My first time using my Rupes 21 and Rupes Mini

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mrasmussen

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I have a 2003 expedition that I use for towing, and while i like to keep it waxed and clean, I am not overly concerned with paint swirls. This weekend I did the following:

Vehicle

2003 ford expedition - metallic dark green

Gear
PoorBoy SR1 - light swirl removal - used yellow foam pad with this
PoorBoy Polish - used white foam pad
PoorBoy Canuba Wax - by hand, just wiped on and off - I could have used the white pad I guess, I wasn't sure
Rupes 21 - most of the body
Rupes mini - all small areas

Steps
1. Washed Car
2. Dry
3. PoorBoy sr1 with Rupes 21 and yellow pad
4. PoorBoy sr1 with Rupes mini and yello pad
5. PoorBoy Polish with Rupes 21 and white pad
6. PoorBoy polish with Rupes mini and white pad
7. wax by hand

Impression - It was extremely easy to use the Rupes machines, I just followed the videos and reading, as far as the tempo and pattern to work the machines, and it was a breeze. I could reach out with one hand on some places and let the machine do the work. After 3 passes on that large vehicle, I wasn't tired from holding the machines, i was more tired for all the bending, reaching the low panels.

The one thing I wasn't overly impressed with, and maybe it is my lack of experience, is the polish phase. I didn't notice much of a difference between the swirl removal and the polish steps. Actually, after using the swirl removal, the vehicle looked great. I actually skipped polish on some of the areas and I can't tell the difference.

After inspecting the vehicle, I can see some swirls here and there, I could have used a courser first step with the green pad, and inspected each panel before continuing, but like i said, I didn't care that much.

Total cost for a starter set, two machines, materials was about $1200, but now I can do my 3 cars and boat whenver I want, awesome stuff.
 
Any pictures?

Good thing you didn't do the entire vehicle in the polishing phase. There are some paints that benefit from polishing but some paints already look phenomenal after the initial "cutting" step.

That's why Mike Phillips always preaches to do a test spot and nail down your process before doing the entire car. That way you don't waste your time doing the entire vehicle especially if a step doesn't really make a difference to your eye. Polishers, pads and liquids have advanced so much that you can now easily achieve a swirl free and LSP ready finish all in one step.

Softer paints tend to haze up after the initial compounding step and that's the best application of a 2nd polishing step. This polishing step cleans up the haze from the first compounding step. Some people use the polish just to amp up the gloss (if they see a difference).

Rupes polishers rock!
 
Good to know about polishes not always worth the extra effort, I definitely saw that with my work on this particular vehicle.

So, to do the entire process on a test panel, I would do something like

Rupes 21 - yellow pad (use least aggressive to get desired results, if I need more aggressive, I would switch here)
Rupes 21 - White pad - polish
Rupes 21 - White pad - wax/sealant
Inspect results, skip polishing with a section of the test panel and see if there is a noticeable difference.

Question:
As soon as I finished with a pad, I placed it in a bucket with McKee Pad Rejuvenator, and let it sit while I continued to work on the vehicle. At the end of the day, I rinsed off the pads and they looked brand new again. With the test phase inserted, I would go through 2 extra white pads correct? The yellow pad can be left for the 15 minutes or so while I complete the test phase, and then I could use the yellow again, but the white pads would be sitting for quite a long time, I would want them in the rejuvie bucket soaking while I continued...
 
You don't even have to do an entire panel for testing. Just do a 2' x 2' section. If you don't notice a difference before and after the polishing step then you don't have to use it on your next section or panel.

You an compare an adjacent panel or test spot without the polish if you'd like. But you can just compare the before/after of your test spot.

Yeah you can use the yellow pad again after doing the polishing step with the white pad in your test spot. Just make sure to blow out and dust or debris that may have landed. If you're not planning to use the white pad anymore then you can start soaking them in the pad cleaner solution.
 
Most or almost all of the cars I've done according to my eyes and my customers eyes can't tell the difference between the compounding step and polishing step, bare in mind I mainly work on hard German paint. Modern clear coats are hard and don't benefit from multiple steps, compound and straight to lsp for show car shine.
 
That actually makes things easier, I would rather skip the polish step!

My other two cars are white and silver, and really hard to see swirls, so I might just go with a good AIO

Quick question, do you guys run the Rupes with the carnuba wax or just wax by hand?
 
mrasmussen said:
That actually makes things easier, I would rather skip the polish step!

My other two cars are white and silver, and really hard to see swirls, so I might just go with a good AIO

Quick question, do you guys run the Rupes with the carnuba wax or just wax by hand?
Click to expand...

I almost always use paste waxes by hand. I do apply my sealants with the white Rupes pads.
 
mrasmussen said:
That actually makes things easier, I would rather skip the polish step!

My other two cars are white and silver, and really hard to see swirls, so I might just go with a good AIO

Quick question, do you guys run the Rupes with the carnuba wax or just wax by hand?
Click to expand...

You can if you want to. But make sure to run it at speed 1-2.

If I have to apply a LSP by a machine, I'd reach for the standard DA polisher (PCXP, G110v2, GG6). I reserve my Rupes for correction/polishing only.
 
mrasmussen said:
...That actually makes things easier, I would rather skip the polish step!

My other two cars are white and silver, and really hard to see swirls, so I might just go with a good AIO

Quick question, do you guys run the Rupes with the carnuba wax or just wax by hand?
Click to expand...

I don't do anything by hand anymore, other than wiping off the product.

Also, I can use the Keramik as an AIO polish with the yellow pad. Once I got the vehicle right, it doesn't take much effort anymore to keep it looking good. I may come behind it with the Diamond if I have the time, but mostly don't have to.
 
Methodical said:
I don't do anything by hand anymore, other than wiping off the product.

Also, I can use the Keramik as an AIO polish with the yellow pad. Once I got the vehicle right, it doesn't take much effort anymore to keep it looking good. I may come behind it with the Diamond if I have the time, but mostly don't have to.
Click to expand...

And you do the same as above, speeds 1-2?
 
Depends on whether you have the Rupes original or the mkII. 4-5 on the original. Same for the mini. Beware of overheating the pads on the mini.
 
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