When I hold any RUPES classes, we go through a ton of RUPES pads. Same for my boat detailing classes as we use the RUPES coarse blue foam pad to finish out gel-coat.
I wash all my RUPES pads and then re-use them unto death. Either the velcro backing will eventually delaminate or the foam will rip up. The coarse blue foam cutting pads are a very large open cell foam formula with from experience has a low tensile strength, (which is what also makes them sharp and fast cutting), and so it's only normal for the blue foam pads to wear out faster than the green, yellow and white.
I love the white RUPES pads for show car work.
I really like RUPES pads and we punish them very hard here at our classes and for our car detailing projects.
My recommendation is always the same, anyone thinking of getting into RUPES polishers really should go all in and get the RUPES system. That means RUPES polishers, pads and products. Become an EXPERT with the RUPES system and only after you've mastered their system start to experiment with other pads and products. This way, should something go wrong, that is you don't get stellar results using a RUPES polisher with some other brand of pad or product, you can RECOVER by going back to the system.
Make sense?
The COVER of a book is important. It's a large chunk of print real-estate for you to make your most important statement. If you look at the cover of my RUPES book, (the only book ever written on the RUPES polishers), the title was written by me VERY specifically.
It does NOT say
How to use RUPES polishers
It says,
How to use the RUPES BigFoot Paint Polishing System
And as I make the case in the book, RUPES is not a tool, it's a system. Just ask any RUPES Rep and I'm confident they'll agree with the title of my book.
Here's another article I wrote for RUPES fans and even the guys at RUPES...
The Air Test - Using NON RUPES pads on RUPES Polishers
I showed this test the the head engineer, Marco D'Inca when I was in Norway for the first RUPES Detailing Seminar, they thought it was pretty cool.
Mike and Yancy going to Norway! RUPES Norway Detailing Seminar - February 26th, 27th & 28th
