Rupes Polisher Time Lapse Video - 1955 Ford Crown Victoria by Mike Phillips

[Mike Phillips]

Rupes Polisher Time Lapse Video - 1955 Ford Crown Victoria by Mike Phillips


Here's the time-lapse video Yancy took for me as I buffed this classic out from start to finish...

On the passenger side I used the Rupes 21 and on the driver's side I used the Rupes 15. There was about a 20 minute time savings using the larger pad, larger stroke machine over the smaller pad, smaller stroke machine but my opinion is that for most body panel designs on modern cars the 6" pad will be a better match.

This tool definitely has a lot more correction ability plus power over a traditional DA Polisher like the Porter Cable 7424XP.

I did find that when buffing a curved panel, either concave or convex, the uneven pressure applied to the face of the pad will slow down and even stop pad rotation. The key is to focus on the panel and keep the pad as flat as possible to the surface.




On Autogeek.net

Rupes LHR21ES Random Orbit Polisher

Rupes Zephir Gloss Coarse Gel Compound 500 ml.

Rupes Quarz Gloss Medium Gel Compound 500 ml.

Rupes Keramik Gloss Fine Gel Polish 500 ml.

Rupes Diamond Ultra Fine Gel Polish 500 ml.

RUPES Color Matched 7" Foam Buffing Pads

All RUPES Polishers, Pads and Polishes

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[Mike Phillips]

Re: Rupes Polisher Time Lapse Video - 1955 Ford Crown Victoria

To do this time-lapse video, I taped the car off right down the middle and then being as fair as possible gave both sides the exact same treatment.

 

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Rupes Polisher Time Lapse Video - 1955 Ford Crown Victoria

Before Condition

 

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Rupes Polisher Time Lapse Video - 1955 Ford Crown Victoria

After Shots...

 

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Rupes Polisher Time Lapse Video - 1955 Ford Crown Victoria

I machine applied the Dodo Juice Hard Candy Hard Wax using the Rupes LHR 15 Mini Orbital Air Polisher. It actually worked pretty good, I just placed the face of the foam pad into the jar and blipped the throttle a little and then applied to sections of paint at a time.

I had to leave last night before wiping the wax off. When I returned this morning I did "The Swipe Test" and the wax swiped clear, this is a sign it's completely dry and hardened and ready to wipe-off.

The wax left the paint with a very bright, glossy hard shine...


Dodo Juice Hard Candy Hard Wax 250 ML

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[CWallace]

Re: Rupes Polisher Time Lapse Video - 1955 Ford Crown Victoria

Hey Mike, great job but i have a quick question.. How big of a section were u covering with the 15 and getting good correction, it's a little hard to tell with the time lapse. I'm considering a Rupes 15, but was curious about how much more efficient and powerful this DA is than my PC and its 2ft x 2ft section passes. Also am considering a flex! I am looking for a little more powerful machine to possibly speed up my correction process....

 

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Rupes Polisher Time Lapse Video - 1955 Ford Crown Victoria

Outside shots...

Always kind of sad to see them go after putting a little bit of yourself into them...

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[Evan.J]

Re: Rupes Polisher Time Lapse Video - 1955 Ford Crown Victoria

Well Mike, as always great job. I think i will be looking into either thr Rupes or Flex after watching this video and I'm really leaning toward the Rupes. Any pads you prefer over other that work well with the Rupes?

 

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Rupes Polisher Time Lapse Video - 1955 Ford Crown Victoria

Hey Mike, great job but i have a quick question.. How big of a section were u covering with the 15 and getting good correction, it's a little hard to tell with the time lapse.

I'm considering a Rupes 15, but was curious about how much more efficient and powerful this DA is than my PC and its 2ft x 2ft section passes.

You can definitely tackle a larger section with the Rupes over the PC. For example, if you look at the roof it's divided into two sections by a stainless steel piece of trim that runs over the top from side to side.

I easily knocked out each section using 7-8 section passes moving the polisher very slowly with the compound. I moved the polisher a little faster for the polishing step and only made about 5-6 section passes.

Also am considering a flex! I am looking for a little more powerful machine to possibly speed up my correction process....

I've only buffed out this car with the Rupes polishers. I have more on my schedule.

I picked this car for a number of reasons,

1. It's huge. That means plenty of time to become familiar with this tool and it's operating characteristics.

2. The is an S.I.V. or Special Interest Vehicle, I personally prefer to work on SIV's versus transportation vehicles.

3. Did I mention it's huge? It's huge, that means lots of time behind the polisher getting to know it.
​

The above all said, just like a Porter Cable, Meguiar's or Griot's DA Polisher, if you're buffing over raised body curves the increased pressure to just one portion of the face of the pad can make the pad stop rotating and when this happens you're not getting any correction work performed to that section of paint.

Besides that it does operate a lot smoother than the other DA Polishers and it does have more power and with this extra power you can tackle a larger section of paint at one time.

I know there will be a lot of discussions into the future over the benefits and drawbacks for all the popular tools used in the detailing world so I'm just trying to give everyone some honest feedback from what I experienced and what I know based upon this first car I've used both Rupes polishers on to correct, polish and machine wax.

I have a 1959 Impala arriving to Autogeek this Thursday for my Advanced Paint Polishing Class that is focused specifically on machine polishing and wetsanding.

This is another HUGE Special Interest Vehicle with plenty of swirls and scratches as well as a good mix of flat panels and curved panels. The guys signed up for this class will get plenty of hands-on time behind all the polishers and after the class will be able to choose which tools are best for their detailing needs.

 

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Rupes Polisher Time Lapse Video - 1955 Ford Crown Victoria

Well Mike, as always great job. I think i will be looking into either thr Rupes or Flex after watching this video and I'm really leaning toward the Rupes. Any pads you prefer over other that work well with the Rupes?

As of today, I've only used the Rupes paint polishing system as it is intended to be used by the manufacturer.

The blue foam cutting pad and the Rupes compound work really well together as far as correction ability goes but the foam did take a beating from buffing out this car. The other foam formulas from Rupes look to offer a lot more tensile strength and should hold up really well.

Keep in mind the R&D Manager, Marco, told me the blue foam cutting pad and the compound were specifically designed to take advantage of the long orbit stroke and light downward pressure offered by this tool and from what I've experienced, these three things are properly matched.

 

[CWallace]

Re: Rupes Polisher Time Lapse Video - 1955 Ford Crown Victoria

Mike, Thanks as always for the quick informative reply!

 

[Evan.J]

Re: Rupes Polisher Time Lapse Video - 1955 Ford Crown Victoria

Mike, Thanks as always for the quick informative reply!

:iagree:Thanks Mike and I see what you mean about the blue pad taking a beating with the pictures you posted.:dblthumb2:

 

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Rupes Polisher Time Lapse Video - 1955 Ford Crown Victoria

:iagree:Thanks Mike and I see what you mean about the blue pad taking a beating with the pictures you posted.:dblthumb2:

I kind of figured they would take a beating from the large open cell structure of the foam and the coarse feel when you hold them in your hand. My guess is this foam formula works best with their compound and the orbit stroke of their machine as explained to me by Marco from Rupes.

I could be this is pushing foam technology to it's limit for at least the cutting or correction step. The other foam formulas really held up well.

I'm confident Rupes management will see and read this thread and my goal is to always share feedback about product experience in an honest yet helpful manner to help companies improve their product line.

Sometimes you reach the upper levels for technology and that could be the case here but most companies I've worked with over the years are always pushing the envelope and there always working on the next evolution in they products and systems.

Seen a lot of cool product introduced in the last few years and that's what's so cool about discussion forums in that it's usually on forums where news is breaking first.


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[Setec Astronomy]

Re: Rupes Polisher Time Lapse Video - 1955 Ford Crown Victoria

So the size/weight of these machines is the same? What is the weight? I don't see it on the product page.

 

[Joe@Superior Shine]

Re: Rupes Polisher Time Lapse Video - 1955 Ford Crown Victoria

I love the Rupes21. I had the opportunity to play with the 15 and 21 before I had to decide on which one to purchase. I choose the R21 for it's long stroke/correcting ability. For short stroke work and for applying glazes, wax or sealants I decided to stick with my old school traditional dual action polishers such as my Meguiars G110v2 or Porter Cable DA polisher. For me the Rupes 15 and 21 and too big and heavy for applying wax/sealants which I like to do one handed.

 

[Evan.J]

Re: Rupes Polisher Time Lapse Video - 1955 Ford Crown Victoria

I love the Rupes21. I had the opportunity to play with the 15 and 21 before I had to decide on which one to purchase. I choose the R21 for it's long stroke/correcting ability. For short stroke work and for applying glazes, wax or sealants I decided to stick with my old school traditional dual action polishers such as my Meguiars G110v2 or Porter Cable DA polisher. For me the Rupes 15 and 21 and too big and heavy for applying wax/sealants which I like to do one handed.

Thanks for that input Joe!

 

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Rupes Polisher Time Lapse Video - 1955 Ford Crown Victoria

For short stroke work and for applying glazes, wax or sealants I decided to stick with my old school traditional dual action polishers such as my Meguiars G110v2 or Porter Cable DA polisher.

For me the Rupes 15 and 21 and too big and heavy for applying wax/sealants which I like to do one handed.

And I agree, I prefer to apply all my products by machine, partly because I think the machine does the job faster and better but also because a part of me is lazy. The small size of the PC makes it great for machine applying waxes to verticle sides with one hand or for reaching out to the middle of roofs, trunks and hoods for large cars like this old Ford.

I used the Rupes LHR75 Mini Polisher with a 4" pad because I could easily get the pad into the jar and it actually worked pretty good. I think a 5 to 6 inch pad works better overall for machine applying waxes and paint sealants but the 4" pad wasn't bad at all.

Of course I could have knocked the wax out of the jar and then applied the wax to the face of the Rupes foam finishing pad I was under a time crunch.

 

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Rupes Polisher Time Lapse Video - 1955 Ford Crown Victoria

So the size/weight of these machines is the same? What is the weight? I don't see it on the product page.

When I weighed the 21 without a pad on the backing plate and including the power cord it weighed 6.4 pounds.

When I weighted the 15 without a pad on the backing plate and including the power cord, it weighed 6.2 pounds.

The difference is probably all in the size and mass of the backing plate. (Just a guess)

 

[Setec Astronomy]

Re: Rupes Polisher Time Lapse Video - 1955 Ford Crown Victoria

When I weighed the 21 without a pad on the backing plate and including the power cord it weighed 6.4 pounds.

When I weighted the 15 without a pad on the backing plate and including the power cord, it weighed 6.2 pounds.

The difference is probably all in the size and mass of the backing plate. (Just a guess)

The product page for the Flex says it weighs 5.73 lbs, so presuming we are apples-to-apples (backing plate and cord) these weigh in a bit heavier than the 3401.

Thanks for the info, Mike.

 

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Rupes Polisher Time Lapse Video - 1955 Ford Crown Victoria

This was a cool car to work on and it's also the same model used on one of the new AG T-shirts.

Autogeek “Deserve The Best” T-Shirt

On Autogeek.net

While supplies last...

Autogeek “Deserve The Best” T-Shirt


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