Gear-Driven Orbital Polisher History by Mike Phillips

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Gear-Driven Orbital Polisher History by Mike Phillips


I'm sure other guys know the history or exact years these tools were introduce, I'm not sure any of them write articles with pictures?

This picture is from a class I taught at Mobile Tech Expo last year titled,

Polishing tools past, present and future: Old and new technology reviewed and showcased

gear-driven-history.jpg




See class #5 listed in the classes I taught last year here,

2018 Class Schedule for Mobile Tech Expo - Friday, January 26th in Orlando, Florida


The above picture is one of 112 pictures in total in this Power Point Presentation for the section I covered on gear-driven orbitals, past, present and future. The future of course, is the FLEX 3401 Cordless Polisher. I don't know when it's to be introduced but I've used the prototype.



The picture of the RUPES EK150 is a picture I took when I was the guest at RUPES in Milan, Italy, you can see it here,

Rupes Bigfoot Orbital Polishers Virtual Museum Tour - Milan, Italy


Guido Valentini, the President of RUPES not only gave me a personal tour of their factory but he also gave me permission to take pictures of not just their tool museum but inside the factory where the tools were built.


Top Secret Pictures – How Rupes Bigfoot Polishers are made!



This was probably the most entertaining class I taught, (they're all entertaining), and I'm going to see if Yancy and I can turn this Power Point Presentation into a Webinar or a video as it the Power Point Presentation itself covers a LOT of tools.

I'm working on one of my classes for the 2019 Mobile Tech Expo that will show how to use gear-drive orbital polishers to do high quality and profitable one-step production detailing using cleaner/waxes and AIOs.


Stay tuned....


:)
 
Continued....


Here's the dates for Mobile Tech Expo for 2019, which takes place in Orlando.

Thursday, January 9th --> Education day --the day for attending classes
Friday, January 10th
Saturday, January 11th


Here's my schedule for 2019


1: 8:00am to 8:45am – Complete detailing including, everything inside, outside and engine compartments
 Rob McCrary and Jason Whitely along with Mike Phillips will show you how to tackle every surface in a car including matching the right product for safe yet consistent professional results. Glass, paint, chrome, leather, vinyl, Alcantara, plastics, rubber, aluminum, EVERYTHING!



2: 10:00am to 10:45am – DA Polishers and How to Choose the Proper Tool for you
Dave Patterson and Mike Phillips go over all the popular orbital polishers and how to get the right tools for you.

BUFFERSAll.JPG





3: 1:00pm to 1:45pm – Production Detailing with Gear-Driven Orbital Polishers
Gear-driven orbital polishers enable you to buff out a car dramatically faster due to zero pad stalling. This class will cover all the current gear-driven orbital polishers on the market, how they work, how they are different and the real-world benefit you get from gear-drive. This class will also cover best pad options and products plus tips and techniques to under promise and over deliver for your customers. The difference between gear-driven short stroke polishers and free spinning long stroke polishers will also be covered to remove ANY confusion over these two very different types of tools.


Current gear-driven orbital polishers on the U.S. market

RUPES Mille = 5mm orbit stroke length

Makita PO5000C = 5.5mm orbit stroke length

FLEX XC 3401 VRG - 8mm orbit stroke length and


Mille_0040.JPG



4: 2:00pm to 2:45pm – Jeweling paint with Rotary Polishers
Jeweling is a term that means to machine polish paint or jewel paint to a glistening gemstone appearance using a rotary polisher. Rotary polishers are making a strong come-back in the car detailing world due to the availability of new lightweight, compact tools with low RPM abilities. The key to jeweling with a rotary polisher starts with low RPM but the right pads and the right abrasive technology is also vital to buffing paint without leaving holograms. This class will show you which tools, pads and product you can use to successfully jewel paint to maximum gloss and clarity.

1990_Corvette_Autogeek_Mike_Phillips_061.jpg







5: 3:00pm to 3:45pm – Isolated Defect Removal – Wetsanding and Buffing Small Areas
Buffing out an entire car is one thing, knowing how to remove an isolated defect without making a mistake is an art unto itself. In this class you will learn how to spot sand with 1”, 2” and 3” sanding discs and then remove your sanding marks while leaving swirl-free results. Small plug-in tools and small cordless tools will be featured..



6: 4:00pm to 4:45pm – Cordless Tool Technology - – How to detail without access to a 110 electric outlet
This class will showcase battery operated tools of the detailing trade including rotary polishers, orbital polishers and micro-tools. The key with any cordless tool starts with correct pad selection. This class will showcase all the currently available cordless tools on the market and the best pads available to maximize performance and battery life.



7: 5:00pm to 5:45pm – How to become the Recognized Detailing Expert in Your Hometown plus how to use the NEW Vehicle Inspection Forms!
These classes always fill up! The session on How to become the Recognized Detailing Expert will show you how to get into all your local car clubs using the backdoor method instead of cold calling. The second session in this class will show you how to use the NEW Vehicles Inspection Forms to document pre-existing damage. These forms also help you to make sure you’re matching your services to your customer and upsell to higher profit packages.

400_Expert_in_your_home_town.jpg
VIF_01.jpg


Clear your schedule and make plans to attend Mobile Tech Expo 2019


:)
 
Ahhhh. More history by Mike Phillips. Love the history!

Mike, any idea what pad size/plate is on that EK150? What about orbit size?

Thanks for sharing!!

(and I got to work my way over to the new VIFs)
 
Ah ha!

2007 for the 3401!

Thanks Mike!
 
Mike, thanks for the early 'heads up' on the MTE classes, hoping there are minimal scheduling conflicts this year!
 
I have been very happy with my 3401 thru the years but this is an area I wouldn’t mind seeing more than our current 3 options. To me a forced rotation is essential tool.
 
Is there any chance these classes will be recorded and uploaded to YouTube? I’ve found a few Rupes classes on YouTube but the series is incomplete. Sharing information is what the internet was invented for.
 
Mike Phillips said:
No one from our team recording for posterity that I know of.

Not sure about MTE or anyone else.


:)
Click to expand...

That’s too bad. All it would take would be someone to set up a camera at the back of the room. The Rupes videos are not “professional” grade but they get the information across. I’m always looking for information from sources that are not trying to sell me something.
 
rlmccarty2000 said:
I’m always looking for information from sources that are not trying to sell me something.
Click to expand...


That describes all of my classes. Here's a testimony or review posted TODAY - Wednesday, September 18th, 3 days after the Ohio 2-day Roadshow Class.

Pictures: Roadshow Class with Detail Pro Shop in Powell, Ohio


On page 2 of the thread, post #13


Sharpshooter800 said:
Had a blast at this roadshow class! Also had the privilege of driving the Boxster home.

Really enjoyed being able to use a variety of top notch machines and products and be able to form your own opinion of which is right for you.

Mike’s unbiased and hands on approach really makes this class unique.

Not to sound like a salesman, but if you were even remotely considering taking this class, I would highly recommend it.
Click to expand...


I can find more like this, that is real honest reviews from the people that take the class.

Apologies no one from Autogeek videos any of my 8 classes at MTE or any of my hands-on classes a total of 9 just this year alone.


:dblthumb2:
 
Makita also made the BO6040. I purchased one probably back in 2006-7
 
Here's what I can find....



How To use Nanoskin Autoscrub Pads on Makita BO6040

MakitaBO6040Autoscrub006c.jpg




Makita BO6040 Removing Sanding Marks

MakitaBO6040Test025.jpg





ThursdaysBuffers006.jpg





Here's one more, I've included the link and my "opinion" on using the BO4060 to detail cars.


which one to choose makita bo6040 or Flex 3401??

I've used both and the Flex 3401 is easier to work with as it's purposefully designed to be a "paint polisher".

The Makita BO6040 is a wood sander. The difference is when sanding with it the tool doesn't require a lot of muscle to control. When polishing paint with it, you will use a lot more muscle energy to control it as compared to the Flex 3401.

Why?

Because of the design shape.

If you look at the two tools, the Flex 3401 is longer with a forward bale handle and the rear grip at the back of the tool. The length of the tool body is not an accident, the length of the tool puts your hands far enough apart at both extreme ends to give you leverage over the tool, this makes it easier to hold and control for HOURS as you work through the,


  1. Correct step
  2. Polishing step
  3. Machine waxing step

Some people might even do a second polishing step.

Point being, buffing out an entire car with a neglected finish from start to finish is going to take you anywhere from 4 to 8 hours behind the polisher.

The design engineers at Flex purposefully designed the Flex 3401 to be an ergonomically correct, powerful paint polishing tool that will remove defects without at the same time instilling holograms or burning high points. (Assuming you use the tool correctly and with quality pads and good abrasive technology).

The design engineers at Makita purposefully designed the Makita BO6040 to be an ergonomically correct, powerful wood sander. Can it be used to polish paint? Yes. And it does do a good job in the way that the Flex 3401 does a good job by offering a forced, dual action orbiting pattern for the buffing pad.

If I had to pick one and go buff out an entire car I would easily grab the Flex 3401 over the Makita BO6040.

Plus, down the road you can get different backing plates for the Flex and I'm a big fan of the 4" backing plate with 5" Hybrid pads.




:)
 
I understand what you're saying about the body length. I found myself holding onto the very back with the one hand to separate my hands as much as possible. It took awhile but I found a comfortable position where I had the machine held at about 7-8 o'clock to my body. That gave me the most control as far as walking and allowed the pad to glide the best it could. Its kind of a heavy machine too. I've still got it. Thought I might actually use it as a wood sander one day. Maybe I should try to sell it on Craigslist and put that money toward a CBEAST.
 
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