seems like people are having mixed reaction some good but mostly bad. I for one am certain that unless s&p can sort out there quality control i will not be using them ever again. I wonder if certain customers get looked after more than others dependant on whom has recommended you?


I was thinking that!
I thought that they where only really for trade use


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## iansoutham (Aug 4, 2006)

Another vote for Lepsons.

My work uses them all the time for refurbishments on wheels.

Good prices, quick service pick up from Lewisham Monday morning and return Thursday morning.

Shane down there in the tyre centre (other end of the units) does a good price on tyres as well. In addition, they refuse to use external weights, only internal stick-on ones so as to avoid any possibility of damaging the alloy.

We send maybe 5-8 wheels a week (or more sometimes) down to them for refurbishing, and have only once let us down in paint match and that was because of a brand new batch of tinter which looked perfect when on its own, but was not right when next to the other wheels. Fortunately, it was for one of my own cars, and they took it back and started again from scratch with a fresh batch of paint and it was perfect.

Their quality control is second-to-none as well. If a wheel does not meet their QC, it goes back into the acid vat to start again and we have always had a phone call to let us know what the delay is (only happened twice, maybe three times in over 5 years I have worked with them).

They have even shut down for 3 weeks over this Christmas to completely refurbish their operating equipment, clean the vats, the whole nine yards just to ensure their quality is right. Most other places would simply take a long weekend and change the fluids.

Some example of mine...
Before



























After




































That was the wheels when refurbished in 2006 and this is how they came up about 3 months ago...




































Over 4 years of abuse, road grime, salt, etc... and they still look basically as new.

I got some new centre caps for them from Ford last month and even they match perfectly.


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## iansoutham (Aug 4, 2006)

kdskeltec said:


> i am lucky enough to be next door to lepsons , (well i should say they are lucky enough to be next door to me :lol: )
> and have been shown many wheels that lepsons have had to refurbish properly after the spit and polish magic .
> 
> kelly
> ...


Interesting, I never even knew there was a detailing place on that estate 

I may have to pop in one day when I'm down seeing Shane getting some tyres and see if you can give me some tips or advice......


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## ADW (Aug 8, 2010)

Thanks for all your pictures guys i think my mind has been made up, Lepsons it is :thumb:.


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