Day 2: LHR15 Mk II + Duetto + Mini = Overkill?
Well, what a difference a little time with the machine makes.
Cliff Notes: Absolutely amazing machine, continuing improved technique makes (for me anyway) the Duetto redundant and unnecessary. Just like many of you indicated.
After the initial session with the machine, I was still pretty much astounded by the smoothness and effectiveness of this machine. As I mentioned above, during the initial hours with this I was running into some pad stalling (no washer mod done) here and there but just a few more hours with the thing, focusing mostly on body positioning and manner in which tool was held, have left me with the confidence that the LHR15 Mk II (in addition to the LHR75E Mini I have coming next week) will be able to quickly, comfortably and effectively deal with anything I may throw at it…within reason. Wanna quickly and efficiently correct/detail a fleet of neglected work vans? Probably look to the Flex 3401 in that case. Aside from that, can see why everybody raves about these once ya kinda get a clue what you’re doing. Takes a bit to find that clue but surely worth the journey.
With the above said, I revisited the untouched (aside from clay) driver’s side panels of our construction/plow truck which has seen its fair share of use/abuse. Fortunately the bedside panels of this GMC Sierra had not only contours on the wheel arches but also a few large, shallow, non-creased dents which provided more distinct concave/convex curves and rounded ridges to help work out the occasional stalling issues I had when first using the Rupes. Just because a front grip exists on this machine doesn’t always mean that’s the best place to always grip/hold it and sometimes ya don’t wanna ‘grip’ it up front as you want to cradle the front end in a semi-open hand, right around the side location of the head/pad area, using very light pressure to keep pad on paint while doing most of the specific directional inputs using the rear handle of the machine. In my case it was kinda like grasping the rear handle and using it as a moving ‘pivot point’ while I used the front to guide the head up and down. Using this method on a vertical panel eliminated most of the ‘teeter totter’ effect I experienced the first time I used it.
I also paid more attention to body positioning than I did the first time. Initially I was using the length of the machine to ‘extend my reach’ to get to the furthest areas of a section instead of getting my lazy azz up and moving a bit. While on something like the GG6 this was marginally functional as the pad wouldn’t stall at the limits of reach but when using the Rupes it would disrupt the parallel plane of the pad vs. panel, resulting in slowdowns/stalling/ineffective rotation. It also helped to not plant myself in the center of the lower vertical section I was doing but rather towards the end of a section so I could comfortably extend the ‘pivoting’ movements in a manner that did not require strange contortions to reach the edges of the section. Yeah, I had to move/scoot more as I moved from the front to the back of the truck side but it also had the added benefit of a more comfortable polishing experience at the end of the day as well; my laziness in re positioning was amplified (and corrected) by the Rupes characteristics. Win-win.
I really didn’t’ wanna use a blue Rupes microfiber disk on a work truck so I yanked out the trusty ‘ol Megs D300 and Megs 5.5” microfiber cutting pad and the Rupes sure works nice with this combo. Pads are thin enough to spin well, have always cut well and have just enough foam padding in there to allow them to deal with slight changes in body contours. Generally running at about speed 4 during this step as this combo prefers the ‘low and slow’ approach. Correction was excellent as it always is for me with this combo and the finish was quite nice in and of itself. But it’s never good enough, is it?
I followed that up with the Rupes Keramik Gloss Fine Gel Polish on their yellow pad which worked very nicely. I think the Rupes pad is going to be one of my all-time favorites going forward; stiff enough to remove minor flaws, pliable enough to deal with some contours w/o special handling and no product sling. Smooth as silk to boot and cleans up very well. I was running these at about 4.5 on the speed dial and could see no noticeable wear or ill effects afterwards and had absolutely no overheating with them. Doing the whole truck likely woulda used up 5 pads, probably the standard 6 pads for a large sedan.
Since this vehicle was certainly not worthy of a coating, kinda ‘half-stepped’ it again by using HD Speed on a regular ‘ol white LC Flat pad (about 7/8” thick). Nice thing about the thicker, softer pad is that it flows over contours pretty well but the longer throw of Rupes kinda takes its toll on those pads. I hear the LC flat ThinPros work nicely on the Rupes , will try those at some point. Anyway, the HD Speed can kinda ‘pill’ or clump at times and the machine definitely wasn’t as smooth with these pads but it did refine the finish just a bit more (likely indistinguishable to a ‘normal’ person) but I could tell. I could also feel the added roughness this pad lent to the machine as well and at some points it even sounded like it was taxing the pad. Did launch one across the room but after later washing the second LC white pad seemed OK but I did notice that they heated up pretty quickly during use, even with minimal pressure applied, and the one that launched had begun to collapse in the middle due to heat. The backing plate of the Rupes stayed cool (likely just dissipated the heat quicker when pad removed) but the pad backing and pad itself looked a bit worse for the wear. Going forward, I don’t see using the standard LC Flat pads with the Rupes although perhaps the stiffer orange/gray/yellow would fare better. Having an abundance of these pads from the GG6, I will certainly try and see some time.
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Curious as to how the Rupes UHS system performed and wanting to try the Rupes 15 on horizontal panels, I picked out a 2006 Ford E250 Econoline van w/ 151k hard miles on it and taped off a section of the hood and prepped it with a Cobra Clay mitt using WG Uber rinseless as lubricant. Wow, those UHS pads are tough little items, stiff as can be and really don’t get much more pliable once used. I kinda used the pad ‘seasoning’ method that had been suggested on various forums, that is to place 4 or so drops of the UHS liquid on the pad and then run over a very small (almost not moving it) section for about 30-40 seconds to distribute the polish on the pad. I still did get a bit of product sling but likely to be expected when the pad is so very, very firm. The surface of the hood was totally wacked with bird dropping, chemical and water spot stains, in addition to 151k miles worth of stone chips, various deep scratches, oxidation and swirls a-plenty. I look forward to trying the UHS on a vehicle that isn’t so toasted as it did produce a nice glow/gloss and removed the oxidation but the more serious defects that ‘could’ have been removed by strictly compounding remained. Oh well, so it can’t bring a vehicle back from the dead…I woulda been completely surprised if’n it coulda performed that trick.
Anyway, the LHR15 is an absolute treat to use on horizontal panels, smooth, incredibly effective and very, very easy on these old bones. Quick, too. I was always kinda skeptical of how big a difference 8mm vs. 15mm throw would make as far as efficiency and effectiveness but, damn, it sure does make a difference. Basically went for the D300, Rupes Keramik Gloss Fine Gel Polish, HD Speed routine again, then topped both the truck and the van with Collinite 915. As far as the final results on the van hood goes, a little disappointed but it does prove the axiom “Ya can’t polish a turd” which you actually can, it just won’t turn into a diamond without some rotary and/or sanding or other more serious attention.
Staring Condition after Clay Mitt:
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Half/Half After
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Probably take a shot at it with some M101 on a purple foamed wool or yellow LC flat pad later (on GG6) just to see what happens. Last time I messed with foamed wool/M101 on our 2003 black Mazda3 ‘training’ car, I took some of the clear off by the 3rd pass. Ooops…glad we traded that car in a few months ago; always nice to have a ‘disposable’ car in poor condition to try the crazy stuff on….you know, kinda like some of our older work vans here.
In the end, totally and completely pleased with the Rupes 15 Mk II; paired with the incoming LHR75E Mini I’m pretty sure that when I start doing ‘vehicles that matter’ when the nicer weather rolls around, I’ll be able to get better results, in less time with reduced physical effort. I have a set of LC HD Orbital Foam Pads as well as a set of B & S Uro-Tec foam pads coming (at 6.99 per 6” pad I hope those work well) so I’ll be able to comment on those as I get a chance to use them. I still think that the yellow Rupes pad is gonna prove to be a very, very versatile pad going forward…it’s just seems to be a perfect combo of smoothness and firmness and paired with different liquids it will probably excel in a variety of areas.
Thanks to all who suggested the Duetto would be redundant (sometimes I need to be saved from myself) as I kept that in my mind while I was doing the vertical panels and working out how to make the the LHR15 work with them with minimal effort and you were quite correct…the Mini was a much better companion. Figure I’m still only at about 30% competent with the Rupes so things should be getting even better as more experience gained.
All this was done in about a 55 degree (F) warehouse; pads, liquids kept in office until use. Perhaps in warmer conditions thing will be even more pliable/smooth.
Funny thing is, I now want to get/try a Flex 3401 just to see what that’s like…still have about $300 in gift certificates that was earmarked for the Duetto hangin around and a iBrid Nano is something that even I can admit is way, way too much for my situation. $200, yeah would be worth trying just because but at close to $600 or so…not so much. Whatch think…get a hammered car to do, Flex for initial quick compounding followed by LHR15/LHR75 for final refinement? Not only that, I could bust out a bunch of nasty work vans over the winter until it warms up and I can do cars that matter.
I really need to stop thinking about these hokey plans, they just end up costing me money! Oh, and thanks PBMG for AG 25% Inventory reduction sale today…that just cost me some more $$ (always thought the Scangrip Multimatch Light would be useful; at 25% off, too good to pass up!)
