New iBrid owner frustrated....what am I doing wrong?

Jeremy1976 said:
Be patient. New tools need time to adjust and get use to. Less product and less pressure. Spread it around good and start on a slow speed then increase the speed if need be. Once you get a feel for it you will love it. I had zero issues with stalling and my main polisher is a 3401.
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I'll hang with it. Have no choice really.

I tried it on my decklid last night for practice and was able to get it to work. My main use for it is in tight areas on bumpers, around mirrors/doors and what not where I am unable to just muscle a larger unit into. I may end up using it as a rotary in those places like it or not as any stalling due to curves or what not will just tick me off. I swear if I would tried a 3401 years ago I would have never wasted time with a non forced rotation unit. Perhaps someday they'll make a mini DA Version. I'm surprised they haven't.

I'm going to try it out on the rear bumper of my car today in some tight areas to see which method works best. The upside to have a fully corrected car is awesome but I have to stretch to find an area that needs any love. Back there I may have a few marks.
 
pdqgp said:
I swear if I would tried a 3401 years ago I would have never wasted time with a non forced rotation unit. Perhaps someday they'll make a mini DA Version. I'm surprised they haven't.
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Some of us have been lobbying for a small Flex for at least a year now. I actually thought the most significant thing about the iBrid Nano was not the size or the ability to switch between DA and rotary, but the battery operation. I think that will be the trend to watch, as it has been with most power tools over the last number of years.

However, the success (or not) of the Nano will allow Rupes and other mfrs. to judge what this market for small machines is like, because we know that both the idea of having multiple machines and even the idea of machine polishing small areas (or polishing them at all) is fairly recent in the overall scheme of things.

When we see the dealer detail bay with not only the guy with a rotary and a dirty 8" wool pad working on the car, but also a guy with a PE-8 with a dirty 3" wool pad doing the tight spots, we can be sure the market is there for small machines, and we'll see more of them.
 
pdqgp said:
I'm going to try it out on the rear bumper of my car today in some tight areas to see which method works best. The upside to have a fully corrected car is awesome but I have to stretch to find an area that needs any love. Back there I may have a few marks.
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Maybe you could find some practice spots inside the trunk, doorjambs, paint on the underside of the hood, a neighbors car, countertop, appliance, shower door, etc.


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I recently picked up a short neck about 1.5 weeks ago on my busy detailing trip to Florida. I wasted no time putting it to use. Maybe I am used to my G21, but I really haven't experienced any issue with its correcting ability. It's just like a standard DA where you need to keep an eye on rotation and adjust accordingly.

It took me a few trys at it but I found on speed 5 with the 12mm throw it works great. I noticed a little bit of sling. I will say that the rotary mode slings a good bit.

To me this tool is a great asset to my aresnal. I sold my PE8 Kompakt.
 
Had to modify the case it comes with.After a while the foam loosens up and you have to search for things under the foam.
 
I think it just takes some practice. I use mine on every detail now. The first time I used too much polish and it slung everywhere. I use much less now - maybe 2 drops starting and reduce to 1 drop, polish smaller areas, little pressure, also spread the polish out on a low speed or with the machine turned off over your work area. Then gradually bring the speed up to your working speed. I find that produces very little to no sling. Agreed that the blue pad slings like crazy and also seems to degrade like crazy and I always see blue bits of pad flying everywhere lol.
 
How much does this ibrid total package cost?


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I've never had product sling in DA mode but it's definitely an issue in rotary mode. Reducing product amount will help as well as spreading it out before turning it on. IMO it's the lack of a variable speed trigger and higher RPM that makes it more prone to sling product. On my Flex PE14 with the same pads I have zero issue with sling as I can feather the speed up slowly with the trigger. With the nano you have the trigger that's simply on or off, and when it's on, it's at a higher RPM then my Flex PE14 would be.

That being said it's a great tool for tight areas and overall I'm happy with it's performance.





 
I agree on the main benefits.

Small size = great access and manuverability.

Battery power means no tether so can move about freely.

First time I used it on underside of trunk lid.

Primed blue pad like I normally would do and smeared around area.

Turned on in rotary mode and coated my neighbours rear window with sling (lol).

The trunk lid on the other hand polished up great (it had never been touched in 15 years-severe water spots).

There is no way I could have done this any other way.
 
Crispy said:
The trunk lid on the other hand polished up great (it had never been touched in 15 years-severe water spots).

There is no way I could have done this any other way.
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How small of a trunk was it? :)
 
A few things to note, for what it's worth. A 7-inch pad has a surface area of (approx) 38.5 inches squared. A 1.2-inch pad has a surface area of 1.1 inches squared. In other words a 7-inch pad has 38 times, or 3800% larger.

This has a drastic effect when it comes to the amount of force the pad's can realistically be expected to handle... Force x unit area = pressure.

The biggest thing in getting the proper performance from the nano is random orbital mode is near-zero pressure. I am amazed at how many times I hand the polisher to somebody and they bare down on it... If the pad is (more than ever-so-slightly) compressed, you are adding too much pressure to the pad. The 2-inch pad has a surface area of 3.14 inches squared, and can - in theory - hand 3x's as much downward force, although it is still very very little compared to 7-inch pad.

So the first thing I would recommend is reducing pressure (likely).

The center or polishing area of the pad has to be flat to the surface. Relax your trigger hand and set the tool flat to the surface and use. People tend to over grip a DA and thus tilt the pad the further they move it away from their body.

As for sling, I would recommend following our priming procedure. Run at speed 3 using medium (relative, it is still very light) pressure in a small spot for 30-40 seconds using about half of 1 pea-sized drop. For reload use speed 4-5 and about 3/4's of a pea-sized drop max (maybe less).

We recommend using a polishing area size of an area about 6x the size of the pad (ish). This gives relatively the same results per speed setting, per tool, per pad size, per pad type per pad compound time. As the tool shrinks, so, of course- does the working area to keep results consistent. The Mark II tools will produce similar results using speed settings about 2 less than the other tools.

I hope this helps and makes you happy with your new polisher.
 
Todd@RUPES said:
A few things to note, for what it's worth. A 7-inch pad has a surface area of (approx) 38.5 inches squared. A 1.2-inch pad has a surface area of 1.1 inches squared. In other words a 7-inch pad has 38 times, or 3800% larger.

This has a drastic effect when it comes to the amount of force the pad's can realistically be expected to handle... Force x unit area = pressure.

The biggest thing in getting the proper performance from the nano is random orbital mode is near-zero pressure. I am amazed at how many times I hand the polisher to somebody and they bare down on it... If the pad is (more than ever-so-slightly) compressed, you are adding too much pressure to the pad. The 2-inch pad has a surface area of 3.14 inches squared, and can - in theory - hand 3x's as much downward force, although it is still very very little compared to 7-inch pad.

So the first thing I would recommend is reducing pressure (likely).

The center or polishing area of the pad has to be flat to the surface. Relax your trigger hand and set the tool flat to the surface and use. People tend to over grip a DA and thus tilt the pad the further they move it away from their body.

As for sling, I would recommend following our priming procedure. Run at speed 3 using medium (relative, it is still very light) pressure in a small spot for 30-40 seconds using about half of 1 pea-sized drop. For reload use speed 4-5 and about 3/4's of a pea-sized drop max (maybe less).

We recommend using a polishing area size of an area about 6x the size of the pad (ish). This gives relatively the same results per speed setting, per tool, per pad size, per pad type per pad compound time. As the tool shrinks, so, of course- does the working area to keep results consistent. The Mark II tools will produce similar results using speed settings about 2 less than the other tools.

I hope this helps and makes you happy with your new polisher.
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Thank you Todd! Totally makes sense. I had a feeling it was user error and no doubt use of the Flex is influencing my technique.

My next detail is in my garage awaiting a test come Saturday. I'll keep you posted.
 
Todd@RUPES said:
A few things to note, for what it's worth. A 7-inch pad has a surface area of (approx) 38.5 inches squared. A 1.2-inch pad has a surface area of 1.1 inches squared. In other words a 7-inch pad has 38 times, or 3800% larger.

This has a drastic effect when it comes to the amount of force the pad's can realistically be expected to handle... Force x unit area = pressure.

The biggest thing in getting the proper performance from the nano is random orbital mode is near-zero pressure. I am amazed at how many times I hand the polisher to somebody and they bare down on it... If the pad is (more than ever-so-slightly) compressed, you are adding too much pressure to the pad. The 2-inch pad has a surface area of 3.14 inches squared, and can - in theory - hand 3x's as much downward force, although it is still very very little compared to 7-inch pad.

So the first thing I would recommend is reducing pressure (likely).

The center or polishing area of the pad has to be flat to the surface. Relax your trigger hand and set the tool flat to the surface and use. People tend to over grip a DA and thus tilt the pad the further they move it away from their body.

As for sling, I would recommend following our priming procedure. Run at speed 3 using medium (relative, it is still very light) pressure in a small spot for 30-40 seconds using about half of 1 pea-sized drop. For reload use speed 4-5 and about 3/4's of a pea-sized drop max (maybe less).

We recommend using a polishing area size of an area about 6x the size of the pad (ish). This gives relatively the same results per speed setting, per tool, per pad size, per pad type per pad compound time. As the tool shrinks, so, of course- does the working area to keep results consistent. The Mark II tools will produce similar results using speed settings about 2 less than the other tools.

I hope this helps and makes you happy with your new polisher.
Click to expand...

Hi Todd,

I use the 1" rotary tool and no matter what get sling with the Nano 1" blue pads and blue polish.

We are not talking "pea size" drops, I'm talking 3 "smudges".

I notice not so much with the yellow pads and polish.

Is this because different type of foam?
 
I just ordered the Lake Country Hybrid 1" and 2" pads to try on my Ibrid, will post follow up when they arrive.
 
I will be producing a video in the next few days. I ran the pads today for the first time this afternoon. When I was at 3M for the previous 35 years and calling on paint departments throughout the US and Oh Canada we had a slightly different approach to buffing and polishing. I put my knowledge to the test and hope that you find the information helpful. I had no sling , not a bit. I did something that I have not seen covered in videos or text and it worked like a charm. Before I photograph or shoot a video I am going conduct another test. Then another. It will be worth the wait.
 
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