iBrid Owners - Questions here...

TTQ B4U

TTQ B4U

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My iBrid Nano is due in this week but a couple quick questions.

Sanding Discs:

Have you used them? Do they last long? Will they work for restoration of headlights which is primarily what I would likely be using them for?


Pads:

How are the cutting and polishing pads that come with it quality wise and perhaps what are they comparable to in terms of Lake country full size ones? I have a set 1.5 and 2.75 of white finishing pads in my cart but was wondering if anyone here has used them and are they necessary? Thoughts?

Thanks in advance.
 
Haven't used my sanding discs.... yet.

Have you ever used the Rupes full size pads? I personally am not a fan of the blue cutting pads. I cut my own MF pads, and have some LC small microfiber pads to try out. The yellow polishing pads are great though. Similar in cut to a white LC pad, but the foam is firmer.
 
zmcgovern45 said:
Haven't used my sanding discs.... yet.

Have you ever used the Rupes full size pads? I personally am not a fan of the blue cutting pads. I cut my own MF pads, and have some LC small microfiber pads to try out. The yellow polishing pads are great though. Similar in cut to a white LC pad, but the foam is firmer.
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Like you said the blue sucks..have you tried the gray for cutting?
 
pdqgp said:
My iBrid Nano is due in this week but a couple quick questions.

Sanding Discs:

Have you used them? Do they last long? Will they work for restoration of headlights which is primarily what I would likely be using them for?


Pads:

How are the cutting and polishing pads that come with it quality wise and perhaps what are they comparable to in terms of Lake country full size ones? I have a set 1.5 and 2.75 of white finishing pads in my cart but was wondering if anyone here has used them and are they necessary? Thoughts?

Thanks in advance.
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To much jumping and walking when sanding on a low speed.The backing plate needs to be softer.As mentioned the blue pads don't last long.other than that excellent tool worth every penny.
 
Ordered a short neck today, can't wait to try it out. There are a lot of small pads out there now that should work great with it. I think as with the 6 and 7 inch pads you haft to go light and easy with those blue pads.
 
I actually don't mind my blue and yellow pads for the Nano. Haven't tried the sanding disks yet. For headlights you typically have to start with a heavier grit sand paper then work up to a finer 3000 grit.
 
I can also confirm the blue pads are almost one time use only. They disintegrate very quickly. Kinda ridiculous they cost $5 per pad when buying a 6 pack. Get a 1 1/4" hollow punch and make your own pads for the Rupes Nano.
 
I have used the sanding discs with the 1" pad that comes in the kit.

The discs load up way too fast, so the high grit doesn't do much.

Tried with a little water and got severe sling (lucky I was in the garage).

It won't do headlights for sure (might work along edges but need 600 to 800 grit for material removal).

The blue pads on the 1" rotary sling like all get out, but do remove defects (always use very little product and speed 1-2 max).

The yellow pads are fine by comparison.

Have not used the DA tools much as most of the work I do with it is on curved surfaces, so no pad rotation.

Love the tool though and find more uses for almost everytime I use it.

I am going to try some ThinPro pads if they ever give out (I use a 2" pipe with a sharpened edge and small sledge hammer or vice to punch them out).
 
Justin@FinalInspection said:
I actually don't mind my blue and yellow pads for the Nano. Haven't tried the sanding disks yet. For headlights you typically have to start with a heavier grit sand paper then work up to a finer 3000 grit.
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virtually impossible doing headlights with that,especially wet the disc flys off the machine.
 
Crispy said:
I have used the sanding discs with the 1" pad that comes in the kit.

The discs load up way too fast, so the high grit doesn't do much.

Tried with a little water and got severe sling (lucky I was in the garage).

It won't do headlights for sure (might work along edges but need 600 to 800 grit for material removal).

The blue pads on the 1" rotary sling like all get out, but do remove defects (always use very little product and speed 1-2 max).

The yellow pads are fine by comparison.

Have not used the DA tools much as most of the work I do with it is on curved surfaces, so no pad rotation.

Love the tool though and find more uses for almost everytime I use it.

I am going to try some ThinPro pads if they ever give out (I use a 2" pipe with a sharpened edge and small sledge hammer or vice to punch them out).
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Thats a great idea!
 
The blue pads suck and I love Rupes products. Throw them away and buy some microfiber pads from LC or CarPro or cut down some Meg's pads. The blue pads suffer from the same open cell problems as the 6 and 7 inch Rupes regular blue pads. The Polish is good though.

It's a waste of time trying to use the adhesive sandpaper to sand headlights. The paper is used for denibbing or tiny spot correction. I hope you did not buy the Nano just to use on headlights. You would have been better off buying the Rupes Mini and buying 3 inch sanding discs.

The nano is a great tool but it's not made for newer detailer.
 
Love the brush set up doing mats real quick and interiors except leather.
 
GSKR said:
virtually impossible doing headlights with that,especially wet the disc flys off the machine.
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That answers that. I usually sand by hand but was curious. Doesn't appear the sanding discs will have much use then.

rlmccarty2000 said:
The blue pads suck and I love Rupes products.
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Sad to hear. Second part of the full kit that doesn't appear to have much use.

It's a waste of time trying to use the adhesive sandpaper to sand headlights. The paper is used for denibbing or tiny spot correction. I hope you did not buy the Nano just to use on headlights. You would have been better off buying the Rupes Mini and buying 3 inch sanding discs. The nano is a great tool but it's not made for newer detailer.
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No I didn't buy it for headlights. I bought it for small / tight areas as a polisher vs doing them by hand. I normally sand headlights by hand as it doesn't take much. I hit them with 1500 then 3000 then polish. They are pretty simple but was just curious if it would work. Overall, I've been detailing cars for over 25yrs just not for money until about one year ago.
 
I'm glad to see others have the same feelings about the Rupe's Blue pads. I was criticized for questioning the bigger pads earlier.
 
DBAILEY said:
I'm glad to see others have the same feelings about the Rupe's Blue pads. I was criticized for questioning the bigger pads earlier.
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That's disappointing to hear overall. I'm going to try them with various products of course but at the same time investigate options in order to be prepared to replace them. If the yellow work well as others said, that's a good thing. The white ones I'll likely order to try out. Sanding disc wise, it may not be something I can use then as I don't do any fresh paint work nor do I think I need any motorized sanding on any other paint. Scratches I tend to tape off and hit by hand given the danger of damaging the clear. I feel I have scratch removal and blending of touch up down-pat and get get nearly 95-100% blend pretty easily.
 
In the effort to get my TA's completely dialed in, I have been using the long neck with 1" yellow pads & Keramik on the tail lights to eliminate swirls. As an alternative, I tried a blue 1" pad with the Zephir polish. Absolutely no difference in swirl removal. They both get the job done beautifully on the black plastic.
 
I feel the iBid is an amazing tool. But I would like to see a plane jane kit. Just the actual tool, backing plates, battery, and charger. I don't need the pads, towels, polishes, bag, or brushes.
 
Well I've come back to say that after a handful of weeks practicing and using the unit for details that I'm happy. Much more so than initially. It definitely takes a very light touch and consistent focus on keeping the pad flat. I have since used it to spot-correct several areas on my wife's van whereby I can tell she's rubbed it hard with her purse likely exiting the vehicle in the garage. She has a tendency to park too close to the wall in fear of hitting my car. LOL though as there's like 2-3ft between mine and hers if she parks it correctly.
 
I'm anxious to try the 1 & 2" Lake Country force pads on mine,just need the rain to quit.
 
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