Ongoing RUPES review - all opinions welcome!!

Thanks for the post Paul!! I think with that 100 cars done, the questions about durability are answered.

Mike, do you have a gloss meter that you might be able to run some tests with? I have seen Paul using a very expensive gloss meter on his cars.

As for the air hose: this picture is at Todd Cooperider's place in Ohio. I have a much smaller and more flexible hose that does not get in my way at all. The picture was taken mostly as a joke... but this machine is still super easy to use.

If you are only buying one RUPES machine it should be the 15. the 21 is far too large to use on a car all by itself. 6.5 inch pads with a 21mm orbit means a HUGE area that you are polishing. I believe i mentioned this earlier in the thread as well.
 
Actually, from what I've seen posted by most other users who have been using them for a while pretty much all say the 21 is the one to get...if you can only have just one that is. You can always slap the 5" plate on the 21 if the car you're working on has a lot of tight areas...(I haven't needed it yet) and the LHR75 is used for tight areas anyway or the G110v2/GG6 with a 4" pad....but the 15 will never correct as fast as the 21... that's not to say it's a bad choice though.





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Rsurfer said:
Would the 21 be ok for the DIY or would the 15 be better? Can you finish down soft black paint with the 21? BTW for those noobies that don't know who Paul Dalton is, just because he only has 3 posts doesn't mean he's new to detailing. He is one if not the best detailer in the UK. Also very well respected in the US and around the world. The point is that this dude knows what he is talking about.
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The LHR15 would be my choice for DIY, I get emails everyday asking the same and other questions re: the Bigfoot. LHR21 is great for bigger panels, but the LHR15 is the machine I use most of all mainly because its easier to get around curves and different areas, like mirrors etc, I can correct A,B, and C pillars no problem with a 15, but wouldnt be able to with a 21 very well.

For mirrors and difficult areas like bumpers and lower sills i usually use the LHR75.

Kind Regards
Paul Dalton

Miracle Detail.
Tel: 07788-441150
Office: 07788-441150
Int'l: +44 (0) 7788-441150
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Maybe one day I will be able to afford that gloss meter Paul....

As for the smaller backing plate on the 21:
I asked Todd about it, he has asked RUPES about it. From what i gathered, you do not want to change the backing plate on this machine. The motor is extremely sensitive to weights, rotations, pressures. If it senses too much rotation or imbalance, it will try to slow itself down or reduce torque. This means you will not get more correction out of the 21 with the smaller backing plate.

Todd does use the washer mod however, which i have not tried

Paul have you tried the washer modification?

Think of the difference in sizes of the LC Hybrid pads on the Flex 3401. The 6.5 inch pads are far too large to correct an entire car (truck... maybe). The 5 inch Hybrid pads make a much better choice for full vehicle correction. Not only do they work faster because of the smaller size, they will work better on contours. That is why I would choose the 15 for DIY. While the 21 might be able to correct flat, horizontal panels marginally quicker. It will not correct an entire car quicker or better.


Link to the washer mod (other forum content): http://tinyurl.com/a79t93g
 
TrKent said:
Maybe one day I will be able to afford that gloss meter Paul....

As for the smaller backing plate on the 21:
I asked Todd about it, he has asked RUPES about it. From what i gathered, you do not want to change the backing plate on this machine. The motor is extremely sensitive to weights, rotations, pressures. If it senses too much rotation or imbalance, it will try to slow itself down or reduce torque. This means you will not get more correction out of the 21 with the smaller backing plate.

Todd does use the washer mod however, which i have not tried

Paul have you tried the washer modification?

Think of the difference in sizes of the LC Hybrid pads on the Flex 3401. The 6.5 inch pads are far too large to correct an entire car (truck... maybe). The 5 inch Hybrid pads make a much better choice for full vehicle correction. Not only do they work faster because of the smaller size, they will work better on contours. That is why I would choose the 15 for DIY. While the 21 might be able to correct flat, horizontal panels marginally quicker. It will not correct an entire car quicker or better.


Link to the washer mod (other forum content): http://tinyurl.com/a79t93g
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Well, Rupes doesn't really want you use other companies pads & polishes either (for obvious reasons...sales) and they definitely don't want you using the washer mod (which you can thank Kevin for) but that hasn't stopped Todd from using it now has it???

The LHR21 with it's larger offset and larger pads cuts faster than the LHR15...if you reread what I wrote above I never said the LHR21 with a 5" plate cuts faster then the LHR15 with a 5" plate...though I would be interested in comparing them. ;)

If you can only have one machine because of a tight budget the LHR21 with an additional 5" plate just makes the most sense...and I think it was pretty unanimous here too...

http://www.facebook.com/groups/244951642266293/permalink/390551037706352/?comment_id=390551724372950

As far as using the 6.5" pads on cars I never had any issues using them with my Flex 3401 and I haven't had any issues with them on my LHR21 either. Sure it's easier to use 5.5" pads, but with a little thought it can usually be done with larger pads too. I'm also not (nor are most people) working on exotics cars with lots of small and crazy shaped panels. The time saved with the larger pads is a huge plus and it really only means more money for you at the end of the day. You will always find a need for 3-4" pads and I don't know anyone that does cars start to finish with just 5" pads.

I just saw this on FB the other day and thought it was fitting to share.
702108_4182065599799_949442955_n.jpg



At the end of the day it's really going to come down to user preference and there is no wrong answer. The LHR15 is a little smoother and more versatile on it's own, but the LHR21 is the better machine for correction and with a 5" pad it can be just about as versatile as the LHR15. With that said I simply can't agree with this statement. "If you are only buying one RUPES machine it should be the 15. the 21 is far too large to use on a car all by itself. 6.5 inch pads with a 21mm orbit means a HUGE area that you are polishing."


Just my $.02

Cheers, :cheers:
Rasky
 
TrKent said:
As for the smaller backing plate on the 21:
I asked someone about it, who has asked RUPES about it. From what i gathered, you do not want to change the backing plate on this machine. The motor is extremely sensitive to weights, rotations, pressures. If it senses too much rotation or imbalance, it will try to slow itself down or reduce torque. This means you will not get more correction out of the 21 with the smaller backing plate.
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Rupes worked very hard to make sure that their machines are well balanced. Since the LHR21 was designed to with the 6" plate, it will be slightly unbalanced with a smaller plate.

I tried the 5" plate on my LHR21. While it did work, it was not as balanced. Plus, I don't have many 5" pads, besides some 5" MF cuttind disks, so I put the 6" plate back on. On exotics, I could see the 5" plate and pads coming in handy, but for the vast majority of the car, the 6" plate worked just fine.

As far as defect removal goes, I can get plenty of cut out of speed 3-4 with a polishing pad. I haven't talked at length with other LHR21 users, but I have really had to dial back the aggressive pads and polishes. Even light polishes are extremely effective.
 
I will throw my opinion out there. If you view the rupes as an efficiency tool, the 21 will be the ticket. Faster correction over a larger area will put more money in your pocket if you charge per step, not per hour. The 15 is very user friendly and more versatile giving up some of the quickness the 21 has. I wanted good reliability in a DA and so far so good.

sent using my thumbs, mispelling most words
 
I also spent a good part of the day today testing the Rupes polishes against some others and also comparing different pads...my buddy Justin stopped by for a while so he helped out and got to try the Rupes out for the first time.

Though I had already had an opinion on this, Justin also agreed that the Megs MF finishing pads felt smoother then the Yellow Rupes pads and some of the other LC pads were actually equally as smooth, if not smoother than some of the Rupes ones. I'm thinking the softness of the pads had a lot to do with the smoother feel though. I do like the Rupes pads but I definitely don't feel you have to use them.

20130113-DSC_2707_zps3be96c2d.jpg


I think Justin's expression says it all! :D
photo5_zps931ec5ff.jpg
 
^^ Am I understanding that going with the 15 will still be better than a regular da? i'm trying to decide which to get and aren't 100% which route to take.
 
Total newb question as I am looking into the Bigfoot and the LHR 75

Just curious, as I am looking into the LHR 75. Will a 5 gallon air compressor set up at 120 psi work?
 
TrKent said:
Mike, do you have a gloss meter that you might be able to run some tests with? I have seen Paul using a very expensive gloss meter on his cars.
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No we don't have a gloss meter. I remember the chemists at Meguiar's had one or two of these things and they eventually sold them or gave them away because what they found out that you already own the best gloss meter available and that's your set of eyes.

A machine cannot take in all the dimensions of beauty let alone do it the way the human eyes can. After the paint on a car is professionally detailed and you inspect the paint first hand, you're eyes can tell you real fast if the paint is glossy or not.


:)
 
Espyone said:
Total newb question as I am looking into the Bigfoot and the LHR 75

Just curious, as I am looking into the LHR 75. Will a 5 gallon air compressor set up at 120 psi work?
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Simple answer-no. Watched Tom Weed last night try out his new LHR75 w/Kobalt 30 Gal unit and he was continuously waiting for the compressor to catch up. I haven't read the air requirements of this unit and don't remember the exact output of his twin cyl compressor but if the LHR 75 was to be used at long stretches of time a larger compressor would be in order.
 
cnut334 said:
^^ Am I understanding that going with the 15 will still be better than a regular da? i'm trying to decide which to get and aren't 100% which route to take.
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Either should correct faster and be more comfortable than a traditional DA.

Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
No we don't have a gloss meter. I remember the chemists at Meguiar's had one or two of these things and they eventually sold them or gave them away because what they found out that you already own the best gloss meter available and that's your set of eyes.

A machine cannot take in all the dimensions of beauty let alone do it the way the human eyes can. After the paint on a car is professionally detailed and you inspect the paint first hand, you're eyes can tell you real fast if the paint is glossy or not.


:)
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Thank you! :dblthumb2:




Espyone said:
Total newb question as I am looking into the Bigfoot and the LHR 75

Just curious, as I am looking into the LHR 75. Will a 5 gallon air compressor set up at 120 psi work?
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It needs to be able to deliver a constant 90psi....what is the CFM rating on it?
 
This thread is definitely turning out the way I intended, lots of different opinions. Whatever people wind up doing with the RUPES machines, they will be very important to the advancement of the industry for quite a long time.
 
Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
My guess is as I've said for years when it comes to NON direct drive DA polishers that...


Thin is in...
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Speaking of thin pads Mike, do you know if AG will be carrying the low profile 3" LC Hydrotech pads? The tall ones deform way too quickly.
 
Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
No we don't have a gloss meter. I remember the chemists at Meguiar's had one or two of these things and they eventually sold them or gave them away because what they found out that you already own the best gloss meter available and that's your set of eyes.

A machine cannot take in all the dimensions of beauty let alone do it the way the human eyes can. After the paint on a car is professionally detailed and you inspect the paint first hand, you're eyes can tell you real fast if the paint is glossy or not.


:)
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Well said.
 
RaskyR1 said:
Either should correct faster and be more comfortable than a traditional DA.



Thank you! :dblthumb2:






It needs to be able to deliver a constant 90psi....what is the CFM rating on it?
Click to expand...

Good to know. Thank you for the input!
 
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