Revive

Cost: £7.95 for 250ml

Date of Review: 5th October 2018

The Sales Pitch from Auto Finesse:

Auto Finesse® Revive is a silicone-based trim dressing that brings life back to your exterior plastics, while being water-resistant. The solution darkens and restores colour to the plastic trim, leaving behind a subtle satin finish that is dry to the touch, and will not run off in the rain. Once applied, its advanced formula will help to protect plastic and rubber trim from future fading, with durability that exceeds conventional water-based dressings.

Its silicone-polymers help to shield the trim from damaging UV-radiation and instill hydrophobic properties that help to repel weathering. They also make Revive resistant to regular washing, maintaining a factory fresh finish week after week.

Source: https://shop.autofinesse.co.uk/revive-250ml

What You Get:

A 250ml bottle with a press opening lid.

(My bottle didn’t have a label on hence the stock photo used above)

Product Description:

Again taken from the Auto Finesse website

Darkens and restores colour to exterior trims.

Leaves a satin finish.
Water resistant.
Developed with silicone-polymers to protect from future fading.
Works perfectly when applied with our Tyre and Trim applicator.

Instructions:

Clean all the car parts to be treated as best as possible and make sure the area is dry is the most important part. If necessary remove all the bugs stuck to the area.

The official instructions from AF again:

Begin by cleaning the trims with an exterior all-purpose cleaner, like Auto Finesse Citrus Power, to remove old dressings and adherent grime. Once the trims are clean, dry them with a microfibre drying towel or air-blower, removing as much water from the panel gaps as possible to avoid drips. Give the bottle a good shake to integrate the ingredients, and apply Revive sparingly to a foam applicator, tyre and trim applicator. Using moderate pressure, work thoroughly into the trim, taking care to obtain uniform coverage. A little bit goes a long way, so try not to over-apply, though doing so will cause no ill effects. Allow the product to cure for 5-10 minutes until dry, and gently buff with a general purpose microfibre towel to reveal an even satin finish.

Application:

Tip: Wear some latex gloves of some sort to stop the product going all over your hands.

The first thing is to shake the product well to mix the contents.

unmixed contents

mixed product

I noticed is that the gel is a bit more liquid than the Chemical Guys Tire & Trim Gel (CGT&T for future ref going forward in this review). The secret here is to not apply to much of the product. The instructions say to apply ‘sparingly to a foam applicator’ and this becomes a little more difficult the more you use it.

You have to keep adding more to the sponge to treat the area, what happens is that the sponge becomes saturated and can’t hold anymore. So if you spread to much of the product it becomes very greasy and messy which is a real shame because I prefer this consistency to the CGT&T. It’s better to apply in small overlapping circles to make sure you have a good even coverage. I marked up a separation line to show the difference of applied before and after. I thought I had cleaned the bumper but some dirt was removed by the application.

during application

before application

after first section

After the removal of the tape it’s quite clear to see the difference.

The full completed plastic bumper.

Removing:

This is a different process from the CGT&T. This product needs to cure for five to ten minutes or until dry before buffing off the excess residue.

Results:

It works. The results are clear to see and the water will bead from the treated area quite nicely. There is no residue smell after the application. The area is dry to the touch once it has been buffed after curing.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Why did I not rate full marks? The fact that you have to allow the product to cure first. I found the fact that the product was becoming quite greasy over my hands after a prolonged application to large areas. I was using the sponge on its own as much as possible, trying not to apply to much of the product.

Ease of use – 8 out 10

Finish – 10 out 10

Conclusion:

It worked so no problems there, I also prefered the consistency of the product compared the CHT&T. The product is good value and a little product does go a long way. Getting the happy balance of the product application is the trick. After a few more uses I didn’t get quite as messy so things improved in usability, but it’s difficult not to over apply on a larger area.

For ease of use I prefer the Chemical Guys product, but it’s quite thick and so is the opposite of the product. If I could have the consistency of this product and the ease of use of the CGT&T product it would be perfect.

The Chemical Guys product comparison is here.