WRAPT C5Z06
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- Nov 12, 2009
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Buffer Suggestions
- Thread starter RBJR
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swanicyouth
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- Mar 3, 2011
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Why would the Duetto correct better than the 15/21 - or do you just prefer that body style of machine?
+1 mine is flawless......... and be sure to use the 25% off coupon.
WRAPT C5Z06
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Never said the Duetto corrects better than the 15/21. I just mentioned the Duetto slaughtered it GG. Yes, I much prefer the body style of the Duetto.
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Rsurfer
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- Jan 26, 2007
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Are you sure?
RBJR
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- Jan 26, 2013
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Hey, appreciate all the responses. Based on this info and what I have researched I'm going with the Rupes. Here is my logic.
Even though I am a rookie, I'm in it for the long haul. Would rather invest in the top of the line and as I learn and my skill level improves I shouldn't have to invest in an upgrade. Not unless the buffer technology changes like computers and cell phones.
I'm a pretty fast learner and with all the great information available here, You Tube and other places it's about having the right equipment, understanding the project and applying the right technique.
I didn't know the Rupes was made in Italy. My mothers side of the family born in Naples Italy. Everything I have ever owned that was made in Italy, suits, shoes, etc, the quality has been excellent!
Once again appreciate the feedback and Merry Christmas!!
Even though I am a rookie, I'm in it for the long haul. Would rather invest in the top of the line and as I learn and my skill level improves I shouldn't have to invest in an upgrade. Not unless the buffer technology changes like computers and cell phones.
I'm a pretty fast learner and with all the great information available here, You Tube and other places it's about having the right equipment, understanding the project and applying the right technique.
I didn't know the Rupes was made in Italy. My mothers side of the family born in Naples Italy. Everything I have ever owned that was made in Italy, suits, shoes, etc, the quality has been excellent!
Once again appreciate the feedback and Merry Christmas!!
Old Tiger
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- Oct 27, 2009
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The latest Griots six inch DA has greatly raised the bar for consumer grade DA's. Far superior ergonomics and the best warranty in the industry. I recommend you pass on the 25' power cable version and buy an extension cord instead. I would strongly recommend the Maguire's Microfiber system for beginners.
Flash Gordon
Well-known member
- Feb 6, 2010
- 11,450
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You are a smart man to take my advice. Had you bought a Made in Japan DA, you would've regretted it
If I can assist you further don't hesitate to ask
Merry Christmas !!
cardaddy
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- Nov 20, 2012
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Ray, I see that you're leaning towards the new Duetto, and that's a great machine, from what we've heard. They are not shipping till sometime in January but you can bet a lot of guys here will have one ASAP.
I still have to agree with Scott though. The Griot's has a lifetime warranty, and will do a LOT of work for you. I know plenty of professional detailers that work with them, some exclusively.
In the early stages when you're working on your *process* and your *technique* the machine isn't going to make the end job any better. I'd suggest buying the GG6 and investing in pads, investing in a LOT of pads. That extra $200 will go a long way towards getting you there. The Rupes "kit" comes with 3 pads, but you'll need 4~6 of just ONE COLOR to compound a vehicle, and another 2~4 of another color to polish. That is once you KNOW what pads work on THAT paint system.
The neat part about Lake Country pads is there are so many, with so many different cutting levels, open cell and closed cell foam as well. You may not need the heavy cut yellow pads very often, but you'll likely need them on some vehicles, some of the time. Most you'll need orange or white to start. All you'll need white, green, blue or black to polish. Then you start talking about blended pads such as wool/foam hybrids, and of course you also have different level of cut, as in cutting as well as polishing/finishing type of microfiber pads.
What I'm saying is your pad investment can easily be twice the cost of the machine. When you start into detailing as a hobby, if you have only one vehicle, then sure you'll be able to perhaps get away with just a few (like a dozen) pads. But even then you'll need to experiment on that paint to figure out what pad will work to get the results you need WITHOUT using a pad that's too aggressive. Heck, after that first compounding session you shouldn't even need the pad you compounded with again. But you can't polish with it, so that means you need to figure out which pads work for that end of the job.
Move to another vehicle and the pad(s) you needed on the first one you may not need at all on the next one. It's just weird like that.
Same thing say with a master ASE technician. He'll have not just one wrench, but a LOT of them, and many of the same size. Some may bend one way, others another. But they are all needed to get the job done.
Detailing as a hobby is expensive enough, but I'd say if you really want to expand your technique then start with a well proven machine, a stable of pads that'll attack any different paint system you'll run across, and work forward from there. There will come a time that you'll need a machine JUST FOR SMALL PADS. That's when you step up to a more expensive machine as your main machine.
Until then I'd invest in pads, in learning different products, say SMAT versus DAT and how each works on your own paint, (then branching out from there).
And of course after you step up to whatever large orbit machine is out at the time. Which likely Griot's will have one, if not Flex come spring.
Then you can dedicate your old friend, the GG6 (with a small backing plate) to work with just 3½" and 4" pads. It's a great backup machine even if you have 2 or 3 other machines.
Sure about what????
Flash Gordon
Well-known member
- Feb 6, 2010
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I wouldn't get the Duetto first, I would get the LHR21ES
Flash Gordon
Well-known member
- Feb 6, 2010
- 11,450
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Could you name me 1 please?
Flash Gordon
Well-known member
- Feb 6, 2010
- 11,450
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I disagree highly with both statements
Flash Gordon
Well-known member
- Feb 6, 2010
- 11,450
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RUPES polishers eat up Lake Country pads. I would advise you to stick with the RUPES foam pads
I am very surprised MicroFiber pads were not mentioned. You will need a few of those too eventually
WRAPT C5Z06
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I did. Well, I bought the 21 first, then sold the it. I don't prefer the chassis design of the 15 & 21. I much prefer the PC style of the Duetto and have one on the way. It's a more than capable machine. I was blown away how it SMOKED the GG 6" in terms of correction power. Todd Helme did a comparison proving this.
cardaddy
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- Nov 20, 2012
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I've worked this year with one of the top 2 guys in Atlanta. His interiors start at $295, and ANYTHING that involves buffing starts at $550. So basically you want an interior and exterior with an AIO (usually he'll use SIP1500) and a sealant (he uses PL) that'll be a $900 job. He has NOTHING but GG6 machines for finishing.
Yes, he does have a rotary but that doesn't mean it gets used on a regular basis.
I'm willing to bet plenty of guys here on AG can (and will) do the job with only a GG6, myself included.
So you think a better machine is automatically going to make the job better? Even if the guy has no idea what he's doing.
That's like saying all Ferrari's are faster than all Corvettes when that simply isn't the truth. The DO all cost more however. 
I'd also challenge anyone that says they can do a car non stop in the heat of summer with less than 4 compounding pads. Use a pad till it heats up and pull it off, stick on another, and keep moving. Sure.... if you want to use two pads it CAN BE DONE, but not without carrying heat in the pads. Once they heat up, much less fill up with spent product and paint, you have no way of cooling them other than a pad washer. And most guys don't have a pad washer, even the one I just mentioned! Yet he'll do $2K corrections every week, and do them with a GG6. (About 4 or 5 of them actually.) He USED to have 3401's but they failed so he dumped them.
Pads are the extension to the tool. They are what makes the product work. Trash your pads and you trash your work, simple as that. (And yes, I've seen guys hobble through a job with 2 pads, but that just doesn't make any sense, AT ALL.) :dunno:
Yes MF pads are part of the 'total package' but that was for another discussion.
And I defer to you with LC pads and large stroke machines. I know first hand that LC pads will work with a 3401 being forced rotation, as well as with a rotary, just don't have any experience with them on a Rupes. Perhaps others will chime in as to how to keep the heat down and the pad intact.
I mean sure, take something like Snap On tools for instance. They are VERY expensive, built with the end user in mind, and have a fleet of owner operator guys out there that depend on the product to support their family as well as their mobile businesses. But that doesn't mean that as a tech in a local shop that you HAVE TO HAVE those tools to do an alternator job, or a clutch job, or any job for that matter. Heck, these days Kobalt tools come with a lifetime warranty, (just like Griot's). So if your new, you're learning, and you want to go full bore at it.... then even if you break it it's covered, for life.
There ya' go.
Even Mike said that he didn't jump on the Rupes train in the beginning, but these new models he will actually be the "conductor" of the train. That my brother is good enough for me!:dblthumb2:
Just as many bought their rotary's then the 3401 then sold it for the 15 or 21 (or both). The world of consumer level tools are a changing, and there will be plenty of new ones come down the pike in the not too distant future. These latest models from Rupes just go to show that they have been listening to input from the 'field'.